TIMBER KNOLL RABBITRY
Belgain Hare - The King of the Fancy
The Belgian Hare is one of our favorite rabbits. Its intellegent and friendly personality make each individual unique. Belgian hares have remained virtually unchanged since the 1880's when they were popularily used as meat rabbits. Today the Belgian hare is rare to find at shows and makes our Belgians very special to us!
Belgian Hare Standards: ARBA Standard of Perfection:
Average Weight
Senior Bucks and Does-6 months of age and over, weight 6-9 1/2 lbs. Ideal weight 8 lbs
Jr. Buck & Does-under 6 months of age, Min weight 3 lbs.
Body type and Condition
The body is to be long, refined, nicely arched with a continuous sweep from the front of the shoulders to the tail. Loin and hindquarters well rounded, avoid broad hips. The most noticeable fault, which is hard to eliminate is prominent hip bones. Body must be carried well off the ground with long, straight, slender legs. Rather long fine head set on a rather slender neck.
Color -
Color is to be brilliant deep red a tan or chestnut shade over a slate blue undercolor. Color is to carry well down the sides of the body and haunches. Belly and under jaw are to be creamy to red in undercolor. Cheeks, head feet and legs to be as free from ticking as possible. Brilliant black wavy ticking on body with ears distinctly laced with brilliant black to extend as far as possible along the edges are are the crowing feature of a well bred Belgian. Fur close lying with a stiff texture.
Care -
Belgian appear much more fragile that we have found them to be. They appreciate daily exercise and love to climb and explore. They are intelligent rabbits who need mental stimulation and as much contact as possible. Their narrow, lightly furred hocks and feet require that they do not live on a fully wire floor- they need to have solid support to rest on. Much has been written about the nervous and flighty disposition of the Belgian, but we have not found this to be an issue with regular handling and daily exercise.
http://www.belgianhareclub.com/breeding_and_raising.html
Posing -
Belgian hares are unique in their posing for shows. There are many methods used to pose hares (see links below) but the most important thing is to get your hares used to handling in different situations so that show time is not an unduly stressful experience.
