11/15/2012
All domestic rabbits fall into one of these five "body styles." The lists of breeds below are not necessarily complete, but they will give you an idea of what the different types look like, so you can recognize it when you see it.
For a complete list of all rabbit breeds recognized in the United States, click here.
1) Fully Arched
A fully arched rabbit appears perky and ready to bolt. It stands at alert and on its toes, and you can see daylight under its tummy. Compare the fully arched rabbit to, say, a correctly posed commercial rabbit, and you’ll know immediately what I mean.
•Belgian Hare
•Britannia Petite
•Checkered Giant
•English Spot
•Rhinelander
•Tan (pictured)
2) Semi-Arched Types of Rabbits
There’s something fluid, poetic, even “musical” about the mandolin-shaped curve along the back of a semi-arched rabbit. Their head and shoulders hug the posing table, and then their loin rises gracefully to a peak at the hindquarters before the top line falls to the tail.
•American
•Beveren
•English Lop (pictured)
•Flemish Giant
•Giant Chinchilla
3) Compact Types of Rabbits
Compact rabbits are small, yes, but plenty of medium-sized rabbits fall into this type of rabbit. They are tightly constructed and give a sense of roundness. Some are described as cobby (round with very small neck). Some look like pint-sized commercial rabbits, mini satins and mini rexes, to name a couple.
•American Fuzzy Lop (pictured)
•English Angora
•Standard Chinchilla
•Dwarf Hotot
•Dutch
•Florida White
•Havana
•Holland Lop
•Jersey Wooly
•Lilac
•Mini Lop
•Mini Rex
•Mini Satin (pictured)
•Netherland Dwarf
•Polish
•Silver
4) Commercial Type
This type represents the rabbits that are good choices for meat production. Today, most research into rabbits for meat production has probably occurred in the New Zealand breed of rabbit. An ideal meat rabbit gains weight rapidly and quickly, resulting in the ability to harvest at 8 weeks of age. If you’re seriously searching for a meat rabbit breed, New Zealand rabbits might be your best bet, however you’re definitely not limited to New Zealands.
Many other breeds are raised to have a body type that exemplifies the commercial type, meaning well-muscled throughout. French Lops and Rex’s, for example, weren’t necessarily bred for meat, however the breeders specified bodies that would be ‘meaty,’ resulting in rabbits with dual purposes.
•Angoras: French, Giant and Satin
•Champagne D’Argent
•Californian
•Cinnamon
•American Chinchilla
•Crème D’Argent
•French Lop (pictured)
•Harlequin
•Hotot
•New Zealand
•Palomino (pictured)
•Rex
•American Sable
•Satin
•Silver Fox
•Silver Marten
5) Cylindrical
As far as I know, there is only one breed, the Himalayan, that falls into this type of rabbit. It is round, long and slinky, some even say snake-like, with no obvious rise to the hindquarters. Its coloration is white, with dark points, like a Siamese cat.
