meet the new rabbits

Meet our newest Champagne d' argent buck, his name is Filbert (in light of a Filbert tree I planted in front of the rabbit cages several years ago).  Can you tell how curious he is?  I had no idea that a rabbit could be so friendly and funny, he runs to the entrance when I open his cage, and says hi, he loves to be pet and talked to, he likes fresh sticks to chew, and loves alfalfa and dry cob (corn, oats and barley).  He is 13 weeks old,  pedigreed, and will be a fine breeding buck here at Applegarth.  In the picture below you can see he still hasn't gotten all his silvering that comes with maturity.  When Champagne d' argents are born, they're all black, they turn silver as they age.

Pictured below is our newest rabbit, an 11 week old American Chinchilla doe.  She's roomed next door to Filbert and they seem to like each other.

Here's a little history on the breed.

The American Chinchilla rabbit was created in the 1920s using Standard Chinchilla rabbits and breeding them for larger size. This was to create a rabbit with a larger pelt and bigger body for meat.  It was one of the more highly paid for pelts at the height of the fur industry.

Originally, it was known as the American Heavyweight Chinchilla, it is one of the few rabbits that is truly unique to the United States. Now it is one of the Rare Breed Rabbits, seriously threatened with extinction. The American Livestock Breeds Conservancy has listed this breeds' condition as Critical, and they are encouraging more people to raise this fine breed of  rabbit as a heritage animal.

This is my first American Chinchilla rabbit, she is unbelievably soft, her fur is exquisite, plus she's a real sweetheart, and loves attention.  These are the two breeds I'm going to focus on, the Chamgagne d' argents and the American Chinchilla's.