Small Pets Pet Rabbits

An Overview of Rabbit Fur Colors and Patterns

By
Lianne McLeod, DVM
Lianne McLeod DVM, small animal expert for The Spruce Pets
Lianne McLeod, DVM
Lianne McLeod, DVM, is a small animal and exotic pet expert with over a decade of experience writing about veterinary care. After caring for animals in her veterinarian practice, Lianne went on to study biology and research water quality and chronic disease at the University of Saskatchewan.
Learn more about The Spruce Pets' Editorial Process
Updated on 02/04/22
Reviewed by
Natasha Diehl
Natasha Diehl
Reviewed by Natasha Diehl
Dr. Diehl is a passionate veterinarian pursuing specialty medicine with over 6 years' experience with exotic pets. She now works with a team of other experienced vets to provide the best advice and care for their clients' pets.
Learn more about The Spruce Pets' Veterinary Review Board
Rabbits of different colors lined up

John Dominis / Getty Images

The number of coat colors that pet rabbits can come in is long and sometimes confusing. The following list covers the basic color descriptions or color groups found in pet rabbits. Not all breeds of pet rabbits can come in all of these colors or patterns.

Colors and Patterns

  • 01 of 28

    Agouti Fur Types

    A rabbit with agouti fur

    Mary Swift / Getty Images

    • Agouti: Bands of color occur on each hair in rabbits with agouti fur. The colors of these bands vary depending on the type of agouti coloration.​
    • Brown-gray agouti: The individual hairs of this color of rabbit are blue at the base (closest to the skin) then medium tan, charcoal, and finally tan at the tip.
  • 02 of 28

    Black Fur Types

    Black rabbit

    Yun Han Xu / EyeEm / Getty Images

    • Black otter: This pattern includes a black body with a lighter underside, hair may be orange tinted at the border of the black and lighter color.
    • Black: Dark black.
  • 03 of 28

    Blue Fur Types

    Slate blue fur rabbit

    robert reader / Getty Images

    • Blue: Medium or slate blue.
    • Blue otter: Blue coat with fawn tipped guard hairs and fawn areas.
    • Blue steel: Blue with silver or tan "ticking."
    • Blue tortoiseshell: Blue and beige.
  • 04 of 28

    Broken Pattern

    Rabbit with broken colored fur

    Danielle Kiemel / Getty Images

    • Broken: This pattern can include rabbits that have white fur with any color patches or spots, with nose markings, colored ears, and/or eye circles.
    Continue to 5 of 28 below
  • 05 of 28

    Californian Fur

    Californian color rabbit

    strike0 / Getty Images

    • Californian: White body with black on nose, ears, tail, and feet.
  • 06 of 28

    Castor Fur

    Castor rex rabbit fur coloring

    GlobalP / Getty Images

    • Castor: This is a pattern that has brown fur over top, a slate blue undercoat, with orange or red in between.
  • 07 of 28

    Chinchilla Fur

    Rabbit with chinchilla fur coloring

    coramueller / Getty Images

    • Chinchilla: Slate or black blended with pearl and black tipped guard hairs.
  • 08 of 28

    Cinnamon Fur

    Cinnamon rabbit fur coloring

    Eric Wright / FOAP / Getty Images

    • Cinnamon: Rust or reddish-brown color.
    Continue to 9 of 28 below
  • 09 of 28

    Chocolate Fur Types

    Rabbit with chocolate brown fur coloring

    Robin Deimel / Getty Images

    • Chocolate: Deep dark brown color.
    • Chocolate agouti: Bands of tan and chocolate with a chestnut tip.
    • Chocolate chinchilla: Chocolate and pearl with chocolate tipped guard hairs.
    • Chocolate steel: Chocolate with tan or silver ticking.
    • Chocolate tortoiseshell: Creamy chocolate with fawn.
  • 10 of 28

    Cream Fur

    Cream colored rabbit

    Pablo Martinez / Unsplash

    • Cream: Pinkish beige to almond color.
  • 11 of 28

    Fawn Fur

    Rabbit with fawn fur coloring

    rattanpat / Getty Images

    • Fawn: Straw color.
  • 12 of 28

    Frosted Pearl Fur

    Frosted pearl rabbit coloring with shading

    Oier Aso Poza / Getty Images

    • Frosted pearl: Pearl with black, blue, chocolate, or lilac shading.
    Continue to 13 of 28 below
  • 13 of 28

