Dichrome Rabbitry and Foxia Farm

Rare and uncommon breeds with more entries in Convention than Harlequins, with how many more are entered than Harlies

American: 15 more entries
American Chinchilla: 36 more entries
American Sable: 11 more entries
Argente Brun: 82 more entries
Belgian Hare: 33 more entries
Beveren: 55 more entries
Blanc de Hotot: 1 more entry
Blue Holicer: 67 more entries
Checkered Giant: 8 more entries
Cinnamon: 24 more entries
Creme D’Argent: 24 more entries
Czech Frosty: 59 more entries
Lilac: 36 more entries
Palomino: 62 more entries
Rhinelander: 53 more entries
Satin Angora: 1 more entry
Silver: 154 more entries
Silver Marten: 94 more entries
Silver Fox: 142 more entries
Thrianta: 9 more entries

The ONLY breeds with less entries:
Giant Angora: 14 less entries
Giant Chinchilla: 13 less entries

But don’t worry! According to the Livestock Conservancy, Harlequins aren’t a rare breed. 🙄

When Blancs, Americans, and Beverens have more entries, that’s pretty telling.

And yes, I know that it’s not easy to find a one-size-fits all approach to determining numbers of breeds that can greatly vary in how they’re raised, shown, etc. That’s my point! Whether or not a breed makes the rare breed list should NOT be the end of the conversation for breed conservation purposes. And it far too often is.

This is not a one off just because it’s in Reno this year. It’s been in Reno before, and numbers have been higher. But even that isn’t the point. Consistently over the last 5 years, harlequins have had lower convention entries than many breeds on the rare breed list. I have harlequin convention entry data back to 2017 currently, and having compared as many years as I can to other breeds on the rare breed list, harlequins are anywhere from on par with rare breed breeds to significantly lower entries. 100 entries isn’t as good as we may think it is when MOST rare breeds are getting around 100 or more entries at convention.

It’s time for my annual “rage” about Harlequins not being considered a rare breed. There are only TWO breeds with less total Convention entries (open and youth) than Harlequins: giant angora and giant chinchilla.

And no, it’s not because it’s in Reno this year. Other Reno conventions have had more entries. Some Midwest conventions have had small numbers. No matter what, we’ve been CONSISTENTLY lower entries than many of the breeds on the rare breed list. 100 entries isn’t that much compared to a lot of the rare breed list entries. It’s in par or less than most.

Beverens and Rhinelanders have over double the entries of Harlequins

Belgian Hares, Lilacs, and American Chinchillas have nearly double the entries of Harlequins

Americans have 15 more entries than Harlequins

When Blancs and Checkered Giants have more entries than a breed, maybe the breed should be considered rare.

And this is a pattern that keeps happening. This isn’t a one-off just because Convention is in the West this year. Constantly, “rare” breeds have had more entries than Harlequins. This matters because Convention numbers are in part used to determine rare breed status. But because the Livestock Conservancy thought the breed didn’t have enough recorded history (Despite literally using our breed’s history for including Rhinelander in the listing… Despite extensive history available on the club website and in our guidebook… ), the breed wasn’t included in the initial rare breed list. And now numbers are considered “recovering”, so they won’t include them. If our breed is considered “recovering”, then there should only be about 3-4 breeds left on the rare breed list, absolute maximum.

Never mind that our breed counts are muddied by the fact that we tend to show the same rabbits for YEARS (very long show life for this breed). The same doe won BOB at Convention 3 years in a row. So the total counts from one year to the next are muddied by the same rabbits being entered again and again, versus most breeds you don’t see a significant number of the same rabbits entered year after year. Even if we completely ignore that, our entries are still consistently lower than a SIGNIFICANT number of the breeds listed as rare breeds and eligible for entry in rare breed shows.

ETA: I know it comes from more than just convention numbers, but I know it can’t be coming primarily from registrations. Half or more of our stock is unshowable broods. And a lot of people don’t register them.

