American Rabbits (Blue and White)

[Kayla@LWR]

So I have had my two American (Blue) rabbits for nearly a year now. I have read things and heard things about my breed. I have read on Wikipedia, which is not a reliable site, that my buns are 'rare'. Is this true? Would people want offspring of my blues if they are rare? Can anyone maybe give me more facts? I'm low, very very low on cash so I am unable to get rabbit information books and I haven't the time to research on the internet with school in the way. Would anyone be so generous to help me? Are their any American breeders on RabbitTalk?

 

[Schipperkesue]

I had Americans for about five years. I suppose they are rare, but rare does not equal people beating down your door for them. Up here a pedigreed American sold for $20-$40. I sold breeding stock to a couple people but they did not continue with them. I drove to the US and purchased new stock from two different breeders to augment my breeding program, but was not pleased with the health of the breed in general so I offered them all back to the original breeder.

 

[Dood]

:yeahthat: Rabbits breed like rabbits so if a breed is rare it is often because people don't want them for some reason.

 

[Zass]

I have a friend in PA who breeds big healthy, friendly blues.

Americans have wonderful coats. There seems to be a small demand for them in those looking for backyard meat trios as part of a general self sufficiency movement. Show demand for blues in this part is PA seems to be very low.

I agree with Dood, if a rabbit breed is rare it's because there just isn't enough people buying them. So...you might have to really promote your bunnies

 

[Ramjet]

Its not easy to find quality American's right now , I had considered them along with Rex and Silver Fox when doing research on which breed I wanted.


Just like clothes and other things , rabbit fashion changes .... Right now the mini and giant breeds are the fad of the day , I think mainly for because of the pet market. The winds will eventually shift and something else will be the breed of the moment.

 

[AmysMacdog]

I have 2 pair. I like them but most folks here don't know what they are. If I advertise Americans, I don't get any calls. I advertise meat rabbits, I get calls. People just don't know about the breed and they go with the familiar and if its not familiar most folks aren't like me. If I see a rabbit I'm not familiar with I'll google it or find it on RT. But most folks won't go to that trouble.
Silver Foxes and American Chinchillas became popular but unfortunately I don't see the American rabbits taking off the way they did. Yes they are rare and if you live in a better area than I do and can advertise and educate people then go for it! :good-luck:

 

[Kayla@LWR]

I have a friend in PA who breeds big healthy, friendly blues.

Americans have wonderful coats. There seems to be a small demand for them in those looking for backyard meat trios as part of a general self sufficiency movement. Show demand for blues in this part is PA seems to be very low.

I agree with Dood, if a rabbit breed is rare it's because there just isn't enough people buying them. So...you might have to really promote your bunnies

By any chance is the person you know go by the name Carolyn?

__________ Sun Jan 26, 2014 10:57 pm __________

Its not easy to find quality American's right now , I had considered them along with Rex and Silver Fox when doing research on which breed I wanted.


Just like clothes and other things , rabbit fashion changes .... Right now the mini and giant breeds are the fad of the day , I think mainly for because of the pet market. The winds will eventually shift and something else will be the breed of the moment.

Thanks for the information! I happen to know someone who breeds quality Americans. I have bought two Which they have a couple blemishes but they should produce at least one fine fryer. <br /><br /> __________ Sun Jan 26, 2014 11:04 pm __________ <br /><br />

I have 2 pair. I like them but most folks here don't know what they are. If I advertise Americans, I don't get any calls. I advertise meat rabbits, I get calls. People just don't know about the breed and they go with the familiar and if its not familiar most folks aren't like me. If I see a rabbit I'm not familiar with I'll google it or find it on RT. But most folks won't go to that trouble.
Silver Foxes and American Chinchillas became popular but unfortunately I don't see the American rabbits taking off the way they did. Yes they are rare and if you live in a better area than I do and can advertise and educate people then go for it! :good-luck:

Thanks so much!!! I'll Try to educate and advertise to the best of my ability! I just have to wait for mother nature to Take course!

 

[Zass]

Nope, not Carolyn. Someone else

 

[MOSSY NUT]

I have 1 White buck and 1 Blue doe. She just had her second litter of 8. They used to be the meat rabbit to have before the New Zealand. I have been told that the White is rarer than the Blue but I'm not sure how true that is. When I was looking at getting these I couldn't find a lot of info on them ether. Mine are big and healthy. The doe is very nice and seems to be a good mom but the buck on the other haand my daughter named him Mr. Grumpy he tries to box you every time we open his cage.

