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Just A Little Bit Of History And Information On The Silver Fox Rabbit.
We believe in breed conservation and purity, therefore we are only concentrating on Black and Blue Silver Fox at this
time. The Silver Fox Rabbit was the second truly American bred rabbit, the first being the American Blue. In each of these breeds, a Checkered Giant sport was involved. What is now known is that the Silver Fox was originated and developed during the 1920's by Mr. W.B. Garland of North Canton, OH. This man was energetic and had a
tremendous knowledge of the essentials of breeding to develop a desired trait. He was a pioneer in many phases of development of the domestic rabbit, its care and breeding. Mr. Garland had a black self Checkered Giant doe. She had the unusual quality of having a large number of white hairs scattered over her body. He also had some English Silvers. The Silver had a 6 pound weight limit for showing, its fur was coarse, and similar to that of a guinea pig, and it was a cobby and compact rabbit. This trait was a feature that caught his fancy. He envisioned a blocky "Hereford" type rabbit, similar in color to the English Silver, but with a desirable fur and more practical utility size. He wanted the Silver type and the checkered size! After considerable difficulty, a successful mating of the small silver buck and the large black doe was made. From his first litter, the largest buck was bred back to his mother and the largest does were bred back to the father. With about 40 hutches, and after 14 years of consistent culling, he had a rabbit that was breeding true to type and color and was the first rabbit of its day to dress out at a pound under its live weight. He developed both blacks and blues. Please not that there are no Flemish Giant blood in the Silver Fox other than through the ancestry of the Checkered Giant itself. The Silver Fox is a dual purpose heritage breed, raised for both meat and fur. It is the 3rd oldest (some claim 2nd oldest) breed developed here in the United States by Walter B. Garland of North Canton, Ohio in the 1920's. It was first accepted into ARBA in 1925 but under the name American Heavyweight Silver...in 1929 the name was changed to the American Silver Fox and was later shortened to Silver Fox. The Silver Fox is recognized by ARBA in black variety only, but COD is being worked on for Blue, which actually was recognized but were dropped in the 1970's due to very small numbers being shown...they are no making a strong comeback and it won't be long. The genetic ancestry of the Silver Fox is somewhat of a mystery...we do know that Mr. Garland raised Checkered Giants and Champagne D' Argents. It is most likely that Mr. Garland used self-colored Checkered Giants to get the large body and litter size and the beautiful Champagne D. Argents for the silvering, fur length and density and meat qualities. We don't really know for sure but these are the most logical conclusions. Either way, the Silver Fox is a beautiful, docile rabbit with an excellent meat dress out ratio of 65%. They make also make great pets due to their calm and gentile nature. The Silver Fox was on the verge of extinction but are being successfully brought back and are currently been moved up to "critical" status on the American Livestock Breeds Conservancy. The estimated population is less than 500 registered rabbits and fewer than 50 are reg. annually. But quality breeders, like us, are working on improving their type and color in hopes of increasing these numbers and ensuring the Silver Fox legacy continues Bucks can get up to 9-11 lbs and does 10-12 lbs. Does have large litters and are excellent mommas.
For More Information or to Join the Silver Fox Club.
We believe in breed conservation and purity, therefore we are only concentrating on Black and Blue Silver Fox at this
time. The Silver Fox Rabbit was the second truly American bred rabbit, the first being the American Blue. In each of these breeds, a Checkered Giant sport was involved. What is now known is that the Silver Fox was originated and developed during the 1920's by Mr. W.B. Garland of North Canton, OH. This man was energetic and had a
tremendous knowledge of the essentials of breeding to develop a desired trait. He was a pioneer in many phases of development of the domestic rabbit, its care and breeding. Mr. Garland had a black self Checkered Giant doe. She had the unusual quality of having a large number of white hairs scattered over her body. He also had some English Silvers. The Silver had a 6 pound weight limit for showing, its fur was coarse, and similar to that of a guinea pig, and it was a cobby and compact rabbit. This trait was a feature that caught his fancy. He envisioned a blocky "Hereford" type rabbit, similar in color to the English Silver, but with a desirable fur and more practical utility size. He wanted the Silver type and the checkered size! After considerable difficulty, a successful mating of the small silver buck and the large black doe was made. From his first litter, the largest buck was bred back to his mother and the largest does were bred back to the father. With about 40 hutches, and after 14 years of consistent culling, he had a rabbit that was breeding true to type and color and was the first rabbit of its day to dress out at a pound under its live weight. He developed both blacks and blues. Please not that there are no Flemish Giant blood in the Silver Fox other than through the ancestry of the Checkered Giant itself. The Silver Fox is a dual purpose heritage breed, raised for both meat and fur. It is the 3rd oldest (some claim 2nd oldest) breed developed here in the United States by Walter B. Garland of North Canton, Ohio in the 1920's. It was first accepted into ARBA in 1925 but under the name American Heavyweight Silver...in 1929 the name was changed to the American Silver Fox and was later shortened to Silver Fox. The Silver Fox is recognized by ARBA in black variety only, but COD is being worked on for Blue, which actually was recognized but were dropped in the 1970's due to very small numbers being shown...they are no making a strong comeback and it won't be long. The genetic ancestry of the Silver Fox is somewhat of a mystery...we do know that Mr. Garland raised Checkered Giants and Champagne D' Argents. It is most likely that Mr. Garland used self-colored Checkered Giants to get the large body and litter size and the beautiful Champagne D. Argents for the silvering, fur length and density and meat qualities. We don't really know for sure but these are the most logical conclusions. Either way, the Silver Fox is a beautiful, docile rabbit with an excellent meat dress out ratio of 65%. They make also make great pets due to their calm and gentile nature. The Silver Fox was on the verge of extinction but are being successfully brought back and are currently been moved up to "critical" status on the American Livestock Breeds Conservancy. The estimated population is less than 500 registered rabbits and fewer than 50 are reg. annually. But quality breeders, like us, are working on improving their type and color in hopes of increasing these numbers and ensuring the Silver Fox legacy continues Bucks can get up to 9-11 lbs and does 10-12 lbs. Does have large litters and are excellent mommas.
For More Information or to Join the Silver Fox Club.
Silver Fox Presentation By: Kitty Lynch
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