Our Harlequins
Harlequins are beautiful, unique rabbits and have wonderful personalities. I wanted to put this page up as Harlequins could use a little bit of promotion here in the South. I think I am the only one in the state raising them now and I have noticed that their numbers have fluctuated over the last several years nationwide. It would be great to get a few more folks involved with this interesting breed!
About Harlequins
The Harlequin is one of the older breeds around today, having originated in France in the 1800's. The first stock was said to look more like Dutch with checkerboard markings and they were nicknamed "The Royal Jester" for their distinctive look. Harlies come in either the Japanese variety, with a base of orange and black, or the Magpie variety which looks black and white. They are also recognized in all four colors (black, blue, chocolate, and lilac) within those varieties, which means there are blue Japanese and lilac Magpies, for example. Harlequins have been bred over the years for the fancy, but also for meat and fur. They are medium in size (generally 6-9lbs) and are known for being friendly and clownish.
Harlequin Bucks
McCasland's Mister Spock
Black Japanese Buck
DOB: February 3, 2010
Sire: Bronwyn's Bunnies Dior (Black Japanese) X Dam: JNJ Leiah (2 Legs, Black Japanese)
Weight: 8.0
Spock is a very special, sweet buck. He greets me every morning and absolutely loves to be petted and held. His orange is very bright and everyone that sees him thinks he is a handsome devil. He has a lovely hindquarter and has fleshed out pretty good (I need to take some updated pictures), though his shoulders are a bit too long. He has some brindling, but also has some nice banding and a decent face split with alternating ears and feet. We have really enjoyed having him around and I have been very happy with his offspring so far. New pictures coming soon!
Hendricks' Apollo
Black Japanese Buck
DOB: December 4, 2010
Sire: McCasland's Mister Spock (Black Japanese) X Dam: McCasland's Hikari (Blue Japanese)
Apollo is my first keeper buck from my first successful Harlequin litter. He is personality plus just like his father and loves to be petted all the time. He has a near perfect face split as you can see in the pictures and his ears alternate properly, though there is some brindling towards the tips. His feet do not alternate properly, but his markings are very clean and his color is excellent. I would like to see better body bands as he is almost solid black on one side from the midsection back down the HQ, but he is very handsome, has nice type, and a great disposition. New pictures coming soon!
DOB: December 4, 2010
Sire: McCasland's Mister Spock (Black Japanese) X Dam: McCasland's Hikari (Blue Japanese)
Apollo is my first keeper buck from my first successful Harlequin litter. He is personality plus just like his father and loves to be petted all the time. He has a near perfect face split as you can see in the pictures and his ears alternate properly, though there is some brindling towards the tips. His feet do not alternate properly, but his markings are very clean and his color is excellent. I would like to see better body bands as he is almost solid black on one side from the midsection back down the HQ, but he is very handsome, has nice type, and a great disposition. New pictures coming soon!
Hendricks' Helo
Lilac Japanese Buck
DOB: October 6, 2011
Sire: Hendricks' Apollo (Black Japanese) X McCasland's Hikari (Blue Japanese)
Helo is Apollo's son and Spock's grandson. It is pretty neat to have three Harlie generations under one roof! He is also the first lilac Japanese I've produced, so I am pretty excited. He has a lovely face split and some nice body bands, but they are very one-sided and the lilac coloring is not as distinct as I want. He looks to be developing decent size and type so far and is a sweetie-pie. Fingers crossed for a splendid future herdsire!
DOB: October 6, 2011
Sire: Hendricks' Apollo (Black Japanese) X McCasland's Hikari (Blue Japanese)
Helo is Apollo's son and Spock's grandson. It is pretty neat to have three Harlie generations under one roof! He is also the first lilac Japanese I've produced, so I am pretty excited. He has a lovely face split and some nice body bands, but they are very one-sided and the lilac coloring is not as distinct as I want. He looks to be developing decent size and type so far and is a sweetie-pie. Fingers crossed for a splendid future herdsire!
Hendricks' Tigh
Blue Japanese Buck
DOB: October 6, 2011
Sire: Hendricks' Apollo (Black Japanese) X McCasland's Hikari (Blue Japanese)
Tigh is Apollo's son and Spock's grandson, too. We decided to name this litter after Battlestar Galatica ships and characters to continue with the theme of their father and grandfather. This buck is a spunky, outgoing boy with clean blue color. He lacks the banding I would like to see on his body, but his face is split and his ears alternate properly. His feet do not and he is plainly marked, but he has good size and type so far and I'd be interested to see what happened if he were crossed with a heavily banded marked doe.
DOB: October 6, 2011
Sire: Hendricks' Apollo (Black Japanese) X McCasland's Hikari (Blue Japanese)
Tigh is Apollo's son and Spock's grandson, too. We decided to name this litter after Battlestar Galatica ships and characters to continue with the theme of their father and grandfather. This buck is a spunky, outgoing boy with clean blue color. He lacks the banding I would like to see on his body, but his face is split and his ears alternate properly. His feet do not and he is plainly marked, but he has good size and type so far and I'd be interested to see what happened if he were crossed with a heavily banded marked doe.
