Dutch

This breed is already described in 1897 by Cornevin and was found at the time in Belgium, the Netherlands and England, but it seems its origin is truly Dutch. It descends from the pinto rabbits of Brabant. It is descended from Dutch rabbits that supplied the rabbit meat market in England on a weekly basis in the 1830s. Some English breeders then decided to select this rabbit in order to fix its coloring pattern. These selection efforts led to a decrease in size and to symmetrical color patches. The Dutch rabbit then became an ornamental rabbit, which developed as such in many countries, notably in the United States.

The Dutch is a small rabbit weighing between 2 and 3 kilos. The head is rounded, never pear-shaped, and bears upright ears measuring between 8 and 10 cm. The body is short and stocky and overall must be round. The particularity of this rabbit is its pinto coat. The color covers the ears, the nape, the cheeks and the eyes as well as the hindquarters according to a vertical line in the middle of the body. The demarcation between the color and the white of the body must be as sharp as possible. All colors are accepted except silver, but black, gray, blue, chocolate and tortoiseshell (orange with grayish reflections on the ears) are more frequently encountered. The Dutch rabbit is especially active in the morning and at night. The rest of the day it is rather quiet and rests.