Type of rabbit (Part 3)

Elfin
Tan Elfin doe

* Weight: ideal weight less than 5 lb.
* Not on ARBA-list, Related to Swedish hare

The Elfin Rabbit was bred especially for rabbit sporting events and is recognized by the American Association of Sporting Events for Rabbits. This fully arched breed is athletic and bold. Temperment is outgoing and active. Unusual colors differentiate competitors and are encouraged. Any trait that interferes with the ability to jump competitively is faulted. Since it is likely that a judged rabbit has been trained to jump, it is NOT recommended that they run on the table to be judged. A natural pose is preferred.

Enderby Island Rabbit

* Weight: 2 kg.

The Enderby Island Rabbit, or Enderby Rabbit, is a rare breed derived from a small population of rabbits of uncertain origin isolated on a subantarctic island in New Zealand's Auckland Islands group for 130 years. It is silver-grey in color, with a dark slate-blue undercoat, and dark, sometimes black, ears, nose and tail. A small proportion may be cream or beige in color, due to a recessive gene. The original population on Enderby Island was exterminated in the 1990s, but not before 49 individuals were rescued by the Rare Breeds Conservation Society of New Zealand, which has subsequently bred them successfully.

English Spot

* Weight: 5-8 lb.
* ARBA-accepted varieties: Black, Blue, Chocolate, Gold, Gray, Lilac, Tortoise

The English Spot is an old breed suspected to have origins similar to that of the Checkered Giant, including Flemish Giants and some kind of spotted wild rabbit. English Spots have been bred in England since the 1880s, and the first English Spots imported to America were from England. This breed is mostly white, with a butterfly mark on the nose, colored ears, and eyecircles that usually have a little "fling" on the side but rarely have a perfect circle, and chains of colored spots along its sides including a herringbone stripe down its back.It is also recognized in the show ring if it has symmetrical spots on each side. When litters are born they are 25% charlies,25% selfs and 50% marked. Charlies are spots with incomplete markings and selfs are one solid color but almost never pure white alsays lilac,black or any recognised colors. Marked is an English spot with complete markings. Breeders have to carefully breed the colors that won't make an unrecognised color.

The English Spot is a very active breed because of its high arch and needs at least 2 hours of running time each day. On the show table they are supposed to run on the table to demonstrate their full-arch type (this is true for all full-arch breeds except the Britannia Petite). English Spots make good pets because they are generally quite docile, but like most rabbits, they do have a few ‘mad March hare moments’! They will happily tolerate other pets included Guinea Pigs and familiarize themselves with domestic cats and dogs.

More recently, breeders in the UK have been able to cross the English Spot with smaller rabbit breeds. It has been quite a slow process, although the latest families of offspring are showing muted-grey markings of the English Spot including the spine stripe, eye patches, and nose patch. Currently, this ‘scaled down’ version of the Scottish Spot is not recognized by professional bodies, but is recognized amongst some breeders as the 'Mini English'. The Netherland Dwarf, however can be shown in the UK in any recognized colour for any breed so there are a few dedicated breeders who can be seen with English marked Netherland Dwarves.

The English Spot is a Full Arch breed.

The English Spot Rabbit tends to have an affectionate calm tranquil personality from years of selective breeding. For children trained in handling rabbits this is often the rabbit breed of choice as it will often tolerate children extremely well as long as not abused and well cared for. Children tend to love the patterns of English rabbits but a smaller well bred dwarf mixture of less than 5 pounds is often easier for a smaller child to handle along with care for. Too small the rabbit may be too delicate in body structure for small children to handle safely.

Flemish Giant
A fawn Flemish Giant

* Minimum Weight as Seniors: 28 or more for bucks. 14lbs or more for does
* ARBA-accepted varieties: Black, Blue, Fawn, Light Gray, Sandy, Steel Gray, White

Typically impressive in size, about 14 lb (6 kg), although it is not uncommon to find adult Flemish Giants weighing 22 lb (10 kg) or more.

Today Flemish Giants are a popular breed to show and own as pets. Flemish Giants have a laid back and docile personality; they are often said to be more like dogs than rabbits.

Flemish Giants are also one of the oldest recognized domestic breeds in existence, and can be found all over the United States.

The Flemish Giant rabbit is a Semi arch breed.

German Grey Rabbits

* Weight: up to 23 lb (10 kg).

First bred in Germany by veteran breeder Karl Szmolinsky. The breed made worldwide news in 2006 when 23 lb (10 kg) "Robert" won a prize as Germany’s largest rabbit. As a result, the North Korean Government has begun a breeding program to use these very large rabbits to feed the population. It is reported however, that the rabbits sent by Szmolinsky were eaten at a birthday banquet for Kim Jong-il.

