Category: Education

Discovering the "T" rabbits

9/1/2021

The T rabbits, oh, what T rabbits can we discover in the world around us?

I know of the Tamuk... a commerical end run rabbit. Use for breeding but the kits are supposed to be culled for food.

And what other T rabbits.... Then there's the Tan rabbits. Gorgeous rabbits, a running breed. Simply beautiful. Four varieties that originally hailed from England, the breed club tells us that they came stateside in 1936. Tans come in four varieties (colors): black, blue, chocolate and lilac.

The video below shows a couple of the colour variations.

I can't forget about the Thrianta. A rabbit developed in The Netherlands in honour of the royal house. They almost died out in during the second world war. They are red with a fawn tail, and fawn under their feet. A medium sized fancy rabbit weighing 4-6 lbs. They are a compactly built rabbit. The Breed Club.

At one point I wanted to own a pair of them as well...you know DUTCH origins. But thought I might get bored with only the one colour. Aren't they a pretty rabbit though?

Other T rabbit breeds include

Germany gives us the Thuringer rabbit. A sable rabbit with dark points. This rabbit weighs about nine pounds. A bold muscular rabbit.

The small Tadia comes from Morocco. I think this is the first rabbit from Morocco that we've featured. Developed as a small meat rabbit in 1994, it weighs up to 4 lbs.

There are a couple "teddy" rabbits being developed. The Teddywinder which is a lop eared fuzzy long-haired dwarf rabbit. and the Teddy Dwarf which again is a fuzzy long-haired dwarf rabbit with erect ears and a flat face. They aren't official breeds as far as I can tell. They are mostly being developed in Germany.

The Tronder rabbit, also known as the Norwegian Silver Fox, is a shiny black rabbit with white hairs throughout the coat providing a silvering look. Developed in 1913 in Norway weighing 9 to 13 pounds

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.
K Bunnies.
L Bunnies.
M Bunnies.
N Bunnies.
O Bunnies.
P Bunnies.
Q bunnies
R Bunnies.
S Bunnies
T Bunnies.
U Bunnies.

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Discovering the "S" rabbits of the world

8/20/2021

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Before I get into all the S rabbits of the world I have to tell you about this odd rabbit that I learned about.

Sauteur D'alfort rabbits of France have a genetic mutuation that causes them to walk in their front paws. Sometimes it's a "I want to go fast" thing, and other time they just "walk" to get from point a to point b. The Smithsonian has an interesting article on these unique rabbits.

"Now, on to discovering the S rabbits of the world.

I can think of Silvers, Satins, Silver Fox, Silver Martens, and the standard Chinchilla. And there's also the Satin Angora.

Satins are an American breed, recognized both in the US and in the UK. They have somewhat different standards. In North America they are an approximately 10 lb rabbit, with a classic commerical build which comes in a variety of coat colours.

Silvers, are also recognized in both the UK and the USA. In North America, Silvers are a 4-6 lb rabbit. They date back to the 1500's and are thought to have come from Portugal. They have a dense flyback fur coat. The rabbit is "primarily brown, fawn or brown, and intertwined in its fur are white guard hairs, which give the Silver rabbit a beautiful silvery luster."

I admittedly get a bit confused between the silver and the silver fox. The Silver Fox another old breed of rabbit, but was developed in the United States. A large breed rabbit that weights 11-12 lbs, with silvering starting at 4 weeks of age. This rabbit is blue or black in colouration with silvering.

The Standard Chinchilla. I happen to love the chinchilla colour on rabbits and this is a breed that I have often wanted to have. A well put together meat rabbit with this silver agouti look is a wonderful animal to behold. I was delighted when this year I produced this colour in one of my holland lops. Now Chia pictured below is NOTHING compared to the Standard Chin. They are a 6-8 lb rabbit hailing from France, they have bigger cousins in the American and Giant Chinchilla's so basically there's a size for everyone! :) The Standard Chin is a compact rabbit with rollback fur and erect ears

The Silver Marten is a pretty rabbit. They come in black, blue, chocolate and Sable. You'll have to check them out! These rabbits weigh 9.5 lbs and come to us by way of France.

"S" rabbits new to me

The San Juan rabbit was developed in the United States. I don't know a whole lot about this rabbit other than what I hear on the meat rabbit board. It's often used as a bait rabbit due to it's similar characteristics with cottontails. In some states it's illegal to keep them.

