Category: Education

Discovering the "K" Rabbits of the World

6/21/2021

I'm mentally going through my list of rabbits and thinking.. K..K...K... and I can't come up with one. If we were talking dogs, or cats, or even cows I could. but hmm.. rabbits.. What "K" rabbits can I come up with in my discovery?

You know what? There's ONLY ONE!
It comes from Algeria and is just a small 4-6 lb rabbit called the Kabyle. It was initially created in the 1970s from the New Zealand, Californian and the burgundy fawn. This bunny comes with erect ears and is found in the following colours: tan, black, white, and brown. It was AGAIN created in the 1980's using the same breeds. This is a rabbit that performs well in hot temperatures.

This makes me think more people should know about it since around this time of year people ask "how can I keep my bunnies cool?" Or note that they've lost bunnies due to heat.

Last week I almost lost one of my does. She kindled in the DAY TIME on one of our hottest days. Thought for sure I would lose her despite treating her. BUT she bounced back .. took three days before she was back to normal and we lost a couple of her kits, but she's good! I was SO relieved.

The pic below are her surviving kits.

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Discovering the "J" rabbits of the world

6/10/2021

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Oh, you'd probably laugh at me. When I was thinking about rabbits that begin with the letter J, the first thing I thought was that the Jack-a-lope! :) Silly of me eh?

But really, are there rabbits that begin with the letter J? Let's discover the J rabbits of the world together!

One that I can think of off the top of my head is the Jersey Wooly. This is a small wooled breed. They are known as the Fluff of the Fancies. An American breed, you'll find their club page gives a good history into this small 3 lb rabbit.

The only other "J" rabbit I've been able to find is the Japanese White. This is an albino rabbit from Japan that ranges wildly in size from 6.6 lbs to 22 lbs.

Searching for this breed online I found them used as laboratory animals. Beyond that... not a lot else. :) I would assume that since they vary in size you could selectively breed for what you wanted, just working with the qualities that you desired.

This is part of the blogging through the alphabet challenge. You can find the linky.

Others in this series.

A bunnies.
B bunnies.
C bunnies.
D Bunnies.
E Bunnies.
F Bunnies.
G Bunnies.
H Bunnies.
I Bunnies.
J Bunnies.

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Discovering the "I" rabbits of the world

6/2/2021

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You know what? I can't think of a single "I" rabbit so I have to go looking to see if I can discover any "I" rabbits in the world at large.

Guess what! There is one! It's called the Isabella.
It was originally developed in England and was a beige coloured rabbit called... THE BEIGE Rabbit!

But this fellow Herbert Nielsson in Sweden decided to recreate it, and in doing so changed it's named to the Isabella.

Coming in at 6.6-8.8 lbs this medium sized rabbit with erect ears has a coat that is a yellowish-brown colour that looks coated with a blue veil. It has blue tips on the ends of it's fur. A mask on it's face, when viewed from the front, is oval-shaped.

You can see a picture of this rabbit.

This is part of the blogging through the alphabet challenge. You can find the linky.

Others in this series.

A bunnies.
B bunnies.
C bunnies.
D Bunnies.
E Bunnies.
F Bunnies.
G Bunnies.
H Bunnies.

3 Comments

Discovering the "H" rabbits of the world

5/30/2021

6 Comments

Oh, what do I know about discovering the "H" rabbits of the world?

Off the top of my head I can think of the Havana and the Holland Lop. I had a breeder friend who kept the Havana rabbit and absolutely adored them. You can find more information about them through the breed club. They are 4.5 -6.5 lb rabbit that comes in blue, black, chocolate, broken, and lilac. They are known as ‘The Mink of the Rabbit Family’ and they come from The Netherlands.