Havana

* Weight: 4.5-6.5 lb.
* ARBA-accepted varieties: Black, Blue, Chocolate, Broken

In the Netherlands in 1898, the first Chocolate Havana appeared in a litter from a Dutch doe that was housed with other breeds. They gained recognition throughout Europe in the early 1900s, and they were accepted by the ARBA in 1916. In 1965, Blues were recognized, and the Black variety was recognized in 1980. The Broken variety was accepted in 2007 and became eligible to show in February 2008.

The Havana is a compact breed.

Himalayan
Chocolate-colored male Himalayan Rabbit

* Weight: 2.5-4.5 lb.
* ARBA-accepted varieties: Black, Blue, Chocolate, Lilac

The Himalayan is an old breed long-known in Asian countries in the region of the Himalayan Mountains. It is more widely distributed throughout the world than any other rabbit breed, and has been known by more names, such as the Chinese, Russian, Egyptian, and the Black Nose. They are known for their gentle temperament, and make great pets for a first-time rabbit owner - or anyone who wants a rabbit that is content to sit in their lap sometimes. Like a Himalayan cat, the Himalayan rabbit is white with dark points on the nose, ears, tail and feet. The breed also has a slender, cat like body. The original variety had Black points, but later breeders created the Blue, Chocolate, and Lilac varieties. They are born all white, but their markings come in as they age. They are delicately built and always have pink eyes.

The Himalayan is the only breed classified as cylindrical - long bodied like a cylinder or tube. When shown, the judge judges this breed posed in a "stretched out" position.

Holland Lop


The Holland lop is the smallest breed in the lop family. They should weigh about 2.5-4 lbs. Ideal weight is 3 lbs. They need to eat 1/2 cup of 16% protein rabbit pellets each day. The variety groups are: AGOUTI, BROKEN, POINTED WHITE, SELF, SHADED, TICKED, WIDE BAND, and TAN PATTERN. The fur should be rollback, dense, fine, glossy, and about 1 inch in length.The Holland lop is a very calm, and curious bunny. The Holland lop is a compact breed...

Jersey Wooly
A Silver Marten Jersey Wooly

* ARBA accepted varieties: Jersey Wools are Judged By Groups Rather than By Individual Varieties.

Agouti group Chestnut, Chinchilla, Opal, Squirrel, AOV group Black or Blue Pointed White (sometimes called Himi), OrangeBroken group any recognized breed varieties combined with white, Self group Black, Blue, Chocolate, Lilac, Blue-Eyed-White i.e. BEW, Ruby-Eyed-White i.e. REW, Shaded group Tortoise Shell, Blue Tortoise Shell, Seal, Sable Point, Siamese Sable, Smoke Pearl Tan Pattern Black otter, Blue otter, Black silver marten, Blue silver marten, Chocolate silver marten, Lilac silver marten, Sable marten, Smoke pearl marten.

Jersey Woolies have a Max Show weight of 3.5 pounds although they range in size from 2 lbs to a bit over 4lbs. They have a bold head and short, well furred ears. They need brushing more often than most long hairs with an ideal length of wool being 3". Their wool is not easy care as first described. They need brushing constantly to reduce matting and hair knots. Not to mention hair accumulation and blockage due to rabbit grooming. This in it's self, will cause gastric sluggishness and if the blockage becomes sever enough, death. Regular grooming and brushing or the coat will help this breed to live a long and happy life. Jersey Woolies have gentle temperaments and make suitable pets. They are easily trained. As with all herbivores, chewing my be a problem. You may purchase wire guards to wrap around electrical cords (very effective) and in places where you find your bunny chewing on wood, paint some pepper extract. This will deter any additional gnawing.

HistoryThe Jersey Wooly was first introduced at the 1984 A.R.B.A. Convention in Orlando, Florida by Bonnie Seeley of Highbridge, NJ. In 1988 at the A.R.B.A. Convention, in Madison, Wisconsin, it became a recognized breed. Bonnie originally developed the breed in order to produce a small pet rabbit with wool that was easy to care for. Today, the Jersey Wooly is that, and much more, as one of the most popular breeds of rabbits exhibited around the country with a club membership of over 700 worldwide.

Broken Jersey Wooly were accepted as a recognized variety at the 2004 ARBA Convention in Rhode Island. The Orange Jersey Wooly was accepted as a recognized variety at the 2008 ARBA Convention in Kentucky [2]

The Jersey wooly is a compact breed.

Lilac rabbit


Weighing up to 7 pounds, first bred in the UK around 1913. It has a dense silky fur evenly coloured throughout in a pinkish dove shade, and of course lilac to lavender color. This is a very fading and slightly rare breed.

