Harlequin Standards

Standard of the Harlequin Rabbit breed

Color and markings together take up 75 out of 100 points in the Standard, leaving fur with only 15, condition with only 5, and general type with only 10. The ideal pattern has 5-7 bars or bands of alternating colors on the body. The face color should be split down the center, and the ears and feet should also alternate colors. The perfect pattern is virtually impossible to attain.

There are 2 varieties in Harlequins - Magpies and Japanese,
and they come in 4 colors - Blacks, Blues, Chocolats, and Lilacs.


Showroom Classes and Weights

Sr. Bucks (6 mos. of age and over) - 6 1/2 - 9 lbs. Ideal - 7 1/2
Sr. Does (6 mos. of age and over) - 7 -9 1/2 lbs. Ideal - 8 lbs.
Jr. Bucks (under 6 mos. of age) - not over 7 1/2 lbs. Minimum weight - 3 3/4 lbs.
Jr. Does (under 6 mos. of age) - not over 8 lbs. Minimum weight - 3 3/4 lbs.



Schedual Of Points

1) General Type (Total Of 10 Points)

Head, ears and body should be well proportioned and gracefully carried. Ears are to be carried in a "V". The width of the hindquarters should be slightly wider than the width of the shoulders. The top line should begin at the nape of the neck, gradually rising to a high point over the hindquarter, then gently slope to the tail. Bone is to be medium.
Faults - Excessive dewlap; massive or wedged shaped head; short body; short ears.

2) Fur (Total of 10 Points)

Flyback type fur. To conform to the ARBA Commercial Normal Fur Standard.

3) Color (Total of 15 Points)

a) Quality of color (5 Points) -
All colors are to be as rich and dense as possible. No one color is to take preference over the another. In the Japanese group, Fawn is a dilute of Orange, and occurs in conjunction with dilute marking colors of Blue and Lilac.

b) Clarity of Color (10 Points) -
Clarity is defined as that is distinct. Alternating colors should be clean and not mixed.
Faults - Excessive brindling, mottling, or speckling. Poor balance of color (when the marking or ground color exceeds 50%)
Disqualifications - White spots in the Japanese group. (Eye circles, undside of jowls, tail,and belly may be white.)

4) Markings (Total of 60 Points - Black Japanese described as sample.)

a) Body & Chest (20 Points) -
The pattern over the back may be banded, barred, or a combination of both, without preference. Clean lines are to be stressed, with alternating Black and Orange. The ideal body marking will have 5-7 alternations of bands and/or bars on each side, beginning with the chest. The Chest should be evenly divided with the Black 1/2 chest and leg under the Orange 1/2 face, and the Orange 1/2 chest and leg under the Black 1/2 face, thereby framing the face with it's alternating color.
Definitions - A band is considered an unbroken circle of marking color. A Bar is a semi-circle of marking color, running vertically on the side.
Faults - Excessive Brindling in a marking or body color. Poor balance of sides due to plain unmarked side.
Disqualifications - Disqualify for body marking resembling a Dutch Belt and saddle marking.

b) Head & Ears (20 Points)
The head is to be divided equally, one side black, the other orange. 5 points are allotted for each side of the head. One ear is to be Black, the other to be Orange (one solid color from tip to base.) The Black ear is to be on the Orange side of the face, and the Orange ear is to be on the Black side of the face. 5 Points are allotted for each ear.
Faults - Short, incompleate demarcation or parting line; ears of the same color; ears which fail to alternate with the head markings, or head markings that fail to alternate in color with the ears.
Disqualifications - Failure to show a clearly discernable parting line down the center of the face, mostly Black on 1 side and mostly Orange on the other.

c) Feet & Legs (20 Points)
One front leg is to be Black, and the other Orange. One hind leg is to be Black, the other Orange, reversing with the forelegs. (all 4 legs alternating colors from left to right.) Toenails in Japanese group may be light, dark, or mixmatched. Toenails in Magpie group may be white, dark, or mismatched.
Disqualifications - White toenails in Japanese.

5) Condition (Total of 5 Points)
Per ARBA Discription.



I have been looking for this information so I thought it a good idea to share on here for other people new to the breed and wanting to know what the standards are.<br /><br />__________ Mon Aug 27, 2012 9:52 pm __________<br /><br />link to information listed above: http://anhrabbitry.weebly.com/harlequins.html

yup and it is easy to see who will be show in the nest box.

Thank you very much, this I needed.
Not for a bit yet but by this time next year I plan on having youngsters growing up

You and me both. I will have youngin's in the next couple of days actually. I have two litters which should be due this week sometime. They were bred when I got them so unsure of exact date.