Holland lop proliferate in my backyard. :) I choose to breed these people-friendly, cute lop-eared rabbits. They make for a popular pet. There are TONS of pet quality holland lops in the world and I admit that about 3/4's of mine are mostly pet quality. But I have a few that are not. :)

Isn't Stream a gorgeous boy? He's not perfect, but he's a sight better than some of the buns I have. For instance Speck is a bit of a gangly girl who needs to have a shorter body! It would help her to sit up all pretty. I'm hoping her kits will be better than her bred over to Stream. :)

OH! I almost forgot!! I used to breed Harlequin rabbits. This is wonderful meat type rabbit that is raised for their coat colour. As a marked breed they aren't easy to breed, but when you get a good one that also has type... they are an amazing rabbit.

They come in two base colours: white or orange. The alternating colour can be black, chocolate, blue and lilac. They need to alternate their bands/stripes, and colour on their feet etc.

Pic taken from the ARBA Standard Of Perfection book for reference.

You'll find more information about them at the breed club. They weight 6-9 lbs and originated in France.

But there are other "H" bunnies in the world that I must tell you about.

The Himalayan. A friend of mine used to breed these. They are a marked breed that are tubular in shape. It has an uncertain origin and as known by different names worldwide. You can find more information about this lightweight rabbit through the breed club.

Hulstlander is a rabbit of Dutch origins that is white with blue eyes. It comes it at 4-6 lbs,

At the opposite end of the scale is the Hungarian Giant, at 11-15 lbs and a various allowed colours for it's coat. A slower growing rabbit it's being preserved by the Conservancy centre for the Hungarian Government.

This is part of the blogging through the alphabet challenge. You can find the linky.

Others in this series.

A bunnies.
B bunnies.
C bunnies.
D Bunnies.
E Bunnies.
F Bunnies.
G Bunnies.

6 Comments

Discovering the "G" rabbits of the World

5/26/2021

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As I go about discovering the rabbits of the world I'm sitting here thinking... do I know any G rabbits? I know of the Giant Chinchilla and the Giant Angora but are there any others? Well... let me tell you about all the G rabbits that are new to me! :)

The G Rabbits as you might assume bring us a number giant rabbits.

Giant Chinchilla - United States, chinchilla, 10-16 lbs.
Giant Angora - United States, 10 lbs,
Giant Havana - Sweden, 10-11 lb rabbit, glossy dark brown rabbit, brown eyes.
Giant Marburger - Denmark, 10-11 lb, blue rabbit with brown undertones.
Giant Silver - France, black rabbit with silver tips on hair, 10-11 lb rabbit
Giant Papillon - 11-25 lb rabbit, Also known as the Checkered Giant. Germany.
Giant Smoke Pearl - Germany, 8-11 lb brownish rabbit

The Gabali comes our way from Egypt, a medium sized rabbit that is agouti in colour. They also give us the Giza White an albino rabbit weighing 5.5-7.5 lbs.

Germany gives us the German Angora and the German Lop. The Angora is a 5-12 lb rabbit that comes only is solid colours. The Lop is a 6-8 lb rabbit that comes in a variety of colours.

England gives us the Gold Glavcot. This small rabbit has a golden roan coat. This is a rare rabbit that was recreated in the 1960's. There used to be a Sliver Glavcot that has since gone extinct.

Sweden shows up with the Gotland. The Gotland is a medium sized rabbit that comes in a variety of colours. They've been known as a Farm Rabbit since 1881. They have a wide variety of genetic diversity as they have been raised for meat and pelts so mothering ability, feed conversion and health have been very important in keeping them.

The Güzelçamlı comes to us from Turkey. White with chocolate markings, this is a 5-8 lb rabbit.

From the Netherlands comes the Gouwenaar, a blue-grey 5.5-7 lb rabbit with erect ears.

Belgium also gives as a blue-grey rabbit in the form of the Grey Pearl of Halle. It is also known as the Lille Egern.

This post is part of the ABC blogging series.

A bunnies.
B bunnies.
C bunnies.
D Bunnies.
E Bunnies.
F Bunnies.

