You will only get out of a rabbit for friendliness wqhat you put into it. I have had over 10 years experience with breeding abd rescuing rabbits formally and now (due to allergies) I can only manage to have one pet rabbit. But I have been invovled in rabbit and cavy rasing, showing, etc since I was a child and in 4-H then for another eight years in an adult rabbit club. I have a total of over 20 years in the rabbit and cavy world. The best way to have a sweet pet that loves to be with you is to make it a house pet. Rabbits in the back yards are often socially neglected. The vast majority of rescues with temperament issues I took in were outdoor rabbits with over all very little contact as compared to the ones that came from homes where they were house pets. Many of the medium to larger breeds of rabbits bred for commercial use are a bit more laid back. But again, if not handled enough or if they are from parents with questionable temperaments, then they can be unfriendly. The Angora breeds are bred for calmness over all. Why? Because of the handling and constant grooming they require (a good brushing a day and then plucking down of the wool as it grows out), a fiesty Angora is tough. However, the Jersey Woolies and American Fuzzy Lops tend to be fiestier than the English, French, Satin and Giant Angoras. But again, with the general laid back nature of the breeds comes MAJOR grooming responsibilities and other health concerns caused by the wool that most people getting the breeds as pets because they are cute are unable to manage (I concentrated as an adult on Eng Angoras and Fuzzy Lops.) Your best bet is to keep the rabbit indoors as a pet and take it outside to a secure pen to socialize with you. There are MANY rabbits in rescue that needs homes and a good rescue will do a lot of work to ensure that the temperament matched what the owner needs. Rabbits are the third most common species given up to shelters in the USA. I remember at one time having 20 rabbits and only about six were ones that I had bred and was showing or using for wool. The rest were rescues I took in to help our local Animal Control Officer who had limited resources for rabbit care.

I agree with the previous poster. The friendliness of the rabbit depends on how much you interact with it (and the parents). As a kid, I had 4 rabbits that lived outside in hutches. They did not get enough attention and therefore were not very tame, and it wasn’t a very rewarding situation for either the rabbits or us. I regret that we weren’t better educated about rabbits back then. We later got another rabbit, which we kept infoors. This rabbit, Simon, was far happier and friendlier, and had a big playful personality that included snack thievery, games of hide and seek, and chasing the family dog. We loved his antics. About four months ago, I went to my local humane society with the intention of getting a cat, but came across the rabbit row. I remembered what a great pet Simon was, and chose a small bunny which had been waiting for a new home for a couple months. I absolutely adore this rabbit. The first thing I do when I come home from work is let her out of her indoor pen. She’s littertrained, very clean, and a fantastic companion. Her favorite pasttimes are watching tv with me, jumping on and off furniture, and being petted. She spends a great deal of time just sitting contentedly next to me while I work on the laptop. I could go on and on about how great she is but I’ll stop there with this warning: this wonderful, intelligent rabbit would be MISERABLE outside. She wants to be around people, just like any companion animal. I will never keep a rabbit outside again. I encourage you to read The House Rabbit Handbook for more information, and to check out your local humane society or local House Rabbit Society chapter (www.rabbit.org) for adoptable rabbits. I am soooo glad that I came across my rabbit at the local shelter. I can’t imagine not having her in my life.

Rabbits getting socially neglected happens and just think sitting in a cage all day bored alone and sometimes the cage is too small and sometimes the rabbit has no toys or ramps to play on and sometimes the rabbit has no rabbits to play with. My rabbits live in a heated big shed in the winter with tons of toys and ramps and rabbits and in the summer they go out and have toys and ramps and rabbits and they are happy I spend time with them and feed them by hand sometimes and in the summer I collect as much green non poisonous plants and hide them all around their pen in the winter I try to get fruits vegetables and bread. ;D

I’ve had three rabbits and all were just regular dwarf bunnies. I think their great because they’re low-maintenance and more energetic than the larger breeds. As everyone has been saying, it’s all in how much love you give the rabbit. Of the three I’ve had, one was a rescue that spent her whole life in an outside cage. This rabbit had some social issues due to neglect. I tried very hard to change this rabbit but it was impossible. She only lived about 2 or 3 years. I think inside bunnies have a much longer lifespan because of the quality of life and attention. My current rabbit is almost 10 years old and in perfect health. I strongly believe that the amount of love you give them not only affects their personality, but their health as well.