Peter Rabbit - What is he?

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PeterK

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About two months ago I saw a rabbit on the side of the road late at night. Tried, and failed to catch him, but later that day someone posted on the neighborhood message board looking for the owner of a rabbit. She mentioned she couldn't keep him at her house and since I've had rabbit before I offered to care for him. Later that day, driving to get food for him, I saw a house down the street with a small rabbit cage on the curb. Stopped and asked the people if they lost their rabbit. They said no, closed the door and as soon as I walked away the cage was taken from the curb. Since half of my rabbits in my childhood were ones my Mom found abandoned in parks it wasn't a huge leap for me to assume he was let go when the newness of an Easter rabbit wore off.

I took him to a vet, got him neutered, flea/tick medicine and set up an area in our yard for him. Yes, I know indoor is better. No, I can't keep him inside. I am actually allergic to rabbits. We are in Southern California, no snow, and all my rabbits before lived to be in their teens outside. He has a run area about 30 square feet with a two story hutch (solid sides up top on all sides so he can feel secure if predators come around at night). He gets put in at dusk and let out in the morning. Plenty of hay and vegetables every day, his area is shaded by a small tree and he loves his little potted bush to run around or hide under. He has plenty of toys and two wooden tunnels to play with. My Mom gardens frequently so he gets company along with fresh cuttings from the bunny safe bushes/plants and bunny safe fruits fresh off the trees about once a week (no chemicals used in our yard). He's a happy bun. He is very clean and only potties in the furthest corner of his area which is wonderful for us to keep his area clean. I do have him on the waiting list for the local rescue but the longer he is with us the more attached I am getting.

Long story short, I have a rabbit for the time being at least. I am a little curious if there are any guesses to a possible breed or even what to call his coloring.

He was solid white with some tan darkening on the top of his tail when he first arrived. Extremely skinny and bony at first (3 pounds) with a very dull and dry coat I assumed the color was from sitting in a dirty cage. Now he is closer to four pounds and his coat feels so much better. I can feel muscles under his skin instead of just bones when I pet or hold him. When his winter coat came in, or maybe after he got some good nutrition, he seems to be white with brown/caramel tipping on his coat. The photos I have are before his winter coat fully came in. The coloring is the top of his tail, sides of ears, along his forehead and back side mostly. It is very faint and at first glance it looks like he was rolling in dirt or in a dust storm; but its his actual color. His eyes are not red; they are a dark blue.

I will try to get some better photos today but these are the ones I have from when he was shedding mostly.

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Definitely a mix breed. I have had some with highlighting like that that might have been part Californian, but guessing is just that. We only want healthy and happy and all the rest is just stuff. We had a rescue come to us just rail-thin, 7 pounds and were told she was an English Spot mix and around 7 months to a year based on size. Turned out she was a pure Checkered Giant and was maybe 4 months at the most--she tripled in size and 5 months after we got her, she was just under 20 pounds and just a sweet, friendly lap bunny---she loved to be held and rubbed. She was with us for more than 10 years.
 
We are in California so I guess a mix with Californian would make sense. I actually did not realize how many breeds of rabbits there were until I started trying to figure out what to call his coloring. I was calling him white but that didn't last long, lol. Highlights work.
 
I am going to disagree with Californian as he doesn’t have the correct coloring which is a white rabbit with black points and red eyes.

He looks to be a mature buck (with that big blocky head) so he is probably full grown and his proper weight seems like it should be around 6-7lbs or so. I’m really not sure what breed he is but I do have a color name for you! He looks like a Sable Frosty. I’ll attach a website that I found photos of some rabbits that look just like his color under Sable Frosty. He is a handsome boy!

http://hickoryridgehollands.com/holland-lop-color-guide/
 
Thank you for the further input. I was looking into the Californian more because the point part was sticking for me; I have pointed cats and he isn't quite the same. Frosty looks like it might be a dilute point, sorta kinda, which would fit.

I am hoping he will gain some more weight and muscle over the next few months. He definitely is getting stronger and healthier with time. When I first picked him up he really was depressing but he started making significant improvements in just a few weeks time.
 
OH wow he is a lot more orange than I thought originally. I’m not sure what color he is but definitely very pretty!
 

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