Dwarf Hotot is a breed of

domestic rabbit The domestic rabbit (''Oryctolagus cuniculus domesticus'') is the domestication, domesticated form of the European rabbit, a member of the lagomorph order. A male rabbit is known as a ''buck,'' a female as a ''doe,'' and a young rabbit as a ''k ...

characterized by an entirely white coat, except for a circle of another color around each eye.

History

The Dwarf Hotot is one of the more recent breeds to be recognized by the ARBA, gaining acceptance in 1983. It has never been without a strong following, but also has never been among the most popular breeds. The much larger Blanc de Hotot was produced in the early 1900s in an effort to produce a black-eyed white

rabbit Rabbits are small mammals in the family Leporidae (which also includes the hares), which is in the order Lagomorpha (which also includes pikas). They are familiar throughout the world as a small herbivore, a prey animal, a domesticated ...

for meat and

fur A fur is a soft, thick growth of hair that covers the skin of almost all mammals. It consists of a combination of oily guard hair on top and thick underfur beneath. The guard hair keeps moisture from reaching the skin; the underfur acts as an ...

. In that era, large rabbits were valued for their commercial value. But in later years, big bunnies went out of style and people started pursuing dwarf breeds. In the 1970s, one breeder in

East Germany East Germany, officially known as the German Democratic Republic (GDR), was a country in Central Europe from Foundation of East Germany, its formation on 7 October 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with West Germany (FRG) on ...

and one in West Germany started working on a Dwarf Hotot, completely independent of one another. One crossed a Ruby-Eyed White Netherland Dwarf to a Blanc de Hotot; the other didn't use a standard Hotot at all, but crossed a black Netherland Dwarf to a Dutch and bred out markings until only the eyebands remained. The two strains were eventually united in 1979 to produce the breed known today. The Dwarf Hotot was imported to the United States in 1980 by Elizabeth Forstinger, a rabbit breeder also known for her work in importing and distributing the

Holland Lop The Holland Lop is a breed of Lop rabbit, lop-eared domestic rabbit, rabbit that was recognized by the American Rabbit Breeders Association (ARBA) in 1979. The Holland Lop, with a maximum weight of (as stipulated by ARBA), is one of the smallest ...

throughout the country. Forstinger bred the Dwarf Hotot further, eliminating blue and marbled eye colors from the breed, and brought several Dwarf Hotots to show at ARBA conventions each year until they were officially accepted as separate from the Netherland Dwarf in 1984. The breed is of compact type and has a gentle rollback coat. Unlike the Polish, which as similar body type, the shoulders are supposed to be as wide as the hips, and not show any taper. The head set is not as high on the shoulders as that of a

Netherland Dwarf The Netherland Dwarf is a breed of domestic rabbit that originated in the Netherlands. Weighing , the Netherland Dwarf is one of the smallest rabbit breeds. Its popularity as a pet or show rabbit may stem from its neotenic appearance. The Nethe ...

, but should not rest on the table either. The head is bold and broad. Ears are carried in an upright V shape, and are disqualified if over 2 ¾ inches in length. The eyes are encircled with narrow bands of colored fur. Ideal eyeband width equals the thickness of two pennies, and the bands of color are even all around the eye. Weak or streaky eyebands are faulted, but a complete break in the band is disqualified. For many years, the only accepted variety was white with black eyebands. In the year 2006, chocolate banded Dwarf Hotots were accepted by the ARBA. Blue banded were accepted in 2020. The black, blue and chocolate banded bunnies are shown together. The Dwarf Hotot is strictly a fancy breed. At 3 pounds max, they are too small to be of commercial value.

References

External links

Dwarf Hotot Rabbit Breed HistoryDifferent Breeds of Rabbits
https://www.adhrc.com/ Rabbit breeds originating in Germany Rabbits as pets Rabbit breeds {{Lagomorph-stub

History

See also

References

External links