Dressed for dinner
The pattern is always the same: coloured ears, cheeks and back half, with a white blaze, collar and front.
Rabbits and friends · Time every day
Dutch rabbit
Rabbit · despite the name, bred in England
A neat, compact rabbit, black behind and white in front, with a white blaze down its face and upright black ears.
- Size
- About 2 to 2.5kg
- Lives for
- 8 to 12 years
- Suits
- Families with space for a pair and a large run
Hops after you, nose twitching. Move your pointer and see.
Good to know
Six things about the dutch rabbit
One of the oldest breeds
It has been bred since the 1830s and was once the most popular pet rabbit in the world.
Not only black
The coloured parts can also be blue, chocolate, grey or tortoiseshell.
It sees behind itself
A rabbit's eyes are on the sides of its head. It can see almost all the way round without moving.
Teeth that keep growing
Its teeth grow about two millimetres a week and are worn down by chewing hay.
It eats its food twice
It produces soft droppings at night and eats them again, to get all the goodness out.
The real thing
Photos of the dutch rabbit
Photos are from Wikimedia Commons, used under the free licences shown. They have been resized, and cropped where they appear in link previews.
Looking after one
Keep it with another rabbit in a large, secure space with a shelter. Feed mostly hay and grass, a handful of greens and a few pellets.
Before you get one
Dutch rabbits are calm and friendly. Have them neutered and vaccinated, and expect them to be part of the family for a decade.
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