Want to help save and care for one of the rarest rabbit breeds in the world? There aren’t even 1,000 of these bunnies left. What is this rare rabbit breed?
The Creme d’Argent rabbit breed is a large rabbit breed with creamy orange fur. As the rabbit moves, you’ll see a silvery luster. The Creme d’Argent rabbit has been bred for meat and fur purposes, and currently, they are bred for shows and to be petted.
Ready to learn about where the Creme d’Argent rabbit originated from, how to care for them so they live a long and healthy life, and what they look like.
What Is a Creme d’Argent Rabbit?
When I think of a soft creamy orange color, the Creme d’Argent rabbit comes to mind. And that’s pretty much what their coats look like.
Other than a pretty coat, the Creme d’Argent rabbit is a large rabbit breed, weighing a minimum of 8.5 pounds and a maximum of 11 pounds. Their average life expectancy is 7 to 9 years, depending on how well they have looked after.
With an easy to average care level, these friendly buns are suitable for senior citizens, families with older kids, and those who are single. The Creme d’Argent rabbit can also live indoors or outdoors.
Comparable rabbit breeds for the Creme d’Argent rabbit are the Champagne d’Argent rabbit and the Californian rabbit.
Creme d’Argent Rabbit History and Origin
In the mid to late 19th century, the Creme d’Argent rabbit was bred in France.
The whole history of the breed’s creation isn’t documented, but the oldest of the Argent rabbit breeds – the Champagne d’Argent rabbit – surely had a role to play in the creation of the Creme d’Argent rabbit.
One of the earliest mentions of the Creme d’Argent rabbit breed was in 1877. The Jardin d’Acclimatation rabbit exhibition near Paris was documented in the Livestock Journal, and the Creme d’Argent rabbit was mentioned.
Soon after the exhibition, the rabbit breed gained popularity. Creme d’Argent rabbits were mainly bred for their fur coat to be used in fashionable clothing items during the 19th century.
The exact date the Creme d’Argent rabbits were imported into the United States isn’t known but it was before 1924.
When the Creme d’Argent rabbit breed was first imported to the U.S., some were kept as purebred Creme d’Argent rabbits, while others were crossbred with the Golden Palomino rabbit and other breeds.
The American version of the Creme d’Argent rabbit was developed to be used for meat production.
The first Creme d’Argent rabbits in the U.S. were exhibited in 1936 at the Convention and Show in Fort Wayne, Indiana. Two years later, the working standard for the Creme d’Argent breed was established.
Harry Clauss from New York, who was a breeder, especially liked the Creme d’Argent rabbit. He wanted to breed the rabbit for show and meat purposes. As such, the Creme d’Argent rabbit was bred to have a commercial-shaped body.
Clauss also bred out common faults such as dark ear lacing on the original Creme d’Argent rabbit.
The American Rabbit Breeders Association (ARBA) recognized the Americanized Creme d’Argent rabbit somewhere around 1940.
The Creme d’Argent rabbit is one of the rarest rabbit breeds, being extinct in all countries in the world except for the U.K. and the U.S. There are fewer than 1,000 of these rabbits left.
The breed is on the “recovering” category list of the American Livestock Breeds Conservancy because ARBA and other rabbit groups are working hard to protect the Creme d’Argent rabbit breed and slowly increase its population.
Creme d’Argent Rabbit Characteristics
Here are the physical and personality characteristics of this rare breed, the Creme d’Argent rabbit:
General Physical Description
With a commercial and large-sized body, the Creme d’Argent bunny has strong and muscular hindquarters, full shoulders, and medium-sized ears.
These rabbits can weigh anywhere between 8.5 to 11 pounds.
The does usually weigh more than the bucks: adult female rabbits weigh between 8.5 to 11 pounds, and adult male rabbits weigh up to 10.5 pounds. Some bucks can weigh as little as 8 pounds.
The does are good mothers and have an average litter of 5-8 kits.
Coat
Similar to most of the other Argent rabbit breeds, the Creme d’Argent rabbit also has beautiful rollback fur that’s short.
Luckily, this rabbit breed doesn’t need constant grooming. It’s recommended to groom your rabbit with a rabbit-friendly slicker brush about once a week to get rid of any stray hairs.
During molting season, you can groom your bun a bit more often so you don’t have bundles of fur all over your house. Plus, it makes cleaning the rabbit enclosure easier.