The Siberian rabbit was originally developed in the 1930's for use in the fur trade. The short, dense fur mainly come in blue, brown with a pearl gray undercoat, black with a blue undercoat, and lilac. It is a docile breed weighing 5-8 lbs.

Egypt gives us the Simennwar rabbit, This is a dwarf breed weighing 2.5-3 lbs.
Unsurprisingly the Slovenian rabbit, a 7-11 lb rabbit comes from Slovenian. It's coat has a yellowish-brown undercoat overlain with blue. The tail and belly are white.

The smoke pearl rabbit has erect ears, weighs 5-7 lbs and comes in a specific colour. You can see a rabbit vary similar to it here on pinterest. Scotland claims the creativity.

The Spanish Giant has flemish giant as part of it's origins, which came from Spain. A large rabbit weighing 12-15 lbs. They only live up to 6 years and are currently facing extinction.

The Stone rabbit from Belgium is an agouti rabbit in red, grey and steel. It weighs around 6 lbs.

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Discovering the "R" rabbits of the world

8/13/2021

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So last week there were no "Q" rabbits of the world so I didn't do a post. I couldn't think of anything else to write...until today but that seems a bit late! Q... questionable rabbits!!! (when people make up breeds like they do in the dog world). But NOT the point of today's post. Today we consider the "R" rabbits of the world. And yes! There are some.

Of the top of my head I can think of the Rhinelander and the Rex. Both of these are larger breed rabbits between 8-11 lbs.
The Rex as you might expect has the "rex" fur. Guard and inner fur length is the same creating a dense, thick coat that feels like velvet. This coat will have a smooth feel to it but will have some resistance to it when pushed against. The Rex was discovered in France in a litter of wild grey rabbits.

The Rhinelander, from Germany, has a white body with butterfly markings over the body. An arched breed that also has a cylindrical shape. The breed club will tell you how the markings should be presented.

what other R breeds are there?

Germany also gave us the Rhone rabbit, a black and white rabbit that is supposed to resemble the paper birch tree. I had to stop and think about that a bit. I wish I had a picture! Oh hold on... Check it out! I saw that picture and thought hmm... looks kinda like a magpie? Sorta like my camden pictured below.

And that's it! The R rabbits of the world, just the three of them.

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Discovering the "P" rabbits of the world

8/1/2021

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Discovering the "P" rabbits of the world I immediately think of the Palomino and the Polish.

I used to raise polish (the US version) and they are adorable. I loved them in chocolate and broken, but also bred them in black and blue. I tended to sell off my best and let people who loved to show put them on the table. I put a few on the table myself and did okay but not as good as the best that I let go.
Polish are a medium breed rabbit that was gradually bred down to be dwarf sized. They have a sweet calm temperament. They can mature to 3.5 lbs, but are usually in the 2.5-3 lb range. They have a bold beautiful eye.

They did NOT originate in Poland, but most likely in England or possibly Germany. Polish breeders gradually refined the breed to not be racy or blocky in type. The Breed club page.

The Palomino comes in at the other end of the scale, weighing in at 9-11 lbs. A golden or lynx colour with upright ears. Breed club. Pals were developed in Washington State and were originally called the Washingtonian. I think Palomino a much better name eh? :)

From Japan we get the Pani. A commerical rabbit used for meat and fur. It's a larger breed rabbit.

Hungary gives us a white rabbit known as the Pannon White. A 5-10 lb rabbit. It is a combination of New Zealand white and Californian breeding.

Originating in Germany, the Perlfree is blueish-grey colour, with dark, light and medium shades accepted. It has a light belly and light rings around the eyes. A 5-8 lb rabbit. They are known for being docile and friendly.

There are a variety of Plush Lops being developed that vary in size and what breeds are used to develop them. Some are holland lop/mini rex combinations, others use rex and mini lop. The end goal is a lop-eared rabbit with rex fur. This breed is sometimes called a Velveteen Lop.

The Pointed Beveren comes from Belgium a 7lb rabbit that comes in Black, Blue, Brown, and Lilac.

Remember how the US version of the Polish rabbit came from England? They still have the original polish in England! They are racy, upright posing rabbits that look a lot like Britannia Petite! Weight of only 2.5 lbs.

