# Black and Tan rabbits?



## Shrap (Nov 22, 2010)

Any info on these? Any health issues I should be aware of and does anyone know of breeders in Scotland or N. England? Not looking for a good few years yet but like to be prepared!


----------



## Guest (Jan 9, 2013)

No real health issues with black and tans, however they can be very feisty so neutering is advised by most.

There are four main colours, black, blue, chocolate and lilac.

As for breeders, I have no idea on that one but be careful because they are a breed that is targeted by BYB's due to their colour. 
I think your best bet is to contact the Scottish Tan club (Keith: [email protected]) for a list of show dates and then you can go along to meet people and get a feel for the breed


----------



## Shrap (Nov 22, 2010)

Excellent thank you  

Feisty and black and tan sounds like my idea of heaven lol. Do you think a neutered male and female would be better than male/male or would it not matter as long as both neutered before hormones kick in?


----------



## Guest (Jan 9, 2013)

Shrap said:


> Excellent thank you
> 
> Feisty and black and tan sounds like my idea of heaven lol. Do you think a neutered male and female would be better than male/male or would it not matter as long as both neutered before hormones kick in?


Depends on the rabbits, but a buck/doe neutered pair are the easiest and most stable bonds so I would go for that


----------



## emzybabe (Jun 30, 2009)

I have met a few tans in the rescue where I volunteer gorgeous but I have never known a breed more mental purring one min and biting the next! they certainly haven't been bread for temperament I think this why they never come up in the pet trade


----------



## Lopside (Mar 20, 2012)

Nothing extra to add except I LOVE BLACK & TANS!!!! :crazy:


----------



## Wobbles (Jun 2, 2011)

Nothing to add expect I thought black and tan was a colour not a breed :lolops!


----------



## beckimoorcroft (Jul 31, 2012)

Tans are a great breed, they are very active, very very intelligent and great fun, they are also really really rabbit friendly (dead easy to bond and are really happy in groups) from my experience with them i'd say it wouldnt really matter what gender combination you went for... they are however not a 'cuddly' breed and dont particulary love human company (they tend more to tollerate it if you have food), they're very similar to polish in terms of personality, just a bit less hyper than them. They are quite hard to find as they are not 'big' in the pet trade so you'd have to go to an exhibitor, I can reccomend a couple of tan breeders in the north of england that would possibly be able to help you.


----------



## DollyGirl08 (Dec 1, 2012)

Never heard of these before, just googled them, aren't they lovely looking buns!


----------



## Shrap (Nov 22, 2010)

Thanks everyone 

Would love to know of some breeders.

I don't need a cuddly breed really, as long as they can be conditioned to accept handling for vet purposes etc! I just think they're stunning and love watching happy bunnies hop about and binky.

I'm only slightly obsessed with black and tan animals hahaha. Always loved bunny wabbits but then I saw them and thought yes, they're for me lol!

I will email and find out about shows in Scotland to go and have a nosey


----------



## butter_cup (Oct 21, 2009)

Wobbles said:


> Nothing to add expect I thought black and tan was a colour not a breed :lolops!


Glad I'm not the only one who thought this!


----------



## Guest (Jan 12, 2013)

Wobbles said:


> Nothing to add expect I thought black and tan was a colour not a breed :lolops!


Technically Black and Tan is a colour, and the breed we are talking about is a Tan as I said before they can come in a few colours so they could be a Lilac and tan for example.

But many people refer to them as a black and tan as that is the most common colour of the breed


----------



## Wobbles (Jun 2, 2011)

B3rnie said:


> Technically Black and Tan is a colour, and the breed we are talking about is a Tan as I said before they can come in a few colours so they could be a Lilac and tan for example.
> 
> But many people refer to them as a black and tan as that is the most common colour of the breed


Ah right, I'm with you now! I thought it was a variety of colour in a breed,like some dogs and mice, not an actual breed of rabbit.

I've just googled them, their really striking to look at, they look like german shepherds in rabbit form:lol: They appear to be pretty big rabbits too, though I did find a pic of a black/tan nethie:001_wub:


----------



## Guest (Jan 12, 2013)

Compared to a nethie they are big  But they are a medium breed weighing in at around 2kg so around dwarf lop size, it's just the ears make them look bigger


----------



## beckimoorcroft (Jul 31, 2012)

tans are actually pretty small, much smaller than a dwarf lop, only slightly bigger than a mini lop... pretty much the same size as a mini rex


----------



## Guest (Jan 13, 2013)

beckimoorcroft said:


> tans are actually pretty small, much smaller than a dwarf lop, only slightly bigger than a mini lop... pretty much the same size as a mini rex


But their breed standard says 2kg on the brc site?


