Havana's are known as the "Mink of the Rabbit Family" because of their wonderful, lustrous coats. Once you have seen a deep, dark chocolate Havana coat, there is no comparison. Think of a chocolate Havana in relation to a quality chocolate bar. You'll know when you have seen a great chocolate Havana. Remember, Havanas are known for their rich color - in all varieties. In judging, Havana give a lot of points to color - twenty-five (25) and fur - twenty (20) total of 45 points. So these are important characteristics to look for when choosing an animal. Remember the fur makes the breed. With almost half of the show points are based on color and fur, so it is hard to be competitive when the rabbits are not wearing their best fur coats.
BLACK, BLUE, CHOCOLATE, LILAC & BROKEN (ACCEPTED IN ALL COLORS)
Havana breed has four accepted varieties: black, blue, chocolate & broken. If you have not had an opportunity to feel a Havana's coat, go to a a breeder or judging table when they are judging fur and ask if you may touch one of the top placers. A Havana's coat is luxurious to the touch with a very slight 'tickle' of guard hairs against your wrist or back of hand. To the eye, the coat should look full of luster and alive. A coat in it's prime will have a distinct fur line along the back known as the 'prime line' which tells you the coat is at its best--and earning the term "The Mink of the Rabbit Family".
Brokens have really come on strong since its acceptance in 2008. As breeders, we need to watch for those coats with too many scattered white hairs in the colored areas. The colored areas should be dark and as free from "white hairs" as possible. Remember, there are no point preferences for blanket or spotted patterns as long as they are marked more than 10% and not more than 70% A strong feeling in the breed is that you always breed a broken to a solid, never a broken to a broken. If you have a smaller rabbitry you would want a solid buck as you foundation buck and you doe to be your broken. The breeding of Havana's is a test in genetics and percentages. And as Kelsey Pierce of Ironstar Havana's in Northern California has said:" To breed a broken to a solid statistically you should get 50% solid and 50% broken, any one litter the breakdown will never turn out perfect. She actually has bred a broken Doe three times to a solid buck and had only one broken born in the first three litters., but in the last two litters of 8 had 6 broken in each of those litters."
Havana History
The rabbits were named after fine cigars due to the rich chocolate color but they do not hail from Havana. A start in Holland NOT the city in Cuba! They showed up in 1898 in a litter of Dutch in the Netherlands. It is unknown the breed of the buck in that breeding, there are several guesses. In 1916 they were introduced and accepted by the ARBA in the United States. Blue Havana variety followed in 1965 followed with the Black in 1980. Broken Havana were officially accepted in 2008.
It is widely accepted that the Havana was the foundation for the Satin breed, others say also the Lilac.
Speaking of Lilacs. The Lilac variety are currently going thru the process of being accepted colors in the coming years, hopefully by 2015. If the addition of the color boost the Havanas popularity like the broken did, then Havanas will soon go from being top 15 breed in popularity to a perennial top 5 or top 10 breed.
Update: as of January the Havana Club has approved the Lilac variety. A vote of 72-24, next step is to get a set of variety standards to ARBA.
In the 2011 National convention there where 441 Havanas shown in the open class. Which put it just outside the top 10(@ #11) with Rex being @ 483 and Polish @513. The top five breeds had huge numbers thou with #1 being Mini-Rex @ 1,664 2)Netherland Dwarf @ 1,381 3)Holland Lop @987 4)Dutch @ 916... the 5th popular breed the Mini-lop @ 854 and New Zealand's right behind them with 811. Of course the location of the National seems to have a big impact on the turn out of some breeds and the total number being shown also.
So overall the future looks bright for the Havana and with some very responsible & dedicated breeders perfecting the standard more BIS are also on the horizon.
Havana in a nutshell:
The breed is compact sized, balanced, rich in color, easy to handle, with docile personalities, perfect for the bunnies who are not show quality. They are good producers and great mothers. The four varieties provide lots of challenges in breeding towards that "perfect rabbit". The quality of rabbits available to show participants and potential breeders are terrific and Havanas are very competitive on the 'best in show table'. Once you have seen a Havana in prime condition you understand why.
Breed standards:
Acceptable weight: over 6 months of age, 4 1/2 to 6 1/2 pounds; ideal weight is 5 1/4-5 1/2; disqualifications for over 6 1/2lbs (3 kg).
Juniors are to be over 2 lbs 8 ounces to be shown and can be placed in the Senior class if over 4 1/2 before their sixth month. No animal may be shown in a lower age group.