And I think that has the "P's" covered. :)

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Discovering the "O" Rabbits of the World

8/1/2021

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You know what? I can't think of a single rabbit beginning with the word O. I'm hopeful I can discover some "O" rabbits in the world.

I can think of O colours like Opal, Orange, and Otter, and wouldn't it be interesting if we could find a rabbit named after it's colour?

Back when we were talking about M rabbits we talked about the mini rex. Rex coated rabbits have popped up throughout the world, it's an interesting coat mutation. People like playing around with the coat to see if they can create their favourite bunny breeds with a rex coat. I heard this morning about someone trying to create Giant Rex.

Apparently someone Switzerland created a rex rabbit they called the Opossum. This is an erect eared rabbit weighing 6-8 pounds. It's various-coloured coat is rex, and sometimes it can be curly or long-haired. Makes me curious about seeing one. Cause wouldn't a long-haired rex just look like a regular rabbit? Unless it was a curly-coated long-haired. Sounds rather curious don't you think?

Orylag is another rex-coated rabbit, but this one hails from France. It is also known as the Rex du Poitou. It comes in many different coat colours, but only weighs 5.5 lbs. Erect ears finish off the look of this smaller rabbit.

From Sweden we discover the Orestad. This 5.5-7 lb rabbit is an erect eared ruby-eyed white rabbit. It is only found in Scandanavian countries and was first shown in 1970.

And check this out... there IS a rabbit named after it's colour. The Orange rabbit which also comes by way of Sweden! It's coat is a strong and warm yellow-red outer colour. (so basically an orange rabbit!). :) It's another 5.5-7 lb rabbit.

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Discovering the "N" bunnies of the World

7/16/2021

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What do I know about the "N" bunnies of the world?

Well...there's the New Zealand rabbit, Classically available in Red Eyed White, but also coming in black, red, broken and I THINK...but not sure Blue. People often cross the colours which will get you a whole rainbow of colours. :) Cherry, pictured below, isn't the FINEST example of a New Zealand but will give you the basic idea. She's a great mom and raises up 11 kits easily.

What other N bunnies are there. Oh... The Netherland Dwarf. This year building up from last year when people of all stripes and colours started selling bunnies I've seen made up names for dwarf rabbits popping up everywhere. A Zealand Dwarf, Netherends Dwarf, Rex Dwarf, dwarf lop etc. People think rabbits can be given weird mixed up names like so many of the mutt dog breeds out there. It's causing no end of confusion.

But a TRUE Netherland Dwarf is a tiny rabbit with tiny ears and an upright posture. Once you see a true Nethie... you'll know the fake ones when you see them. :) I didn't find the breed page very informative to the average inquirer. They only weigh 1.5-2.5 lbs making them the smallest rabbit in the world to my knowledge. There are a LOT of "Netherland dwarf" rabbits out there far exceeding their weight limit, so be mindful if purchasing one as a pet. :)

The only other N rabbit out there is the Nitransky rabbit from Slovenia. Y'know what? I think that's the only rabbit from Slovenia thus far. Anyways, it's a medium to large sized rabbit weight 7.7-12.1 lbs. It's coat is white or light grey with erect ears. It's also known as the Rabbit of Nitra. HA! Look what I found! A PDF of other Slovak breeds! And it looks like I missed a few eh?

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Discovering the "M" rabbits of the world

6/30/2021

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All the "M" rabbits that I know of are Mini something or others. Smaller versions of larger rabbits.

mini rex
mini lop
mini satin

All have larger versions.

In fact, I used to raise mini rex. A fantastic rabbit. My favourite girl was Slip. She would probably NOT be a rabbit I would keep today, but back then... simply adored her. She had attitude up the wazoo as a kit/young grower and settled into a fantastic quiet doe with just a wee bit of "tude. An excellent momma.

I'm not going to say she was a show quality rabbit, but she was, for me an excellent rabbit at the time. I was sorry when she passed away. If you want to know more about this wonderful breed, visit the club page.

This American breed of rabbit has a unique coat where the guard coat and undercoat are the same length resulting in a rabbit with a velvet feel to their coat. Pet breeders will often claim they are hypo-allergenic. This is not true. They do have shorter fur but they still moult their fur coats.

The Mini Lop comes to us by way of the Netherlands. It's somewhat bigger than a holland lop, weighing 5-6.5 lbs. The breed standard can be found on the club page. To me they look massive compared to a holland lop, much like their bigger brethren the French Lop.

