American Chinchilla (US)
American Chinchilla (US) identifies the United States version of the American Chinchilla rabbit, a large breed descended from early twentieth-century Chinchilla rabbits and selected for a bigger meat and pelt animal. Its defining feature is the chinchilla agouti coat: each hair shaft carries bands that create a salt-and-pepper gray surface over a darker undercolor. In American usage it stands between the smaller Standard Chinchilla and the much larger Giant Chinchilla, with a commercial body type and moderate bone.
Keepers value the breed for a steady temperament and practical size, but it needs the same space and sanitation expected for any large rabbit. Wire-bottom cages should have resting boards, and solid-floor pens must stay dry to prevent sore hocks. Breeding programs in the United States tend to emphasize correct ring color, broad hindquarters, mothering ability, and maintaining rare bloodlines. A buyer should confirm that a rabbit is registered or bred as an American Chinchilla rather than merely being a chinchilla-colored cross.
Colors: Agouti, Albino, Black, Blue, Broken, Charlie, Chestnut, Chinchilla, Chocolate, Cream, Fawn, Harlequin, Himalayan, Lilac, Lynx, Magpie, Marten, Opal, Orange, Otter, Pointed White, Red, Sable, Seal, Squirrel, Tortoise, Tri-Color, Vienna Marked, White
