Skip to main content

Dutch Rabbit

The Dutch rabbit is one of the oldest rabbit breeds. It is also among the most popular rabbit breed throughout the world. The exact origin of the Dutch rabbit is not clear.

Some people say the breed was originated from England in the mid 19th century. Others say it was originated in Netherlands and was introduced into England in 1864. Probably it is descended from the Petite Brabacon (which was bred in large numbers for meat trade during the 19th century) from the Brabant region in Flanders.

The breed is also known as Brabander or Hollander. Dutch rabbit a very small breed, but it is not a dwarf rabbit breed. It was once the most popular of all rabbit breeds. But after the development of the dwarf rabbits, the popularity of this breed dwindled.

Although the Dutch rabbit is still one of the top ten most popular rabbit breeds throughout the world. The breed is recognized by both British Rabbit Council and the American Rabbit Breeders Association. Today, the Dutch rabbit is a very popular breed for show and also raised as pets.

Dutch Rabbit Characteristics

The Dutch rabbit breed is easily identifiable by it's characteristic color pattern. Dutch rabbits are smaller in size, but not a dwarf breed. They have compact and well rounded body. The have rounded head, and their ears are short, stocky and well-furred that stand erect.

Their back legs are longer than the front legs. And their back legs are very powerful. Their fur is soft and short. There are six color varieties in conjunction with white are recognized. Which are Black, Blue, Chinchilla, Chocolate, Gray, Steel and Tortoise. Although Yellow, Brown Grey, Steel Grey, Pale Grey etc. color varieties are also available.

The Black variety has a dense, glossy black with a slate blue undercolor and the eyes are dark brown. The eyes of Blue variety are blue gray and has a medium blue gray colored body with slate blue undercolor.

Chinchilla Dutch rabbit variety has an Agouti color with bands of pearl white and black with a slate blue undercolor. It is the newest variety to be recognized by the American Rabbit Breeder's Association and it's eyes are brown and the ears have black lacing. Chocolate variety has brown eyes and a rich chocolate brown coat with a dove-gray undercolor.

Gray variety has dark brown eyes and the coat is of an Agouti color. The Steel color variety of the Dutch rabbit is a black color with off-white tips to the hairshaft on some hairs. Their eyes are dark brown and the undercolor is slate blue.

dutch rabbit, dutch rabbits, about dutch rabbit, dutch rabbit breed, dutch rabbit breed info, dutch rabbit behavior, dutch rabbit care, dutch rabbit characteristics, dutch rabbit facts, dutch rabbit history, dutch rabbit image, dutch rabbit info, dutch rabbit information, dutch rabbit lifespan, dutch rabbit origin, dutch rabbit picture, dutch rabbit personality, dutch rabbit size, dutch rabbit temperament, dutch rabbit uses, dutch rabbit variety, dutch rabbit weight

And the Tortoise variety is of a bright, clean orange with slate blue shadings along the ears, whisker beds and hindquarters. Their eyes are dark brown and the undercolor is dark cream. The average body weight of the Dutch rabbit breed is between 2.0 and 2.5 kg.

Uses

The Dutch rabbit is a very popular as show animal. They are also popular as pets throughout the world. It is one of the top ten popular rabbit breeds worldwide.

Special Notes

The Dutch rabbit is very popular mainly because it is among the friendliest rabbits. They are also popular for their calm and easy going nature and for their robust build and manageable size.

They have a very gentle disposition and usually are excellent with children. They are intelligent animal and will thrive on attention. They are playful and generally docile and gentle. They make excellent domestic pet and they are also pretty easy to train.

Even the Dutch rabbit is a good choice for novice owners and for young. With good care, the average lifespan of the Dutch rabbit is between 5 and 10 years. Review full breed profile of this rabbit breed in the chart below.

Breed NameDutch
Other NameBrabander, Hollander
Breed PurposeMainly kept as show animal and pets
Breed SizeSmall
WeightAverage body weight is between 2.0 and 2.5 kg
Suitable for Commercial ProductionNo
Good as PetsYes
Climate ToleranceAll Climates
Color VarietiesBlack, Blue, Chinchilla, Chocolate, Gray, Steel and Tortoise. Yellow, Brown Grey, Steel Grey, Pale Grey etc. color varieties are also available.
RarityCommon
Country of OriginNot clear. Probably from England or Netherlands

Comments

Popular Posts

Murray Grey Cattle

The Murray Grey cattle are a breed of beef cattle from Australia. It was developed in the upper Murray River valley on the New South Wales. The breed was developed in 1905 from an initial chance mating of a black Aberdeen Angus bull and a roan Shorthorn cow during the Federation drought. From these matings the resulting thirteen dun-grey calves were kept as curiosities. And then Peter and Ena Sutherland bred them on the Thologolong property along the Murray River in New South Wales. Murray Grey cattle grew faster and were good converters of feed and produced quality carcases. These are the reasons this animals become very popular after their development. And local farmers became interested soon in these animals and began breeding them. The first large scale commercial farms were established in the 1940s. Today the breed is available in many countries. Both live Murray Grey cattle and embryos have been exported to many countries such as Canada, South America, New Ze...

