the Rabbit and Cavy Breeders Index

Harlequin Rabbit Breeders

"the Royal Jester"

Harlequin photos provided by Laurie of Hoppe's Harlequins

The breed of rabbit we now call the Harlequin is a fairly old breed and
seems to have originated in the area around France in the 1800's. The first
published evidence of them being show and exhibited occurred in Paris in
1887. The first ones were imported into the United States around 1919. They
were originally called Japanese due to their color, Orange/Red and Black and
the body banding that some claimed looked sort of like a rising sun. An
excerpt from a 1928 European standard stated "The name of the Japanese
rabbit is derived from the irregular color circles fancifully supposed to
represent the rising sun."

In 1946 the British Rabbit Council, revised the standard and referred to the
breed by a new name, the Harlequin, in response most likely to the war as
anything Japanese was decidedly not in vogue at that time. In 1980 to end
the confusion of the breed and group name being the same thing ARBA allowed
the Orange variety of the Harlequin to again be called the Japanese.

So there is 1 breed, the Harlequin, 2 groups within the breed - Japanese
(full color gene, Orange background) and Magpie (chinchilla gene, White
background), and 4 varieties within each group Black, Blue, Chocolate and
Lilac, for a total of 8 different color combinations.

The Harlequin has been used to cross into many different breeds to bring in
its unique color pattern that is caused by the ej gene. In recent years a
number of Harlequins have been imported from Britain and Germany, helping to
bring some European bloodlines into the American stock.

On the whole the Harlequin breed is a very nice, even tempered, medium to
large sized rabbit. Bucks - 6 1/2 to 9 pounds, 7 1/2 pounds ideal. Does - 7
to 9 1/2 pounds, 8 pounds ideal. They are a challenge to breed for show due
to the pattern requirements for the show table.

For more information on the Harlequin and to see the various colors and
proper patterning please visit the American Harlequin Rabbit Club (AHRC)
http://www.americanharlequinrabbitclub.com

Groups devoted to the Harlequin.
Harlequin Rabbits Yahoo Group
http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/Harlequin_Rabbits/

Harlequins Yahoo Group
http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/harlequins/

Harlies4Sale Yahoo Group
http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/Harlies4Sale/

Midwest Harlequin Yahoo Group
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/MidwestHarlequins/

Harlequin Breed Description and Links all provided by Laurie of Hoppe's Harlequins

Max Weight: 9.5 lbs.

Baby Harlequin photos provided by Laurie of Hoppe's Harlequins

Harlequin photos provided by Rebecca Blanks of Bronwyn's Bunnies Rabbitry

Do you have photos of Harlequins you would like to share? Please submit them here!

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