Cinnamon Rabbit – information and facts about the Cinnamon Rabbit Breed. Learn more about Cinnamon Rabbits in this article. Breed photos are included.
A domestic rabbit breed created in the year 1962, Cinnamon rabbits continue to create a mark in the rabbit industry. It’s notable that the breed is not really that old. This fact justifies the rare availability of the breed, since it’s not yet that widespread all over the country.
Another remarkable information that we have to clear out is the interesting name behind the breed’s name. Because of the rabbit’s russet color, it is called ‘cinnamon rabbit’. And this is the title that was registered to ARBA.
Cinnamon Rabbit Facts
1. History
Cinnamons have a very rich history. At the height of the Easter season of 1962 in Missoula, Montana, two children named Belle and Fred Houseman accidentally created the breed through crossbreeding. The kids bred a Chinchilla doe and a New Zealand buck. After this breeding, their father, Ellis Houseman, allowed them to keep one of the crossbred bucks.
They later joined the 4-H group in their locality. With that membership, they were given a Checkered Giant doe and a crossed Californian doe. They then mated the crossed buck to the two does. The offspring of the buck’s mating with the Californian doe produced a russet-colored bunny in its litter. The offspring of the mating with the Checkered Giant, on the other hand, produced two rabbits with a russet-colored fur, one of them being male and the other being female.
Ellis Houseman believed that the products of crossbreeding shouldn’t be shown, only purebred rabbits. Despite this, he still allowed his kids to keep the pair of russet-colored bunnies from the last litter of the Checkered Giant. Because this pair is made up of one buck and one doe, the two kids were prompted to mate the two together. As a result, they produced a litter of bunnies where 70% of them have this auburn share of fur. And this is where the word ‘Cinnamon’ started. They called this coloring ‘cinnamon’.
This noticeable color prompted the attention of Ellis. Aside from this, he also noticed that the fur has an excellent sheen. Enthused with what he just witnessed, he proceeded to present the rabbits to J. Cyril Lowett, an ARBA judge that is based in Oregon, and is also a board member. Lowett liked the unique characteristics of the rabbit so he told Ellis that there is a great possibility that the breed can become official. Following the ARBA standard, a rabbit breed should pass three different ARBA conventions in order to become an official rabbit breed.
The Housemans, passionate about registering the rabbit breed, went to the different conventions. Their first stop is the ARBA Convention in Calgary, Canada in the year 1969. The rabbit was immediately approved in this convention. As a result of this good news, they sent the breed to the following year’s convention, which was held in Calgary, Canada in the year 1969. However, the family could not attend the event. So they sent the rabbit breeds by airfreight. Unfortunately, the rabbits contracted a virus, which even resulted to the death of some of them, while the rest in poor condition. Because of this, they were not approved. This did not mark the end of the passion of the Housemans. They went to Albuquerque, New Mexico in the year 1971 to achieve their goal. Another unfortunate event happened. The family hit a sever storm and had to abandon the storm and even had to abandon their trailer. A dog broke into the rabbitry, which resulted into the killing of three of their best does.
Despite this very challenging path, they still pulled it through. The rabbits passed the convention, reaping good comments. Third and the final leg, is the 1972 convention. This will be the third year and when they pass this, the breed will be officially recognized. Held in Tacoma, Washington, the Cinnamon rabbit breeds were officially welcomed to the rabbit world, passing through ARBA’s Book of Standards.
2. Characteristics and Appearance
Cinnamon rabbits weigh between 8.5 and 11 pounds. They have a medium body length and have a rounded body. When compared with the shoulders, the rabbit’s hips are deeper and wider. The head is just proportionate in size to the body, and the ears of a Cinnamon are erect. A Cinnamon’s nose is marked with a butterfly effect. Around each of the rabbit’s eyes are small circles.
Cinnamons have very striking features that make it easily noticeable. Wit its rusty or ground cinnamon feature, as well as a uniform gray ticking across its back, it can surely capture anyone’s attention in a set of rabbits. Along its sides, Cinnamons have a smoky grey coloring. It’s underbelly is dark and the under coloring is orange all over.
Inside the rabbit’s hind legs, Cinnamons have unique rust-colored spots. These spots can also appear on feet and face. With the general assessment of the rabbit’s coloring, the hind legs, feet, as well as the face, tend to be generally darker when compared with the rest of the body.
Cinnamon rabbits have a short coating, which makes it easy to groom and care for. Grooming with the use of a slicker brush for just once in a week is already enough for the majority of the year. But on the shedding season, which can affect the coating of the rabbits, grooming can be done twice a week.
3. Personality and Traits
Cinnamon rabbits have an amiable nature, which makes them ideal for people who want to have rabbit pets. They’re also large enough, without being too large, to be liked by young rabbit enthusiasts who want to cuddle with rabbits.
Known to live between 5 to 8 years, Cinnamons have a laidback, calm and a well-disposed personality. They also enjoy the attention that they’re getting, especially from their owners. They really fit for families who are fond of rabbits because Cinnamons naturally love attention.
Cinnamons benefit from a well-balanced diet. Great components of their diet can be grass hay, cecotropesand green foods. They also enjoy doing a lot of exercise, having a lot of toys to chew on, and simply spending time with their owners.
Purpose
Amazingly, these modern rabbits tend to serve different uses. They are raised for meat, fur, show, and as pets. This is the reason why they are called the ‘All Purpose Rabbits “ because they can practically serve all of the purposes rabbits are being raised for.
Originally, they were bred for their meat, which explains their size. Out of the four parent breeds of the Cinnamon, the New Zealand, Checkered Giants, as well as the Californian have already established their names in the rabbit meat industry. Most notably, the New Zealand rabbit breed is the most popular rabbit breed raised for meat purposes. Following New Zealand is Californian, and then Cinnamon.
Cinnamons also fulfill the second purpose, which is for their fur. The unique fur coloring makes the Cinnamons ideal as fur rabbits. However, since it is still considered a rare rabbit, the fur is not used as often as others.
Cinnamons’ great features make them good show rabbits. Their nice musculature, and quite a large size, captures the interest of rabbit breeders who go into rabbit shows. There is also an added value due to the fact that the rabbit breed is difficult to find.
As discusses earlier, they also make very good pets.
4. ARBA Standards
Under the ARBA’s Standards of Perfection, Cinnamons are rated on a 100-point scale. 58 points can be attributed to their body type by looking at a good, medium-sized body coupled with a smooth bone structure and good filled in flesh. The head can be credited with 3 points, and 2 points for the ears. For the coloring, as well as the coating, Cinnamons can be given 11 points. This is due to the fact that Cinnamons have a unique coloring, giving them a competitive advantage over the other breeds. For markings and color variations, 11 points can be merited. The high merit is brought about by the Cinnamon’s varying shades of rust and brown that runs along the rabbits’ body and belly. A lighter gray dusting along the back then completes the coloring shades.
Right now, the Cinnamon Rabbit Breeders take care in promoting and developing the Cinnamon Rabbit Breed.