There are more than 50 different breeds of bunnies. Picking the best rabbit breed for you is a very pleasurable task. They are all so fluffy and cute!
For me, picking a bunny breed is like opening a box of chocolates. They are all so sweet and fluffy but I get to pick just one and make that one happy.
Lionhead, for example, is one of the most popular rabbit breeds for pets. Lionheads are small, cute and they actually look like little lions. Lions that can hop, mind you.
I don’t know anybody who doesn’t love the Lionhead bunnies. Nonetheless, different people have different tastes. That’s why it’s only normal that we check some of those 50 best rabbit breeds out, right?
Indoor Bunny Breeds
We narrowed your choices down to 16 breeds. These bunny breeds are especially perfect as pets due to their friendly personality.
For indoor pets, the small rabbit breeds are the best (especially if you’re buying your first bunny). Of course, if you think you can handle the big English Lop or even the Flemish Giant, you can go right ahead as well.
We’ll start with the smallest ones, transition to the a bit bigger ones, and finish the list with the biggest rabbit breeds you can keep at home as a pet (newsflash, it’s the Flemish Giant).
1. Netherland Dwarf (Smallest Breed, Very Energetic)
There are small rabbits, smaller ones and then there is the Netherland Dwarf. This tinny bunny is the smallest rabbit breed in the world. They are originally from the Netherlands and they are very small; hence the breed name ‘Netherland Dwarf’.
Even when fully grown, they weigh up from 1.1 lb up to 2.5 lb. Despite being so small, they have tons of energy. You’ll find these small fluffy beast whizzing around your home with lightning speed.
They can have furr of composed of many different colors. Here’s how they look:
We do tend to think that small rabbits are cute and calm. Well, the Netherland Dwarf sure is cute, but it’s not calm at all. This rabbit breed needs a lot of attention, playtime and can be very intensive for the petite size.
No one is really raising Netherland Dwarfs for meat. They are almost exclusively raised as indoor pets. Nonetheless, if you have small children, here’s a fair warning: Children don’t know how to handle bunnies with a soft touch and Netherland Dwarfs are known to nip if you don’t know how to handle them properly.
2. Dwarf Hotot (Blackish Eye Circles And White Fur)
Dwaft Hotot is another dwarf-sized rabbit breed that can weight from 2 to 3 pounds when fully grown.
Originally, Dwarf Hotot originates from France. Baroness Bernard is said to develop the species in te beginning of 20th Century by selectively breeding bigger Blanc De Hotot species of rabbits.
The clean giveaway of a Dwarf Hotot species are the so-called ‘eyes of fancy’. Essentially, they have a blackish circle around their eyes. Their fur is short and most commonly white:
The distinct contrast between the blackish circles around the eyes and the white fur makes them instantly recognizable by bunny enthusiasts.
What is more, they tend to not be as energetic as Netherland Dwarfs, which makes them even a better small rabbit breed for indoors. Dwarf Hotot is especially perfect for small-size apartments because it doesn’t need that much space and it is petite to start with.
3. Lionhead (Most Popular Breed For Pets)
Lionhead is probably to most popular small bunny breed. You can instantly recognize them; they look like lions!
Fully grown they can weight from 3 to 3.7 lb and are particularly friendly and cute. Obviously, they have longer fur around the head. We do need to know a thing or two about grooming that 3 inches fur. It can get intangled if you don’t brush it regularly.
These little furry bunnies were developed in England. However, they are originally from Belgium. Apparently, they wanted to cross-breed Netherland Dwarf with small Swiss Fox species. The result is a really small bunny breed that has longer fur than other ‘dwarf’ breeds.
They can be white, brown, or even black. With so many options, people do find it difficult to decide for that special Lionhead they want. I mean, they know they want a Lionhead, but there are so many cute ones you can find in stores.
4. Mini Rex (Small Rabbit From Texas)
Everything is bigger in Texas, right? Well, not necessarily. Mini Rex is the smallest American rabbit breed and it originates from Texas.
It can grow from 3 lb to 4.5 lb. However, you will rarely find a 5+ pound Mini Rex. In short, they are small and also very narrow.
In fact, you can recognize them by looking at how narrow their shoulders are. On top of that (literally), they have upright ears and a plush coat.
As all Texans, the Mini Rex bunnies are well-known for their friendly personality. This makes them an ideal indoor rabbit breed because you don’t have to be that careful with rabbit-proofing everything. They tend not to nip or dig as much as other rabbit breeds.
You will find that they can have a fur of pretty much any color. The fur itself feels like velvet to the touch, it’s quite amazing.
If you ever get a chance to see a Mini Rex in person, try touching their fur. It will melt your heat.
5. Holland Lop (Big Lazy Ears; 6 Fur Color Types)
Lop breeds, in general, are named so because of the loppy ears. Holland Lop, for example, has big loppy ears that fall almost to the ground. We find that very cute and, as only appropriate, the Holland Lop is a favorite bunny breed for many rabbit owners.
