Information about netherland dwarfs

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Basic care and feeding

An average netherland dwarf should weigh between 1 1/2 to 2 1/2 lbs. They should be fed between 1/4 to 1/3 cups of food per day. A netherland dwarf can be fit comfortably in a cage that is at least 24" by 18". They need alfalfa pellets as their main source of food. Hay in the winter. You need to clean the cage at least twice a month and if the cage has a tray the tray needs cleaned at least once a week.

The Points

In exhibiton, the judge will look the rabbit over. The judge is basing 70 out of 100 points on the general type of the rabbit. The general type consists of; body 35 points, head 15 points, ears 15 points, eyes 5 points and tail 0 points. 10 points are based on the condition of the fur. 15 points are based on the color. And 5 points are based on the all around condition of the rabbit.

How the body should look

According to standards of perfection, the netherland dwarfs body should be short and compact. The shoulders are to be deep and broad, with the shoulders being the same width as the hindquarters. The depth and the width of the body should balance. The topline is to show that the depth of the shoulders is carried throughout to a deep, well rounded, and well filled hindquarter.

The colors of the Netherland Dwarf

Netherland dwarfs come in five color groups. In these five color groups they come in 25 colors. The first group is self. Self comes in; black, blue, chocolate, lilac, ruby eyed white and blue eyed white. The second group is shaded. Shaded comes in; sable point, siamese sable, siamese smoke pearl and tortoise shell. The third group is agouti. Agouti comes in; chestnut, chinchilla, lynx, opal and squirrel. The fourth group is tan. Tan comes in; otter, sable martin, silver martin, smoke pearl martin and tan. The fifth group is called aov (any other variety.) Aov comes in; fawn, himilayan, orange and steel and broken. The self colors are in my mind the easiest colors to do. The shaded are hard because you have to get the right darkness and lightness of every color in the fur. (They have multiple colors in one overall color) Agouti colors have 3-5 rings when you look at the undercolor. They are very pretty. Tan colors are easy, except for the martins. To get the martins both parents have to have a certain gene.

The History of the Netherland Dwarf

In about 1930 a Polish was bred to a small wild rabbit in the Netherlands to improve the polishes type. This new breed is called the Netherland Dwarf. They were given a standard in 1940 for Germany and Holland. After the World War 2 the Netherland Dwarf was brought to England. On October 13th 1949 Joyce Naylor formed the Netherland Dwarf club in England. They were getting so popular that the British Rabbit Council gave them official recognition. In 1965 people in America wanted the Netherland Dwarfs to improve their Polish, so they were imported to the U.S. from England. Mr. Bramhall, a Netherland Dwarf breeder, wanted to make a American standard for the Netherland Dwarf. His standard was presented to ARBA at the convention in Calgory, Canada in 1969. That is where the Netherland Dwarf was recognized.

Reproduction Information

� A doe can first be bred at 6 months of age and should be bred for the first time before she is a year old.��The doe should always be taken to the buck. The gestational period is 28 to 32 days. On the 26th day the doe should be given a nest box to have her babies in. You should give the doe plenty of hay for building her nest. The mom only feeds her babies one or twice in a 24 hour period, so even if you never see her feed them if their bellies are big and round they are being fed. The babies will start to open their eyes at about 2 weeks of age. The babies can be weaned from their mom at 6 weeks of age. The bucks need to be separated from the other siblings at 8 weeks of age. The does can all live together, but they need to live away from mom too. The doe is ready to breed again�1 month after having the babies, but I like waiting 2 months to give the mom a longer break.

This is Liberty our black otter doe born on 9-11