Dutch rabbits can be difficult to raise. Getting a rabbit with showable markings doesn’t always happen. Most litters have several babies that have DQs.I like the challenge of raising Dutch rabbits. One nice thing about Dutch is that you can.tell if a rabbit has good markings from the beginning. in this picture, you can easily tell that this little bunny has a spot which is a disqualification from competition.
Some breeders cull babies that are mis-marked when they are very small. I have never done this and probably never will. I like to sell my rabbits with disqualifications as pets on Facebook or at the livestock auction in Palmyra.
There are several disqualifications in Dutch rabbits. The picture above shows a white spot in the colored area of this rabbit. A colored spot in the white area is also a disqualification.
Other disqualifications include:
A tied front leg or a rabbit whose belly color extends past the elbow joint
Spilt stop is a rabbit whose stop marking extends between their toes.
Hooked check is a check marking that goes too far into the whisker bed
Marking faults include:
- High checks, hooked checks, mismatched checks (one high and one hooked)
- Blazes that are too wide or too narrow
- Stops that are too long or too short or uneven
- Saddles that are biased or crooked or ragged
- Undercuts that are ragged or not straight or have dips
When you think of good Dutch marking, think round, even, and well matched.
- Checks should be rounded and matched
- Blaze should be medium width and follow the roundness of the checks
- Stops should cover about 1/3 of the foot with white and be nice and round and matched
- Saddles and undercuts should be straight and go around the rabbits without any drags or unevenness
How to Get Good Rabbits from breeding.
- When breeding Dutch markings are one of the hardest things to breed for. But you can control some things in markings like stops. Stops are passed down in breeding not like other markings so if you want to breed for stops you should try to breed for 1/3 of the white in the foot. You don’t want to much white or to little white in the foot.
- Things to avoid when breeding are different colored eyes, white spots or spots in the white, White color on the ears, and legs that are cowhocked.
- The most ideal breeding rabbit in dutch while have a compact type, Good firmness of flesh which will feel like that means that rabbit will very full and muscular body. The tabbit should also have a ideal head the is very round, has a wide muzzle, and a the rabbit will have a really big head that connects to the body very well. The rabbit should also have very good color and fur. The color should match with the standard and should be very uniform. The fur should feel very soft, light, and the rabbit should be in good condition. Another thing you want in a ideal breeding is a rabbit with good ear carriage it should fill firm and not saggy. The last thing that you want is good back feet the ideal back feet is short feet it should be about 3 inches long, strong boned, and straight. The front feet should also be strong boned and straight.