My experience with the Himalayan Netherland Dwarf

When I started showing rabbits I had just one colour, the Smoke pearl. Looking for a second colour I was uncertain. There were the REWs, Agoutis, Otters and Sables. However my mind was made up when, at a show, my wife pointed to a pen and said “I like that rabbit”. It was of course an Himalayan.

Then came the problem of getting stock. Himalayan breeders are few and far between, later I was to realize why. The year was 1993 and I was directed to a breeder in Hertfordshire who offered me a mated doe. Sadly she missed and never again mated successfully.

Next I got a doe from a breeder in Norwich and a further doe from an established breeder in Yarm. Now of course, I need a buck. Probably the most successful breeder of Himalayans at that time lived in Lancashire. I made contact with him and after a short time he rang to say he head a buck to offer me. So off to Lancashire. How fortunate I was for I obtained a superb 12 month old buck. I still can’t understand why he parted with it. But I was extremely grateful for it was to become not only my stud buck but also a very successful show exhibit.

I entered this rabbit in the Bradford Championship show and won the class from a fair number of entries. I was ecstatic at getting a red card and as soon as I got home placed this rabbit on a pedestal along with red card for a photo shoot (see photo). That same year he also won the National ASS at Halifax (I think the last time the ASS was held there) out of a class of 22. Sadly the days of large classes of Himalayans have passed. There seem to be fewer and fewer exhibitors of this colour. I’m sure one of the reasons is that they are so frustrating to breed. All too often the kits will have good type but no colour or visa versa. They are certainly not the colour to choose if you are looking for “Best in Show” or even “Best of Breed”. In my experience the very best Himalayans struggle to compete with the REWs, Agoutis, Otters and Sables.

Some breeders mate Himalayans to Dark Siamese Sables to improve colour and type but this has never worked for me. I keep strictly Him to Him and this has produced at fairly regular intervals a reasonable show exhibit. I try to breed straight down the line from my original buck but did eventually have to buy another buck. This too became a buck producing the odd show winner. My breeding line is now a combination of does from my original buck and the buck I bought in.

I know from the enquiries I get there are several breeders who would like to try with Himalayans if only they could get the stock. Those of us breeding now should surely try to produce more stock that may be suitable for offering within the fancy.

Eric Brooks

Himalayan science

Himalayan rabbits have light coloured fur with dark extremities, such as the ears, nose, paws and tail. The dark extremities are caused by the recessive Himalayan gene (ch). Himalayan rabbits are known to be homozygous recessive (chch) for this gene, which is involved in the production of melanin. Experimental evidence suggests that the enzyme produced by the Himalayan gene is active only at low body temperatures. Therfore, the black fur only occurs at the extremities where the body heat is lower. [Extemities are colder because they lose more body heat to the environment.] Perhaps this is an ancestral trail where the dark extremities are less likely to freeze because they absorb light and solar heat. The activation of the temperature-influenced Himalayan gene has been demonstrated by shaving off the fur on the back of a Himalayan rabbit and applying an ice pack. The new fur that grew in was black instead of white, showing that the enzyme controlling melanin production is active only at low temperatures.

himalayan Peaks and Troughs

My attraction to the Himalayan began in the early 1950s when I was at a convent school in Brentwood, Essex. The nuns had a normal Himalayan rabbit as a pet and it was my vow to have one of my own some day. I had been keeping rabbits since 1946 when they were looked upon not only as an enjoyable hobby but also as a valuable food source which meant of course that those not good enough for the show table made a very tasty meal. My attitude is somewhat different nowadays, I hasten to add! I kept a small stud of Havana Rex and at that time it was the practise to send rabbits to shows all over the country by train. Dad rigged up special carrying box holders on my bike in order for me to take my potential winners on the three-mile cycle ride to the station. It was always very exciting and I would eagerly await a phone call from the stationmaster later on at night letting me know that my rabbits had arrived home safely. Off I would go again on the 6 mile round mile trip, in all weathers, anxious to discover how well, or how badly my rabbits had performed during the day. They were happy times but the years passed and as a language student I won a scholarship to further my education in Germany. There was still time however to keep rabbits and I soon became involved in a local animal club where anything from rabbits to dogs and horses were bred and shown. After qualifying as a commercial translator I worked my way around the world and did not return to this country until 1972. But then, two years later, when marriage put an end to my Wanderlust, rabbits gradually disappeared from my mind and it was not until my daughter Sarah said that she would like a pet for her birthday that I seriously began thinking of them again. A friend in the village had a pair of Siamese Smoke Netherland Dwarfs and I could not help but think how much prettier they were than their ancestors of 35 years ago. These two just happened to have come from Cliff Graveling and after contacting him we all visited his house in order to choose our pets. We came away with two does, an English marked and a Tortoiseshell, plus an invitation to join the East Anglian Netherland Dwarf Rabbit Club! Then we went our first show and saw the most beautiful rabbit that I had ever seen – a Himalayan Netherland Dwarf. Charlie Gricks said to me “You don’t want one of those, they’re one of those funny colours and you could never win Best in Show with it”. I explained to him that I was not of a highly competitive nature and did not really want to win Best in Show anyway – I just wanted to be the owner of a Himalayan Netherland Dwarf. When I decided to take up the challenge, however, Himalayan Dwarfs were very popular and there were a lot about but stock was nevertheless quite difficult to come by. Anything I was offered I was grateful for and was determined to build on what I could get at the time and years of hard work, numerous disappointments and endless patience followed. The thought of winning Best in Show however had never really crossed my mind until it happened. It was such a proud moment especially when it was conformed that Ken Ashford, the Himalayan Dwarf’s creator, was the only other breeder in the country to have won BiS at a specialist club show with a Himmy. Within the next few years I won 4 more Best in Show awards with different bucks but things began going downhill when I lost two of my very best “boys” at a relatively young age. Years then followed when my parents were both in need of care and interest in my rabbits dwindled. There were of course still loved and well cared for but a lot of enthusiasm was lost and good breeding stock was sold off as my parents needs increased. They have both passed away now but when interest in my rabbits was eventually restored I took a long hard look at my stock, and the youngsters that were being produced, and realised there was an awful lot of work to be done. I have kept a low profile for several years now but have been gradually building up the quality of my stock in the hopes of reaching the same standard that I attained in the 1980’s and 90’s. My current stud consists of 4 breeding does, 6 bucks and 2 geriatrics. The Code of Practice by which my stud is run has been described in various Fur & Feather articles and although written a long time ago still applies today. Selective breeding, strict record keeping and an endless supply of enthusiasm, perseverance and patience are the ingredients for success and when it is finally achieved it is good to look back and feel that it was all worthwhile!

Angela Saunders