Californian

What is a Californian?

A medium-large rabbit of 3.6-4.7kg with a dense white coat, dark points on the nose, ears, feet and tail, and pink eyes. Essentially a commercial meat breed carrying the Himalayan colour gene.

They are compact and well-muscled rather than long, and they are among the calmer large rabbits.

History and origins

Developed in California in the 1920s by George West, who crossed Himalayans with Chinchillas and then with New Zealand Whites, aiming for a dense white pelt with the meat conformation of a New Zealand.

They reached Britain in the 1950s and are now kept both commercially and as pets.

Appearance and size

3.6-4.7kg, 30-40cm. A firm, well-rounded body with good hindquarters and upright ears. The coat is dense, short and springy.

The points are black, and as with any Himalayan-gene rabbit the colour is temperature-dependent - kept cold, the points spread and darken; kept warm, they lighten. Kits are born white and colour up over the first weeks.

Temperament and personality

Calm, confident and even-tempered. Californians handle well for their size and are rarely flighty. They are sociable and often actively enjoy company once settled.

As with the New Zealand, early handling varies a great deal depending on whether the rabbit came from a pet breeder or a commercial one.

Intelligence and trainability

Easily litter-trained and quick to learn routines. They respond to clicker work and food rewards, and their steadiness makes training straightforward.

Children and other pets

Good with supervised older children - calm, robust and a manageable shape to hold with two hands at floor level. Too heavy for small children to lift.

Keep in a neutered pair with space to match. Never with a guinea pig.

Health problems

Few, and that is the benefit of a breed with no exaggerated features.

Sore hocks (pododermatitis), the main risk from the weight. Deep soft bedding, no wire, and weight kept in check.

Light sensitivity in the pink eyes - provide shade.

Dental disease, gut stasis, myxomatosis and RHDV1/RHDV2, flystrike and E. cuniculi as for any rabbit. Arthritis with age.

Five to ten years, and well-kept pets reach the top of that range.

Daily care routine

Hay, water in a bowl, litter cleaned, and a full-body check including feet and bottom - twice daily in warm weather. Nails every six weeks, annual vaccination.

Grooming and coat care

Weekly brushing, more in a moult - the dense coat sheds heavily twice a year. Never bathe.

Exercise needs

More than the standard minimum given the size. A large run or converted shed, with room to run and stand fully upright. They are active and will use it.

Feeding and diet

85% hay, unlimited. Daily greens and a measured portion of single-component pellets scaled to weight. No muesli. Watch the weight: like the New Zealand, this is a breed selected to gain flesh efficiently.

Price

£30-£80, and frequently much less from rescue.

Setup £500-£1,000. Running costs £900-£1,500 a year for a pair.

Buying advice

Ask how the rabbits are housed and handled. Look at the hocks of every rabbit on the premises, check the teeth and the back end.

Do not be concerned by a pale-pointed youngster; the colour develops with age and season.

Do not buy under eight weeks, ask for the vaccination record, and check rescues first - Californians and New Zealands are two of the commonest large rabbits waiting for homes.