Is This An American Rabbit?
- Thread starter HeyHayHay
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kusanar314
Well-known member
You do realize that most rabbits aren't purebreds and therefore aren't any breed... right? Unless you have a pedigree saying it's a specific breed, it's not that breed.
Seconding what @kusanar314 said - most rabbits available to the public are not purebred or any particular breed, and you can't honestly name them if you don't have a pedigree (the Dutch you posted is so classic it could be an exception). There are many, many people selling rabbits at swap meets and craigslist as a particular breed who, whether they're ignorant or liars, are full of baloney, as my mother used to say. 
Where Dutch is a very popular breed and likely to be found in pet stores, American rabbits are a rare breed; the Livestock Conservancy lists them in its "Watch" category. An American rabbit has a distinct mandolin body type and is very large, at 10 to 12 pounds for an adult female. It only comes in two varieties, blue or white, and the white variety has pink eyes.
Your rabbit is almost certainly a mixed breed. Its dark eye and pale coat mean its color is ermine, and there are no breeds in the U.S. that currently recognize ermine. That doesn't absolutely rule out being a particular breed, since off-colors do pop up in purebred lines for a number of reasons. But again, if you've got a rabbit that is not remarkably aligned with a breed standard, unless you have a pedigree it's not honest to call it a particular breed (you might be able to say something like "possible New Zealand mix").
(Update: the newly-accepted Czech Frosty is genetically an ermine, though it's not called that in the standard. But the few Czech Frosties in the US are mostly imported at great expense, and they also have a very distinct fur type and a distinct and unusual body shape.)
You can order an ARBA Standard of perfection here https://arba.net/product/standard-of-perfection/ to learn more about the breeds recognized in the US and their various characteristics and requirements.
Where Dutch is a very popular breed and likely to be found in pet stores, American rabbits are a rare breed; the Livestock Conservancy lists them in its "Watch" category. An American rabbit has a distinct mandolin body type and is very large, at 10 to 12 pounds for an adult female. It only comes in two varieties, blue or white, and the white variety has pink eyes.
Your rabbit is almost certainly a mixed breed. Its dark eye and pale coat mean its color is ermine, and there are no breeds in the U.S. that currently recognize ermine. That doesn't absolutely rule out being a particular breed, since off-colors do pop up in purebred lines for a number of reasons. But again, if you've got a rabbit that is not remarkably aligned with a breed standard, unless you have a pedigree it's not honest to call it a particular breed (you might be able to say something like "possible New Zealand mix").
(Update: the newly-accepted Czech Frosty is genetically an ermine, though it's not called that in the standard. But the few Czech Frosties in the US are mostly imported at great expense, and they also have a very distinct fur type and a distinct and unusual body shape.)
You can order an ARBA Standard of perfection here https://arba.net/product/standard-of-perfection/ to learn more about the breeds recognized in the US and their various characteristics and requirements.
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HeyHayHay
Hay
Oh, I really didn't know that- thank you!Seconding what @kusanar314 said - most rabbits available to the public are not purebred or any particular breed, and you can't honestly name them if you don't have a pedigree (the Dutch you posted is so classic it could be an exception). There are many, many people selling rabbits at swap meets and craigslist as a particular breed who, whether they're ignorant or liars, are full of baloney, as my mother used to say.
Where Dutch is a very popular breed and likely to be found in pet stores, American rabbits are a rare breed; the Livestock Conservancy lists them in its "Watch" category. An American rabbit has a distinct mandolin body type and is very large, at 10 to 12 pounds for an adult female. It only comes in two varieties, blue or white, and the white variety has pink eyes.
Your rabbit is almost certainly a mixed breed. Its dark eye and pale coat mean its color is ermine, and there are no breeds in the U.S. that currently recognize ermine. That doesn't absolutely rule out being a particular breed, since off-colors do pop up in purebred lines for a number of reasons. But again, if you've got a rabbit that is not remarkably aligned with a breed standard, unless you have a pedigree it's not honest to call it a particular breed (you might be able to say something like "possible New Zealand mix").
You can order an ARBA Standard of perfection here https://arba.net/product/standard-of-perfection/ to learn more about the breeds recognized in the US and their various characteristics and requirements.
That's a mandolin body shape and it looks a lot like my Americans, but yes, purebreds are rare and hard to find. The white should have red eyes according to SOP. Nice looking rabbit though. 
HeyHayHay
Hay
I agree it's a nice-looking rabbit; I'm partial to that elegant combination of white fur and dark eye. But to my eye it doesn't really look like a mandolin shape, it looks more like a normal type just relaxing and lazing around, with its front feet pushed way out front and its back feet moved forward to under its belly. I've see many of my rabbits in that position (we laugh and say they want to grow up to be Flemish). I don't have any pictures of them - not flattering for a commercial type rabbit! - but here are some of mandolin body types (the first is an American from the ARBA website https://arba.net/recognized-breeds/ ):That's a mandolin body shape and it looks a lot like my Americans, but yes, purebreds are rare and hard to find. The white should have red eyes according to SOP. Nice looking rabbit though.
It's always helpful to have a rabbit posed correctly, and a couple of different views, to be able to assess body type.
HeyHayHay
Hay
Thank you, I'll be sure to keep this in mind for the future!
I will always defer to Alaska Satin!
