Originally bred to be a laboratory animal and meat rabbit, the Florida White Rabbit makes a fine show animal in addition to being economically useful! The Florida White Rabbit is a small pet with short hair, and because it was developed as a laboratory animal, is easy to care for! Florida White Rabbits are also good meat rabbits, and, with their docile and unique personalities, are also rewarding in show!
In appearance, the Florida White Rabbit is much like the White Rabbit of Alice in Wonderland! Weighing between four and six pounds, the Florida White Rabbit has equally wide loin-rib section, hindquarters, and shoulders. The body is about as deep as these areas are wide, making this rabbit quite compact!
Florida White Rabbits’ curve upward from the base of their ears, getting taller to the middle of the hips, and then arching downward to their tails. Bucks have larger heads than does, but all Florida White Rabbits have well-rounded heads with well-furred, erect ears. Their pure white fur is soft and short, and complimented by their bright pink eyes! Pretty Florida White Rabbits have a flyback coat and are shown as a class four rabbit.
Originally, Florida White Rabbits were developed by ARBA Judge Orville Mulliken in Florida, as the name suggests. During the 1960’s, the need arose for a small meat rabbit who could also serve as a laboratory animal, and Mulliken crossed Albino American Dutch, Polish White, and New Zealand White Rabbits to create the compact, docile Florida White Rabbit. In the early 1960’s, the breed was standardized.
In show, faults are marked for Florida White Rabbits with narrow shoulders or loins or shoulders with flat spots. Wide shoulders are also a fault, as are loins that do not blend nicely into the hindquarters. In the hips, flat or rough tops are faults, as are pinched or lowercut undersides.
If the body does not balance, or the head and ears do not balance with the body, faults are marked. Florida White Rabbits are also marked faults for dewlaps, though small dewlaps are allowed in does so long as they are in proportion to the rest of the body. A rough spine is a fault in Florida White Rabbits, as is flesh which is flabby, saggy, or too soft. Junior and intermediate Florida White Rabbits can be shown in senior classes if their weight exceeds the limit for their own class.