I honestly think we got caught in the “there’s not enough background” (despite very well recorded history on the club site and our guidebook) at the start, and then basically after that almost ALL breeds are considered “recovering” status based on numbers. And that “recovering” numbers, they won’t be included.

It’s just incredibly frustrating. I’m not sure the way it’s counted accurately reflects the existing rabbits when our breed tends to show well for YEARS. We had the same BOB doe for 3 different conventions, and that rabbit was still being successfully shown locally and regionally even after that. That’s very common in our breed. Each rabbit is so unique we can tell which rabbit is which just based off appearance, so it’s very easy to track from photos or even just looking at the entries in person. We breeders of the breed KNOW a significant number of the convention entries are the same rabbits every year. They’re the same rabbits at National Specialty, too.

Convention numbers don’t track what animals are actually existing in a breed like ours. They re-count the same rabbits several times. Conventions also tend to be in the Midwest, which is essentially where all the Harlequin breeders are. It artificially creates an appearance of stability that isn’t actually there. Even with convention being in Reno this year, the significant MAJORITY of the Harlies are still coming from the Midwest.

Comparatively, I have Silver Martens which ARE on the rare breed list. Their numbers are fairly consistent at convention from one region to the next.

In truly stable numbers, one would expect to see entries proportional to total convention entries. We have about half the total rabbit entries this year compared to last year. Actually might be a higher ratio compared to last year. I’d have to go check last year’s total rabbit entries. If it’s higher ratio, it’s even worse that’s so few harlies are entered this year. We should have about half the Harlies entered. We don’t. Even with we dedicated Midwest few hauling our rabbits clear across the country.

I recognize WHY they don’t make the rare breed list based on the criteria, but I also very much question if that criteria accurately reflects the populations of the oddity breeds like ours. The breeds that are concentrated extremely strongly in one region. The breeds where most of the diversity is found in the barns of just a very few breeders. If just a very few breeders had a barn fire or anything else major happen, the breed’s population would PLUMMET INSTANTLY. That doesn’t make a sustainable population compared even to many of the breeds ON the rare breed list. I question the criteria itself.

I don’t even necessarily call for inclusion in the rare breed list (though that would be lovely). But we need some way to highlight and recognize the weird breeds. We need some way to continue encouraging people to take interest in breeds like ours. I do everything I can to extol their virtues, but when entire organizations are championing the other rare (or “rare”) breeds, it feels like a drop in the ocean. When people don’t even know that Harlequin is a BREED, but they can recognize it instantly as a color or even think it’s a TAMUK… That’s an issue. When people IN the show rabbit world think wellbred Harlequins with multiple legs toward grand champion are mixed, it’s a problem.

I can’t say for certain, but it does make me wonder what other breeds are falling through the cracks for similar reasons, too? And does that hold true for other species?

Comment found in the wild that I wish was not so painfully true. 🫠

Not bad Convention entry numbers for not being a Midwest show year!

Last chance on these magpie Harlequins if you need them entered for Convention cooping! I MAY know of someone doing off site care if you make a last minute decision. From nationally top placing harlequin herd. One is a grand champion. Most of these were earmarked to be kept back for my own breeding herd, but since convention is in a completely different area, I figured I’d offer a bit more selection to people asking. 🙂

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This adorable snake sticker just arrived in my mail this morning. It was commissioned by a good friend of mine. It is a silly cartoon version of my favorite snake of hers, named Gertrude. I call her Gertie. She is such a cute dorky snake. This really made my day coming off of a couple really bad weeks. Sometimes it is really smallest things that can bring a lot of joy to people when they are struggling. We live in an incredibly painful world which has become increasingly difficult for many of us. Please remember that you can always choose kindness, and that kindness can make the difference between someone having an absolutely awful month or much worse than being able to smile.

The art and sticker was made by another good friend of mine, Arik Engstrom. He has very reasonable prices for commissions. Please reach out to him if you are looking for in a cute little doodle type art commissions or even anything more serious. He is a fantastic artist. Please support real artists, not AI. Here is the link to his profile. https://www.facebook.com/share/1PLehKgiwr/?mibextid=wwXIfr