The American Rabbit Breeders Association, the organization that is in charge of the domestic rabbit guidelines and rabbit shows in America, recognizes forty-nine breeds. Two of the forty-nine breeds that are recognized are the Himalayan rabbit breed and the Californian rabbit breed. These two types of rabbit breeds are commonly confused by new rabbit owners and rabbit owners that own other breeds since they have similar fur type and looks, but they differ in so many ways such as colors of fur markings, body type, typical rabbit breed use, ideal or full-grown rabbit weight, and class type when shown.
To begin with, the Himalayan rabbit breed, nicknamed a Himie, has flyback fur. Flyback fur is a coat of fur that, when worked from the back-end…show more content… The rest of its fur coat is all white. There are four colors of fur markings they can have. According to Himalayan USA Rabbit Breeders, "The markings are black, blue, chocolate, or lilac, but the body is always pure white." Having colored fur markings and a white coat of fur gives it a resemblance to a Siamese cat. Himalayans are the only rabbit breed known to the American Rabbit Breeders Association that has a cylindrical body type. A cylindrical body type is when judges pose the rabbit stretched out as far as it will go while all four feet remain flatly touching the table. When posed correctly, the rabbit should look long, slinky, and have no obvious rise to the hindquarters, which is the back end of the rabbit. Being the only breed to have a cylindrical body type makes it difficult for Himalayans to compete well at shows against other breeds that…show more content… The Californian breed also has colored fur markings on its nose, ears, feet, and tail with the rest of the rabbit's fur coat being white. These colored fur markings and white fur coat make it very similar in looks to the Himie. Similar to Himalayan rabbits, Californian rabbits also have a resemblance to a Siamese cat since they have colored fur markings and a white body of fur. In contrast to the Himalayan's four recognized colored fur markings, the Cal only has one: black. Californians have a commercial body type, opposed to the Himalayans cylindrical body type. A commercial body type means that when the rabbit is viewed from the side it has a pear shape to show off its muscled meat build when judges pose the rabbit in a sitting position. When posed correctly, the rabbits topline should directly rise from behind its ears into a well filled shoulder and rib section. The highest point should be at its hips, and it should slowly round off like a basketball. With the commercial body type, the Cal competes excellently at shows against other breeds with different body types, unlike the Himalayan who has trouble competing against other breeds. Though the Californians make excellent show rabbits, they also make excellent meat rabbits. They make excellent meat rabbits due to the fact that commercial rabbit types are bred specifically for their muscle and meat. Cals can
