Blue of Sint-Niklaas
The blue of Sint-Niklaas is a Belgian domestic rabbit breed named for the city of Sint-Niklaas in East Flanders, where blue-furred utility rabbits were developed from large local stock in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Also seen under French and Dutch names such as Bleu de Saint-Nicolas and Blauw van Sint-Niklaas, it is a substantial rabbit with upright ears, a long commercial body, and an even slate-blue coat. The color is the main visual marker: a soft blue-grey over the body, rather than the wild agouti or broken patterns found in many meat rabbits.
Today the breed is kept mainly by heritage rabbit breeders, small exhibitors, and conservation-minded meat-rabbit keepers in Belgium and nearby countries. Its size calls for roomy housing, sound flooring, and careful handling that supports the hindquarters. Breeding programs usually emphasize sound type, reliable reproduction, dense fur, and maintaining enough unrelated lines to avoid narrowing an already limited population. Anyone looking for stock should expect regional availability and should confirm that the rabbits are truly Sint-Niklaas blue rather than generic blue commercial crosses.
