Trying to find the perfect rabbit for you or your family can be challenging at times as there are so many different rabbit breeds out there with different temperaments and care requirements. It is easy to feel overwhelmed when looking for the perfect rabbit breed for you.
This article will go through the friendliest rabbit breeds, which should help make your decision a bit easier.
Here is a list of the top 10 friendliest breeds of rabbit that you will come across:
- Jersey Wooly Rabbit
- Dutch Rabbit
- Lionhead Rabbit
- Mini Lop Rabbit
- Harlequin Rabbit
- Rex Rabbit
- Havana Rabbit
- Chinchilla Rabbit
- Polish Rabbit
- French Lop Rabbit
We will go through each rabbit breed in more detail in this article and what their temperament is, along with which owners they are best suited for.
The Friendliest Rabbit Breeds
This list of rabbits should make it a bit easier to narrow down which rabbit is for you! Let us go through these friendly rabbit breeds in a bit more detail.
1. Jersey Wooly Rabbit
This rabbit breed was first introduced and accepted into the ARBA (American Rabbit Breed Association) by a rabbit breeder named Bonnie Seeley from High Bridge, New Jersey, in 1984. The Jersey Wooly Rabbit is considered to be a dwarf rabbit as it only weighs between 1 and 3 lbs (0.5 and 1.3 kg) when they are fully grown.
This rabbit is extremely sweet-natured, and they are gentle, docile, and playful. The Jersey Wooly Rabbit loves human interaction and gets along just fine with children and first-time rabbit owners too.
Due to their size, these rabbits do better when kept indoors, which means that they are compatible with apartment living.
These rabbits have a good life span of 7 to 10 years, so you will have this cute little ball of fluff by your side for a while.
2. Dutch Rabbit
This rabbit breed was actually among the first rabbit breeds that were recognized by the National Pet Stock Association, which was the forerunner to the ARBA, so this rabbit breed is quite old.
Dutch Rabbits have an easy-going temperament, this along with their friendly nature, intelligence, and need for social interaction, makes them a great pet to have.
These rabbits will weigh between 3.5 and 5.5 lbs (1.5 and 2.4 kgs) when they are adults, meaning these rabbits are on the smaller side of rabbit breeds.
Dutch Rabbits do well indoors but can survive in a well-kept rabbit cage outside too. These rabbits generally have a life span of 8 to 10 years.
3. Lionhead Rabbit
This rabbit breed is recognized by the BRC (British Rabbit Council) as well as the ARBA (American Rabbit Breeders Association) and originated in France and Belgium.
The Lionhead Rabbit breed is smart, playful, and good-natured, but they are not really the best option for first-time rabbit owners or children as they can become frightened easily, and they require a good amount of care as they can develop some health problems.
These rabbits can do well living both indoors and outdoors, but they do require space to run as they are very energetic.
The Lionhead Rabbits will weigh around 2.5 and 3.7 lbs (1 and 1.6 kg) when they are fully grown, meaning they are small-sized rabbits, and they generally live for about 7 to 9 years.
4. Mini Lop Rabbit
This rabbit breed first originated from Germany and is considered to be a designer rabbit. The Mini Lop rabbit is recognized by the ARBA and the BRC as well.
This rabbit breed is a very playful and affectionate breed that absolutely loves attention from any and all humans. Because of this, the Mini Lop is perfect for first-time rabbit owners and families with children.
These rabbits will weigh between 4.5 and 6 lbs (2 and 2.7 kgs) when they are adults, making them medium-sized rabbits.
Mini Lops are great outdoor rabbits, but they can adapt well to indoor living, too, as long as they have space to run as they have a lot of energy. These rabbits will generally live for about 5 to 10 years of age.
5. Harlequin Rabbit
The Harlequin Rabbit breed originated from France but made its way to the United States in the 1920s. These rabbits are a curious bunch that loves to play. They are also highly affectionate and active, so they will keep you quite busy.
These rabbits are considered to be medium to large in size as they weigh around 6.5 to 9.5 lbs (2.9 to 4.3 kgs) when they are fully grown.
Even though they are quite big, their all-around good nature makes them well suited for families with children as well as first-time rabbit owners.
