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| Body Types Did you know that rabbits have different body types? There are 5 different ones Compact, Commercial, Cylindrical, Full Arch, and Semi Arch. These different body type are easy to tell apart if you know what to look for on them. Compact: This is most of the smaller breeds of rabbits. They are to have a nice rise, be nice and rounded, and to be well filled in. The way a breeder once told me to judge my Dutch’s type was to imagine a basketball, the body should be just as round as a ball. At the shoulders, there should not be room for you to place two fingers before the rise starts, this is being weak in the shoulders. As you move you hand over the hindquarters, you shouldn’t feel a dip over the hips (hint: I find that when I feed my rabbits a bit more food this helps them fill in more so in this area). For posing most of these breeds, so the rabbit shows it’s best, make sure that both the front legs are flat on the ground, don’t have the rabbit on it’s tip toes. You want to push the rabbit’s bottom in a bit, but not so much where their hind legs are tucked under too far. Their head will be posed on the ground The exception to that is the Holland Lop, Jersey Wooly, and Netherland Dwarf. All three of these are to be posed naturally, and are to hold their heads up. Their heads should not be push down, nor should their bodies be pushed in, as this will ruin the appearance of the breed. Breeds with Compact Type: American Fuzzy Lop, English Angora, Standard Chinchilla, Dutch, Dwarf Hotot, Florida White, Havana, Holland Lop, Jersey Wooly, Lilac, Mini Lop, Mini Rex, Netherland Dwarf, Polish, and Silver French Lop Rainstar Rabbitry Commercial: This usually contains the larger breeds, which are used for meat. This body type is like the compact type, but larger in size. For me, I judge them similar to how I would judge a compact breed except that they are more massive in size. Breeds with Commercial Type: French Angora, Giant Angora, Satin Angora, Champagne d’Argent, Californian, Cinnamon, American Chinchilla, Cream d’Argent, French Lop, Harlequin, Hotot, New Zealand, Palomino, Rex, American Sable, Satin, SIlver Fox, and Silver Marten Cylindrical: There is only one breed that has this type, the Himalayan. To pose them, you want to stretch the rabbit out as far as you can, keeping it’s front legs and back feet flat on the ground. When feeling the body, it should be as round as possible, and even. You shouldn’t feel anything sticking out, or have your fingers dip in at any part, except for the hindquarters, which should not be faulted if they're rough. Breed with Cylindrical Type: Himalayan Full Arch: These breeds are known as running breeds, as with most of them the judge makes them run on the show table to show off their type. The exception to this is the Belgian Hare and the Britannia Petite. Neither of these breeds are to run. Neither of these two breeds should be judged the same either though. The Britannia Petite is to be trained to pose. The Standard of Perfection for the Britannia Petite has different ways to pose them listed. Breeds with Full Arch Type: Belgian Hare, Britannia Petite, Checkered Giant, English Spot, Rhinelander, and Tan English Lop Bunn Bunn's Rabbitry Semi Arch: Many people confuse Semi Arch rabbits with Commercial rabbits as both are larger animals, not realizing that there is a large difference. The Commercial type’s rise starts right behind the neck, whereas with the Semi Arch’s type doesn’t start till after the shoulders, giving them a mandolin type look. If you look closely at the pictures of Commercial breeds and Semi Arch breeds, you will see the difference. As you feel the type of a Semi Arch rabbit, you want it to start with a nice arch behind the shoulders, and be nice and rounded in the hindquarters. Breeds with Semi Arch Type: American, Beveren, English Lop, Flemish Giant, and Giant Chinchilla |
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| Copyright © 2003 Double Dutch Rabbitry. All rights reserved. |
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| Dutch- head held on the ground |
| Netherland Dwarf- head held up Owner: Dixie Dwarf Rabbitry |
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| Himalayan Owner: Lorina C. |
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| Tan Owner: Velotta's Rabbitry |
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