by Terri Espinoza

Created on: June 24, 2010

Cinnamon rabbits are a beautiful breed of rabbit that comes only in the shaded russet that they are known for.  Due to their low numbers, they are considered rare today.  This breed has not had an easy time of coming into being. Murphy’s Law certainly raised its ugly head where this rabbit breed is concerned.  While Ellis Houseman is sometimes given credit for developing the Cinnamon breed, his children, Belle and Fred, are actually the originators of this breed.  They breed a Chinchilla doe to a New Zealand buck.  Out of this litter one buck was kept as a pet with the others going for food. 

The children joined 4H and showed their crossbred bunnies at fair.  A Checkered Giant doe and a Californian cross doe soon joined them at home.  Both does were bred to the Chinchilla x New Zealand buck and had litters.  Each doe had a russet colored kit (baby rabbit) in their litters.  About this time, Ellis Houseman decided that the kids should only raise purebred rabbits.  The children begged their father to let them keep the two russet colored bunnies.  He relented and the beginning stages of the Cinnamon were set in motion.  The two rabbits were bred together to produce more of the russet shaded rabbits.  Ellis Houseman couldn’t help but notice the beautiful sheen and color of this rabbits.

After showing them to a rabbit judge named J. Cyril Lowett, he decided to concentrate on breeding the Cinnamons. However, the ARBA (American Rabbit Breeder Association) recognition almost didn’t come to past.  Setback after setback hit the Housemans as they worked on the breed.  The rabbits went to convention in Canada in 1969.  The rabbits picked up a virus that destroyed the best of the rabbit herd.  Because of the virus, the remaining rabbits were in poor condition and didn’t pass the showing.  Two years later a dog attacked and killed the best of the rabbits that were going to be presented for showing.  But, the Housemans didn’t give up and got the Cinnamons passed in 1972.

Cinnamons are a large rabbit weighing 8-11 pounds are only shown in America.  They are only the reddish, cinnamon color that was carefully bred for.  This is a breed raised for fur, meat, pets and showing, making them a versatile all-round breed.  They are a calm breed that makes it a good choice for beginners or children to show or have as a pet.  They are sturdy and easy to handle requiring little grooming.  It is unfortunate that after the struggle to get this beautiful rabbit recognized that so few remain today.   American Livestock Breeds Conservancy has the Cinnamon listed on its rare rabbit breed list with only a hundreds of them left.  While this is not an easily found breed of rabbit, it is a wonderful choice for the beginning rabbit person.

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