    Gray Fur Types

    Rabbit with gray fur coloring

    coramueller / Getty Images

    • Gray: Three different colors of hair: black, black with tan tip, black with a tan band, and slate undercolor.
    • Light gray: Agouti with slate blue at the base of the hair, off-white in the middle, and light gray at the tip with black tipped guard hairs.
  • 14 of 28

    Lilac Fur Types

    Holland lop rabbit with lilac colored fur

    AEKKARAT DOUNGMANEERATTANA / Getty Images

    • Lilac: Pinkish pale gray.
    • Lilac chinchilla: Lilac and pearl ticked with lilac tipped guard hairs.
    • Lilac steel: Lilac with tan or silver ticking.
    • Lilac tortoiseshell: Lilac and beige.
  • 15 of 28

    Opal Fur

    Rabbit with opal fur coloring

    Stan Steenkamp / EyeEm / Getty Images

    • Opal agouti: Slate blue at the base of hair then gold then a blue tip.
  • 16 of 28

    Orange Fur

    Baby rabbit with orange fur

    Martin Ruegner / Getty Images

    • Orange: Light to bright orange color.
    Continue to 17 of 28 below
  • 17 of 28

    Pearl Fur

    Rabbit with pearl fur coloring

    Astakhova / Getty Images

    • Pearl: Light creamy gray color.
  • 18 of 28

    Pointed White Fur

    Pointed white rabbit fur coloring

    Misha Walker / Unsplash

    • Pointed white: White with a black, blue, chocolate, or lilac colored nose, ears, feet, and tail (like a classic Himalayan cat coloring).
  • 19 of 28

    Red Fur

    Rabbit with red fur

    SaskiaFire / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 3.0

    • Red: Rich brown red color.
  • 20 of 28

    Sable Fur Types

    Rabbit with sable colored fur

    Tjflex2 / Flickr / CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

    • Sable: Dark grayish brown color.
    • Sable marten: Siamese sable coloring with silver-tipped guard hairs.
    • Sable point: Cream body and sable on the nose, ears, feet, and tail.
    • Seal: Dark (almost black) sable color.
    Continue to 21 of 28 below
  • 21 of 28

    Sandy Fur

    Rabbit with fawn fur coloring

    krithnarong / Getty Images

    • Sandy: Reddish tan color.
  • 22 of 28

    Self-Group Fur

    Ruby-eyed white rabbit

    Sergio Arze / Unsplash

    • Self-group: Solid color in black, blue, lilac, blue-eyed white, and ruby-eyed white.
  • 23 of 28

    Shaded Group Fur

    Rabbit with shaded fur

    David-Prado / Getty Images

    • Shaded group: Color transitions from dark to light (e.g. frosted pearl, sable, sable point, siamese sable, seal, tortoise).
  • 24 of 28

    Silver Fur Types

    Portrait of a silver rabbit

    mstudeny / Getty Images

    • Silver or silver fox: Silver with white or white tipped hairs.
    • Silver Marten: Black, blue, chocolate, or lilac color with silver-white markings and silver-tipped guard hairs.
    Continue to 25 of 28 below
  • 25 of 28

    Tan Pattern

    Black rabbit with tan pattern fur

    Carmen Romero / Getty Images

    • Tan Pattern: Marks (not necessarily tan) on the nostrils, eye circles, jowls, inside ears, belly, inside leg, and underside of tail. Groups included marten and otter colorations.
  • 26 of 28

    Ticking Fur

    Rabbit with brown fur and white ticking throughout

    AppleZoomZoom / Getty Images

    • Ticking: Solid or tipped guard hairs different than the main coat color interspersed throughout the coat.
  • 27 of 28

    Tortoise Fur Types

    Tortoiseshell bunny rabbit fur example

    Jannes Pockele / Flickr / CC BY 2.0

    • Tortoise: Orange with black, blue, chocolate, or lilac.
    • Tortoiseshell: Orange or dark fawn and black.
  • 28 of 28

    Tri-colored Fur

    Tricolor rabbit coloring

    DepthofField / Getty Images

    • Tri-colored: White with either black and orange, lavender blue and fawn, chocolate and orange, or gray and fawn colors.