Mary Allen
Purebred rabbit breeding in Switzerland is very diverse. 43 recognized breeds in over 100 colors, from the small colored dwarf to the mighty Belgian giant, can be admired.
Targeted rabbit breeding in Europe began more than 200 years ago. In Switzerland, the two major breeds, the French Ram and the Belgian Giant were recognized as the first breeds in 1850. Since then, different breeds have been added. These also include the three breeds bred in Switzerland: Swiss squirrel, Swiss fox, and three-colored small checkered. The lion head, a dwarf breed with long hair zones, is currently the 44th breed in the admissions process.
The smallest are colored dwarfs and ermine with an ideal weight of 1.25 to 1.4 kilograms. The ermine rabbit is considered the archetype of the dwarf rabbit. Polish furriers first introduced these red-eyed animals to England in 1884. They were bred from the small land rabbits from the Ore Mountains on the border between Germany and the Czech Republic.
The breeding goal was to create a cheap imitation of real ermine fur, which was very popular at the end of the 19th century. They have been recognized in Switzerland since 1900. The lively creatures with good posture and strong, beautifully formed physique were subsequently mated with various small breeds. In the meantime, 25 colors of these extremely popular dwarf rabbits have been recognized in this country.
Squirrel Rabbit with Perfect Fur Beading
The biggest is the Belgian giants with an ideal weight of seven to nine kilos. This meat breed originated from giant Flemish rabbits. They are late maturing, peaceful animals with good posture, along the backline, strong, beautifully formed, and elegant physique. The body length is at least 70 centimeters. Due to their size, they need large stables and runs. In the past, when many people had enough land and gardens, these gentle giants were popular and important suppliers of meat. Today, the iron-gray and gray giants are no longer among the most common breeds.
Rabbits have always been kept and bred for their meat or fur. At the beginning of the 20th century, attempts were made in various countries to more or less imitate the expensive and popular fur of the Siberian squirrel with rabbits. The special thing about real fur is the peculiar beading: Depending on the Siberian region, the color can appear differently from dark to light blue-grey. The so-called squirrel rabbit, which was recognized in 1920, was created in Switzerland from wild-colored and blue rabbits. With this small breed, the breeders were primarily aiming for perfect pearling of the fur in order to come as close as possible to the desired imitation. They did very well.
The coat texture must be dense and non-slip. The topcoat length should be between 26 and 30 millimeters and have plenty of top and guard hairs. The overall ground color is blue-grey, shaded by more or less dark blue and brownish tipped guard and guard hairs. Depending on the occurrence of these hair types, a lighter or darker shade results. This tingling trickle of color, the piquant speckle of light and dark, is known as pepper and salt. An ideal topcoat length is absolutely necessary, otherwise, this peculiarity deviates too much from the standard requirement. Short coat hair produces too fine pearling, long coat hair too coarse pearling, both coat types are therefore undesirable. The mosaic-like inlay as a whole creates the pearling and gives the squirrel with the gray veil its unique appearance.
Stipple Drawing and Mosaic Factor
The Swiss fox is another pure Swiss rabbit breed. It was created around 100 years ago from Angora and Havana rabbits. They wanted to get a replica of the fur of the blue arctic fox native to Alaska. What is special about this small breed with a slightly erect posture, beautifully formed, strong body is the longer normal hair factor.
The fur is dense, full, handy, strong with a lot of undercoats and plenty of top and guard hair. The topcoat length is five to six centimeters long. The very strong, straight, and shiny guard hairs must be seven to eight centimeters long. Although the desired breeding goal was not achieved as desired, the fox pioneers laid the basis for a special, pleasant breed. The foxes are now available in the following colors: white roach, white blue eye, chinchilla, black, mauve and Havana.
The third Swiss breed is due to the inspiration of Anton Häberli from Winterthur. He wanted to breed a rabbit that would have the same markings as an English piebald, but with orange and black spots. In 1966 he mated a Japanese female with an English piebald buck. Then the career took its course until, on May 10, 1984, it was officially recognized as a «Swiss Eulach Pinto Rabbit». The breed was later renamed the «three-color small check», and from 2011 the small breed with spot markings and a mosaic factor is called the «Swiss three-color small check».