Rabbit Breeds

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Rabbit Breeds
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Angoras

• Ancient Breed dating back to 18th century
• Originated in Turkey
• Raised for wool producing qualities
• Four recognized breeds of Angora in America
• French
• English
• Giant
• Satin
• Recognized in almost all varieties, except for
  the Giant which is only recognized in REW

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Angora 2

• English are Distinguished by their silkier wool
  and heavy head furnishing, it is the smallest of
  the true Angora weighing around 5 to 7 ½ lbs.
• French are a larger commercial type rabbit with a
  slightly coarser wool that gives the wool easier
  care properties, and senior weight of 7 ½ to 10 ½
  lbs
• Giant was developed for maximum wool production,
  started as German Angora, but standards committee
  insisted the name be changed. Senior weights are
  minimum of 9 ½ lbs for bucks and 10 for does
• Satin Angora is newest of Angora breeds. Red
  English Angora crossed with copper Satin silkier
  wool combined with translucent hair shaft that
  give it the characteristic sheen

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Jersey Wooly

• One of the Newest Breeds accepted by the
  ARBA(1988)
• Breed that is for those that like the Angora but
  either dont want the upkeep of a larger rabbit
• Jersey Woolies have a maximum weight of 3 ½ lbs
  and their wool does not require near the amount
  of care of the Angoras
• Short compact body with massive well rounded head
  and short ears
• Recognized in a large amount of varieties and are
  one of the most popular breeds

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Californian

• Developed in 1929
• Cross between New Zealand, Himalayan, and
  Standard Chinchilla
• Currently the most popular commercial breed
  rabbit

• Slightly smaller than the New Zealand but also
  has less bone and pelt
• 8 to 10 ½ lbs.
• The black pointed white is the only accepted
  color with points other than black faulted

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New Zealand

• Second most popular commercial breed
• Recognized in Black, Red, and White, with White
  being most common
• Slightly heavier bone than the Californian
• First real commercial breed, before the New
  Zealand no Standard was really set for meat
  rabbits

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Palomino

• Developed in Washington State in the 1950s
• Came from selective breeding of pet shop rabbits
  and commercial rabbits of varying breeds and
  colors
• Lynx came first, being a golden orange base color
  with light lilac shading and later the Golden was
  introduced.

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Satin

• First appeared in litters of chocolate Havana
• Translucent hair shaft gives the fur its unique
  sheen
• Commercial body type
• Extremely soft silky fur, it is impossible to
  have a satin coat which is too soft
• One of the most popular show breeds today
• Taking a good picture is very difficult because
  of the sheen

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Champagne D Argent

• Genetically the Champagne is a blue silver with
  base color being dark blue with surface color
  being off-white, and longer blue guard hairs
• Commercial type rabbit developed in France and
  raised for there unique pelts for years
• They are born solid black, then as they get older
  they silver out more and more until the very old
  look almost white

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Crème D Argent

• Similar to the Champagne D Argent
• Originated in France
• Orange silver color rather than blue
• Commercial body type and fly back fur

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Silver Marten

• Smaller Commercial type rabbit
• Came from Standard Chinchilla Sports
• Distinguished by their silver-tan pattern
  markings
• Varieties are Black, Blue, Chocolate, and Sable
• Known as Silver Fox in some parts of the world

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Silver Fox

• Developed in 1929 from self checkered giants and
  silvers
• Fur should stand perpendicular to the body, when
  rubbed against the grain
• Originally bred in black and blue the blue was
  dropped from the standard and is currently being
  redeveloped

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Rex

• Dense plush coat feels similar to velvet
• Originated from wild rabbits in France
• Originally called Castor Rex which means King
  Beaver, when other varieties were introduced
  Castor became a variety instead of part of the
  breed name

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Mini Rex

• Developed in 80s in Texas
• Same fur as Rex, but has compact body type
• One of the most popular breeds recognized today
• Took away many Rex breeders that didnt like the
  larger size
• Many feel that the mini has badly hurt the
  standard Rex breed because many have crossed the
  two breeds with always poor results