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Discovering the "F" rabbits of the World

5/18/2021

4 Comments

When I think of "F" rabbits of the world I immediately think of my Wafer. She wasn't a pure Flemish Giant, just a half but she was an amazing rabbit that I still miss. A big girl...I had planned to breed her and she loved the boys...but she was sterile which was very disappointing. I'll include a picture of her later in this point I think! :)

"F" rabbits that I am familiar with are

Florida White. They have been around since 1967, and were developed in the United States. They were bred to be a white, cobby, medium sized meat rabbit. 4-6 lbs. You can learn more from the breed club.
French Lop - a 10lb meat rabbit with lopped ears. Colour doesn't matter for showing. They have a bulky big head and are gorgeous if you see them in purpose. :) Club.
French Angora - these meat rabbits are predominately raised for their wool. They have a clean face with tufts on their ears. 7.5-10 lbs. They are very cute! Club.
Flemish Giant - with a mandolin body build these bunnies grow to 14-25 lbs and come in black, blue, steel, fawn sandy, light grey and white. I have never seen a black flemish but I think if I would ever breed them, I'd want to do it in black. Breed Club.

Rabbits New to Me

Fauve de Bourgogne this is a medium to large sized rabbit that comes our way from France. They range in size from 7-11 lbs and carry their erect ears over a red/orange body.

Switzerland gives us the all white Fox, a 6.5-11 rabbit.

I find it fascinating those weight ranges. It might make it frustrating to work with if you want 10 lbs rabbit and then you brought in a rabbit from smaller lines. You'd not want to toss your whole lines...but it would be frustrating to build them up again.

Blogging the Alphabet Link Up.

This post is part of the ABC blogging series.

A bunnies.
B bunnies.
C bunnies.
D Bunnies.
E Bunnies.

4 Comments

Discovering the "E" rabbits of the World

5/7/2021

8 Comments

When I think of the "E" rabbits of the world, the very first rabbit I think of is the English Lop. Now Gregory (pictured below) is not a full English Lop, they have much longer ears, but this is the closest I have to a picture of them.

Did you know the the English Lop is known as the "King of Fancy"? People who raise them say they are very dog-like in their personalities. I know the Gregory is one of the sweetest, yet most demanding rabbit I have ever known. The English Lop club has more information on this lovely breed.

Let's continue discovering the "E" rabbits of the world.

Other E rabbits that I am familiar with are the English Angora and the English Spot. The English Angora was developed in France and is known for it's preponderance of wool. English Angoras, like the other Angora breeds, are breed for their wool. It is plunked or sheared in order to spin the wool to use in a variety of projects. When you go to a rabbit show the Angora breeders have their own corner as there will be wool floating everywhere!

The English Spot was appropriately enough developed in England. Their club tells me this breed was developed in the late 1800's. This is a running breed known for their specific markings which matures to 8 lbs maximum. They are a fun breed to watch on the table.

Lesser known Breeds

Lesser known breeds include the Elfin, and the Enderby Island Rabbits.

The Elfin rabbit is now known as the Swedish Hare so I'll discuss them more when we get the the "S" rabbits.

I found this video on the Enderby Island rabbits. They are a medium sized rabbit that live on Enderby Island near New Zealand.

This post is part of the ABC blogging series.

A bunnies.
B bunnies.
C bunnies.
D Bunnies.

8 Comments

Discovering the "D" rabbits of the world

4/29/2021

2 Comments

I'm trying to remember what rabbit breeds I recall that start with D. There is the Dutch rabbit (a breed I've owned) and the Dwarf Hotot. Beyond that I really can't recall anything. Let's see what other "D" rabbits of the world we can discover.

So what can I tell you about the Dutch rabbit. This breed of rabbit is a marked breed, They have a band around their shoulders/midriff, and stripe down the face to the cheeks, and white toes. Where and how those breaks occur matters in the show world. They are a medium breed rabbit. The American Dutch Rabbit Breed Club can walk you through the details of this rabbit. They come in black, blue, tortoise, chinchilla, Grey, Chocolate and Steel. I've see Tricolour Dutch but I don't know if that's an accepted show colour yet. They have a rounded shape.