----------



## emzybabe (Jun 30, 2009)

They are slim bunnies although they might weigh 2kg they are compact and very muscular


----------



## Guest (Jan 13, 2013)

emzybabe said:


> They are slim bunnies although they might weigh 2kg they are compact and very muscular


Yeah I know that, I was just questioning the "much smaller than a dwarf lop" comment because both breeds are a similar weight it is just their conformation that is different.

At the end of the day I can only go on the breed standards because I haven't met a proper black and tan. But to me a 2kg rabbit is a 2kg rabbit, so I'm not getting it which is why I asked Becki as she is a brc judge


----------



## beckimoorcroft (Jul 31, 2012)

because the weight of a rabbit is down to its mass not its size, bone density and amount of muscle come into it, you can get two dwarf lops that 'appear' exactly the same size and both can end up dqed at opposite ends of the spectrum (i had a mini lop once who could sit in the palm of my hand, yet was over weight for showing)... plus tans are not actually weighed at shows (no points for weight or disqualifications) so they have probably changed a fair bit in the 100 years of so since the standard was written... i'll try and get a pic of them beside a more easily recconisable breed for you next time im at a show


----------



## Guest (Jan 13, 2013)

beckimoorcroft said:


> because the weight of a rabbit is down to its mass not its size, bone density and amount of muscle come into it, you can get two dwarf lops that 'appear' exactly the same size and both can end up dqed at opposite ends of the spectrum (i had a mini lop once who could sit in the palm of my hand, yet was over weight for showing)... *plus tans are not actually weighed at shows (no points for weight or disqualifications) so they have probably changed a fair bit in the 100 years of so since the standard was written...* i'll try and get a pic of them beside a more easily recconisable breed for you next time im at a show


Thank you, the bit in bold makes more sense to me now, as I said I've not seen one in the flesh so was just going by the breed standards


----------



## beckimoorcroft (Jul 31, 2012)

Back to the origional point, theres a breeder in sunderland who is happy to have her details passed to pet owners and a very highly reccomended breeder in leeds (a bit far but her rabbits are exceptionally well cared for, she has very high welfare standards and i'd highly reccomend her... you will often struggle to find the 'old style' breeds in the hands of ethical breeders)... on another note tans have a very short show life, (usually 7-8 months old and they are too old to show) so if you didnt mind slightly older rabbits many breeders would happily let you take ex show buns as pets as they most likely wont be keeping them all back for the breeding program


----------



## Guest (Jan 13, 2013)

beckimoorcroft said:


> Back to the origional point, theres a breeder in sunderland who is happy to have her details passed to pet owners and a very highly reccomended breeder in leeds (a bit far but her rabbits are exceptionally well cared for, she has very high welfare standards and i'd highly reccomend her... you will often struggle to find the 'old style' breeds in the hands of ethical breeders)... *on another note tans have a very short show life, (usually 7-8 months old and they are too old to show)* so if you didnt mind slightly older rabbits many breeders would happily let you take ex show buns as pets as they most likely wont be keeping them all back for the breeding program


Sorry to derail the thread again, I'm good at that today 

But can you explain why the short show life? Just curious


----------



## Shrap (Nov 22, 2010)

I don't think I'd mind slightly older buns as long as they were the right ones - good for handling when necessary


----------



## beckimoorcroft (Jul 31, 2012)

Different breeds can be shown 'at their best' at different times... for example my breed smoke pearls are best between the ages of 4 months and 1 year (thats when they do their best winning) does show better than bucks, so thats great as when they finnish showing they become part of the breeding program, smokes have a short show life as they are a fur breed, they are judged on coat properties, with each moult the rabbit has the coat becomes thiner and coarser, as well as the colour deterates (it should be a pale blue-grey but goes browny and darker with age). I do have a 3 year old buck who is still showing and he really is an annomally, he gets the occasional win at little local shows (without much competition) but he cant compete at the big championship shows, he's usually near the bottom of the class (although managed to come 3rd at the london champs and the judge was very impressed when he found out how old he was to still be in coat...)

Lops on another example are show well at 4-5 months then they dont really compete again untill they are about 18 months as lops are judged primarily on type and they need to be big and chunky so the gangly teenagers cant beat the fully mature adults, bucks are chunkier so they are generally the only ones shown in lops.

Tans are judged on the intensity of the tan colour which is brightest at about 4-5 months then slowly lightens as they age, theyre a very competitive breed, and can't really beat younger rabbits once they get older.


----------



## Guest (Jan 13, 2013)

Makes perfect sense, thank you


----------

