7 Popular Giant Rabbit Breeds To Raise As Pets

Rabbits are cute, cuddly and make excellent pets, especially giant rabbit breeds. These over-sized balls of fur come in a wide range of sizes (up to 22 pounds!), colors, and temperaments. Rabbits can be kept indoor or outdoors and make loving pets for young and old alike.

If you think bigger is better and are looking for a new pet, consider some of these giant rabbit breeds to raise as pets. They are as easy to care for as a dog or cat, and these large breeds enjoy your companionship and don’t have burrowing tendencies. Here are the 7 most popular giant rabbit breeds that are easy to raise as pets.

1- Flemish Giant Rabbit

Originating in the Flemish region, these gentle giants are known as the King of Rabbits because they are the largest member of the giant rabbit breed.

A normal adult Flemish Giant will weigh in at around 14 pounds, but they often grow much heavier and can reach an adult weight of 22 pounds (that’s the size of a medium dog). Females (does) will weigh more than males (bucks) when full grown.

Flemish Giants have a docile and gentle nature if they are socialized from a young age. Coat colors range from white to sandy, to light gray or steel gray, blue, and black.

A Flemish giant bunny will need a giant place to live. A standard cage will not be large enough to house the big bunny and many owners dedicate an entire indoor room to them and provide them with a dog lot to play in outdoors. You may also be interested in pet rabbit breeds.

2- Giant Angora

The long white fur and pink eyes of the Giant Angora rabbit are show-stoppers. This giant bunny originated in Turkey and were kept by French Royalty in the 1700‘s so the rabbits could be shaved and their fur woven into soft angora wool.

This floppy-ear big bunny has a calm and easy going personality and make excellent pets. Grooming will be needed to keep their long fur soft and tangle-free. Males will weigh around 9 pound at adulthood and females will weigh in at around 10 pounds.

This giant rabbit breed is happy indoors or outdoors, but those housed outside must be provided protection from drafts, extreme weather and predators.

3- Giant Chinchilla Rabbit

A soft, gentle giant that is one of the biggest rabbit varieties recommended as pets for senior citizens and young children. Their calm, gentle nature make them ideal house pets and their easy-care fur requires very little maintenance.

These big bunnies love to lounge around the house and keep a watchful eye on their human family.

Giant chinchilla rabbits originated in the Untied States around 1920 and will weight between 12-15 pounds when grown. These large rabbit breeds have a blue-gray fur coat, with a white under belly and black tail. Eye colors can be brown, blue-grey or marbled. They have a life expectancy of around 10 years.

4- Checkered Giant Rabbit Breed

Also known as Giant Papillons, this giant rabbit breed has a long body and long legs. Adult males will weigh in at 11 pound, adult females around 12 pounds. The origin of this large rabbit breed is unknown, but many experts agree that it’s a cross between a Flemish Giant and some other breed. The color pattern of the Checkered Giant is unique – it has a white coat and black or blue markings that form circles around the eyes, a butterfly on the nose, a strip of dark fur down the spine and various markings on the face and body.

Checkered Giants have a tendency to be nervous and may bite, but each rabbit has it’s own unique temperament.

Giant French Lop

The name tells us where this big bunny originated from – France. This giant breed was created by  breeding a English Lop and a butterfly rabbit.

Their soft, dense fur comes in a variety of colors and these rabbits are have short legs and a heavy frame. Adults will weigh between 12-15 pounds and have ears that ‘lop down on each side of the head.

Arguably the most intelligent of all giant rabbit breeds, French Lop bunnies make good companions and are very tolerant of children. This is a social breed and does best when paired with another rabbit. You may also be interested in meat rabbit breeds.

Continental Giant Rabbit

The continental giant bunny, another intelligent breed that is friendly playful and easy to train. These large bunnies can be trained to use a litter box and will respond to their names. Said to be the oldest rabbit breed, these big bunnies originated in Belgium in the 16th century and made their way to the United States in the 19th century.

Continental giant rabbit breeds have long muscular bodies and broad hind quarters. The breed includes two varieties – White Continental or Colored Continental. Both varieties in any color will have a dense, shiny fur coat that will need regular grooming.

Continentals can reach an adult weight of 35 pounds and have a life expectancy of 4-7 years. You may also be interested in rabbit hutch plans.

British Giant Rabbit

This big bunny is native to the United kingdom and is rarely seen anywhere else. It will reach an adult weight of between 12-15 pounds and will have a life span of around 6 years.

British Giant rabbit breed have a sweet personality and are very friendly and social animals. These make great pets for children and seniors citizen, as long as they are given plenty of space to move around. An outdoor enclosed space or inside room is ideal for these giant rabbit breeds so they will have ample room to hop about and stretch out.

They can live their entire life indoors because of their calm, easy going nature. British Giants are hardy and have few health problems, however they are prone to become obese which will make moving and self-grooming difficult for them.

Their coat colors include steel grey, opal, sable, white, blue, and black. Their medium length fur is soft, dense and will need regular grooming. You may also be interested in tips on raising rabbits.