When I first got into rabbits as an adult I learned about the "old dutch rabbit" that older farmers in my area maintained. They were a larger rangier breed good for meat rabbits.

The dutch rabbit, spoken of in this post though, is a small, round meat brick known to be good mothers. I find them a highly alert animal.

Other D rabbits inclued the Dwarf Hotot which originated in Germany, A 2-3 lb dwarf rabbit that is predominately white. They have "eyeliner" around their eyes.

The Dwarf Lop is an United Kingdom rabbit weight 4-5 lbs. They are kinda between the holland lop and mini lop found in North America.

The Dalmatian is a medium breed rabbit with a spotted pattern down it's sides that come in "black, blue, brown, orange, or fawn". They have short straight coat. Dalamation rabbits weight 6-8 lbs.

Deilenaar hail from the Netherlands. This red agouti coloured rabbit comes in at 5-8 lbs. They are a compact rabbit shown for the quality of their fur. A rare breed rabbit.

Others in this series.

Others in this series are
A
B
C
D

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Discovering the "C" Rabbits of the World

4/26/2021

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So far we've discussed the A and B rabbits of the world, let's look now at the C rabbits of the world. They come from all over the place.

Rabbits from Europe

Spain brings us a terminal sire cross in the Caldes rabbit. This is a red-eyed white rabbit (predominately). The males are used as terminal cross sire.

In the UK there is a Californian rabbit that looks quite similar to the ARBA recognized Californian. There are some differences in size and the UK recognizes more colour varieties. But they are basically a white rabbit with dark points. They are a larger breed rabbit.

Italy brings us a rare rabbit in the Carmagnola Grey. A chinchilla coloured large breed rabbit. in 2002 there were less than 500 rabbits of this breed.

Champagne d'Argent was developed in France, they are fairly common in North America, they are a gorgeous rabbit that goes through an interesting coat change.

Checkered Giant is also known as the Giant Papillon, and is a large breed rabbit developed in Germany. It's not a hugely common rabbit, though many people/rescues will say they have a checkered giant simply because they have a large breed rabbit that comes a broken pattern. So be alert...it's probably NOT a checkered giant unless it comes with papers. :)

France at one point, thought they should combine every red-eyed rabbit they had. The end result: Chaudry. This large rabbit has a minimum size of 8.8 lbs.

The Cashmere Lop comes to us by way of England. It is a medium sized rabbit with a long dense coat. With a large variety of coat colours it weighs in at 4-5 lbs.

The Czech Republic gives us four different rabbits in the Czech Spot, the Czech Solver, the Czech White and the Czech Red. Each of these rabbits has their own coat colour and size. The vary in size, from the smallest Red (4-5 lbs), Spot, Solver and white at 9-11 lbs.

Chinchilla

There are a number of different Chinchilla rabbits of a variety of sizes from Large to Giant. They have been developed in France and United States. They are

American Chinchilla [US]
Chinchilla [UK]
Chinchilla Giganta [UK]
Giant Chinchilla [US]
Standard Chinchilla [US]

They all have a commerical body shape and are chinchilla in colour. They are simply gorgeous and some day, I want to own some standard Chins. :)

North and South American Rabbits

The Canadian Plush Lop is a rabbit from CANADA!!! This rabbit is currently in development. It is a 4-6 lb rabbit that is a mix between a holland lop and a mini rex. The goal is to get a curly coated rabbit with lopped ears and a fully arched body. They are supposed to be a bold, friendly breed that excells in rabbit agility.

The Cinnamon rabbit was accidently created in 1962 in the United States. The story of the breeds development can be found on the Club Website. It is a larger breed rabbit.

Mexico gave us the Criollo, a small rabbit with a variety of coat colours.

The Cuban Brown originates in Cuba. A large breed, glossy brown rabbit with erect ears.

