Kelly's Captain Emo -
Blanc de Hotot Herd buck |
Welcome to Midori no Daichi Rabbitry.
This French breed is pronounced "BLONC DEE OH TOE", not HOT TOT, or HOTE TOTE! This is a particular pet peeve of mine, however, I usually speak of the breed as "Blancs" to avoid confusing with the smaller Dwarf Hotot. This is my second attempt at raising this lovely breed, as with my initial try in 1998 proved to be most unsuccessful due to the animals being unproductive, and VERY rare. I was unable to repopulate once my original stock became aged.
In the summer of 2010 we decided to shift gears from nearly 20 years of Chinchilla Mini Rex to the beautiful, and endangered Blanc de Hotot! By spring of 2011, all of the Mini Rex were dispersed to make way for an increased herd of Hotots. My daughter, Jenifer of Hop Chocolate, still raises Mini Rex, and some of my lines can be found within her herd
The Blanc de Hotot is a REGAL animal of good commercial size and rapid growth. They (should) have a pure, chalk, white coat with a profusion of longer, shaggier gard hairs, and flashing black eyes. The thick, well furred ears are carried in a wide "V", and should be LONG ENOUGH to balance with the overall longer bone pattern of this breed. The ribs should be well sprung and open, and the hindquarters should be deep, well rounded, and full. Very short ears that are out of balance with the size are a no-no, as they indicate influence of a shorter, more close coupled commercial breed. This breed is best suited to be shown in breed fur, as opposed to Commercial fur classes, as the unique structure of the Hotot coat is not desirable in standard commercial fur classes. Fur is the icing on the cake so to speak with this breed, and should not be destroyed just to win commercial breed classes!!!
The BREED'S HISTORY can be found on the Hotot Rabbit Breeder's International (HRBI) website. Originally there were no mention of eye bands, only black eye lashes and lower lids more or less colored gray. The Swiss liked the novelty of these 'spectacles', and worked to keep the breed that we know today. Completion and evenness in eye bands is much more important than thickness, however I am breeding for a thickness the width of 'two pennies', because it is what I like!
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