Crème D'Argent

The Crème d'Argent is a big rabbit that originated in France, its name a nod to the creamy, silvered sheen of its coat. A mature animal is no small pet: most adults weigh 3.6 to 5 kg (8 to 11 lb), with a broad, rounded frame and a coat that lies flat and glossy against the body. It ranks among the older French silver breeds, and these days it is kept chiefly for showing and as a companion animal rather than for meat.

The coat sets the breed apart from almost anything else in the rabbit fancy. On the surface it reads as a warm, creamy orange, frosted over by silver-white guard hairs that catch the light. Part the fur and the undercolour beneath is a much brighter orange. Few breeds carry this particular combination, which is exactly why exhibitors and hobbyists go looking for it.

Temperament-wise, the Crème d'Argent is unhurried, easy-going and good company. Most individuals put up with handling without fuss, which counts for a lot given their bulk, and they settle into a household routine without much drama.

Who it suits

This is not a starter rabbit for a small flat. You need room for a large animal and the time to handle it daily. Because of its size, young children should only hold it while sitting, with an adult keeping a hand nearby. Owners after a calm, unhurried pet rather than a bundle of energy will find the temperament a good match. For hobby exhibitors who want a coat that turns heads without a highly-strung temperament to manage, this breed does the job.

France is the home of the Crème d'Argent, one of a wider family of French silver rabbits bred for that frosted, silvered fur. Silver rabbits go back a long way in French rabbit-keeping, and the cream-coloured version was fixed as its own type rather than turning up as a random one-off.

Fanciers in Britain picked the breed up in the early 1900s, drawn to a coat colour unlike anything else on the show bench at the time. Stock moved on from there, and from rabbits on the European mainland, to keepers further afield.

The breed eventually reached the United States and was recognised there for showing. It was never bred in bulk for the table or the pet trade, and numbers have stayed modest next to the big commercial breeds ever since.

Across its history the Crème d'Argent has been kept mainly for its coat and its calm nature. It remains an uncommon breed today, held onto by dedicated breeders through rabbit clubs and shows rather than large-scale rabbitries.

The Crème d'Argent has a broad, deep body with good muscling, a rounded topline, and full hindquarters, built on a medium-to-large frame. The head is broad in proportion, the ears are moderate in length and stand upright, and the whole animal gives an impression of solidity and balance. Both sexes carry good size, though does usually run a little larger than bucks.

Coat and colours

The coat is what people remember about this breed. On the surface it's a warm, creamy orange, and white guard hairs scattered through it give the fur a silvered, frosted look. Underneath, the undercolour is a deeper, brighter orange that only shows once you part the fur. Silvering should sit evenly over the body, though the ears, face and feet usually carry a bit less of the frosted effect than the rest of the coat. The fur itself is dense and settles back smoothly when you run a hand over it. Kits are born a deeper orange and grow into the full silvered cream shade as they mature.

Calm and even-tempered sums up the Crème d'Argent. It is gentle and docile by nature, and most individuals put up with regular handling without a fuss, which matters given the size of the animal. It tends toward unhurried rather than jumpy.

Around family it is friendly and slots into a routine of feeding, handling and time out of the hutch. Strangers usually get a placid reception rather than a nervous one, though every rabbit does better with a slow, quiet introduction than sudden movement or loud noise. Children get on well with this breed, but given the weight involved, a child should only hold the rabbit while seated, with an adult watching so it is never dropped.

Paired with other rabbits, the Crème d'Argent can live in twos or small groups provided the animals are neutered and introduced gradually on neutral territory. Like any rabbit it is a prey species at heart, so introductions to dogs and cats need to be slow and supervised throughout. A rabbit left alone too much or handled too little can turn withdrawn, so daily attention and room to move keep this breed content.

Day-to-day care for the Crème d'Argent isn't complicated, but its size needs factoring in. The short, dense coat looks after itself for most of the year and only demands real attention during a moult.

Grooming

• Brush once a week, and step that up to several times a week during a moult to clear loose fur.
• Keep an eye on the nails and clip them every few weeks as needed.
• Check the ears, eyes and rear end regularly for discharge, matting or soiling.
• Never bathe a rabbit in water; the stress isn't worth it. Spot-clean soiled patches instead.

