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All About the Dutch The Dutch is probably the most well-known rabbit all around. It is well known for its unique markings and is very popular in the pet trade because of its gentle disposition. The Dutch is said to have originated in Holland. The Dutch rabbits found their way to England in 1864.There are four breeds that are said to have originiated from the Dutch. These breeds are as following: Havana, Florida White, Harlequin (from the Harlequin Dutch), Polish, and the Tan. There are currently only six recognized varieties accepted by the American Rabbit Breeders Association Standards of Perfection. These varieties are as listed; Black, Blue, Gray, Tortoise, Chocolate, and Steel. I only raise the Black and Blue ones but hope to get into grays someday in the future. Steels are a tricky variety to raise because it's hard to get silver tipped Steels. There are many other varieties that aren't recognized by the ARBA. One of them is the Harlequin Dutch. The Harlequin Dutch is said to be the ultimate of challenges because a Dutch is already hard enough to breed because of its markings. Now add the Harlequin markings into the mix and it will be super hard to get a good marked Dutch that has good Harlequin markings. To become well known with the Dutch, the most important thing you need with a Dutch is a good body type. Markings aren't genetic but body type is. So if you have a poorly typed Dutch with excellent markings, you won't get anywhere with it. Let's start with the basic knowledge. For a good Dutch type, the head should be nicely rounded and the body should be cobby and compact. For the markings: The blaze is a triangle shaped mark on the head of the Dutch. The neck, also known as the wedge, should be clean-cut behind the ears on the back of the neck. The saddle is the straight line on its body and the undercut is like the saddle but it's on the bottom part of the Dutch, on the belly. The stops are the toe markings. I don't have pictures of all of them but Sarah, a wonderful Dutch breeder, has some good information on her site. Click here to go to the page where she has pictures of each marking. I only have basic information but Double Dutch Rabbitry has pretty good information that is in detail. |
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