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Discovering the World's Rabbits - the "B" rabbits

4/18/2021

It's another week of discovery! Let's see what we can learn about all the "B" rabbits of the world.

Off the top of my head I think of

Beveren: This is a rare heritage breed. Originally just in blue they now also come in white, black, brown and lilac. They were developed in Belgium and have a characteristic "V" shape to their ear carriage. The white has blue eyes. The breed club.
Britannia Petite: My son once wanted to get these gorgeous little runners but an experienced breeder highly recommended not getting them. They are a flighty, fast-moving breed that are quick to nip. The breed club.
Belgian Hare: Another running breed, these are a bigger rabbit, a muscular breed resembling a hare. They come in rufous and tan. The breed Club.
Blanc de Hotot: A rare breed that is a larger rabbit. White with eye liner bunnies. The dwarf version is better known. They were developed in France. The hotot club.

Rabbits From Egypt

In Egypt you'll find the Baladi black, Baladi white, and Baladi Red. They are a medium sized meat rabbit that copes well with the climate of Egypt. The black and red weigh about 6 lbs, the white about 4.5. They have about 6 kits per litter. Baladi rabbit's have short fur and erect style ears.

A closely related rabbit from Egypt is the Bauscat. A larger meat rabbit. They are a white rabbit with a mandolin body style.

Rabbits from Europe

Did you know the UK has their own form of the Belgian Hare? Similar body style but more variation in colour from what I understand.

Beige rabbit is recognized in Britain, a rare breed of medium size. It's coat is light-sand in colour right down to the skin, with some slate-blue ticking and shading across the body. The fur texture is dense and silky.

The Big Silver Marten is a large breed rabbit (8-12 lbs) that is known in Croatia.

You'll discover a couple of different blue rabbits. One the Blue of Ham and the other the Blue of Sint-Niklaas. The Blue of Ham is from Belgium and is a very rare breed following WW1. It's coat is long, dense, silky and lustrous that is slate blue. The Blue of Sint-Niklaas is a blue rabbit similar to the Flemish Giant. It too is of Flemish origin. It is almost extinct.

Very little is known of the slate blue Bourbonnais Grey, This rabbit comes in at 11 lbs. A rabbit from France.

Brazil gives us the Brazilian Rabbit is a medium-sized hardy breed used for meat. Little is known beyond that.

The British Giant is another that is much like the Flemish Giant although smaller. It was bred for it's diversity in coat colour which comes in white, sable, opal, grey, blue and black. It grows to about 15 lbs.

The Brun Marron de Lorraine is a chestnut coloured rabbit from France. This approximately 5 lb rabbit is small, slender rabbit with an overall round shape to the body with an angular head. it is a rare breed of rabbit.

Blanc rabbits

Other than the Blanc de Hotot that we know in North America there are a number of other Blanc rabbits in the world.

Another very rare breed is the Blanc de Bouscat which comes from France. It comes in at 11-15 lbs. A completely white rabbit that has guard hairs extending out from the coat giving it a frosty look throughout.

Blanc de Popielno comes our way from Poland. A 9-11 lb rabbit.

Blanc de Termonde is from Belgium and has a mandolin body style. 9-12 lbs of pure white rabbit with red eyes.

Others in this Series

The A Rabbits.

Interested in what others are blogging about for the alphabet? Click the image above to visit.

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Discovering the "K" Rabbits of the World

Discovering the "J" rabbits of the world

Discovering the "I" rabbits of the world

Discovering the "H" rabbits of the world

Discovering the "G" rabbits of the World

Discovering the "F" rabbits of the World

Rabbits New to Me

Discovering the "E" rabbits of the World

Lesser known Breeds

Discovering the "D" rabbits of the world

Others in this series.

Discovering the "C" Rabbits of the World

Chinchilla

North and South American Rabbits

Discovering the World's Rabbits - the "B" rabbits

Rabbits From Egypt

Rabbits from Europe

Blanc rabbits

Others in this Series

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