Havana rabbit is a very beautiful breed with it’s soft, shiny and rich colored fur coat. The breed is not from Cuba as you might expect from their name. Rather they originated in Netherlands in 1898. The Havana rabbit breed get it’s name from the fact that the chocolate variety closely resembles the color of the deep brown Havana cigars from Cuba. It is said that ‘the Havana rabbit is the result of a litter born to two non-pedigree rabbits’. Color of some of the rabbits in this litter were a rich dark brown which was very unusual at the time. Then those kits were crossed with Himalayans and the resulting offspring was crossed back with the original brown buck.
The Havana rabbits were first exported to the Germany in 1907, and reached Britain in the year of 1908. In 1916 they were introduced to the United States, and in Eastern Canada in the 1980s. And England’s National Havana Club was formed in 1920. The Havana rabbits are recognized by the American Rabbit Breeders Association in four color varieties which are; black, blue, broken and chocolate. American Rabbit Breeders Association recognized the chocolate variety first in 1916, blue variety in 1960s and the black in 1980s. Broken variety was officially recognized in 2007. Today, the Havana rabbit variety is very popular as show animal and also raised as pets.
Characteristics
The
Havana is a very beautiful medium sized rabbit breed. The breed has
short and round bodies. The ears of the Havana rabbit are short,
relatively close together and upright. The top line of their body is a
curve that rises over the hips before rounding down to the tail. True
Havana rabbits have short straight legs, a short head with full cheeks
and medium sized eyes.
Credit :www.roysfarm.com