The American Rabbit Breeders Association recognizes 47 pure breeds for showing purposes. The homesteader will generally have little purpose for most of them. Generally, most of these modern breeds were designed for the modern person: they are small and slightly ostentatious. For the homesteader there are 3 general categories of interest: meat production, fur/skin production, and wool production. There is another aspect of rabbits, pet production, though for most homesteaders this will be a rare and generally unnecessary aspect. If you can sell a few extra youngsters as pets, great! But don't expect much of a market for the breeds that work best on a homestead. Many breeds can/will give you multiple purposes.
For instance, you can eat any rabbit of any breed you raise, however certain breeds and breed combinations will give you the best tasting/quantity of meat for the lowest expense. The 2 best known for meat production are the New Zealand (known best for it's maternal abilities) and the Californian (known for it's terminal abilities). The cross of these breeds is often known as a Smut. These 3 breeds will yield the highest meat quantity, at the youngest age, utilizing the least feed, with the best meat to bone ratio of any other breed in existence. Don't be fooled, bigger is not always better. The most common temptation is to find the largest breed, the Flemish Giant, and cross into the meat herd. Resist the urge, Flemish are one of the slowest growing breeds with some of the worst meat to bone ratios of any other breed (they have very large and heavy bones)! If you don't mind holding the growers to an older age (increasing the 'texture' of the meat), you could also utilize these rabbits for their furs.
Some of the more common breeds raised mainly for their furs are the Havana, a medium breed with a luxurious smooth coat, and the Rex, a larger breed with an extremely plush coat. Rabbits raised primarily for their furs generally need to be kept until around 10 months of age, when the fur would be "prime" and full. Compared to meat rabbits raised to around 2-4 months, this can feel like an eternity! However, on a younger rabbit the skin would be too fragile and thin to work. Conversely, rabbits kept for their furs until an older age will not have meat as tender as that of the younger animals. It is truly a paradox! You can certainly keep the skins of younger animals, though they will be much more fragile, but you will have tender meat. You can certainly eat the meat of the older fur animals, but it will likely be 'tougher'.
The last aspect for a homesteader to consider would be to choose a breed for wool production. The best part about raising rabbits for this is that the rabbit need not be killed to harvest the wool. In truth, many of them seem to truly relish the attention lavished on them! These rabbits do require a certain level of care that the other breeds do not, especially if you wish to harvest the maximum quantity of usable fiber from them. The only breeds that can really be used for this purpose are the Angoras: Giant, Satin, French, German, and English. Honestly choosing your Angora breed will come to a personal decision, as they all have the potential to give you beautiful fiber. The Giant will yield the greatest amount, though these rabbits tend to be the most expensive and difficult to locate. The Satin will yield a beautiful wool that has a shine to it, unique to that breed. The English is the smallest of the Angoras, though it also tends to have some of the finest wool. They are characterized by their general similarity to a "cotton ball". I'll go into raising rabbits specifically for wool at a later time.
Of course there are several other breeds one could consider. Rare heritage breeds such as the American or Beveren. Marked breeds such as the Rhinelander, Dutch, or English Spot. Giant breeds such as the Giant Chinchilla, moderate breeds such as the Lilac, or small breeds such as the Netherland Dwarf. Exotic breeds like the Britannia Petite or Himalayan, new breeds such as the Thrianta, and fluffy breeds such as the Jersey Wooly.
Take care to choose the breed for your homestead carefully so as to maximize your benefits.
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