Mini Satins, I have to admit, the first I heard of these rabbits is by a nickname "mini Satans". They are supposed to have some temperament issues. I have since heard from other breeders who have stated.. "Some lines have issues in behaving nice, others are just fine. You have to breed for what you want." Just like with any other breed eh? :) Satins, big or small, are known for the sheen of their coat. They are absolutely gorgeous in real life with their shiny coats. Learn more at the breed club site. They are a fairly recent breed having been finalized in 1995 in Michigan.

There are a couple breeds world wide I have not heard of before I began this study.

Egypt gives us the Moshtohor/Line M Rabbit. This 5-8.5 lb rabbit comes in yellowish-brown, white, or grey colours and is predominately found at the Moshtohor rabbitry.

The Swedish Mellerud rabbit comes in albino or black with white spots. The does tend to be fine-boned, and the bucks heavier, more compact. A medium sized breed coming in at 6-8 lbs. They were developed from the lines of old Swedish "farm rabbits".

The Germans produced the Mecklenburger Piebald a solid coloured rabbit with white around the neck, chest, belly, and legs. This rabbit weighs 9-12 lbs.

The Marburger Feh comes to us from France. a 4-7 lb rabbit that comes in lilac. A compact rabbit whose lilac shading appears as a light blue colour with a brownish tinge to it.

The Meissner Lop, from Germany, 10-12 lbs has a wide variety of self coat colours plus yellow all of which are to be silvered. A rare breed rabbit.

There area few other mini rabbits such as

miniature cashmere lop - UK rabbit, a 3.5 lb rabbit with long dense fur
miniature lion lop - UK rabbit, weighs about 3.5 lbs, has a mane of long fur around the face.
miniature lop (not the same as the mini lop) UK version, 3.3-3.8 lbs, any colour
miniature papillon - UK rabbit, weights 2.5-4 lbs, white coat with specific spotting patterns.
miniature Satin (not the same as mini satin) - UK rabbit, 4-5 lbs, comes in ivory.

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Discovering the "L" rabbits of the World

6/30/2021

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www.nlrba.org/Tonight as I was heading out for a walk I met our neighbourhood dog heart-throb. Daisy is a Leonburger. An absolutely gorgeous dog that is has been so fun watching her mature. :) As I sat down tonight I thought, what L bunnies of the world have I already discovered?

I immediately thought of the Lionhead. This is a small dwarf breed of rabbit. I bred very pet quality versions of them years ago. I had a strain of large breed lionheads that I thought were just wonderful. :) But they really are meant to be a small fancy breed. As I got more into rescue I recognized the danger of these bunnies as I got some in that were in just horrible condition from mats. A couple of them had mats so bad their skin had ripped from the pressure. I decided breeding them was a horrible idea and I still strongly recommend that no "PET QUALITY" breeder get into them. I know a gal who breeds very nice show quality lionheads... and they are very pretty rabbits! Check out the breed club.

Then I thought of the Lilac. This is an rare rabbit that comes in the lilac colour. I tried to get into them, but trying to figure out transport from breeders down south was way more work (or money) than I wanted to put into them. You have to check out this beautiful breed at the Breed Club. They are a dual-purpose, medium sized breed. They have a beautiful dove grey coat.

Rabbits that are new to me include

Liptov Baldspotted rabbit is a rabbit from Slovaki. Recognized in 2005, this rabbit sports a blaze pattern on it's head and comes in agouti, blue-agouti, and black. An erect eared rabbit that weighs 8-9 lbs.
Then we get the Lynx rabbit, also known as the Lux or the Luchskaninchen. This is a medium sized rabbit from Germany weighs 5-7 lbs. Created in 1922 this erect ear comes in light grey, reddish-brown, a blue.

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Discovering the "K" Rabbits of the World

6/21/2021

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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.

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Discovering the "T" rabbits

Discovering the "S" rabbits of the world

"S" rabbits new to me

Discovering the "R" rabbits of the world

what other R breeds are there?

Discovering the "P" rabbits of the world

Discovering the "O" Rabbits of the World

Discovering the "N" bunnies of the World

Discovering the "M" rabbits of the world

Discovering the "L" rabbits of the World

Discovering the "K" Rabbits of the World

Discovering the "J" rabbits of the world

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