Over the course of a couple of months, we have been adding American Rabbits to our homestead. The addition of the rabbits started when Eli and Rebekah asked to show rabbits at our county fair. Although they are Clover Kids in 4-H and aren’t able to show in the actual rabbit show, they can take their rabbits in to the exhibition night and show them to the judges. The kids have enjoyed the rabbits so much we have added more rabbits. We now have four does (2 blue, 1 black and 1 white) and two bucks (1 blue and 1 white.)
We chose American rabbits for a few different reasons. When I was researching rabbit breeds this is what I read about Americans from the Breeders of American Rabbits website:
Not just a historical curiosity, the American is a good meat, fur and show rabbit. With some breeding care, the American can be a large and hardy animal, with large litters and fast weight gain potential. A good American is large and hard to ignore on the show table.
The American Rabbits are listed as threatened on the American Breeds Conservancy which made them even more appealing to me. I like the idea of helping to maintain a heritage breed. They are also a very docile rabbit which is very important to me since the kids are the main caretakers.
Although we have all three colors, only the blue and white are recognized colors for showing. However, since Rebekah really wanted a black rabbit we have a black rabbit. We are looking forward to having a few litters later this year. It will be fun to see what colors we have.
Do you have rabbits? If so what is your favorite breed and why?
Blessings,
Jennifer
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Greetings! Our family raises American rabbits as well. I wondering what state you are located in as we are looking for new breeding stock.
The kids got more involved in the other livestock species and the rabbits took a backseat so we ended up selling the rest of our Americans. They were so beautiful though!