Harlequin Does
McCasland's Hikari
Blue Japanese Doe
DOB: November 7, 2009
Sire: JNJ Hop Hop Ted O'Hare-A (Black Magpie) X Dam: Jailbird's True (Registered, 2 Legs, Chocolate Japanese)
Weight: 8.4
Kari is a beautiful and sweet doe that was initially responsible for capturing my interest in the Harlequin breed. Calm and kind, she is a fantastic ambassador! Although I know body type is only a small portion of the standard, I still think it is important to the breed and in Kari's case, she has a full hindquarter and a very nice head, but she could use more depth and fullness overall. In markings, her face split and ear division are incomplete and her legs do not alternate properly, but she has nice body bands and her blue is very intense. Spock should be a wonderful compliment to her in markings and hue and I am excited to see how their offspring mature. New pictures coming soon!
DOB: November 7, 2009
Sire: JNJ Hop Hop Ted O'Hare-A (Black Magpie) X Dam: Jailbird's True (Registered, 2 Legs, Chocolate Japanese)
Weight: 8.4
Kari is a beautiful and sweet doe that was initially responsible for capturing my interest in the Harlequin breed. Calm and kind, she is a fantastic ambassador! Although I know body type is only a small portion of the standard, I still think it is important to the breed and in Kari's case, she has a full hindquarter and a very nice head, but she could use more depth and fullness overall. In markings, her face split and ear division are incomplete and her legs do not alternate properly, but she has nice body bands and her blue is very intense. Spock should be a wonderful compliment to her in markings and hue and I am excited to see how their offspring mature. New pictures coming soon!
Hendricks' Valkyrie
Black Japanese Doe
DOB: October 6, 2011
Sire: Hendricks' Apollo (Black Japanese) X McCasland's Hikari (Blue Japanese)
Valkyrie appears to be the best-typed doe I have produced so far and she is also the largest doe in the litter (yay!). Although she isn't marked for show of course, I am still very excited to see how she turns out. She has a brindled partial face split, but her ears and front feet do not alternate properly. As you can see she has one distinct black band and a few others that are brindled along her body. Her color is washed out in the picture, but she is very bright orange and I will update these when she is a bit bigger. Her temperament is typical of Apollo and Kari (and really, the breed)- very friendly. I would like to breed her to a boldly-marked buck and I have my fingers crossed for what the future will bring.
DOB: October 6, 2011
Sire: Hendricks' Apollo (Black Japanese) X McCasland's Hikari (Blue Japanese)
Valkyrie appears to be the best-typed doe I have produced so far and she is also the largest doe in the litter (yay!). Although she isn't marked for show of course, I am still very excited to see how she turns out. She has a brindled partial face split, but her ears and front feet do not alternate properly. As you can see she has one distinct black band and a few others that are brindled along her body. Her color is washed out in the picture, but she is very bright orange and I will update these when she is a bit bigger. Her temperament is typical of Apollo and Kari (and really, the breed)- very friendly. I would like to breed her to a boldly-marked buck and I have my fingers crossed for what the future will bring.
Hendricks' Starbuck
Blue Japanese Doe
DOB: October 6, 2011
Sire: Hendricks' Apollo (Black Japanese) X McCasland's Hikari (Blue Japanese)
Starbuck is a pretty doe with decent coloration and a nice temperament. She isn't as nice as Valkyrie in type, but she is another larger doe and has a lot of good qualities to add to the herd. She has a brindled partial face split and her ears do not alternate properly, but both her ears and her feet do alternate. As you can see she is not show marked, but she does have some deep banding and some brindled bands both. Her depths is decent when she isn't flexing to look around, but she is a bit narrow compared to her beefy sister. I will take some updated pictures after she has done some more growing.
DOB: October 6, 2011
Sire: Hendricks' Apollo (Black Japanese) X McCasland's Hikari (Blue Japanese)
Starbuck is a pretty doe with decent coloration and a nice temperament. She isn't as nice as Valkyrie in type, but she is another larger doe and has a lot of good qualities to add to the herd. She has a brindled partial face split and her ears do not alternate properly, but both her ears and her feet do alternate. As you can see she is not show marked, but she does have some deep banding and some brindled bands both. Her depths is decent when she isn't flexing to look around, but she is a bit narrow compared to her beefy sister. I will take some updated pictures after she has done some more growing.
Cinnamon
New Zealand Red
DOB: July 24, 2011
Sire: Klindt's Red (Red) X Red One (Red)
I know, I know.. this isn't a Harlequin. Cinnamon is a lovely and gentle New Zealand Red junior doe that we also purchased as part of the Harlie improvement project. She is still a baby, but has excellent type so far. I am also very happy with how deep red she is. I am hoping in addition to all of her good physical qualities that she will pass on that great temperament and deep red rufus that she has in her coat. She was the largest and fastest-growing kit in her litter, so I am also hopeful that she will pass those qualities on to her offspring. She is starting to molt her baby coat in this picture, but I wanted to get something up anyway. Thanks Chen!
DOB: July 24, 2011
Sire: Klindt's Red (Red) X Red One (Red)
I know, I know.. this isn't a Harlequin. Cinnamon is a lovely and gentle New Zealand Red junior doe that we also purchased as part of the Harlie improvement project. She is still a baby, but has excellent type so far. I am also very happy with how deep red she is. I am hoping in addition to all of her good physical qualities that she will pass on that great temperament and deep red rufus that she has in her coat. She was the largest and fastest-growing kit in her litter, so I am also hopeful that she will pass those qualities on to her offspring. She is starting to molt her baby coat in this picture, but I wanted to get something up anyway. Thanks Chen!
