Chinchilla Rabbit

For a very long time there have been common rabbits with gray color and blackish hairs, formerly forming the chinchilla variety. But the breed only appeared more recently, around 1910. It was a French breeder, Jean Dybowski, who created the breed following crosses between blue Beveren rabbits, Russian rabbits, and wild rabbits. The products of these crosses were then selected for coat color so that it would resemble that of the chinchilla rat. The Chinchilla rabbit was first presented in 1913 at Saint-Maur. It quickly achieved great success.

The Chinchilla rabbit is a small rabbit weighing between 2 and 3 kg. It has a short and stocky body, with a thick loin. Its dorsal line is slightly curved. Its strong, short and wide head is firmly attached to the body. It bears two upright and hairy ears measuring 8.5 to 9.5 cm. A slight dewlap is tolerated in the female. Its legs are strong and quite short. The eyes are dark brown, wide open and bright. The coat is very dense, fairly long and supple. It is dark gray with bluish reflections with visible blackish chenille. The underside of the body and the area around the eyes are white, the top of the tail is black.