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Hotot

• Commercial rabbit distinguished by having frosty
  white fur over the entire body with black circles
  around the eyes
• Developed in region of France called Hotot in
  1912, it was originally called Blanc de
  Hotot(White of Hotot)
• They were brought to America in 1978 by Bob
  Whitman of Texas
• They have since lost popularity with the
  development of smaller rabbits including the
  Dwarf Hotot

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Dwarf Hotot

• Developed simultaneously in both East and West
  Germany with one breeder using English Spots and
  the other using Dutch
• Compact body type with large blocky head
  resembling that of a Netherland Dwarf, with same
  distinct eye markings as the Standard Hotot

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Harlequin

• Four basic colors of Black, Blue, Chocolate, or
  Lilac in combination with either white or orange
• Originated in France, first shown in late 1800s
• Somewhat rare in this country but in Europe it is
  one of the more popular breeds and varieties
• Very difficult to raise because of marking
  requirements

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English Lop

• Originated in Africa
• First breed to be shown, early 1800s
• Trademark ears must be at least 21 inches from
  tip to tip, the world record length is 31 1/8
  inches
• Long semi-arched body type that usually balances
  with the ears

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French Lop

• Originated from crosses of English Lop and
  Flemish Giants
• The main characteristic of the French Lop is that
  it is to be massive, and very thick set.
• They have a large predominant head and crown with
  thick well lopped ears, and a very heavy boned
  commercial type body

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Mini Lop

• Currently not the smallest lop but when it was
  first developed it was smaller than the French or
  English Lop so it was mini
• They should be very massive for their size
• Mini as well as all other lops are recognized in
  a large variety of colors(over 100 different
  combinations)

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Holland Lop

• Developed in Netherlands in the late 1970s it
  was introduced to the standard at the same time
  as the mini lop
• The Holland is smaller than the Mini Lop with
  maximum weight being 4 lbs. With the Mini Lop
  being 6 ½ pounds max
• The Holland has a very close coupled body and a
  large head set high on the head

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American Fuzzy Lop

• Started when Holland lop breeders in California
  crossed in Angoras, the resulting rabbits had
  regular fur and were sold as Holland lops. Fuzzy
  lops later popped up from the descendants of
  these animals
• They are exactly the same as the Holland Lop
  except with slightly coarse wool at an ideal
  length of 3 inches

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Netherland Dwarf

• Very small breed with maximum weight of 2 ½ lbs
• Known for its large bulldog type head and short
  massive body type
• Over 30 recognized varieties

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Polish

• Not actually from Poland, most likely originated
  in England
• Polish are often confused with Netherland Dwarfs,
  however they are very different
• Polish have a medium boldness to the head
  compared to the Dwarf very large massive head,
  the ears of a Polish are more in proportion to
  the rest of the body, and they have a flyback
  coat instead of rollback

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Havana

• Sports from Dutch litters
• Original color was chocolate
• Small compact type breed(4 to 5 lbs.)
• Silky coat, which has several unique mutations
  that are now different breeds(Lilac, Satin)
• Recognized in Black, Blue, and Chocolate with
  Broken being developed

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Florida White

• Developed in the 1960s in as the name suggest,
  Florida
• Bred to be a small meat rabbit
• They grow to fryer size quickly and never get
  above 6 pounds

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Standard Chinchilla

• Originating in France with crosses of gray wild
  rabbits, unidentified blue rabbits and Himalayans
  
• Today they are required to weigh between 5 and 7
  lbs. But early on they were larger and eventually
  led to the American Chinchilla
• Unique coat color is pearl gray with black
  intermixed in a wavy pattern
• Slightly longer fur than usual, Roll back fur

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Dutch

• Another very old breed originating in Holland and
  making its way to England in 1864 and has always
  been popular
• All broken colored rabbit originate from either
  the Dutch or the English Spot
• Compact breed weighing between 4 and 6 lbs.
• The unique markings are the main feature of this
  breed

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Himalayan

• Only Cylindrical type rabbit, Himalayans have a
  long body length flat top line and an even body
  width from shoulder to hindquarter
• They also have very distinct markings, and
  although they are shared with some other breeds
  the quality of markings is much greater
• Possibly the most unique feature of the Himalayan
  is its incredible temperament, they are by far
  the most docile breed of rabbit(on average of
  course personalities of individual rabbits will
  occasionally vary).