Eye color varies each variety: Black:brown; Blue:blue-gray; Chocolate:brown with a ruby pupil; Broken:it should correspond with the eye color specified with respective solid color variety.
Disqualifications can be but not limited to:Unmatched toenail color, white spot on solid varieties, for brokens the absence of color on the nose, excessive scattered white hairs in colored sections.
Showing the Havana:
In the last few ARBA national shows the Havana has been well represented.
YEAR: 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 TOTALS : 1690
Black 185 146 204 184 124 843
Blue 44 29 48 65 59 245
Broken ---- ---- ---- 127 84 211
Chocolate 103 46 92 92 58 391
At the 2011 All Havana Spring National in Reno,Nevada there were 197 rabbits by 24 exhibitors in the open class. With another 76 rabbits by 16 exhibitors in the youth class.
In the Open class the Black variety had 64, Blue with 20, Broken with 68 and Chocolate had 38. So you can see the popularity of the broken but that includes all color variations of the broken since it is a class by it's self.
The 2012 Havana National show was in Columbus, Ohio and had 267 rabbits there. In the youth division there were 100 rabbits there.
In the Open class the Black variety had 109, Blue with 25, Broken with 95 and Chocolate had 38. The more popular classes Black and Broken had huge numbers and as you can see the Blue & Chocolate were fairly consistence numbers. The 2013 Havana National will be March 23rd in Bloomington , IL.
2012 ARBA convention was in Wichita, Kansas: 484 in open & 230 in youth. In Open 197 Black, 66 Blue, 152 Broken & 69 Chocolate.
2013 Nationals in Bloomington, IL: 284 in open & 101 in youth. In Open 116 Black, 32 Blue, 95 Broken & 41 Chocolate. BOB Amanda Wampner's Black Jr buck & BOSB Deb Morrison's Broken Jr doe.
2013 ARBA convention in Harrisburg, PA: 430 in open & 198 in youth. In Open 198, 45 Blue, 128 Broken & 59 Chocolate. BOB Julie Spier's Sr Chocolate doe & Julie Spier's Sr Black Buck. Julie also had 1st,2nd & 3rd in fur.
Looking forward to:
Sedalia, MO for Havana nationals April 5th& 6th.
2014 ARBA convention in Ft.Worth, TX November 1-5th.
Also make your plans for:
2015 Havana nationals in Weyauwega, WI
2015 ARBA convention Portland, OR
To learn more about the breed, follow the link below to the Havana Rabbit Breeders Association.....www.havanarb.org
BLACK, BLUE, CHOCOLATE, LILAC & BROKEN (ACCEPTED IN ALL COLORS)
Havana breed has four accepted varieties: black, blue, chocolate & broken. If you have not had an opportunity to feel a Havana's coat, go to a a breeder or judging table when they are judging fur and ask if you may touch one of the top placers. A Havana's coat is luxurious to the touch with a very slight 'tickle' of guard hairs against your wrist or back of hand. To the eye, the coat should look full of luster and alive. A coat in it's prime will have a distinct fur line along the back known as the 'prime line' which tells you the coat is at its best--and earning the term "The Mink of the Rabbit Family".
Brokens have really come on strong since its acceptance in 2008. As breeders, we need to watch for those coats with too many scattered white hairs in the colored areas. The colored areas should be dark and as free from "white hairs" as possible. Remember, there are no point preferences for blanket or spotted patterns as long as they are marked more than 10% and not more than 70% A strong feeling in the breed is that you always breed a broken to a solid, never a broken to a broken. If you have a smaller rabbitry you would want a solid buck as you foundation buck and you doe to be your broken. The breeding of Havana's is a test in genetics and percentages. And as Kelsey Pierce of Ironstar Havana's in Northern California has said:" To breed a broken to a solid statistically you should get 50% solid and 50% broken, any one litter the breakdown will never turn out perfect. She actually has bred a broken Doe three times to a solid buck and had only one broken born in the first three litters., but in the last two litters of 8 had 6 broken in each of those litters."
Havana History
The rabbits were named after fine cigars due to the rich chocolate color but they do not hail from Havana. A start in Holland NOT the city in Cuba! They showed up in 1898 in a litter of Dutch in the Netherlands. It is unknown the breed of the buck in that breeding, there are several guesses. In 1916 they were introduced and accepted by the ARBA in the United States. Blue Havana variety followed in 1965 followed with the Black in 1980. Broken Havana were officially accepted in 2008.
