Anyone raise Harlequins?

[whaleyk98]

Im looking into getting started with them and I just want to know what you think of them. What are their personalities like and anything else that you can come up with. Thanks.

 

[whaleyk98]

anyone???

 

[massie777]

I don't know many people that do, but they are beautiful rabbits and i get a lot of them into my rescue. They all have really good personalities and make really good pets. Bugs in my avatar is a grey and white harlequin.

 

[whaleyk98]

Thank you!

 

[OakRidgeRabbits]

I don't know a lot about the Harlequin personality. A kid in the 4-H club here had one for a few years. He was perfectly friendy and loving, but I don't know whether that is the majority.

On the breeding end though, I must caution you. Harlies are VERY difficult to breed. You'll get a lot of mismarks that have to be culled, so you have to have an outlet for that...or a very good pet market. And as we all know, the pet market usually tends to gravitate towards small breeds. So you may have to consider selling them as a meat source.

Along with that, Harlies aren't something you can easily breed on a small scale. So if you're planning on having a pair or two and producing show quality rabbits...good luck! They are a breed that you'd generally want to have a good number of holes dedicated to.

That's about where my knowledge of the breed ends. I looked into them at one point, but they just weren't practical for my small rabbitry. Beautiful rabbits though!

 

[whaleyk98]

Thats a very good point and I totally didnt think about that. I will take that into consideration. Thanks a bunch!

 

[Bramblerose]

I have only one left at this point, a black magpie. She stays for the simple reason that she is the best mother hands down that I have ever seen, and I know a number of people who keep Harley does for that reason alone. She's raised so many fosters for me, she'd mother a rock and make it grow fur. Produces a huge amount of milk, kits always look like they swallowed pin pong balls. Nice temperament, not a mean bone in her body, her mother was a grumbler and very protective of her kits. I like them a lot, they can be all over the place in size and conformation, because many folks breed more for markings than conformation. Tough breed, but a beautiful one.

 

[KatieRenee33]

I have a Harlequin. I dont breed them ( the litter she has now was an Oops), but Willow is a WONDERFUL rabbit. Loves attention, very friendly. They do get to a pretty good size, Willow is around 9-10 lbs maybe. I also dont show, so i cant really tell you about conformation and all that jazz. But I love there coloring and markings.

So people above me posted that they have large litters, very true. Willows first litter (another oops, we have a wild male around here somewhere) and she had 12!!!!! Again with that amount, and she was so young and didnt know what to do, they all died. The litter she has now, she had 9, but two died, and we know have 6 healthy little ones running around

 

[OakRidgeRabbits]

Bramblerose wrote:

I like them a lot, they can be all over the place in size and conformation, because many folks breed more for markings than conformation.

Yeah, I think patterns are more overall points than type in most marked breeds.

 

[whaleyk98]

Thanks guys~!