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Himalayan 2

• Have been known in the region around the
  Himalayas since the 14th century
• Originally Black then Blue popped up in litters
  of blacks and then in the 90s Chocolate and
  Lilac were developed

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American

• First breed to truly be of American origin
• Original crosses included Beverens, Flemish
  Giant, and the now extinct Blue Imperial
• Popular during early 1900s but similar to the
  Belgian hare lost popularity with introduction of
  the commercial rabbits

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Beveren

• Developed in 19th century in Belgium
• Semi-arched body
• Roll back fur, longer than most with ideal length
  being 1 ½ inches
• All three recognized colors are slightly
  different than counterparts in other breeds
• Dull black rather than jet black, light lavender
  blue rather than the common slate blue, and they
  are the only large breed to recognize blue-eyed
  white rather than ruby-eyed white

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Flemish Giant

• The exact origins are unknown but it is agreed on
  that they originated as the name suggest in
  Flanders
• The Flemish is on average the largest breed of
  rabbit alive(the record for single biggest is
  currently a 26 lb French Lop)
• Flemish usually average 15-16 lbs with 20 not
  being uncommon

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Belgian Hare

• Not actually a hare
• First breed to really be imported into America
• Are responsible for the progress of the domestic
  rabbit in America
• Long very racy body type
• Recognized only in the Rufus color shown others
  are in development in Europe

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Belgian Hare 2

• In early nineteen hundreds the Belgian Hare
  Boom caused thousands of imports, shows with
  over 1,000 hares at a show, and prices sometimes
  near 1,000 as well(very pricey by todays
  standards but ungodly considering the time
  period)

• Originally were bred for two different body type,
  racy and commercial
• With the introduction of more common commercial
  breeds the hares popularity faded
• Belgian Hares are currently one of the rarest
  breeds in America

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Britannia Petite

• Smallest breed of domestic rabbit, while both
  Brits and Netherland Dwarfs have the same maximum
  weight of 2 ½ lbs Brit generally never get close
  to that size staying at 1 ½ to 2 lbs.
• Known as Polish in Europe
• Full-arched breed
• Very fine bone
• Spirited Temper
• Recognized in Black, Black Otter, Chestnut, Sable
  Marten, and White although many others are being
  developed

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Checkered Giant

• Distinguished by large size and unique markings
• Wt. Minimum for bucks is eleven pounds and for
  does is 12
• Although large they have a slimmer body type and
  usually dont get larger than 15 or16 lbs.
• Originally imported from Germany
• Recognized in Black Blue
• Actual origins are not well known but it is well
  accepted that they were derived from Flemish
  Giants and possibly White wild rabbits

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English Spot

• Old breed originating, where the name implies,
  England
• Full arch type
• Side markings are along entire side rather than
  two spots of the Checker
• Has unique stripe down the back like Checkered
  Giant and Rhinelander
• Senior weight 5 to 8 lbs.
• English Spots are known to be excellent mothers
  many old breeders use to keep a few Spot does
  around to foster babies to.

• Black, Blue, Chocolate, Gold, Gray, Lilac and
  Tortoise
• At one time English Spots were one of the most
  popular breeds, however they are still somewhat
  popular

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Rhinelander

• Full arch
• Spotting that is similar to the English Spot, but
  tri-colored and lacking a chain marking
• As the name suggest the Rhinelander originated in
  Germany

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Tan

• Originally sports of Dutch, were later crossed to
  Silver Martens to improve markings
• Known for unique pattern of a surface color with
  fiery red markings
• Rather small full-arched breed with senior
  weights being 4 to 6 pounds, and few ever come
  close to the maximum
• Very personable rabbit although very active
• Recognized in Black, Blue, Chocolate, and Lilac,
  with Black being most popular because it shows
  greatest natural contrast to black