National Federation of Flemish Giant Rabbit Breeders
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1905 post card of the
White Prize Winning Giant Rabbit
(From the collection of Cathy Caracciolo)
The following article was originally published in the 1983 NFFGRB Guide Book. Written by Thomas Coatoam, it contains information that helps define what might be the earliest origins of our Giant breed.
Ancient Origins of the Flemish Giants
By Thomas Coatoam
Originally published in 1983-NFFGRB Guide Book
While the Flemish Giant is the largest rabbit that we know today, there are several breeds that are now extinct and one still to be seen, that have contributed much in the making of the present day Flemish Giant rabbit.
The Patagonian, or as it was also called the Angevin, was a large, not handsome rabbit that lived many years ago and was quite common in England. The rabbit acquired the name Patagonian because of it’s size – based on the fact that Giants were thought to live in the South American country of Patagonia.
“The Practical Rabbit Keeper” circa 1870, describes it as being rather large and not pretty. At this period of time there was great discussion that perhaps the Patagonian was just another name for the Flemish Giants. If it wasn’t, it was at least a kissin’ cousin.
The main feature of this rabbit was its size and weight; some were said to be over "5 feet in length and weigh 20 pounds", which in any man’s language is a big rabbit. The body is described as being roomy and a trifle coarse with the hip bones being very prominent. When in good shape they presented a very massive picture, not altogether handsome but very impressive. The ears were very long and heavy, hanging slightly at the tips and sometimes very “V”-shaped. Many of them were so heavy that they resembled the Lop. The fur was a dark iron grey in color and had a mottled appearance; the head and ears much darker than the rest of the body.
It goes without saying that a rabbit this size would have fur value, and was highly prized by the fur trade, as one sheet would easily make up into almost any garment and four of them would make a coat for the average man.
The Patagonian is said to be extinct.
The Swan Rabbit was another large rabbit, and was thought to be derived from the Patagonian – a mongrel which was most often seen on the Island of Man. It ranged between 16-20 pounds and was a tawny grey in color. It had a massive frame, and was really ugly in all aspects except size. Probably the feature that made it stand out like a sore thumb was the ears – they were only about 2 inches long and the inside of the ears pointed to the front. It was never decided whether they were purebred or not. The use of the word “mongrel” would lead us to think that they were a cross-bred rabbit of some kind. They are extinct.
The Norman Giant was a very popular rabbit in France in the 1870’s, and it too was described as being ugly. The coat color was a mixture of brown and grey. In appearance they were described as being “neither one thing or another”. The head is very round and was shorter than some of the other giant breeds. They were good breeders and produced excellent rabbits for the table. They weighed 8 lbs. at 4 months. A refined version of this rabbit is still raised in Belgium.
The Spanish Giant dates back to the early 1500’s and is much like our Flemish of today. It had very large ears in comparison to body size and, while they did not Lop over, they were often V-shaped. This rabbit is still raised in Spain today and is one of the most popular breeds to be seen in Spanish rabbitries.
It is possible that all these rabbits, with the exception of the Swan, played a part in the development of today’s Flemish Giant. We are not even sure if the author of this old book was not talking about the same rabbit, but under a different name. There are many points that are alike in them – you will note that the great emphasis was placed on color. It is possible that all these Giants helped to develop today’s Flemish Giant, or that selective breeding of all of them finally produced the counterpart of the Flemish Giant as we know it today.
