by Sunshine Simmons

Created on: January 11, 2009

The Mini SatinrRabbit has the beautiful fur of the full size Satin, but in a much smaller size, weighing in at 3.25 to 4.75 pounds, rather than their nearly 11 pound counterparts. If you've never felt the fur of a Mini Satin rabbit, think back to the softest stuffed animal that you have ever touched. Give it long ears and a wiggling nose, and you have a Mini Satin rabbit. Although the Mini Satin became a recognized breed by the American Breeders Association, or ARBA, in 2006, the history of the breed spans back many years.

Satins were created by accident in Pendleton, Indiana
in 1934 by a man named Walter Huey. Mr. Huey was trying to improve the color of his Havanas when he inbred his animals and instead created rabbits with fur that had a satiny shiny finish. Harvard
University tested the animals and detected a mutated recessive gene.
When Huey showed his rabbits, there was a huge uproar, and the National Havana Club decided that they had to have their own variety. They became known as the Satin Havanas.

Te development of this new breed created a frenzy of other breeders trying to "Satinize" other breeds, which in 1946 spawned the American Satin Rabbit Breeders Association, an organization specifically focusing on Satin Rabbits. At that time, only two varieties were recognized, which were Ruby-eyed Whites and Chinchillas. More time passed, and breeders proposed numerous standards for Satin Rabbits.
The goal was to get Lilac, Orange, Black, and Copper recognized. Eight varieties were accepted in 1956, and Siamese Satins were approved in 1965. In 1985, Broken Satins were included in the standard, and Otter Satins were added in 2001.
Over the years, Satin Rabbits became recognized by every rabbit organization in the world.

Satin Rabbits are very large, weighing in anywhere from 8 and-a-half to 11 pounds, and the cost of feeding them is higher than the smaller breeds. In the late 1970's, Satin Rabbits were changed forever, and the change was as amazing as the mutated gene that created them in the first place.

A woman named Mrs. Ariel Hayes who lived in Troy, Michigan
took a Satin Rabbit and bred it to a Polish, creating a very small Satin Rabbit that weighed much smaller, and by 1982, they weighed in at only 4 and-a-half pounds. She called them Satinettes. She disposed of her Satinette line, and it never was carried on.

In the 1980's, a breeder named B. Pettit introduced Satin Rabbits into his Netherland Dwarf breed to improve the fur in his lines. In 1990, a couple named

• 1
• 2
• Next Page >>