Holland Lop is a small breed from Netherlands. They can grow up to 4 pounds in total. The species was developed by a Dutch breeder Adrian de Cock. Namely, Holland Lop is a result of breeding big 15 pound French Lops with the smallest 2.5 Netherland Dwarfs.
There are 6 prominent color variations of Holland Lops. It all depends on what is the primary fur color:
- Light orange type.
- Distinctive grey and purple type. The grey can be described as ‘luminous’.
- Dark brown type. These Holland Lops will have dark brown fur all over their body, even over the ears.
- Squirrly brown type.
- White type. This type of Holland Lop tends to have red eyes which do make them feel a bit like big rats.
- Dark orange type. This type is extremely rare.
6. American Fuzzy Lop (Playful Social Rabbit With Long Fur)
American Fuzzy Lops have the perfect combination of a small bunny and long fur. In fact, they were primarily bred for their long fur. They can also be referred to as ‘Fuzzy Hollands’. That’s because they are akin to Holland Lops; just add a lot of fur and you have an American Fuzzy Lop.
Obviously, long furry bunnies can make a pleasant pet as well. They can weight up to 4 pounds. They are rather playful and enjoy the interaction with their owners.
Because of the long fur, American Fuzzy Lops need daily grooming. They are a calm rabbit breed but high maintenance one. Straightening all the fur out is a pleasant but also a necessary task.
American Fuzzy Lops are very social; they like to hang around people as well as around other rabbits. They really love rabbit toys such as various balls or cones.
This is a breed that needs a lot of attention. If you want a special bunny to fill up your day, the American Fuzzy Lop breed is a very good choice.
8. Dutch (Kids-Friendly Breed)
Dutch was once the most popular pet rabbit breed. This type of rabbit has a long and rich history. However, when the smaller ‘dwarf’ breeds such as Lionhead and Mini Rex came along, the Dutch’s popularity slowly started to wane.
Dutch is also known under other names such as ‘Hollander’ and ‘Brabander’. This breed of rabbits can reach a weight of 5 pounds or even a bit more.
They certainly are one of the most distinguishable rabbit breeds. Most of the people who know a thing or two about rabbits will immediately notice the characteristic black/white pattern Dutch bunnies are known for. Here’s how it looks:
Families will small kids can have doubts about adopting a pet rabbit. An especially good quality of Dutch bunnies is that they react surprisingly well to playful interaction with children.
Dutch with it’s predictable nature and short hair is a very low maintanance breed. For that reason it is most appropriate for families who are adopting their first bunny. Dutch makes taking care for a bunny easy.
9. Mini Lop (Very Playful)
Mini Lop was first identified in East Germany in 1972. Essentially, it is a result of German Big Lop and Chinchilla breeding. The resulting breed – Mini Lop – can reach a maximum weight of about 8 pounds.
Mini Lops have a small body compared to their big and meaty ears. Their personality is very friendly. Mini Lop is extremely playful bunny breed that needs a lot of attention.
They are quite intelligent as well. You can train a Mini Lop to respond to a clicker. That makes quite a fun activity and the playful Mini Lops are happy to get the snacks when they hear a clicker.
Because this is such an active bunny breed, it is most appropriate for families who really want to play with their bunnies.
10. Florida White (Relaxed White Breed)
If you’ve ever seen a rabbit white as snow all over, you’ve probably seen the Florida White.
The fresh white fur is immediately recognizable. Florida Whites also have pink or reddish eyes and can look a bit scary.
In fact, they were breed by ARBA Judge Orville Miliken from two albino rabbits (Dutch and Polish) and a New Zealand White which is white to begin with.
These rabbits are sadly best known as being laboratory rabbits. However, because they are so calm and relaxed, they make for an excellent domestic breed. They don’t whizz around, aren’t too playful and don’t need as much attention as American Fuzzy Lops, for example.
Florida Whites can weigh up to 6 pounds. They have a particularly round body.
This breed tends to be relatively healthier than many others. Florida White rabbits have a lifespan of more than 5 years.
11. Himalayan (Calmest “Zen” Rabbit Breed)
Himalayan is one of the oldest rabbit breeds. In fact, it’s so old that we don’t actually know precisely where it came from. Some specialist say it came from Himalayas, others think it came from the Far East, but no one is 100% sure.
Himalayan is a the only cylindric-shaped rabbit species. In short, it’s very long. The body can be up to 4 times as long as the body. A descendend from Himalayan breed is Californian which is a very well-known meat breed.
One distinctive feature of Himalayan is just how very calm it is; very “zen”. They are very easy to raise and to take care of because they are pretty much the calmest bunny breed in the world.
Honestly, Himalayan is a very good choice for a first time bunny owner. Being calm and low maintanance, it will be a pleasure to adjust your life to include a gentle and docile bunny.
