I am a very novice breeder of dwarf lops and have had three litters, two successful, one not so successful. The first litter there were 3 babies all the same as the father, and the second litter there were 8 babies one like the father and two like the mother.
The reason that I chose the dwarf lop is because they are a fancy breed and there was a well recognised breeder near our home, I liked their little ears also. I got two rabbits one black, and one black and white butterfly. The Black one, Tina, died in March but was 5 and a half. Jess had his sixth birthday at the end om may and is still going strong. When Tina died Jess was pining a great deal, so he got a new companion a black otter doe by the name of Tarka who was unwanted by her owner. They have since settled in well and this is partly because of a gradual introduction first only on mutual ground and then in the bucks run.
Choosing a rabbit
Where from?
Rabbits are readily available from Pet Shops, Breeders or Farms. Your best bet is the rabbit breeder as they will know their stuff. I bought mine from a rabbit breeder and had excellent aftercare. Always make sure if you are buying a new rabbit for company that you can take the rabbit back if it fails to settle in. The problem with pet shops is that the rabbits can be very timid as they will have been in poor conditionds and never really run around.
Buck or Doe?
You should buy your rabbit between 12 to 16 weeks old as they can be identified by Sex and are less likely to fall ill as they are well developed. Bucks are more easily trained and are cheaper to neuter, Does can be aggresive and will often thump their back feet if they feel threatended.
What breed?
New Zealand
These come in red, white and black. Strangely anough this is an american breed and the red is the oldest. They sholud weigh about 3.5 kg or 8 pounds.
Rex
This is a french rabbit and is extremely popular and comes in all colours and more recently the otter variety. The modern british rex rabbit is very hardy and free from most deformities. The rex is especially famous for the density and silkiness of the coat and is much sought after by american breeders.
Dutch
This is the most popular rabbit and is well recognised by its saddle and traingular marking below the nose. It comes in a large variety of colours including blue and smoke, the dutch should wigh about 5lb.
English
This is a very old variety and is popular with a distinct spotted fur coat. They are usually white with the spots in either black, blue, chocolate or yellow, with the black and white variety the most common however I prefer the white and yellow as it is less pronounced.
Flemish Giant
This is an extremely large rabbit and should weigh more than 11 lb. This is the oldest rabbit breed and comes in two types the british, which is smalln ster and comes only in steel grey, and the european which is larger and can reach a whopping 20 lb. The flemish requires a very large outdoor run.
Lop
English - It is one of the oldest fancy rabbits and has very long trailing ears that reach the ground. It comes in a variety of colours including fawn, sooty fawn and white. It is an extremely friendly breed and a good beginners rabbit.
French - This is a very large rabbit which is strong and thickset. It is the result of crossing the english lop with the flemish giant, to make an extremely large lop. It's ears make a horseshoe shape and also resmebles a small sheep.
Dwarf - This is an exact miniature of the large french lop they come in a variety of patterns inlcuding broken and butterfly.
Netherland Dwarf
This is a very small rabbit and is available in dwarf and normal. It is the showman of the fancy breeds. This breed is very good for beginners as it doesn't require much hutch space and are ecpnpmical to feed.
Angora
These rabbits are bred for wool and are in a class of its own. It is a very old breed and should resemble a snow ball. It is a short rabbit with broad shoulders and a powerful rump. The french variety has heavier wool but is not as fine in texture. This is not a good beginners rabbti as it requires a great deal of grooming.
Lionhead
A truly exceptional breed getting its name from it mane of fur around the neck. The most common and the most favoured in show is the golden as it bears most resembleance to the lion, this is the most similar breed to the angora and still requires a great deal of brushing.
The best beginners rabbit is the rex, followed by the netherland dwarf.
My best rabbit would be the dwarf lop as they have brilliant temperaments.
The main thing that you need to take in to accoutn apart from personal preference is the size of the run that the rabbit will have. If you only have a small amount of space you shouldn't get a flemish giant and should be more partial to choosing the dwarf lop or the netherland dwarf.
You should also consider that the rabbit will need looking after all the time and requires a varied diet. If you don't think that you will be able to get someone to look after your rabbit then don't get one. They will also require greens and this is easy to rectify if they don't have grass go to your nearest fruit and veg shop they will have plenty of greens available.
I hope that this has helped and if you have any questions send me a message about any of the breeds.