 

[Kayla@LWR]

Nope, not Carolyn. Someone else

Oo are they from Stonewall Rabbitry?? <br /><br /> __________ Sun Jan 26, 2014 11:56 pm __________ <br /><br />

I have 1 White buck and 1 Blue doe. She just had her second litter of 8. They used to be the meat rabbit to have before the New Zealand. I have been told that the White is rarer than the Blue but I'm not sure how true that is. When I was looking at getting these I couldn't find a lot of info on them ether. Mine are big and healthy. The doe is very nice and seems to be a good mom but the buck on the other haand my daughter named him Mr. Grumpy he tries to box you every time we open his cage.

Oh??? I heard the white are also rarer cuz blues came first. I dunno though. My doe boxes me and if her claws aren't clipped yet I get scratched. She also bit my mom once but I think that's because she is used to me feeding her. But she is also now moody because she is possibly pregnant! She had a litter before but they were delivered way too early and I'm not sure why. We also didn't know she was pregnant so maybe when we try to catch her we hurt the babies. I'm not positive though. Hopefully we will have good luck on this litter. I'll be leaving her be till I palpate her

 

[Ramjet]

They used to be the meat rabbit to have before the New Zealand.

This is the bottom line .... NZ , Cali's & their crosses are thought to be better producers for meat so the American and most other meat types have been displaced by them for the most part.

Those who are keeping these other breeds are after traits other than simple meat production .... generally color & fur.


Plain white rabbits or those that look like a Siamese cat ... would bore me after a while. Half the fun for me is seeing a rainbow of colors in the nest box.

 

[Schipperkesue]

I purchased a white, a blue and a black from the US. Before I introduced the new white to my breeding program all I got was whites and blues, no color being rarer or less rare than the other. However, the white US boy produced colors other than white or blue. All three US rabbits came with full pedigrees but when I was breeding, many people were having the same issues with color, and some US breeders had switched from breeding both colors to just breeding REW out of the frustration of it all. <br /><br /> __________ Mon Jan 27, 2014 2:09 am __________ <br /><br /> Oh, and mine also bit and boxed. My hands were always a mess of scratches. They did well in shows though, winning and taking mention above the other breeds.

 

[Kayla@LWR]

I purchased a white, a blue and a black from the US. Before I introduced the new white to my breeding program all I got was whites and blues, no color being rarer or less rare than the other. However, the white US boy produced colors other than white or blue. All three US rabbits came with full pedigrees but when I was breeding, many people were having the same issues with color, and some US breeders had switched from breeding both colors to just breeding REW out of the frustration of it all.

__________ Mon Jan 27, 2014 2:09 am __________

Oh, and mine also bit and boxed. My hands were always a mess of scratches. They did well in shows though, winning and taking mention above the other breeds.

Yeah I could see how that would be a problem. I also never heard of a black AM. I try to just breed blues but I know someone on here would had a white so I decided to mention them too and congrats on the shows!! That's awesome

 

[dsneed1002]

I have American Blues and they are quite docile and are good producers. I chose them because I wanted the meat and fur both. But I've only heard of an American Black from someone on Craigslist who couldn't explain the background. If you go look around, the blues were accepted in 1917, and since whites happen at times, people started breeding them specifically and they were accepted in either '23 or '25 if I remember right.
The only problem I ever have is that the older bucks get matted up at times, but they stand Texas conditions well.
I'd love to hear more from people who have Americans.

 

[SableSteel]

Black american are a thing. They're just not desired and not recognized. They're one of the possibilities from crossing whites and blues, some people breeding blues keep them to (supposedly) improve blue color (I, personally, don't think that it'd improve blue color) Whites are not usually genetically blue, so when you cross blues and whites, all the mess hiding under that white pops up. I've seen people get everything from squirrels and frosties to blacks.

 

[dsneed1002]

That's interesting, I may keep a white at some point just to see it. All my whites meet Mr. Food Saver. In my four years I've noticed I get a white or two about every third litter. I haven't tried to nail down what pairings may not produce any at all. I've been considering watching that sort of thing now that I started producing more. Since I got a new job at a much larger warehouse I found a lot more people who appreciate domestic rabbit.
Thanks for the info

 

[JessiL]

I love my Americans! They are more "spirited" than many other breeds, but having actual personalities is a big plus in my book. I as well don't subscribe to the theory that crossing in black could possibly improve the blue color. Unless you account for how it is even easier to see scattered white hairs on a black animal than it is on the blues. Anyway, mine seem quite heat tolerant which is very important to me. And they happily breed year-round, unlike some other breeds I've tried that have been finicky about both winter and summer breeding. I'm starting to work more on improving the coats in my lines, that's currently their big weakness (and seems to be the big weakness of the breed in general, at least out on the west coast). But there are so many positives, such as large litters, great mothering abilities, the heat tolerance, interesting attitudes, and respectable enough growth rates, that I put up with fur that would be laughed at by a serious NZ breeder.