Derp!
Lulz, suddenly I am the bunny expert? I guess I do kind of over research these things...
Californians are a slightly smaller breed with a slightly lighter bone structure. They tend to grow a tad slower but have a better ratio of bone to meat.
NZW rabbits are more commercially grown because they grow a bit faster. For a back yard breeder the difference wont be particularly relevant. We are talking differences of an ounce here or there.
The reason to cross them is because they are the two best meat rabbits in the world but distinct breeds. Because of this the offspring often get hybrid vigor (or grow bigger, fatser) but because they are closely related the offspring are consistant and often breed true producing a rabbit with a n inbetween meat to bone ratio without sacrificing size or growth rate. The hybrid vigor only effects the first generation so its common to cross them and I have heard the crosses are some of the best meat rabbits in the world and some people claim there's a difference in meat like they are softer meat and taste better.
As for the colors, I am not really on the upitty up with rabbits genetically but... The gene that produces REW is the gene that determines the colors like sables or chinchillsa too. Each darker color is dominant over a lighter color. Californians or pointed are dominant to the REW of the NZW, which you are correct, it is a complete lack of pigment. Any other color will be dominant to Californian.
Some Californians look a little grey. Sometimes the black on Californians is temperature sensitive and can change depending on what conditions they're raised in.
Hope that helps! ARBA says they're different breeds too.
most was check ups and shots but it would just break my heart having families drop off animals they raised to be put down because they needed meds or a surgery the owners couldn't afford. I'd cry on my way home some days. Too much empathy I suppose? So I got into rescue and my own creature adventures.
The New Zealand breed (which probably originated in the U.S, maybe even California) dates back to the early 1900's. The original color was red, not white; the whites came later. During the 1920's, a breeder crossed a Himalayan rabbit (the origin of the "pointed" coloration) with Chinchillas, NZW's, and I think a couple of others to create the Californian. The two breeds are both commercial in type (meat rabbits), but there are slight differences in things like bone structure and ear length (in addition to the coloring) which make the two breeds identifiably different in the show room. The thing is, not everybody that raises rabbits is doing so with a copy of the breed standard in hand, lol. Most of the people who are commercial breeders are much more concerned with how a doe produces than they are with how she'd do on a show table. Outcrosses are done all the time for a variety of reasons, and type can vary quite a bit even in purebreds. Some people assume that anything that has a completely white pelt is a NZ, and anything that has pink eyes and a smudge of color on the nose and ears is a Californian. Slaughterhouses prefer white rabbits, and will pay slightly more for them than they will for colored animals. There are a few other breeds that come in white (not all of which are recognized by the ARBA) which may get called a NZW when you see them at an auction or in a back yard. If an animal comes from a reputable breeder who keeps good records and pedigrees, you can be reasonably sure that an animal is a "pure" Californian or New Zealand. Otherwise, it's a bit of a crap shoot. Even within the breed, there is a certain amount of variability, so whether one particular Cali dresses out with a better meat-to-bone ratio than one particular New Zealand isn't a guarantee. On average, the Cali does give you slightly more meat than the NZ in rabbits of the same live weight.
Lots of information.