I'm hoping to get some youngsters this fall, or, fingers crossed, a bred doe so I can have breeding age in the spring. Since mine rely on natural light breeding season is pretty much over for me this year. I've got three does bred right now and that'll be it til spring.

you can't always tell in the nestbox who is showable. you can ALWAYS tell who will NOT be showable. all you can see in the nestbox is will mostly likely be showable and then cross your fingers. I"ve had it more than once a nice split face and then when it matures the split moves to the side of the face and you go MAN! we'll try again.

What you do with harlequins is breed first for type, then then clean markings, personality and eventually the markings will come. And no.. you have never cut the front off one and put it on another....it just doesn't work.... much as sometimes you'd like to try. (I have two boys right now I'd love to do it with).

lol so true ladydowns.
my saying is.
"wouldn't it be nice if breeding were like playing with a Mr potato head?"

I do miss my Harlies. most likely would be in them right now if I could find some. but many of the breeders I worked with before no long breeds them.

our fav girl. she was our first GCH bred by kitty lynch (retired ABRA judge)

That's why im going to Canada for mine. I have some magpie crosses here that I love their type but they have very little color. And then I have two beautiful little magpie girls but their type is not so great. Way to small. I will only keep the best from my litters. And since im breeding for meat I will only sell a rabbit live if it has color and type enough to show. I figure if I sell pets to everyone they wont buy meat from me.<br /><br />__________ Tue Aug 28, 2012 8:31 am __________<br /><br />I have a self black buck that I could use to get a better color on my magpies maybe. Wonder if it would work well enough to be worth it?

Beautiful breed. Too bad so little points are awarded to the overall type of the rabbit.

tm_bunnyloft":2nmxsnae said:

That's why im going to Canada for mine. I have some magpie crosses here that I love their type but they have very little color. And then I have two beautiful little magpie girls but their type is not so great. Way to small. I will only keep the best from my litters. And since im breeding for meat I will only sell a rabbit live if it has color and type enough to show. I figure if I sell pets to everyone they wont buy meat from me.

__________ Tue Aug 28, 2012 8:31 am __________

I have a self black buck that I could use to get a better color on my magpies maybe. Wonder if it would work well enough to be worth it?

Click to expand...

A self black buck will only hurt your markings! I don't understand what exactly you mean by "better colour"? Black is black! What you may be experiencing is markings that lack clear edges.. that can be added by using animals that have the clearest markings and avoiding the ones with a lot of white mixing in the black areas ( muddy looking). You are working with modifiers in this breed and they are a very hard thing to control! It is possibly one of THE hardest things to breed for! The rabbit in your avatar looks like a nice magpie. Perhaps you have some blues or even lilacs as well?

Where in Canada will you be getting your Harles? I know we have a couple breeders on this board

What the breed is known for is the pattern. so the most points are on what makes it a Harlequin.

The little magpie in my avatar is what made me fall in love with them. She is by far the sweetest rabbit I have ever had the pleasure to come into contact with. I just love her. She could use some more defined bands on her body and Her feet colors are off. Her face color is ok but off on the ears again. She is not the one I am referring too however. I have some with very minimal color. But I do not want to mess up my magpies so I wont be adding the black.
I am hoping to be getting 4 or possibly 5 from Canada that I really like. They are Chocolate and blue, and the blue tends to throw chocolate and lilac.
After adding those I will not be buying anything else unless it has very definite banding and a well marked face and front end. I know that is easier said than done but hey gotta be picky or you will end up with everyone elses culls in your breeding program.

This is the very reason why harlequin is not a showable color in many breeds. Hard to get consistency.

I'm ok with that. I started buying rabbits thinking I just had to have Rex. But then the longer I was around my little magpies the more I have fallen in love. I am glad I didn't end up buying a bunch of Rex already. I only had a few Minis.

It's good to get a feel for other breeds. There are people who do one breed for a while then switch up. I am determined to make some progress on my tricolors before I give up the mini rex.

tm_bunnyloft":1r6mgf5w said:

The little magpie in my avatar is what made me fall in love with them. She is by far the sweetest rabbit I have ever had the pleasure to come into contact with. I just love her. She could use some more defined bands on her body and Her feet colors are off. Her face color is ok but off on the ears again. She is not the one I am referring too however. I have some with very minimal color. But I do not want to mess up my magpies so I wont be adding the black.
I am hoping to be getting 4 or possibly 5 from Canada that I really like. They are Chocolate and blue, and the blue tends to throw chocolate and lilac.
After adding those I will not be buying anything else unless it has very definite banding and a well marked face and front end. I know that is easier said than done but hey gotta be picky or you will end up with everyone elses culls in your breeding program.

Click to expand...

I was told by many Harlequin breeders that show to show you most often come out with non show. show to non show you have a better chance of getting shows. non to non the same as show to non.

That is interesting. I will have to keep it in mind.

Good to know

It was something to do with muddling the pattern. I'll ask Kitty if I see her at a show.

I just got a line on a lilac magpie buck, the breeder is willing to trade for my red Rex buck