Ermine rabbit
The ermine rabbit is a rabbit breed from the group of dwarf rabbits . The ermine rabbit is bred in two different colors. While the older, red-eyed color type (ermine, roach) is an albino , the blue-eyed color type is a leucistic animal. Crossing the two colors results in colored offspring in the F1 generation .
Appearance of the ermine rabbit
The ermine rabbit is the original type of dwarf rabbit. The characteristic body shape, which is different from the other rabbit breeds, with the rounded, compact body, the short, small legs and the relatively large head with the large eyes and the closely spaced short ears, is caused by the so-called dwarf factor . The hides of both colors of the ermine rabbit are pure white, dense and relatively soft.
The weight of the ermine rabbit is ideally between 1.1 and 1.5 kg, animals that weigh less than 1 kg or more than 1.5 kg are excluded from the assessment at pedigree rabbit shows.
History of the ermine rabbit
The origin of the breed is not fully understood, there are several variants of how the ermine rabbits were bred out. The red-eyed ermine rabbit is the original type, about the origin of which there are several theories. These do not necessarily have to be mutually exclusive, as similar rabbit breeds have been independently bred out several times.
The red-eyed ermine rabbit
The "Polish" rabbit
One theory of the origin of the ermine rabbit, which is particularly widespread in German literature, is based on its being bred out of relatively small white or piebald country rabbits, which were particularly bred in the Ore Mountains . The fur of these animals is said to have been particularly suitable for producing an imitation of the fur of the real ermine . In earlier times the imitation of valuable furs was an important breeding goal for pedigree rabbit breeders, which is also reflected in the name of other rabbit breeds.
Polish furriers are said to have brought furs and animals to England , where animals of this type were first shown at an exhibition in Hull in 1884 by J. Meynell and G. Hedworth. These animals, known as “Polish”, came to Germany around 1900 and were shown here for the first time in 1903. The further breeding of the breed took place on the European continent largely under the name Hermelin. In the Dutch- speaking area, the breed is still common under the old name "Pool, Rodoog".
In the “Evaluation Regulations for Breed Rabbits in Socialist Countries”, which also applied in the GDR from 1980 until reunification , there was an albino rabbit breed called “Polish White”, but this was in weight (2.25 to 3.25 kg) and description type after more like the Russian rabbit . This breed is still bred in Scandinavia under the name "Oerestad" (Nordisk standard for Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden).
The Belgian / English origin
A representation to be found in the British literature (Sandford) assumes that the British "Polish" were bred from rabbits of Belgian origin. The author also states that animals of this type were bred several times in England from small white, Dutch or Russian colored animals. The breeding process on the British Isles has produced a completely different type, the "rabbit dwarf", which can also be found in the standard regulations in Scandinavia, Belgium and the Netherlands, and whose country of origin is shown as England. Even so, this type is called “Polish” in Great Britain. In the USA (ARBA standard) and other English-speaking overseas countries, the English-type Polish is known as "Britannia Petite".
The blue-eyed ermine rabbit
The blue-eyed ermine rabbit has its origin in Saxony , at least for Germany . The goal of breeding a blue-eyed dwarf rabbit was pursued independently by the breeders Kluge in Hohndorf and Unger and Lohse in Dippoldiswalde . It is unclear which races were used for outbringing, but it is very likely that Dutch rabbits were used alongside the red-eyed ermine rabbits .
breed
Breeding the breed is not very easy, as it is split-breed animals (the only single-color split-breed rabbit breed). Therefore some of the young animals (calculated 25%) are true carriers of the dwarf factor and therefore not viable. Another quarter of the young animals do not have the dwarf factor and therefore do not show the body shape required in the standard. In addition, the ermine rabbits, in contrast to the rabbit's proverbial joy in reproducing, tend to litter quite small. For reasons of animal welfare law ( torture breeding ), the mating of dwarves is therefore not permitted. The mating of type-appropriate with large-framed animals that are not carriers of the dwarf factor is recommended. In order to avoid further extreme dwarfing, the ZDRK has increased the maximum weight for the maximum number of points in this position of the evaluation from 1250 to 1350 g, while most of the other European associations have remained with the original weight requirements.
literature
- FK Dorn, G. March: Breed rabbit breeding. 5th edition. Neumann-Verlag, Leipzig / Radebeul 1981.
- JC Sandfort: The domestic rabbit. 5th edition. Blackwell Science, Oxford 1996, ISBN 0-632-03894-2 .
- L. Thormann: Color dwarfs. Oertel and Spörer, Reutlingen 1997, ISBN 3-88627-203-6 .
- L. Thormann: Our ermine rabbits. In: The Blue Yearbook 1999 - A Practical Guide for the Rabbit Breeder. Oertel and Spörer, Reutlingen 1999, pp. 111-119.
- H. Majaura: Ermine Rabbit - Popular and controversial goblins. In: The small animal breeder rabbit. 24/2006, ISSN 1613-6357 .