Strakach (German Giant Spotted)

The Strakach is a white rabbit with a butterfly-shaped mark on the nose (hence “babochka”, butterfly), dark rings around the eyes, coloured ears, a stripe along the spine to the tail and separate spots on the sides. Markings can be black, blue or other colours. Adults weigh 5–7 kg. Does usually have 6–9 kits and are milky, attentive mothers. Feeding and housing are the same as for other giants.

The pattern does not breed true: mating two well-marked rabbits gives roughly a quarter solid-coloured kits and another quarter very lightly marked kits (“charlies”). Lightly marked animals are reported to have more digestive problems, so they are best not kept for breeding.

Uzbekistan climate. As a large rabbit with a fairly dense coat, it copes poorly with heat: shade, ventilation and cool water are essential at 35–40 °C. It handles winter frost well. Heavy animals do better on a solid or board floor.

Buying locally. In local ads, “strakach”, “strokach” and “babochka” are used for any spotted rabbit, including small “karlik strakach” (dwarf) animals and crosses. The adult weight of a young rabbit cannot be predicted from its looks, so see and weigh the adult parents. If you are buying for meat, do not pay extra for nice markings; they have no effect on growth.