Broken group
Harlequin Holland Lop
Alternating bars and patches of orange and a dark colour, black, blue, chocolate or lilac. The two colours should split the rabbit, ideally with the face divided down the middle.
A harlequin Holland Lop sits in the broken group. Alternating bars and patches of orange and a dark colour, black, blue, chocolate or lilac. The two colours should split the rabbit, ideally with the face divided down the middle.
Genuinely uncommon, and one of the colours people search for by name. If this is what you want, expect to wait for one rather than expecting to find one today.
The genetics
Carries the harlequin allele (ej) at the E locus. This is a different mechanism entirely from the broken gene. Harlequin is not a broken pattern, it is a distribution of two pigments across the same coat.
What a good one looks like
The split. Judges want a clearly divided face, ideally half orange and half dark, with alternating bands down the body and alternating colours on the ears and feet.
What to check for
A muddy blend rather than a clean split. Very few harlequins are marked as well as the standard would like, and most sold as pets are some way off.
Is harlequin actually rare?
Uncommon, striking, and the hardest pattern in the breed to produce to standard. A genuinely well marked harlequin is rare. A rabbit sold as a harlequin is not.
Common questions
Is harlequin the same as broken?
No, and it is a common confusion. Broken is colour patched over white via the En gene. Harlequin is two pigments distributed across the same coat via a different gene entirely. A harlequin has no white at all unless it is also broken, in which case it is a tri colour.
Why are well-marked harlequins so rare?
Because the standard wants a cleanly divided face, ideally half orange and half dark, with alternating bands down the body and alternating colours on the ears and feet. Very few rabbits achieve it. A rabbit sold as a harlequin is common. A genuinely well marked one is not.
What it costs
Every Holland Lop here is $300 to $400 regardless of colour. Full pricing here.
Harlequin Holland Lops available now
If nothing appears here, we do not have this colour at the moment. Say so and we will tell you honestly whether one is coming.
No bunnies are ready to go this week. We only list them once they are, so check back rather than joining a waitlist.