Rons Royal Remedy Ranch

Himalayan Rabbits              The Tan and Marten Cavy

Himalayan Rabbits

The Himalayan Rabbit had multiple names throughout its history according to the late Bob Whitman from his book "Domestic Rabbits and Their Histories".  I am sure the mutation that resulted having the color only on the ears, nose, feet and tail; while the rest of the rabbit being white with pink eyes, occurred many years ago on the Eurasian continent.

The early documentation mentioning the Himalayan rabbit was in Europe around the middle of the 1800s.

The Himalayan was considered a fur breed closely resembling Ermine fur. Ermine being a weasel has a slender body. Royal garments made out of Ermine showing black dots are actually the weasels' tails fashioned into the garment.

Here in the USA the Himalayan has been developed into its own type category as Cylindrical Type. In the USA we have lowered the weight to an ideal of 3 1/2 pounds, with a maximum of 4 1/2 lbs. and a minimum of 2 1/2 lbs. The European Himalayans will weigh up to 5 and 6 lbs. In the rabbit's normal pose it does not look Cylindrical but Arch Type. Although on the show table the Rabbit is stretched out with its hind feet flat on the table and its front feet below the eyes, weasel like.

History of the Chocolate and Lilac Himalayan Rabbit
By Ron Smelt

I started  showing and breeding Himalayans in 1976.  At that time only black Himalayans were obtainable in my area.  Some of the active exhibitors and breeders were David Holland, Dorothy Bayliss, Leonard Weir and Diane Ford.  I liked the breed a lot and inherited some animals from Diane Ford when she got out of the breed.  It was the perfect sized breed for me and the space I could give it.  I liked the unique type and what I call a sophisticated look to the breed.  At that time only Black and Blue Himalayans were accepted by the ARBA.

Don Lovejoy, a rabbit judge, told me that he believed the Himalayan was a dying breed at the time.  I did not want to accept this and I set my goal to find a way to create more interest in the breed.  I realized immediately that England showed the Himalayan in four varieties: Black, Blue, Chocolate and Lilac.   I thought it would be pleasant to have all four colors being exhibited in the United States.  This would create greater interest in the breed and more competition at the shows.    I believed that adding the Chocolate and Lilac varieties could be the ticket.

I realized that this quest to have the Chocolate and Lilac varieties accepted would be a long one.  I believed I needed the support of others who were interested in the idea of having all four varieties in the ARBA Standard.  Several breeders I talked with felt that the only good Himalayan was a black Himalayan.  Those who supported the quest only liked the Chocolate variety.  The first years were difficult ones.

In the late 1970s I corresponded with a Himalayan breeder in England, Mr. Fred Nellis.  He explained how they introduced the chocolate gene into the Himalayan.  They bred solid chocolate English Spot sport to their black line of Himalayans.

One day Linda Bell, an English Spot breeder in California called and said she had a chocolate sport doe for me.  I bred this doe to a small 3 ½ pound black Himalayan buck bred by the Bayliss’.  This cross produced all solid black off spring.  When these F1 crosses were bred together animals with the chocolate Himalayan markings first appeared.  The offspring of these matings were bred back to black Himalayans.  The offspring of these matings were bred back to each other.  This was the fourth generation and they were finally starting to look like Himalayans.  Some of these early chocolates were rather large and lacked the refined look of the breed.  Eventually through line breeding a smaller, finer boned chocolate Himalayan was developed.  The variety passed its first ARBA showing at Columbus, OH in 1992.  The chocolate variety was accepted by the ARBA Standards committee on February 1, 1995.

The chocolate Himalayan was bred to the blue Himalayan.  From that breeding the first lilac Himalayans appeared.  These lilacs were dark lilacs.  You could tell the difference between the blues and lilacs when you put them next to each other.  When they were presented to the standards committee they were rejected as being too close in color to the blue.  So what do you do when you reach a brick wall genetically?

