The Rabbit Alphabet F . . .

Flemish
· This giant rabbit has been around for a very long time, it originated in Flanders
· It is dark steel grey and weighs around 11-12lbs

Fox
· The first Silver Fox were exhibited in 1926 followed by blue, chocolate and lilac
· They weigh between 5.5 to 7lbs
· One of the most popular of the fur breeds

The Rabbit Alphabet E . . .

English

· Although popular for over 100 years, it is said that the perfect example of the English has yet to be bred
· A white rabbit with colour on the ears and body with chains and spots of blue, black, tortoiseshell, grey or chocolate

The Rabbit Alphabet D . . .

Dutch

· A fancy rabbit weighing up to 5lbs
· Breeders are always trying to breed perfectly marked examples, miss-marked youngster are always available and make excellent pets
· They come in various colours, black, blue, chocolate, yellow, tortoiseshell, steel grey, brown grey and pale grey

The Rabbit Alphabet C ...

Californian

· First brought in the UK from the USA in the 1950's
· The colour is all white with black, chocolate, blue or lilac nose, ears feet and tail
· They are calm, gentle rabbits and make excellent pets

I know my smidge is a Dwarf Lop but i think he has a bit of Californian in him because they have the same colourings.

Chinchilla

· The Chinchilla originated in France and was first introduced after the First World War
· The under colour of the fur should be slate blue at the base, the middle portion pearl grey, merging into white and tipped with black. The whole of the pelt should be ticked with long black guard hairs

The Rabbit Alphabet B...

Belgian Hare (that's what I thought Hare?!)

· This rabbit originated in Flanders and was imported to England where it was selectively bred until the present day form was produced
· At one time the Belgian hare was the most popular fancy rabbit, it was responsible for bringing the domestic rabbit to the notice of thousands of people in the UK and the US
· Although called a hare, it is in fact a rabbit
· It has a deep chestnut colour bordered by black ticking along the length of the body and around the ears
· It is a very distinctive rabbit and often takes top honours at rabbit shows

Beveren

· The Beveren is one of the oldest and largest of the fur rabbits. It was first bred in Beveren, which is a small town near Antwerp in Belgium. Around 1915 it became very popular in England because meat was very scarce, the flesh at that time was far more important than the fur
· They come in blue, white, black, brown and lilac. There is a rare variety called the Pointed Beveren, which comes in the same colours but has white tipped hairs
· Because they are a larger breed, weighing around 8lbs they need good-sized accommodation they make excellent pets for small children

British Giant

A very large rabbit weighing 12.5lbs an over
· The colours are dark steel grey, black, white, blue, brown, grey and opal
· They make wonderful pets but they need a lot of room

Blanc De Bouscat

· This rabbit is of French origin and is quite rare in England
· It is a fairly large rabbit weighing around 12 pounds for the buck and up to 14 pounds for the doe
·It is white and the fur dense and silky

The Rabbit Alphabet A...

Alaska

· Originated from Germany from Argente and Himalayan rabbits
· Medium sized weighing between six and a half to eight and half pounds
· There is no visible neck in this dumpy breed. Their fur is black and shiny on the surface and black and matt on the belly. They have dark brown eyes and the toenails are dark in colour

Angora

The Angora is one of the oldest breeds of rabbit it is thought to have originated in Turkey hundreds of years ago
· They were initially bred for their wool
· There are four types of Angora: English Angora, French Angora, Satin Angora and Giant Angora.
· The English Angora is adorned with what are called "furnishings". These are growths of wool on the tips of the ears and front feet. The ears should be well covered with a ball-like tuft of wool but they should also have a fur covering over the outside of the ear from the base up to the tufts
· Their eyes are rich ruby red
· The English Angora is gentle in nature, but not recommended for those who don't enjoy grooming their animals
· Since the introduction of the white or albino Angora, some beautiful coloured Angoras have been bred
· The French Angora is slightly larger than the English Angora and requires less grooming
· The Satin Angora has no furnishings on face, ears, or feet. They are also easy to groom compared to the English angroa.
· The Giant Angora is only white with three hair types in its wool: under wool, awn fluff, and awn hair. They are gentle, loving rabbits.

Argente Cream

· This is the smallest of the Angente breed
· The under colour is orange and the top colour creamy white interspersed with long orange hairs

Argente Bleu

· A compact rabbit weighing about six pounds
· An under colour of lavender and a top coat of bluish white

Argente de Champagne

· This was bred and kept in France for many years
· It was used as both a fur and meat bearing animal by the French peasants who raised it
· The name does not refer to the colour of the rabbit but the district of France that it comes from
· The actual colour is a silvery colour, the under colour is dark slate blue and the top coat is whitish blue shot through with black
· It is slightly larger than medium sized breeds, weighing around eight pounds

Argente Brun

· Brought into England in the 1920's from France
· It is rarely seen now

Clean It Up!

It is very, very important to clean your rabbit out at least once a week. To do this you will need:

• Bin liners
  
  
  
  


• Brush and Dustpan






• Antibacterial Spray (make sure its animal friendly)






• Newspaper






• Wood Shavings or Paper Shreadings






• Hay

First you need to get rid of all the soiled bedding. I find it easy to do this with the dustpan. Then put the dirty, old bedding into the bin liner.





Once all of the old bedding has been removed and put into a bin liner ready to be thrown out (sometimes a good idea to use the brush aswell). You will need to disinfect your rabbit cage every so often with antibacterial spray or washing up liquid. It must be rabbit friendly!! It's a good thing to do because if not your rabbit could get ill. You can get these sprays from pet shops.












Once the cage is cleaned out you need to put all the new bedding into the hutch. A thick layer of newspaper is requiered especially in areas where your rabbit goes to the toilet. If your rabbit is like mine and many others they will poo in only one place. Pet shops do sell trays for them to go to the toilet in and they can be potty trained. All you need to do is place the tray in the corner they use as a toilets. Your rabbit may also enjoy sitting in your toilet. Once the newspaper is in place you will need to spread around the woodshavings or paper shreadings. If you are using woodshavings you can use the dustpanto spread them around the hutch.

Your rabbit will need to be nice and snug and warm during the night so you need to make sure you put plenty of hay down in the bedding section of the hutch. You will also need to make sure that the hayrack (if you have one) is full of fresh hay. It is best to use hay rather than straw because you rabbit can have a little munch on it at the same time as sleeping in it. Then you need to make sure there's fresh water and the food bowl is full.

Finally put you little friend back into the hutch so he/she can make the mess all over again.