It is widely accepted that the Havana was the foundation for the Satin breed, others say also the Lilac.
Speaking of Lilacs. The Lilac variety are currently going thru the process of being accepted colors in the coming years, hopefully by 2015. If the addition of the color boost the Havanas popularity like the broken did, then Havanas will soon go from being top 15 breed in popularity to a perennial top 5 or top 10 breed.
Update: as of January the Havana Club has approved the Lilac variety. A vote of 72-24, next step is to get a set of variety standards to ARBA.
In the 2011 National convention there where 441 Havanas shown in the open class. Which put it just outside the top 10(@ #11) with Rex being @ 483 and Polish @513. The top five breeds had huge numbers thou with #1 being Mini-Rex @ 1,664 2)Netherland Dwarf @ 1,381 3)Holland Lop @987 4)Dutch @ 916... the 5th popular breed the Mini-lop @ 854 and New Zealand's right behind them with 811. Of course the location of the National seems to have a big impact on the turn out of some breeds and the total number being shown also.
So overall the future looks bright for the Havana and with some very responsible & dedicated breeders perfecting the standard more BIS are also on the horizon.
Havana in a nutshell:
The breed is compact sized, balanced, rich in color, easy to handle, with docile personalities, perfect for the bunnies who are not show quality. They are good producers and great mothers. The four varieties provide lots of challenges in breeding towards that "perfect rabbit". The quality of rabbits available to show participants and potential breeders are terrific and Havanas are very competitive on the 'best in show table'. Once you have seen a Havana in prime condition you understand why.
Breed standards:
Acceptable weight: over 6 months of age, 4 1/2 to 6 1/2 pounds; ideal weight is 5 1/4-5 1/2; disqualifications for over 6 1/2lbs (3 kg).
Juniors are to be over 2 lbs 8 ounces to be shown and can be placed in the Senior class if over 4 1/2 before their sixth month. No animal may be shown in a lower age group.
Eye color varies each variety: Black:brown; Blue:blue-gray; Chocolate:brown with a ruby pupil; Broken:it should correspond with the eye color specified with respective solid color variety.
Disqualifications can be but not limited to:Unmatched toenail color, white spot on solid varieties, for brokens the absence of color on the nose, excessive scattered white hairs in colored sections.
Showing the Havana:
In the last few ARBA national shows the Havana has been well represented.
YEAR: 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 TOTALS : 1690
Black 185 146 204 184 124 843
Blue 44 29 48 65 59 245
Broken ---- ---- ---- 127 84 211
Chocolate 103 46 92 92 58 391
At the 2011 All Havana Spring National in Reno,Nevada there were 197 rabbits by 24 exhibitors in the open class. With another 76 rabbits by 16 exhibitors in the youth class.
In the Open class the Black variety had 64, Blue with 20, Broken with 68 and Chocolate had 38. So you can see the popularity of the broken but that includes all color variations of the broken since it is a class by it's self.
The 2012 Havana National show was in Columbus, Ohio and had 267 rabbits there. In the youth division there were 100 rabbits there.
In the Open class the Black variety had 109, Blue with 25, Broken with 95 and Chocolate had 38. The more popular classes Black and Broken had huge numbers and as you can see the Blue & Chocolate were fairly consistence numbers. The 2013 Havana National will be March 23rd in Bloomington , IL.
2012 ARBA convention was in Wichita, Kansas: 484 in open & 230 in youth. In Open 197 Black, 66 Blue, 152 Broken & 69 Chocolate.
2013 Nationals in Bloomington, IL: 284 in open & 101 in youth. In Open 116 Black, 32 Blue, 95 Broken & 41 Chocolate. BOB Amanda Wampner's Black Jr buck & BOSB Deb Morrison's Broken Jr doe.
2013 ARBA convention in Harrisburg, PA: 430 in open & 198 in youth. In Open 198, 45 Blue, 128 Broken & 59 Chocolate. BOB Julie Spier's Sr Chocolate doe & Julie Spier's Sr Black Buck. Julie also had 1st,2nd & 3rd in fur.
Looking forward to:
Sedalia, MO for Havana nationals April 5th& 6th.
2014 ARBA convention in Ft.Worth, TX November 1-5th.
Also make your plans for:
2015 Havana nationals in Weyauwega, WI
2015 ARBA convention Portland, OR
To learn more about the breed, follow the link below to the Havana Rabbit Breeders Association.....www.havanarb.org