The Palomino rabbit is a beautiful large breed which is generally gold or lynx colored. The breed was developed by Mark Youngs, in Washington State, United States. Mark Youngs wanted to created a new rabbit breed.
And during the late 1940s and early 1950s, by crossing of various commercial typed rabbit he eventually produced fawn rabbits. Soon he enlisted the help of several ‘co-breeders’ and together they developed their sunny bunnies into a breed. And they name the breed as ‘Washingtonian‘.
The ‘Washingtonian’ rabbit breed was first presented at the American Rabbit Breeders Association convention in 1953. And then the name of the breed was changed to Palomino. Despite some difficulties, the Palomino rabbit was approved as a separate breed and was finally recognized by the American Rabbit Breeder’s Association in 1957.
Then the Palomino rabbit had been exported to Europe. And by the 1960s the breed was more common and gaining popularity. But the Palomino rabbits are not yet recognized by the British Rabbit Council.
Palomino Rabbit Characteristics
The Palomino rabbits are large breed. They can be easily recognized by their unique fawny orange color. They have commercial type body. And their body type is similar to the New Zealand rabbit. Usually the body of the Palomino rabbit is medium in length with solid flesh and it has well rounded hindquarters.
Their body contain a smaller bone structure than other meat rabbit variety. And such smaller bone structure offers the breeder a superior meat ratio. They have brown colored eyes, and their ears are big and erect. There are two color varieties of the Palomino rabbit, which are Golden and Lynx.
The golden color variety is an orange-beige color over a white or cream undercoat. While the Lynx colored Palomino rabbit variety has a gray or silver color, mixing with an ornage-beige over the cream or white undercoat.
The coat of the both type of Palomino rabbit variety is rude and full. Like some other rabbit breeds, the Palomino does are heavier than the bucks. On average the Palomino bucks weight about 3.6 to 4.5 kg and the does weight about 4 to 5 kg. Photo from Wikipedia.
Uses
As a large breed, these rabbits are suitable for meat production. They can be a good choice for meat rabbit farming business. Palominos are also good as show animal and make excellent pets.
Special Notes
The Palomino rabbit is a hardy and strong breed. It is a docile breed in temperament and considered to be one of the best breed of home pets. They are friendly and have a very calm personality. They enjoy human company. These rabbits are very clean animal and they will groom themselves and also each other.
The does are known for being excellent mothers. The fryers grow quickly and reach slaughtering age earlier. The average lifespan of these rabbits is about 5 to 8 years. But in captivity they can live up to 10 years. Review full breed profile of this rabbit breed in the chart below.
| Breed Name | Palomino |
| Other Name | n/a |
| Breed Purpose | Commercial meat production. Also kept as show animal and pets. |
| Breed Size | Large |
| Weight | Average body weight is between 3.6 and 5.0 kg |
| Suitable for Commercial Production | Yes |
| Good as Pets | Yes |
| Climate Tolerance | All Climates |
| Color Varieties | Golden and Lynx |
| Rarity | Common |
| Country of Origin | United States |