Color Varieties
Unlike other rabbit breeds, the Creme d’Argent rabbit doesn’t come in lots of color varieties.
A true Creme d’Argent rabbit only comes in one color coat; however, there may be slight depth differences.
A Creme d’Argent rabbit has a creamy-white coat with a light orange hue. The undercoat of the rabbit is a creamy or bright orange.
The silver gene that the Creme d’Argent rabbit has means that the white and orange guard hairs give the rabbit an interesting shine when it moves.
The number of guard hairs also increases as your Creme d’Argent bun ages.
As such, the Creme d’Argent rabbit can have an orange-silver, orange-fawn, or a creamy-orange appearing coat, depending on their guard hairs and how light shines on it. ARBA only accepts this color variety.
Temperament
The Creme d’Argent rabbit is easy to handle because they have mostly been bred for show, fur, and meat purposes.
These rabbits are sweet, loving, friendly, and sociable. As such, a Creme d’Argent bunny is quite happy to be handled – provided you do so correctly. They also love to be petted on their head, behind their ears, and on their back.
Creme d’Argent Rabbit Care Tips
If you are fortunate enough to find a breeder and adopt a Creme d’Argent rabbit, follow this care tips guide.
You want to make sure that your rabbit’s physical, emotional, social, and mental needs are met because this leads to a happy and fulfilled life for your bun.
- Ensure your rabbit’s enclosure is large enough so there’s enough space for your bunny to move around.
- Your bunny also needs an exercise pen that’s (minimum) 3 times the size of rabbit cage or hutch.
- Outside hutches need to be safe for your rabbit. That means your bunny needs to be protected from predators and the weather.
- If your rabbit stays inside and can roam freely in a few rooms in your home, then these rooms need to be safe for your rabbit.
- Feed your rabbit a healthy and balanced diet consisting of water, hay, pellets, leafy greens, herbs, vegetables, and fruit.
- Regularly check your rabbit for signs of illness, wounds, or infection.
- Common rabbit health issues are GI stasis, hypothermia, hyperthermia, ear mites, worms, sore hocks, poisoning, and overgrown nails and teeth.
- Ensure your rabbit has plenty of toys to amuse themselves with. Get chew, puzzle, activity, and maze toys, and make obstacle courses for your bunny.
- Your rabbit also needs a certain amount of exercise per day to stay healthy.
- As social animals, your rabbit needs to spend an adequate amount of time with you, or you need to bond your Creme d’Argent rabbit with another rabbit so they have a rabbit partner.
- Spay or neuter your rabbit if you don’t want litters and litters of bunnies. The benefits of spaying or neutering your Creme d’Argent rabbit includes eliminating aggressive behavior and reproductive cancers, ensuring your rabbit is calmer, and lengthening their lifespan.
Breeding Creme d’Argent Rabbit
Creme d’Argent rabbits have been (and are being bred) for these purposes:
As Pets
With their friendly attitude and docile nature, the Creme d’Argent rabbit fits in well with families and any rabbit owner who loves and looks after them.
The Creme d’Argent rabbits also make excellent pet bunnies for first-time rabbit owners, and because of their large size, they are ideal for children.
For Show
The beautiful coat of the Creme d’Argent rabbit makes it ideal for shows and exhibitions. So the Creme d’Argent breed is a show rabbit too.
For Fur
Before the fur industry declined in the mid 20th century, the Creme d’Argent rabbit breed was bred for its fur.
The rabbit’s fur made stunning fur coats for people in European countries.
For Meat
On the opposite side of the world, the Americans bred the Creme d’Argent rabbit mostly for its commercial body and meat production.
Creme d’Argent Rabbit Price
The Creme d’Argent rabbit breed is generally quite expensive. You’ll probably pay $75 or more for a Creme d’Argent bunny.
The tricky part isn’t really how much you’ll pay for this rabbit but finding a breeder.
The best advice is to check the updated rabbit breeder list on the ARBA’s website and try to find a reputable breeder for a Creme d’Argent rabbit that way.
My Last Bunny Thoughts
If you are looking for a large pet rabbit, you can’t go wrong with the rare Creme d’Argent. They are beautiful, animated, friendly, and affectionate rabbits.
Take care of your Creme d’Argent bunny to ensure they live a healthy life and to have your bunny bestie with you for a long time.