Overview
The Havana is the rabbit fancy's quiet masterpiece: a small Dutch breed in a coat the colour and lustre of dark chocolate mink, named — for the cigar, not the city — when it appeared in the Netherlands in 1898. What keeps it beloved a century later is the temperament that came with the coat: the Havana is consistently rated among the calmest, gentlest, most affectionate of all rabbit breeds, a genuine lap-companion by rabbit standards, in a practical size with a nearly maintenance-free coat.
Temperament & personality
Gentle is the whole review. Havanas are calm, affectionate, and notably even-tempered — the breed owners describe as the one that comes to the pen door, settles beside you, and stays. They are playful in a measured way, rarely as skittish or sharp as the dwarf breeds, and they bond deeply with patient people. For keepers who want the rabbit relationship without the rabbit drama, the Havana is the fancy's own answer.
Appearance
A small-to-medium rabbit upholstered in mink: a short, dense, exceptionally glossy coat in a deep chocolate brown so rich the breed is named for the cigar city — modern colours add black, blue, lilac, and broken (patched) animals, all with the same satin sheen. The body is compact and well-rounded with a slightly arched back, the head neat, the ears upright and about 4 inches. Ruby-eyed lustre in the coat under light is a breed hallmark: Havanas shine.
Care & daily life
The Havana is one of the easiest coats in the fancy: unlimited grass hay (the diet's foundation), a measured portion of pellets, daily leafy greens, and water; housing a large pen or free-roam space with daily exercise; and a weekly soft brush or a stroke with a damp hand to bring up the shine — that is nearly the whole grooming department. They litter-train well and make tidy house rabbits. Spay/neuter for the usual reasons: temperament, litter habits, and (for does) removing the uterine cancer risk. Handle gently at floor level, supporting the hindquarters.
Health & lifespan
The Havana is generally known for the following health watch-points:
- Dental disease and molar spurs, as in all domestic rabbits — unlimited hay is the prevention
- GI stasis — a rabbit that stops eating needs a vet the same day
- Uterine cancer in unspayed does
- Respiratory infections ('snuffles') across domestic rabbits
- Flystrike in warm months for outdoor-kept rabbits
Living with a Havana
Havanas suit first-time rabbit keepers, gentle families, and anyone wanting a small, sweet, low-grooming house rabbit — they are close to the complete pet-rabbit package. Expect 7–10 years of daily hay, space, and company; like all rabbits they thrive with a bonded neutered partner when the house is empty by day. Their only real demand is the universal rabbit one: time, hay, and gentleness.
History
The Havana appeared in the Netherlands in 1898, in the litter of a Dutch doe crossed with an unknown buck, kept by a farmer named Ingen Housz near Utrecht; the saturated chocolate colour — likened at once to a Havana cigar — was new to the rabbit world. Dutch and then German breeders fixed the type, and the breed reached England and America in the early 1900s, where it became a foundation for other chocolate and lilac colour lines across many breeds. The original chocolate remains the emblem; black, blue, lilac, and broken varieties followed under the ARBA standard.