They do require a bit more space, however, not only due to their size but also because of their high energy. The Harlequin rabbits usually live for around 5 to 8 years of age.
6. Rex Rabbit
This rabbit breed first originated from France in 1919 and began to spread around other parts of the world in 1925. The Rex rabbit breed is most well-known for its beautiful and luscious fur.
These rabbits are highly intelligent and easy to train. They are playful, calm, and have a whole lot of love to give, making them perfect family pets.
The Rex rabbit is a large rabbit breed that weighs between 7.5 and 10.5 lbs (3.4 and 4.7 kgs) when they reach adulthood.
These rabbits are best suited to outdoor living, but they can adapt well to indoor life provided they are giving space to run and exercise.
The Rex rabbits will generally live between 5 to 6 years, but even though they have a short life, they are sure to make you happy in the time that they have with you.
7. Havana Rabbit
The Havana Rabbit breed originated from Holland in the late 1800s but is only arrived in the United States in 1916. This rabbit breed is known for its sweet nature, as it is a highly affectionate and clam rabbit.
These rabbits will grow to weigh between 4.5 and 6.5 lbs (2 and 2.9 kgs), making these rabbits medium-sized. With the sweet nature of these rabbits, they are basically suited for everyone, first-time rabbit owners, children, seniors, everyone.
They do well with both indoor and outdoor living, but they are so sweet that they will work their way into your house in no time anyway, so you may so well just start with indoor living.
The life span of the Havana Rabbit is quite short, with them only living between 5 to 8 years, which any Havana owner will tell you is way too short for these sweet little guys.
8. Chinchilla Rabbit
The Chinchilla rabbits were bred for their fur that has the same luxuriously soft texture as Chinchillas, so When this rabbit first arrived in the United States in 1919, it’s not difficult to see why their popularity grew so fast.
Chinchilla rabbits are docile, calm, and very gentle creatures, but they do have a playful side to them as well. They are great with first-time rabbit owners and families with children as they are so gentle and easy-going.
The Chinchilla rabbit has three different ‘breeds’ in the same category. These include the Standard Chinchilla rabbit, the American Chinchilla rabbit, and the Giant Chinchilla rabbit. Each one varies in size, with the Giant Chinchilla being the largest.
These rabbits do also have varying life spans, but they mostly live between 7 to 10 years of age.
9. Polish Rabbit
Despite this rabbit’s name, they actually originated in England and are now known in the US under the name Britannia Petite. These little rabbits are extremely friendly and calm. They love human attention and will be stuck to your side if you let them.
The Polish rabbit is a dwarf rabbit as it only weighs 2.5 to 3.5 lbs (1 to 1.5 kg) when they are fully grown. Despite this rabbit breeds size, however, they still need a lot of space to run around and play as they have high energy levels.
These rabbits are good with everyone because of their friendly nature. They are best suited for indoor living; due to their size, they will not do well outdoors.
These little rabbits have a short life span of only 5 to 6 years, which is such a shame as they are adorable and well-mannered little creatures.
10. French Lop Rabbit
The French Lop rabbit first originated from France and was first bred around 1850, and only arrived in the United States of America in the early 1970s. These rabbits are very affectionate, playful, and well-behaved; they absolutely love their owners to bits.
The French Lop rabbit is a large-sized rabbit as they weigh between 10.9 and 11.5 lbs (4.9 and 5.2 kgs) when they reach adulthood. But these rabbits also come in a giant size too, and these can weigh between 9.9 and 14.9 lbs (4.5 and 6.8 kgs) as adults.
Due to the size of these rabbits, they are best suited for outdoor living, but they adore everyone, but they should be watched with children as they are large and sometimes do not realize it.
The French Lop rabbits do have a relatively short life span of only 5 to 7 years.
Conclusion
There are so many friendly rabbits out there, but the ones mentioned above absolutely love people, and they are all generally easy to care for. One of the pros of owning a rabbit is that many rabbit breeds are loveable and playful creatures with a good amount of energy that enjoy interacting with their humans.
If you are searching for a friendly rabbit for you or your family, you can’t go wrong with one of these selections.