| Different
Breeds
Taken from the books
'The Essential Rabbit' & 'The Rabbit Handbook'
American
The American rabbit, which has been in existence
for nearly 100 years, comes in two colour varieties,
blue and white. The blue variety has blue gray eyes,
while the white version has pink eyes. Compact in appearance,
the American is a medium sized rabbit weighing around
10 pounds.
American Fuzzy Lop
The Fuzzy Lop, originally created by crossbreeding the
Holland Lop and the Angora, is found in a wide variety
of colours.
American Sable
This rabbit is well named because of its coat, the result
of several crosses with the chinchilla rabbit, is a
beautiful dark brown.
Angora
There are four types of Angora rabbits : - English Angora,
French Angora, Satin Angora and Giant Angora. Each one
is a separate breed and has the long, wooly hair typical
of the Angora family. Angoras come in an astounding
array of beautiful colours. Because of the Angora's
dense coat, which grows to about 3 inches in length,
the breed requires a good deal of grooming.
Belgian Hare
Despite its name, the Belgian Hare is actually a domestic
rabbit, not a hare. However, its long legs and ears
do give it the appearance of a hare, hence its name.
Bevern
Not as frequently seen in the US as some other breeds,
the Beveren was developed in Europe and is coloured
either in white, blue or black. A large rabbit weighing
about 10 pounds, the Bevern has a thick, silky coat.
Californian
This very popular rabbit looks very much like a
Siamese cat, with its white coat and black tipped ears,
nose feet and tail. Somewhat large in size, the typical
Californian weighs about 9 pounds
Champagne D'Argent
The coat of this rabbit contains a marvelous mixture
of coloured hairs, resulting in a wonderful silver looking
effect.
Checkered Giant
The Checkered Giant is available in black and blue colour
varieties. The breed is typically white with dark markings,
including a 'butterfly' on the nose, dark ears, dark
circles around the eyes, spots on the cheeks and various
other dark patches on the body.
Chinchilla
There are three types of Chinchilla rabbit : Standard,
American and Giant. All three types have the colouring
of an actual Chinchilla and are popular pets because
of their attractive coats.
Cinnamon
This breed is available only in reddish colour indicative
of its name. The ears, face and feet bear a darker shade
of this same colour. Occasional shades of gray on various
parts of its body contribute to this breed's unusual
appearance.
Dutch
The Dutch is an extremely popular rabbit, and is easily
recognizable because of its markings. Available in six
colour varieties, the Dutch has a dark head with a white
nose and blaze, and dark britches.
Dwarf Hotot
Found only in white with dark eyes, the Dwarf Hotot
weight about 3 pounds and was bred down from the Hotot
in the 1970s.
English Spot
The English Spot, or English for short, is reminiscent
of a Dalmatian with its white coat and dark spots. A
capped nose, dark ears, eye rings and a stripe along
the back are all characteristic of this breed, which
weighs about 8 pounds.
Flemish Giant
Massive in size, the Flemish Giant is the largest
breed of rabbit and weighs more than 14 pounds. Found
in steel gray, light gray, black, blue, white, sandy
and fawn, this breed is very popular as a pet despite
its large size.
Florida White
The Florida White, as its name implies, comes in white
only and has pink eyes. It weighs about 5 pounds.
Harlequin
The Harlequin is an interesting medium sized and
unusually marked rabbit of about 8 pounds, was developed
in France in the 1800s. The heads of Harlequin rabbits
are divided in half by colour; each rabbit can look
like two different animals when viewed from one side
and then the other. Harlequin base colours are black,
lilac and chocolate.
Himalayan
The Himalayan breed has existed for many years,
reportedly originating near the Himalayan Mountains.
Distinctive because of its white coat and blue or black
markings, this rabbit is small in size and usually weighs
only 4 pounds.
Hotot
In France, this breed is known as the Blanc De Hotot,
or the "white of Hotot", Hotot being the area
where it was developed. Available only in frosty white
with thin black eye circles, the Hotot is a medium sized
rabbit weighing around 9 pounds.
Jersey Wooly
A recently developed breed of rabbit created in the
1970s through crossbreeding, the Jersey Wooly was produced
specifically for its luxurious coat. The fur of the
Jersey Wooly is available in the agouti, pointed white,
self, shaded and tan pattern colour groups. A small
rabbit, the Jersey Wooly weighs about 3 pounds.
Lop
The Lop rabbits are probably the most distinctive
and easily recognizable of all breeds. Lop breeds of
the past included rabbits whose ears flopped forward
over their faces and rabbits whose ears both flopped
over to the same side. These breeds are extinct now
and the Lop we see today is the Lop of choice.
The modern Lop has huge ears, which flops down beside
its head like a Basset Hound and give it the special
look unique to the breed.
There are four breeds of Lop rabbits, namely, the English,
French, Holland and Mini Lop. Each breed is unique in
both its appearance and history.
The English Lop is one of the oldest breeds of domestic
rabbit still in existence. Developed at least as early
as the 1800s, the English Lop was the first of the lop-eared
breeds. The French Lop was first developed in France
in the 1800s from breeding the English Lop with the
Flemish Giant. The French Lop differs from the English
in that it is characterized by a heavier stature and
shorter ears.
The Holland Lop, a dwarf breed of Lops, was created
in Holland in the 1960s. It displays the same colour
varieties as the French and English: agouti, broken,
pointed white, self, solid, shaded and ticked.
The Mini Lop is also a relatively new breed of Lop.
The Mini Lop is similar to the French Lop, but its mere
5 pound weight makes it significantly smaller.
Mini Rex
The Mini Rex was developed using the standard size
Rex. Weighing about 4 pounds, this breed is available
in the same colour varieties and colours as its larger
cousin, the Rex.
Netherland Dwarf
The very popular Netherland Dwarf is the smallest of
all domestic rabbits, weighing no more than 2 pounds.
Its tiny stature, wide range of colours, small ears
and large eyes make it a very popular pet.
Rex
The fur of the Rex rabbit looks and feels like plush
velvet. This breed, which comes in a wide variety of
colours, is very popular as a pet and show rabbit.
Satin
The Satin is so named because of its soft, shiny coat.
The Satin is a medium sized rabbit which weighs about
9 pounds.
Silver
The Silver got its name from its coat's unique colouring,
a silvery sheen created by a mixture of white hairs
against a dark background. Available in black, brown
and fawn, Sliver rabbits weigh between 4 to 7 pounds.
Silver Fox
Originally bred in Europe for its fur, the Silver
Fox has an unusual coat. Measuring 1 inch or more in
length with a thick undercoat, the fur of the Silver
Fox comes in black or blue varieties.
Silver Marten
Created using the Chinchilla rabbit, the Silver
Marten has guard hairs which are grey tipped on a dark
background of black, blue, chocolate or sable.
Tan
The colour and markings of the Tan are reminiscent of
a Doberman Pinscher, particularly the black and chocolate
varieties. The top part of the body is dark, while the
underside is tan. The tan colouring also appears around
the eyes and nose, under the neck and inside the rims
of the ears.
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