Exercise

• Give the rabbit at least three to four hours of supervised time out of the hutch every day.
• Set up a secure, rabbit-proofed run or room where it can hop, stretch out and stand tall.
• Add tunnels, platforms and chew toys to keep it busy and active.

Environment

Keep the hutch clean, dry and free of draughts, out of direct sun and away from extremes of temperature, which is worth taking seriously given how much South Africa's climate shifts by region and altitude. A rabbit on the Highveld deals with sharp winter frost, while one in the Lowveld or along the KwaZulu-Natal coast faces long stretches of heat and humidity. Rabbits handle heat badly wherever they are, so keep the space below roughly 27°C (80°F) and add shade and airflow in summer. Spot-clean the enclosure daily and give it a full clean weekly to stop ammonia building up and to keep flystrike at bay.

Grass hay should make up roughly 80 to 90 percent of a rabbit's diet and stay available around the clock. In South Africa that usually means teff or Eragrostis hay rather than the timothy hay sold overseas, since it's what most feed and pet shops actually stock. Hay keeps the gut moving and wears down teeth that never stop growing. Round out the diet with a measured portion of plain pellets and a daily helping of fresh leafy greens, and make sure clean water is on offer at all times.

Treats and supplements

Treats should stay a small part of the overall diet. An occasional thin slice of carrot, a sprig of herbs or a small piece of apple (pips removed) is plenty. A rabbit eating hay, decent pellets and a variety of greens generally needs no extra supplements. If weight suddenly shifts up or down, that's the cue to relook at the pellet portion and how often treats are going in.

The Crème d'Argent is a sturdy breed overall, with no disorders reported as specific to it. Given decent housing, diet and routine care, it typically lives 5 to 8 years. Most health issues seen in the breed are the same ones that crop up in rabbits generally, and good husbandry combined with catching problems early prevents most of them.

Preventive care

• Keep grass hay available without limit to support dental and digestive health.
• Check daily that the rabbit is eating normally and passing droppings.
• Keep the enclosure clean and dry to head off flystrike and respiratory illness.
• Vaccinate where it applies locally (rabbit viral haemorrhagic disease, for instance) on your vet's advice.
• Book a yearly check-up, and think about neutering for health and behaviour reasons.

Being a large rabbit, the Crème d'Argent needs more room than the smaller breeds get by on. The enclosure has to allow several full hops in a row, room to stand fully upright on the hind legs, and space to stretch out flat. Indoor or outdoor housing both work, though keeping the rabbit indoors or under shelter protects it from swings in temperature and from predators, which matters more in some parts of the country than others. Whatever the setup, the enclosure is only a base, not the full living space, so time in a bigger run or a rabbit-proofed room every day is non-negotiable.

Setup checklist

• A solid-floored enclosure with absorbent bedding and a separate litter corner.
• A constant supply of grass hay and a water source that won't tip over (bowl or bottle).
• A hide box or shelter the rabbit can retreat into.
• Chew toys and a couple of platforms or tunnels for enrichment.
• A secure, shaded outdoor run or camp, or a rabbit-proofed indoor space, for exercise every day.

The Crème d'Argent reaches breeding age at a few months old, and being a large breed, it tends to mature a bit later than the smaller ones do. For mating, the doe goes into the buck's enclosure rather than the other way round, since does are territorial and will defend their own patch. Pregnancy runs about 31 days.

Give the doe a nest box with clean bedding shortly before she's due. As kindling approaches she pulls fur from her own body to line the nest. Litters in a breed this size tend to run moderate to good in number, and the doe feeds the kits, often no more than once or twice a day, which is normal and nothing to worry about.

Kits arrive hairless with their eyes shut, open their eyes at around 10 days old, and start venturing out of the nest and nibbling solid food over the following weeks. Weaning is generally done by six to eight weeks. Newborns show the deeper orange shade first and grow into the breed's silvered cream colouring as they mature. Breeding is best left to experienced keepers who can place kits responsibly rather than add to the numbers of a breed that's already uncommon.