12. English Angora (The Fluffiest Bunny Breed)
Holding an English Angora bunny in your hands is like holding a cloud. This breed was specially raised with ‘fluffiness’ in mind. It’s quite funny how furry this breed is. English Angora’s bunnies have fur over their eyes, ears, it goes in their mouth, and they don’t even care.
English Angora can weigh up to 7.7 pounds (fur can weight 2 pounds of even more). Of course, every rabbit breed with long fur will need daily grooming regimen. English Angora rabbit won’t mind getting a comb in the morning as well as in the evening:
If you’re not sure you’re looking at English or French Angora (similar species), you can just check if the fluff is covering their eyes. English Angora is pretty much the only rabbit breed with fur so long that it covers their eyes.
Adopting English Angora is usually recommended for people who have some experience grooming rabbits. As we all know, grooming bunnies takes a bit of time. On top of that, taking care of shredding English Angora does take extra patience and love.ž
13. Harlequin (Colorful “Two Face” Breed)
Harlequin breed has a characterictic ‘crazy’ color patterns. First of all, they half of their face can be completely different than the other half. It can even have a black ear and an orange one, it’s quite amazing.
The rest of the body is also exquisitly colored. You’ll find patterns and chaos as far as color is concerned. For example, the somewhat ‘crazy’ character Margot Robbie plays in called ‘Harlequin’ because of the colorful fur Harlequin breed of rabbits have.
The primary color of every Harlequin is orange. The supplemental colors that can be literally anywhere can be:
- Blue
- Brown
- Dark (Black)
- Purple
Harlequin can grow quite big. They can weight anywhere from 6.5 lb to 8 lb. They are both playful and intelligent. As such, the Harlequins do make good pets.
14. English Lop (First Develop Lop Breed With Extremely Long Ears)
English Lop is the first Lop breed. It is a result of selective breeding that happened in 19th Century England. Because it was meant to be breed for meat, the English Lop is quite a chonker. It can easily weigh more than 10 pounds.
Nonetheless, the extremely long ear have made it one of the favorite indoor rabbit breeds. The reason is simple: those long floppy ears look cute and we all love cute bunnies. It does need a bit more space than other smaller rabbits. You can’t move these ears around in a small tight space:
In fact, the ears are so long that English Lop has to literally drag them around on the floor. Fortunately, that slows it down a bit. If you don’t like quick jumping bunnies that hop around a lot, you’ll love the English Lop. This is a calm creature that response well to warm affection.
15. English Spot (Need At Least 1h Of Running Per Day)
English Spot can weigh from 5 to 8 pounds. It has distinctive black spots on white fur (hence the name ‘Spot’). These spots can be found literally anywhere:
- Around eyes.
- On the cheeks.
- On the upper head.
- A chain of spots along the body.
Englsih Spots are quite a handfull as far as maintance is needed. They will need at least 1h of running time every day; literal running around the house. The worst part is that this rabbit breed is most active early in the morning and at night. During the day, however, they can be lazy and sleep all day.
Because they are so active during the night time, they are not ideal as indoor bunnies. Nonetheless, the spots make them so cute that many people decide to adopt an English Spot regardless of the nightly inconveniences.
They also eat a lot. Of course, they burn a lot of calories during that hour or two of night activities, and their feeding style has to support that energy output. Timothy hays, for example, are perfect feed for English Spot breed because it can sufficiently regenerate their energy levels.
16. Flemish Giant (A 25 Pound “Gentle Giant”)
You know those giant rabbits you’ve seen online? Those are the Flemish Giants. A rabbit of the Flemish Giant species can quickly grow more than 10 pounds in weigh, some of them even reach 25 pounds. In short, they are huge.
Obviously, they were first selectively breed for meat and fur. Nonetheless, Flemish Giants are extremely docile and patients giant rabbits. This is why people love to keep them as pets. They are pretty much the biggest good natured and docile pet you can have.
It’s just facinating looking at how they hop around. Imagine a 25 lb Flemish Giant jumping up and down, it’s quite an amazing sight:
It’s quite easy to love these big rabbits. What is a big advantage is that Flemish Giant is very gentle with other pets like dogs and pets as well.
Smaller rabbit breeds can be bullied a bit by dogs and cats. Because the Flemish Giant is so big, dogs and cats prefer to leave it alone and this gentle giant doesn’t attack small kittens, for example.
Despite being so big, it is most appropriate for first time adopters. It has short fur (that means low maintanance), is gentle and very affectionate. Of course, Flemish Giant like to eat a lot. Feeding it hay can be the best party trick you have up your sleeve.
Do You Have A Favorite Breed?
If you have a favorite breed to recommend for everybody who’s looking to adopt a bunny, please share it in the comments.
We all like to hear some insights about any particular bunny breeds.