The American Checkered Giant is a unique breed of rabbit because of its robust size, assertive personality, distinctively patterned coat, and graceful, energetic movement.  We Checkered Giant admirers like to call our breed the “rabbit beautiful,” and a breeder needs an artistic eye to identify animals that can compete successfully on the show table.  The beauty of a Checkered Giant bred for competition, like the beauty of a work of art, is distinct from any practical value it may have for food production.

A beautiful Checkered Giant creates in its viewers a sense of delight whose dimensions are difficult to define.  Over the years fanciers have attempted to describe key features of a rabbit with perfect type, such as proportion of body parts, condition of fur, strength of limb, depth of color, size and placement of markings, and grace of movement, as a way of furthering the development of the breed.  The result of their efforts is called the Standard of Perfection.

Each Checkered Giant breeder’s goal is to raise rabbits whose features come as close as possible to the Standard’s specifications.  Reaching this goal is more difficult than it sounds because, although the Standard identifies many distinct features, the beauty of a show animal is always more than just the sum of its parts.  A beautiful rabbit, like a work of art, has something above and beyond its list of features.  It has style.