Tans are an old breed that has unique markings and striking coloring. They originally come from England where they have been shown since the early 1900's. Tans are often referred to as the “Aristocrat of the Fancy”.

Average adult weight range:
Does: 4 - 6 pounds
Bucks: 4 - 5-1/2 pounds

Tans are a full arched breed. They have a very lean, compact, well balanced body. They are visually striking because of their unique markings, contrast and intensity of their coloration. Their fur is slick and glossy. There are four varieties in the Tan breed: Black, Blue, Chocolate and Lilac. All four varieties have identical "Tan" patterns. The Tan coloration is an intense, deep fiery red color that is consistent from it's chest through it's tail. A Tan in it's prime will about take your breath away - it is stunning and beautiful.

Tans are easily one of the most inquisitive breeds. They are an intelligent, active and tactile breed. Because of their natural activity level, they require more cage space than the average rabbit. Given the opportunity, they will play with all kinds of rabbit safe toys. Toys are hours of entertainment, both for the Tan and for you watching the Tan. Because Tans are a very smart rabbit, you must have a cage that is secure. Being a very tactile rabbit, it is not uncommon to find them chewing on their cage wire. Giving them blocks of wood will sometimes redirect their attention from the wire. On average, they usually don't do much, if any damage to their teeth.

Tans are one of five arched breeds recognized by the American Rabbit Breeders Association. Because of it's very natural ability to present itself on the show table, this breed is judged by being allowed to move naturally on the show table, never posed. If you plan to show, working with your Tans between shows is critical so they know to present themselves once they hit the carpet. If you have a Tan for a pet, letting them out to run in the house on your carpet is excellent exercise (never leave them unattended or they will get into everything).

There are two color groups in Tans. In show terms, the color is referred to as "variety". There is the Black variety with the recessive variety of Blue. There is also the Chocolate variety with the recessive variety of Lilac. The American Tan Rabbit Specialty Club recommends breeders who are just starting out to stay within one color group until you become more familiar with color genetics. There isn't tremendous market for pet quality Tans so it is best to focus on show quality Tans. This means breeding Black to Black or Black to Blue or Chocolate to Chocolate or Chocolate to Lilac. Although it's not recommended to breed a recessive color to another recessive color (i.e.. Blue to Blue), it has produced some show quality Tans of excellent quality.

Younger Tan does conceive more easily than older Tan does, although it is possible for older does to conceive. The average Tan litter is three to four kits. It is not unusual to have only two kits or up to nine kits in a litter. A lot depends on the size of the doe, her condition and family history. Tan does are superb mothers and will accept other same aged young in their litters if you need to foster a litter. Most does readily accept having their nests checked upon but if you have a doe who protects her nest (this is an instinctual habit - she is not doing it to be mean), remove the nest box from the cage to check the babies. Do not handle the kits any more than it is necessary before they open their eyes. This is a basic rule of thumb with all does and litters. In the beginning you are only checking the nest box to count the young and see if any expired... maybe once a day. If this upsets your doe, check every other day. They have the instinct to raise their young so let the does do their job.

When the kits are born, you will see a variation in their skin color based on what variety they will develop into. Sometimes it's difficult to tell what they are at first but by the time they are three days old, their fur will have grown enough to easily tell what variety they are. Where there is pink skin, you will be able to see where their classic Tan coloring is going to develop. As you watch your kits grow, you will notice "ticking" on their sides which appears to be stray Tan hairs. This is perfectly normal. As they mature, this ticking will be only on their sides, along their demarcation line.

One of the neat aspects of working with Tans is they don't have "mismarked" litters. All of the young will be show quality with slight differences between the siblings. The transformation from a youngster with brindling across it's face to a sophisticated aristocrat of the fancy is nothing short of fascinating.

For the definition of what a show quality Tan is, refer to the "Standard of Perfection" published by the American Rabbit Breeders Association. The Standard breaks down specific qualities of the Tan in a schedule of points covering general type, fur, color, markings and condition. Typically you can begin showing your juniors at four months of age with good results.

Copyright 2003 - Bonny Wagoner. All rights reserved.

I created this diagram to help folks identify the areas referred to in the standard. Because ARBA does not provide an accompanying diagram to their descriptions, there is a lot of confusion (even with the judges) about specifically where some of the features are found and how to properly assess them in the judging process. The specific points assessed to each area can be found in the American Rabbit Breeders Association "Standard of Perfection". A larger version of this diagram is in the American Tan Rabbit Specialty Club's Guidebook (the new version - 2003) which is included in the modest membership fee. I encourage you to join our national club (ATRSC).

American Rabbit Breeders Association
American Tan Rabbit Specialty Club
UK Tan Club

Side note: Each year Urban Rabbits receives numerous inquiries about using Tans as meat rabbits. First thing we need to point out is we DON'T sell any rabbit for meat, fur or animal training. Period. If you find you must eat rabbits, we recommend you research rabbits that were genetically enhanced for meat (i.e.. Florida White). Tans are a "fancy" rabbit, best suited as show and companion rabbits.