At the same time Judy Ball, a Mini Rex breeder, was also trying to get the lilac Mini Rex accepted by the ARBA Standards Committee.  The Standards Committee liked the color of the Mini Rex lilacs.  So I thought why not introduce this color, liked by the Standards Committee, into the Himalayan.  I knew that I would be introducing a non-Himalayan gene as well as Rex fur into the breed.  I expected that with inbreeding and line breeding that this Rex gene would materialize somewhere down the road.  This knowledge made the decision difficult because I was afraid that the Standards Committee would not accept my dark colored lilacs.

I purchased a lilac Mini Rex buck and Mini Rex doe from Judy Ball and bred them to dark lilac Himalayans.  Much to my surprise I had two Himalayan marked lilacs in the first litter, a buck and a doe.  The rest of the litter was solid colored.  The color was the lighter color desired by the Standards Committee.  Even so the body types were coarse and lacked the refinement associated with breed.  With selective breeding and culling, the refinement of the lilac variety returned with the added bonus of better fur quality.  The lilac variety was accepted into the ARBA Standard on February 1, 1997.

The problem of the non-Himalayan gene and the Rex gene will be floating around in some of the Himalayans, but I feel we can cull these out since there were only a few of these lilacs passed on to other breeders. 

The Tan and Marten Cavy 

The Tan pattern in Cavies was nowhere to be seen here in the US or England prior to 2000.  Rabbits had the Tan pattern well established for many years.  It was not until 1998 when an English Cavy Judge named  Tony Cooke was scheduled to judge a Cavy Show in Zurich Switzerland.  At the end of the show there was a Pet Class to judge.  Tony picked up a Black pig and to his surprise it had a Tan Belly.   The owner of the pig did not know what she had but Tony did.  He asked the owner of the Black Tan boar was he fertile?  “Well its father is” she said.  The father she said was found in a Pet Shop near the German Border.  Had she not spotted it in the Pet Shop and bought it and Tony Cooke had not judged it and realized what she had, the Tan Pattern gene in Cavies would have been missed.  Tony imported some to England and started a breeding colony. Soon a Lilac Cavy was born with a White Belly and so the Marten Cavy made its first appearance. 

Genetically the Tan Pattern gene works the same as in Rabbits.  Agouti being dominant, over Tan then Self.  Change the Red Tan to White, you have a Marten. 

Julllet Hamak Barrera of California at the time was  vacationing in England and was responsible for importing them into the the US in 2000.  Four Tan Boars 3 brothers carrying the Marten Gene and the fourth carrying a self Black gene.  Tracy Iverson of Oregon received the shipment from England and immediately started breeding them to some of his stock.  This was the start of our present Tan and Martens in the US.

Here in the states we have 5 colors of Tan and Martens.  Black, Blue, Beige, Chocolate and Lilac.  Our Cavy Blues are unique since we do not have a Blue Cavy with a Blue eye as far as we know.  Our Blue Cavies are Dark Lilac with a Dark Eye and Ruby cast.

At present (2011) only the Tan Cavy is ARBA Standard recognized  with the Marten being in ARBA Certificate Development process. (Approved for showing February 2012.)

The Tan and Marten in my opinion is a Semi Marked Variety of Cavy.  Type 20 points Top color 25 points and markings 35 points.

Markings are Belly markings, Line of demarcation. Eye Circles, nose/mouth markings, Shoulder markings, feet/leg markings, pea spots and side lacing.

Both Tan and Martens are shown in the American Breed of Cavy and will compete against each other in Junior, Intermediate and Senior classes in the Tan Pattern Group.

There are others who are working on the long haired breeds and Teddy breed.

Good Tans will have Eye Circles and Pea spots that can be seen from a distance with the belly wow factor when looking at the bright Reddish or Clean white bellies.

The third Tan Pattern variety is the Otter.  Instead of the markings being Tan or White it is Cream.  I prefer a light cream color.  At present (2011) no one has come forth to obtain a ARBA certificate of development for this variety.