Lionhead
A Lionhead rabbit

The Lionhead rabbit is one of the newest breed of domesticated rabbits.The lionhead rabbit is a hard type of rabbit to find. It has a normally furred body, but Angora-like wool surrounding the face, reminiscent of the mane of a male lion, hence the name. There may also be wool along the flanks, though this is not a desirable characteristic. Lionheads come in many of the same colors as other breeds. However, the wool on the mane and flanks diffuses the color, so that black rabbits will often have gray-looking manes and flank wool.

The Lionhead rabbit is a compact breed, usually weighing between 2.5 and 4.0 pounds. It also tends to have a rounded head and slightly shorter ears than most breeds.

Origins
The Lionhead rabbit is thought to have originated in Belgium. It is reported to have been produced by breeders trying to breed a long coated dwarf rabbit by crossing a miniature Swiss Fox and a Belgian dwarf. The Lionhead seemed to have been more popular than the long coated dwarf, and so breeders carried on this trend in breeding them intentionally, and so came what we know today as the Lionhead rabbit.

The Mane
Some lionheads have single manes which is not showeable. Single mane is when a lion head only has a little bit of the long fluffy on its head. Double mane is the showeable type that has long hair all along the body except around the back area and face.

While single-maned Lionhead kits look like other rabbits, double-maned kits are distinct from all others. When they are born, they are bald around the abdomen, sides, bottom, and cheeks, giving them a peculiar "mohawk" appearance. The bald areas are where the wool grows in later as they mature.

This rabbit has an energetic, but sweet personality and is for the more experienced rabbit owner. Lionhead rabbits are easy to breed and are good mothers, even fostering kits from other litters or breeds.

The breed has been recognized by the British Rabbit Council, however, as of yet it is not a fully recognized breed by the American Rabbit Breeders Assiciation. Gail Gibbons passed her first of three required presentations before the ARBA Standards Committee with Siamese Sable at the 2008 National Convention. Siamese Sable Lionheads are now accepted at all ARBA shows.

Lops

Among the oldest breeds of domesticated rabbits, lops are known for their distinctive floppy ears. There are five types of American Rabbit Breeders accepted lop varieties as well as a few other breeds being created. The ARBA recognized lop breeds are the French Lop, English Lop, Mini Lop, American Fuzzy Lop and the Holland Lop. In the UK the Dwarf Lop is the equivalent of the US Mini Lop, and the US Holland Lop is called a Miniature Lop in the UK. In the US, two of the proposed new breeds that are under development are the Velveteen Lop which is similar to an English Lop with a rex rabbits plush fur, and the Plush Lop which is similar to a Mini Lop with plush Rex rabbit fur.

* American Fuzzy Lop: Similar to a Holland Lop in structure and type, but with angora wool
* French Lop: Large lop that is thought to have been produced by crossing the English Lop with the Giant Normande rabbit.
A French lop rabbit
* Holland Lop: A small dwarf variety of lop rabbits. The Holland Lop is to be heavily muscled, short coupled, compact and well balanced in length, width, and depth. The shoulders and chest should be broad and well filled, same as the hindquarters. The head being massive in appearance setting high on the shoulders and close to the shoulders showing no neck. With the depth almost equal at the top of the shoulder as over the hindquarters. The legs are to be short, thick, straight, and heavily boned for the size of the animal. Ears are to be bell-shaped and short, no longer than 1 inch below the chin. -Taken from the ARBA Standard of Perfection.

A Holland lop rabbit

* English Lop: A large Lop with really long ears. Usually reaching over 22 inches in length. Bred in a limited variety of colours, the most popular being sooty fawn. Others are black, fawn and marked varieties of these colours. Famous for their long ears, often growing over 20 inches in length.
* Velveteen: A breed under development originating in the US. The Velveteen has long ears like that of the English, but rex type fur.
* Plush Lop: A lop rabbit with the same type as a Dwarf Lop with a Rex fur. An Australian developed breed is now undergoing the standardisation process in the UK.
* Mini Plush Lop: A lop rabbit with the same type as a Mini Lop with a Rex fur. An Australian developed breed is now undergoing the standardisation process in the UK. The breed is also under development in the US.
* Mini Lop: Also known as a "German Lop".

Within the UK, Miniature Lops are very much the same as Holland Lops. The ideal weight for showing a mini lop is 3lb 6oz. Then there is the Dwarf Lop, these are around 5lb 4oz. Followed by the German Lop which is around 8lb, then finally the French Lop which is 10lb+.

The smallest of these is the Holland Lop [in the US otherwise known as the Miniature Lop] in the UK weighing around 3 lb (1.4 kg) and being a close relative of the Netherland Dwarf. The next largest is the Mini Lop in the US which has a weight range of 4 1/2 to 6 1/2 pounds, followed by the English, German, Meissener and French Lop breeds. The Meissener is a very rare breed available in only a couple of colours and is hardly ever seen at shows. They weigh around 3 and 1/2 and live to be approximately eight years.