What Rabbits Do You Have? Show Off Your Rabbits Here!

[katiedarling]

---

 

[kacklinkelly]

Regular old rabbits are the best! That's what we have and they have brought so much happiness into our lives. Looks like you found a perfect companion.

 

[shadow rabbit10]

She looks like she could be an English Spot or Checkered Giant mix of some sort, judging by that butterfly and nose fork. She's cute!

 

[Bunnylady]

She looks like she could be an English Spot or Checkered Giant mix of some sort, judging by that butterfly and nose fork. She's cute!

That nose marking means nothing: I have broken Holland Lops and Mini Rex with markings just like that. She's a broken, and has a nose marking that is common in broken patterned animals. I could even show you a picture of a Mini Rex with the same markings on the body, too. She's cute, she's sweet, she's a mix with broken pattern markings. What more does one need in a pet?

 

[SternRose]

I'm starting my Hollands soon, what's the best color to start? I really like Tris.

 

[Bunnylady]

Tri is a broken harlequin; I've been working with it in Mini Rex for ages. It can be frustrating to work with for several reasons. The solid Harlies can't be shown, of course, and getting a good tri is surprisingly hard. Also, if an agouti patterned animal (chestnut, for example) gets a copy of the harlequin gene, you can get harlequin markings bleeding through the chestnut, which is a DQ.

Probably the most common color in Hollands is tort. Unless you want to do one color exclusively, you'd be better off staying away from BEW and chocolate. Dilutes like blue can be tricky; there's a gene running around in Hollands that can give them brown eyes instead of blue-gray, which is a DQ.

 

[katiedarling]

post retracted. my apologies for any inconvenience. y'all have some lovely rabbits.

 

[Bunnylady]

That is NOT a Checkered Giant. Google images often come up with pictures that are not what you were searching for; some of the images aren't even rabbits! Offhand, I'd guess this animal is a cross between a broken New Zealand and an American Chinchilla.

Incidentally, this image also came up on the Google Images search for "Checkered Giant Rabbit:"

This isn't a Checkered Giant either - it's a Mini Rex. I ought to know; it was my rabbit, and I'm the one who originally posted the picture (on this forum, btw!)


THIS is a Checkered Giant.


I realize that I am probably coming across as really crabby, and I apologize for that, but I have come across this business sooooooo many times in my 30 years as a rabbit breeder, and it's getting a bit old. You need to (literally) get the spots out of your eyes, and look at the rest of the picture. Never mind the color, never mind the pattern; look at the rabbit.

The first thing to note is the size difference. Checkered Giants weigh at least 11 pounds, which is almost twice what you say your rabbit weighs. New Zealands also weigh around 11 pounds, but they aren't considered a "giant" breed. The reason for that is the type, the body structure. The New Zealand has what is called "commercial" type - they were bred to make meat, so they are solid, meaty animals. The Checkered Giant has what is called a "full arch" body type (so does the English Spot). Full arch rabbits have long, slender limbs and bodies; they are built more like greyhounds. While this picture does a good job of showing how much "daylight" is under the body on a breed like this, you don't really get a feel for just how big these rabbits are. Let's just say that if there were a yardstick in the picture I have posted, the Checkered Giant's ears would reach up to somewhere around 18 inches to 2 feet. They are big, rangy rabbits!

 

[SternRose]

I agree with Bunnylady

 

[katiedarling]