What Breed of Rabbit Sheds the Least?

Disclosure: We may earn money or products from the companies mentioned in this post.

Let’s start with the bad news. All rabbit shed and I’m not personally convinced that any particular breed of rabbit sheds less than others.  However, other rabbit lovers will tell you that either Angora or Mini Rex Rabbit breeds shed less, and a few will even claim they don’t shed at all!

In my experience, the amount of shedding is tied to the lineage of your particular bunny, the nutrition you provide your pet, the weather fluctuations, and the stress your pet rabbit is enduring. 

If you want more details about how rabbits shed go to our article, “Do All Rabbits Shed”). ~Stacey

Do Angora Rabbits Shed Less?

A lot of bunny people believe that Angora Rabbits shed less than any other bred. Angora rabbits are an unusual bunny, in that they were bred to produce long and luxurious fur that was highly coveted not only as a wonderful pet but also as a source for high-end fur coats.  Ick.

That said, after generations of breeding Angora Rabbits for amazing fur, it makes sense that the quality of their fur would improve, including less fur loss (shedding or molting).

Honestly, our family has never had an Angora Rabbit, so I can’t speak from personal experience.  If you have an Angora as a furry friend, please let us know in the comments below if your experience supports the hypothesis that Angora Bunnys shed less.

If you’d like to learn more about Angora Rabbits, I’d encourage you to start with the National Angora Rabbit Breeders Club.

Do Mini Rex Bunnies Shed Less?

We love Mini Rex Bunny Rabbits. They are sweet, soft, and stunningly beautiful.  But do they shed less?

A lot of our rabbit loving friends will swear that Mini Rex Bunnies barely shed, but you have to keep in mind these good-hearted people love their pet bunny. From our personal experience with these rabbits, I have to say that I don’t believe they actually shed less, but their shedding hair is less of a mess than that of many of breeds.

A Mini Rex’s fur is smooth, tight, and short. They don’t tend to ‘blow off’ fur like some other breeds, so when they do shed they usually shed more evenly. Perhaps more importantly, their fur is shorter than many rabbit breeds, so even when they do shed it’s less noticeable and annoying.

If you’d like to learn more about Mini Rex Bunnies, you should start with the National Mini Rex Club.

The Things That Do Reduce Your Bunny Rabbits Shedding.

In the introduction to this article, I listed four things that impact the amount a rabbit sheds.  Let’s dig into this now.

#1 Your Bunny’s Linage. Rabbit breeders usually choose to breed certain rabbits to each other to strengthen a desirable characteristic shared by both parents. Some breeders consider ‘less shedding’ a desirable characteristic to be strengthened in the linage of their rabbitry. When looking for a pet bunny, just ask the breeder how much their bunnies shed.  Most will tell you that all rabbits shed, but one just might tell you that they breed for less shedding, and that breeders bunnies might deserve closer consideration.

#2 Your Rabbit’s Nutrition. Poor nutrition will certainly cause your bunny to shed more. Feed a balanced diet that includes a quality pellet, timothy hay, and some fresh vegetables. Many rabbit lovers believe that a high protein diet will cause a rabbit to shed more. I’ve never found any research to prove or disprove this theory, but it might be worth trying. Some pellets are higher in protein, and Alfalfa Hay is very high in protein, which is why Timothy Hay is the goto hay for your bunny. If you do try to a lower protein approach, be sure to come back here and let the rest of us know if you think it helped with shedding.

#3 Weather Fluctuations. I know that our bunnies shed more when the seasons are more extreme. If a cold winter is coming, I see it first in our bunnies as they blow off their summer coat and start piling on a heavy winter coat.  If a hot summer is coming, that winter fur goes away fast. Bunnies that are used to being inside in a constant climate tend to shed less.

#4 Reduce Stress. Stress definitely affects the amount of shedding. Do what you can to give your bunny space where they feel safe and secure. Like all animals and people, they are more comfortable and relaxed when they have a consistent routine so aim for standard routine for your bunny.

All of these things will help your bunny shed less, but you can also have a better shot at less shedding if you look for certain characteristics when choosing your bunny.

How to Choose A Pet Rabbit That Sheds Less?

If shedding is a major concern for you, it’s probably because you plan to have your bunny pal in your home and maybe even free-ranging withing your home.  To that end, I’d encourage you to look for baby bunnies with the following characteristics:

• Have bunny parents living in a similar situation. I assume other bunny lovers who enjoy their bunnies roaming free in their home have the same concerns about hair. Those rabbits offspring would likely have similar characteristics.
• Exhibit Tight & Straight Fur. In our experience, rabbits with tight and straight fur tend to shed less. When checking a potential bunny, start by carefully brushing against the fur and looking for the little spaces between the bases of the hair follicles (tight), and look at the base of those hairs. If the base of the hairs are curly, I personally believe that they are likely to shed more aggressively.
• Chill. It’s no secret that stress causes rabbits to shed much more. Much like us, rabbits react to stress differently.  Some rabbits are just naturally anxious, and others are just more chill. Giving the option, choose a chill bunny as an indoor pet, with hopes that the shedding will be less intrusive.
• Color Coordinate. Ok, this one’s a little tongue-in-cheek, but not entirely. If your bunny is going to be an indoor bunny with any time free-ranging in the house, pick a rabbit whose fur matches your carpet. Shedding is a lot less annoying when you don’t see every single black bunny hair on your white carpet.  That’s bunny wisdom right there…feel free to quote that. 😉

Conclusion

As you can see, I have some pretty serious doubts that some breeds of rabbit shed less than others. If you have different personal experiences, please tell everyone about them in the comments below.  Us rabbit lovers need to stick together and learn from each other!