Gray Rabbit Breeds

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Rabbits come in a variety of colors. Some appear in every imaginable hue of solid colors, while others have breed-specific coats. Some even come in several color combinations.

Gray rabbits are pretty common, so there is a possibility you might have come across one or two. But if you haven’t, do not worry. This article will give an overview of 7 gray rabbit breeds.

Table of Contents

Flemish Giant

Flemish Giants are an old domesticated rabbit breed that originated in Belgium.

Although they are domesticated, Flemish Giants retain certain habits from the wild. They have good eyesight and excellent hearing, which help them detect threats.

Flemish Giants have long, powerful bodies, nicely rounded rumps, large heads, erect ears, and evenly colored coats. Their thick glossy fur comes in an array of colors including, steel gray, light gray, white, blue, sandy, black, and fawn.

Flemish Giants are large-sized. They weigh an average of 15 pounds and a length of around 2.5 feet.

The heads of male Flemish Giants are typically wider than those of the does. The females have a large fold skin under their chin called a dewlap. They use it to warm their offspring.

Flemish Giant are prized for their fur and meat. However, they are bred primarily as pets due to their gentle and docile personality. Flemish Giants are also raised for show.

Dutch Rabbit

The Dutch rabbit is one of the most popular and oldest rabbit breeds in the world. It is also known as Hollander or Brabander.

Dutch rabbits are intelligent animals with docile and gentle dispositions. They have soft fur and are easily identified by their unique color patterns.

Dutch rabbits appear in an array of colors including, gray, white, tortoise, blue, steel, chinchilla, white, chocolate, yellow, and black. The gray variety has an agouti-colored coat with dark brown eyes.

Dutch rabbits have compact and well-rounded bodies. Their ears are short, their heads are round, and their front legs are shorter than their powerful hind legs.

Although the Dutch rabbit is small-sized, it is not a dwarf breed. On average, members of this breed weigh 4 to 5.5 pounds.

Dutch rabbits are popular show animals and are one of the top ten rabbit breeds in the world. They also make excellent pets since they are easy to train.

The average lifespan of a Dutch rabbit is around 5 to 10 years.

Rex Rabbit

The Rex rabbit is indigenous to France. It is known for its good nature and calm temperament.

Rex rabbits have smooth, dense coats with a plush, firm texture. They appear in an array of colors including, chinchilla, gray, white, amber, black, seal, chocolate, otter, blue, lilac, broken, castor, sable, opal, red, and lynx.

Rex rabbits have round bodies with short and soft hair measuring around 0.5 inches. They have upright ears, broad heads, and small feet. Their whiskers are curly, and their legs are powerful.

Rex rabbits are medium-sized, weighing an average of 7.5 to 10.5 pounds. Does can sometimes weigh as much as 10.5 pounds.

Rex rabbits are raised primarily as pets or for show. They can also be bred for meat production and for fur.

The Standard Rex and American Chinchilla rabbit are the most common breeds for producing fur.

Rex rabbits are intelligent animals with good maternal instincts. As a result, they are often used as foster mothers to other rabbits. Rex rabbits have an average lifespan of 5-6 years if you care for them properly.

French Lop

The French Lop is an old domestic rabbit breed developed in France. It came from the selective crossing of the Flemish Giant Rabbit and the English Lop.

French Lops are social, good-natured, and calm. They have soft, dense coats, which are either solid-colored or patterned. They appear in an array of colors including chinchilla, agouti, fawn, and black.

Although the French Lop shares some similarities with the Flemish Giant rabbit, it weighs more and has a shorter body.

French Lops have lopped ears, measuring around 5-8 inches long and hanging just below the jaw. They have straight, short front legs with their hind legs parallel to their bodies.

French Lops are large-sized; they have an average body weight of 8.8-12.1 pounds.

While French Lops were originally developed for meat production, they are also suitable for commercial rabbit farming. You may also keep them as show animals or pets.

French Lop rabbits have an average lifespan of 5-7 years.

American Chinchilla

The American Chinchilla is a renowned American breed developed in the early 1920s from the Standard Chinchilla breed. It is gentle, docile, good-natured, and hardy.

American Chinchillas have a dense, soft, silky coat with medium hair length. They are usually agouti-colored with different color bands along the length of their hair. The hair close to the skin is dark slate blue, the middle is pearl, and the tips are gray.

American Chinchillas have erect ears, short necks, and broad heads. Their eye circles, bellies, flanks, and necks have pearl ticking.

American Chinchillas are large-sized, with an average body weight of 9.9-11 pounds. They grow pretty fast and reach market weight in a short time. On average, American Chinchillas live for 6 to 8 years.

American Chinchilla rabbits are raised mainly for meat and fur production. But they are also suitable for commercial rabbit farming.

Jersey Wooly

The Jersey Wooly is a domestic rabbit breed from New Jersey. It was developed by crossing the French Angora rabbit and the Netherland Dwarf rabbit.

Jersey Woolies are known for being gentle and docile. They come in various patterns and colors including gray, agouti, chestnut, black, Siamese sable, chocolate, blue, white, black otter, smoke pearl, and blue tort.

Jersey Woolies are small-sized, weighing an average of 2 to 3.3 pounds. They have an average life span of 7-10 years or more and are quiet, calm, and easy to care for.

Jersey Woolies are raised mainly as show animals. But they also make excellent pets.

Lilac

Lilac rabbits are one of the few breeds named after their color. They have unique fur, which appears differently under natural and artificial light.

In natural light, Lilac rabbits usually appear lavender or light purple. Contrarily, in a lit room, they look light gray. They never display more than one color with their gray-lilac fur.

Lilac rabbits are hardy, friendly, and gentle. They have pale blue-gray eyes with white underfeet. Their legs are short and straight, their haunches are broad, and their heads are short.

Lilac rabbits have broad, erect ears, measuring around 3.5 to 4 inches long. On average, they weigh 5.5 to 7.9 pounds.

Adult Lilac rabbits show some sexual dimorphism. You can tell the bucks from the does with their wider, furrier heads. Then the does have a pronounced dewlap and are larger than bucks.

In Europe, Lilac rabbits are bred mainly for fur and meat production. In some other countries, they are kept as show animals and pets. And although they are larger than most pet rabbit breeds, they are easy to care for.

Lilac rabbits have an average lifespan of 9-12 years. However, how long they live depends on their diet and the type of care they receive.