I was just wondering, what are the most popular breeds for House Rabbits and why?

Here in Norway I think it's holland lop!

Dwarves and dwarf mixes and also lops are very popular around here.

I think a lot of people looking to get house rabbits care more about the individual rabbit than what breed it is . Mixes are quite common, too.

But if I had to pick I'd say that Holland lops, miniature lops, Dutch rabbits, and dwarf breeds are more common. They're all fairly small and easy to manage.

It might actually be easier to pick what breeds aren't common as house rabbits (and by house rabbit I'm assuming you mean a rabbit that's considered a pet and allowed to hop around the house?) . Rare breeds (Belgian hares, for example), angora breeds (most people who just want a pet don't pick a rabbit requiring that much grooming), and "commercial" breeds (such as the Californian) aren't as common as house pets.

I think that the majority of house rabbits are mutts, since a lot of bunny breeders don't necessarily push indoor housing like rescues do.

How difficult is it to get large breeds adopted out?

The truly giant breeds (like flemishes) seem to move pretty fast because people really like big rabbits. But the moderately large breeds (say 7-10 pounds) seem to be less adoptable overall. Interesting coloration or excessively friendliness helps, but a 9 pound rabbit of plain coloring with a pretty basic bunny personality can be around a long time.

By large breeds do you mean something like a New Zealand White or more like a Flemish Giant?

I have Satin mix foster rabbits, they weigh between 6 and 8 pounds, and I am getting in 2 other rabbits that weigh less then 3 pounds, but they are around 8 years old. I was thinking that none of these rabbits are very adoptable. The little senior rabbits aren't house trained.

It's one of those weird things. We've had a lot of requests lately for older rabbits because we've had a lot of people who's current rabbits lost a partner. Old doesn't necessarily mean unadoptable, but it is tougher to adopt, usually. Rabbits in general are pretty hard to place -- we may place 30-40 guinea pigs per year and only 5-7 rabbits.

The rescue here is OVERRUN with rabbits and do not have enough adoptive homes or foster homes.They cannot take in anymore rabbits at this time,as most people do not want to commit to a rabbit.

http://birdandsmallanimalrescue.webs...oradoption.htm

They did just have a "adopt a rabbit" day and have had some interest from that,so thats a good thing.

Same here. And people keep on breeding rabbits without any goal with the breeding.

I plan on keeping these rabbits for the rest of their lives.


People that I have talked to that have given up on their rabbit didn't seem to know what they were getting into. They heard that rabbits could be litter box trained like cats, so they expected to get a pet that was more like a cat in a rabbit's body. I wish there were a better term than "House Rabbit" that would better discribe a pet rabbit.


My satins were from an "unwanted litter". I see a lot of that. I wish there were a way to make everyone that sells or gives away rabbits to give out information on rabbits and rabbit care, because I see ignorance as a big part of the problem.

So, dumb question, but how much work has been done on improving their litter habits, or were they just brought inside with a litterbox and expected to know how to use it? Are they spayed?

We took in 6 rabbits that were around 6+ from a local prison who was using them for the inmates as part of their rehab programs, and none of them started off with good manners because they had lived outside on dirt their entire lives. Now most of them have excellent manners, and the two worst offenders even pee in their boxes exclusively. But it's taken a lot of work, starting off with several huge litterboxes and working our way down. Some of them have needed specialized boxes that are a bit bigger, and some have needed ones with more shallow doors as they're slightly arthritic.

I wish people would simply take the time to search for a local rescue that would help coach them through the process, find them rabbits that fit their lifestyle, and then would remain a resource to them throughout the life of the rabbit. We even do this for non-rescue rabbits. I've spent much time at houses of rabbit owners for rabbits I didn't save an adopt out, trying to help them with litterbox issues and advising on cage setups.

I don't think that is such a dumb question, but I do think there are a lot of idiots out there that want trendy pets without knowing what they are getting into. Like when Disney put out the movie "101 Dalmations." Lots of people wanted Dalmations without knowing anything about the breed, then when the dogs got big and were hard to handle, they were ending up in the shelters. People expected the dog to act like the dogs in the cartoon. Rabbits have been around as pets for a long time, but as house pets, they haven't been around as long as dogs and cats, so I consider rabbits right now as trendy housepets, along with ferrets and chinchillias.
People don't do their homework, they have their own ideas on how things will work out, and when it doesn't work the way they expect it to, the poor animals suffer. I wish people would realize that getting a pet is a serious decision.