An Introduction to the Largest Rabbits on Earth
No rabbit breed is more awe inspiring than the Flemish Giant. These rabbits have been known to grow larger than a dog. The average Flemish Giant weighs a fantastic fifteen pounds.
Flemish Giants became well loved at the turn of the last century, when European exhibitors brought them to America to show them at county fairs around the nation. They have always been highly prized for their luxurious, soft fur, but their friendly, docile temperament makes them a well loved choice of pet too.
Handle with Care
Just as with any rabbit, if you choose a Flemish Giant as a pet it will take him a small time to get used to being handled. Read more…
French Lop Rabbits – The Other European Huge Boys
The French Lop has been in existence since the middle of the nineteenth century, the breed coming from the cross breeding of Flemish Giants and English Lops. As a result the French Lop has a slightly larger body than its cross channel cousin, and slightly less ear than its huge Flemish ancestors. Read more…
New Zealand Rabbits come in a virtual rainbow of insignia, including red white and blue! Originally bred for meat and their unusually luxurious fur, the New Zealand is now one of the most well loved breeds in the world of rabbit showing.
Usually bucks weigh ten pounds and females tip the scales at around eleven pounds.
Overweight New Zealand Rabbits are not as graceful as slimmer animals, though their bodies should be deep and broad.
The head should also be broad. New Zealand Rabbits are a medium length breed and have very honest, stocky front legs that are considerably shorter than many other breeds. They also have honestly small necks and carry their ears evenly, with small droop. The show rabbit’s ears should have round tips and should be quite furry! Doe New Zealand Rabbits are still painstaking attractive show animals even with a small dewlap. Read more…
When is a Hare Not a Hare? When it’s a Belgian Hare Rabbit
A Belgian Hare is a rabbit with a very unique appearance and as you may have guessed, they originally came from Belgium in the late 19th century. The Belgian Hare was deliberately bred to resemble a wild hare, and share some its’ basic traits. With a sleek and wiry coat, large honest ears and long back legs. Its slender, delicately boned appearance earned the Belgian Hare the nickname “Race Horse of the Rabbit Fancy.”
Fallen Superstars
The initially Belgian Hares appeared in Belgium Read more…
Meet the Rex, Large and Small
Rex rabbits come in two main types, the Standard Rex, and its’ smaller cousin, the Mini Rex. Both breeds have a luxurious, velvety fur that was once the main reason they were bred, as it’s coat was in high demand by the fur trade, even if that practice has all but stopped these days.
The Huge Boy in the Family- The Standard Rex
A Standard Rex usually weighs somewhere between seven and eleven pounds, and comes in a huge range of insignia. Breeders have had fantastic success in breeding Rex’s of many uncommon hues, and the Rex rabbits of today can be found in Blue, Black, Chocolate, Lilac, Amber and Sable, to name just a few. Read more…
Angora Rabbit Basics
Angora Rabbits are well-known for their abundance of fur and their cute, cuddly appearance. Some of them can be so furry it is hard to tell at a quick glance that they are rabbits at all. The wool harvested from their plentiful coat is one of the most desirable in the world. But how hard is it for the initially timer to successfully raise a pleased, healthful angora?
Caring for that Coat
As you might imagine, grooming is a larger chore for the angora owner than for those who choose a uncommon breed. Most experienced angora owners use Read more…
English Spot Rabbits – Professional Show Offs
The English Rabbit, also known as the English Spot Rabbit is one of the oldest breeds of show rabbit in the world. The original English rabbit was traditionally white and black, or white and blue, but since the 1920s show associations have accepted many other insignia including chocolate, lilac and tortoiseshell.
A Long and Storied History
The English rabbit initially appeared around 1848, in England of course. After an initial burst of popularity on the show circuit the breed the English Spot died out somewhat. But it burst back onto the scene in the late 1880’s in new insignia and varieties and has remained a rabbit fancy favorite ever since. Read more…
The Dwarf Lop – Colorful and Cuddly
A Dwarf Lop is very similar in appearance to its’ similarly sized cousin, the Mini Lop. The only real difference is size, the Dwarf Lop being larger by a beat or so on average.
Both breeds make fantastic pets, but as the Dwarf Lop lives to an average of nine or ten years ancient, they are rabbits that will be around for a long time, with proper care and handling.
Do the Ears Hang Low?
The baby Dwarf Lop is born, like all breeds of lop, with ears that stand up honest. As they mature Read more…
Dutch Rabbits – One of the Rabbit Fancier’s Utmost Challenges
One of the most well loved shows breeds in the world these days is the Dutch rabbit.
They are characterized by their very distinctive markings. This makes them extremely challenging to breed for show purposes, as for Dutch rabbits to show successfully their markings must be in a very specific pattern.
The Dutch rabbit is most popularly said to have originated, as its name suggests, in Holland. They initially appeared in England in 1864 and had become very well loved by the turn of the century. Read more…
Cute, Cuddly and Economical
The Mini Rex is now the most shown breed in the world, and one of the most well loved with pet owners. Yet they have only really been around since the mid eighties, when Mona Berryhill, a breeder from Texas, successfully bred a Dwarf Rex to a Lynx Rex.
So what is it in this area these small guys that make them so very well loved?
The Mini Rex is of course very small, averaging three to four pounds in weight. Their fur is extremely luxurious but not so long that they require constant grooming. Read more…