Pet Rabbit Breeds

Rabbits are friendly and fascinating as pets. Their soft fur and gentle nature are worth adoring. They can be wonderful companion, if trained with a proper care. Rabbits have a long lifespan, hence by keeping them as pets, you are making a long-term commitment. Before raising rabbits, make sure you understand the basic caring tips, so as to create a wonderful environment for them. Then only, you and your pet rabbit can enjoy each other's company.

Caring Tips for Pet Rabbits

Regarding the food habit, rabbits enjoy having vegetables, hay and pellets. Rabbit loves to feed on a wide variety of vegetables such as carrots, cilantro, broccoli leaves, mint and parsley. Oat, alfalfa and timothy hay should be included in the daily diet. Fresh pellets with high fiber and low protein content should be purchased for feeding rabbits. Reduce the amount of pellet in the feed as your pet ages. Pure water can be provided in a dish or hanging bottles.

Rabbit cages should be large, spacious and easy to clean. Hence, the cage can be built according to the pet size. For litter training, you can place a litter tray with raised sides (to avoid spillage) in the cage. If the bunny litters in the cage, then it is well and good. Otherwise, examine where it litters normally and place the tray in the particular area.

Speaking about handling the rabbits, some can tolerate, whereas some type do not encourage to handle. For doing so, place your hand under the torso of the bunny and scoop it up closer. Never pull a rabbit by its ears, legs or tail. Rabbit's nail should be clipped regularly; you can cut it by handling protectively and gently isolating each paw.

Pet Rabbit Breeds

There are several breeds of rabbits from which you can choose your favorite one. Following are some of the popular rabbit breeds that are excellent as pets.

American Chinchilla
American chinchilla resembles the coat color of a real chinchilla. The fur is soft with slate blue, wavy white and black surface color. It is a medium-sized breed, weighing about 9-12 pounds. American chinchilla exhibits upright ears and noticeable broad shoulders. It enjoys attention and loves to be handled. For grooming the coat, brushing with the help of a slicker brush once in a week is advisable.

Flemish Giant
As the name suggests, flemish giant is an enormous breed, which weighs about 14 pounds. It has short, glossy and dense-textured coat. The fur color may be white, light grey, steel grey, blue or black. Flemish giant is calm and affectionate as a pet. However, it may reverse back if handled incorrectly. Mild grooming is enough, as the breed has a short fur.

Mini Rex
Mini rex has the shortest fur than other pet rabbit breeds. You can touch and feel the velvety and plush texture of the rex fur. The coat color may be white, opal, red, blue and black. For removing loose hair, don't comb the fur, rather moisten your palm with water and run over the fur backwards. It is a small breed, weighing about 3 ½ - 4 ½ pounds. Mini rex has small ears, medium-length face and rounded body. Mini rex is a friendly breed, which tolerates handling.

Himalayan
Himalayan is well-known for its long, narrow and flat body type. It is a small breed, weighing about 2 ½ - 4 ½ pounds. Himalayan exhibits thin and upright ears and long head. The coat is short, body color is usually white with brown, blue or black colorations in the nose, ears, legs and tail. It is extremely calm, making a great pet rabbit. Weekly grooming with a slicker brush is sufficient to take care of the coat.

Well! These are some popular pet rabbit breeds. Whatever be the type of breed, it is necessary to select a healthy bunny for rearing as pets. Some of them are curious and active players, which can remain occupied with toys. Any change in the pet's behavior may indicate discomfort and/or pain. Hence, close examination of the pet's health is necessary to prevent any health problem.