Sorting Cattle

Sorting cattle is important if you have a large number of animals. For better management you will need to separate the animals into different groups depending on their age, size, gender or condition score. If some cattle of your herd need to be examined by a veterinarian or confined due to injury or illness, then separation may also need to be done. Sorting is also needed for separating the calves that need to be weaned from their mothers. And separating the bulls is also necessary after they have done their duty with breeding cows. Sorting Cattle Sorting cattle is not actually a difficult task. It can be done easily if you understand stockmanship principles that take advantage of bovine psychology and behavior. However, here we are describing more about the ways of sorting cattle. Sorting From a Squeeze Chute In this system you can move your cattle through a working corral into a chute system into the squeeze. In this system you can check and process animals f...

Andalusian Black Cattle Farming

Andalusian Black cattle farming is not too popular, even in it's native area. It is a relatively rare breed which is valued for meat production. But today, the breed is listed as 'endangered', and total number of the breed is very less. The Andalusian Black cattle is a taurine cattle breed, and it was originated in west Andalusia, Spain. It is also known by some other names such as Negra de las Campiñas, Negra Campiñesa and Spanish: Negra Andaluza. The Andalusian Black cattle is actually a beef cattle breed which is raised primarily for meat production purpose. The breed is found in two main areas of west Andalusia (from Cordova to the foothills of the Sierra Morena), and in the provinces of Seville, Cádiz and Huelva. Today, total population of the Andalusian Black cattle breed is very less. And there were about 800 purebred cattle in the year of 2007. Total number of this breed decreased mainly for crossbreeding with other local cattle breeds. Other reason...

Belted Galloway Cattle Farming

Belted Galloway cattle farming is popular, especially in it's native area. It is a beef cattle breed and raised mainly for meat production purpose. The breed is also known by some other names such as Beltie, Oreo Cow and Panda Cow. The Belted Galloway cattle breed was originated from Galloway in the west side of Southern Scotland. It is a heritage breed, and is well adapted to living on the poor upland pastures and wildswept moorlands of the region. Exact origins of the breed are unclear. But it is often surmised that the white belt of the breed may be a result of cross breeding with the Dutch Lakenvelder belted cattle. And the breed is named so mainly because of the belt. An association for the breed named the Belted Galloway Association was formed in 1921 in Scotland. And the name of the association was changed to Belted Galloway Society in the year of 1951. The association keeps and records pedigrees for Belted Galloways and oversees the registration of White and Re...

Cleaning A Cow

Cleaning a cow in the proper way can keep the animal look and feel fresh. Cleaning also help to prevent external parasites. You may also need to clean your cow to show it off at your local county fair or other occasions. And you need to clean your cows more often especially if you have dairy cows. You can integrate a spraying system for cleaning a cow once a day or so. Along with cleaning the body, you should also provide a footbath for better health of the cow's hooves. However, here we are describing more about the process of cleaning a cow. Sprinkler System Add Sprinkler in a Pre-milking Wash Pen You can construct a pre-milking wash pen with sprinklers for cleaning multiple cows. In this system, install sprinklers all along the pen you hold the cows in before milking. Using concrete for the floor will be good. It will help to keep the floor dry quickly and you will not have a constantly muddy area. You should spray sprinklers both up and down to wash the cows th...

Agerolese Cattle Farming

Agerolese cattle farming is not common, even in it's native area. It is a dairy cattle breed which is raised mainly for milk production purpose in it's native area. It is a pretty rare breed and not available outside it's native area. The Agerolese cattle is actually from the area of Agerola, in Campania in southern Italy. It was developed from cross-breeding of indigenous Podolica cattle with Bruna Italiana, Italian Holstein-Friesian and Jersey cattle. The breed is particularly associated with the Sorrento Peninsula and Monti Lattari. The Agerolese cattle is one of the 16 minor Italian cattle breeds of limited diffusion recognized and protected by the Ministero delle Politiche Agricole Alimentari e Forestali, the Italian ministry of agriculture. There were a total of 200 animals available according to a census completed on 1 January 2002. And the conservation status of the Agerolese cattle breed was reported by the FAO as 'endangered-maintained' in 200...

Ankole-Watusi Cattle Farming

Ankole-Watusi cattle farming is pretty popular, especially in it's native area. It is a multi-purpose breed of domestic cattle which is raised and valued for show, draught, meat and milk production purpose. The Ankole-Watusi cattle is a landrace breed, a type of Sanga cattle and originally native to East Africa. It is also known as Ankole Longhorn, and also sometimes known simply as Ankole or Watusi. Ankole-Watusi cattle is actually an ancient breed, and ancient rock paintings and depictions of these animals have been observed in the Sahara region and in the Egyptian arts and pyramid walls. The Sanga breed has spread to the Sudan, Uganda, Kenya and some other parts of Eastern Africa, becoming the base stock of the indigenous African cattle populations. It has most of the usual Zebu characteristics such as the pendulous dewlap and sheath, hump of variable size and the upturned horns. The Ankole-Watusi cattle have played a very important role in the lives of various ...