THE GOAT FARM

Silver foxes are a large breed of rabbit typically raised for its meat and fur. The breed was developed in the US by Walter. B Garland of North Canton, Ohio. It wasn’t until 1925 when the breed was officially recognized by the ARBA (American Rabbit Breeders Association). When a breed is developed it is the result of selective cross breeding between certain breeds to get the desired outcome. It has never been divulged what breeds Garland used to create the Silver Fox breed.

Over the years the number of Silver Fox rabbits decreased because of cross breeding with other rabbit breeds causing Silver Foxes to make it onto the Livestock Conservancy list as critical. Through the work of many breeders the breed has now been marked as recovering and is on its way off of the list. Silver Foxes are still not as common as they once were but they are making a comeback due to their docile nature and their live weight to dressed out weight ratio.

Purebred Silver Foxes have black fur that turns almost silver at the tips which is where they get their name. When the kits (baby rabbits) are born, they are solid black or blue. As they reach the age of about 4 weeks, the tips begin to silver and the whole process takes about 4 months. When I first looked into rabbit breeds, I was drawn to the Silver Foxes coloring, like many others, but really fell in love with the breed when I saw how sweet they can be. The does make great mothers and produce plenty of milk for her kits, and my bucks are incredibly friendly and docile.

Full grown Silver Fox bucks can weigh anywhere between 9-11lbs and the does weighing up to 12lbs. One thing that makes Silver Foxes stand out from other rabbit breeds is that on occasion they can dress out to up to 65% of their live weight! If you are interested in purchasing any of our Silver Foxes, shoot us an email. Or check out our store page to see who’s available for purchase.