The Rabbitry
Our hobby rabbitry was started from a love of showing rabbits. I showed as a
4-H'er 37 years ago...taking over our one-car garage in the process. Now, it's my daughter's turn. Emily has a rabbit barn because I need my garage in
upstate NY! This hobby is a great way to bond and cultivate responsibility,
leadership, and sportsmanship. We travel. We make friends and celebrate big
wins with them. We talk a LOT about rabbits. We learn how to raise healthy
animals. We clean and repair a LOT of cages. We train remarkable rabbits.
The Dutch breed is our favorite. I had them as a kid, and I knew how great they
would be a starter for my (then) 8 year-old. We started with foundation stock
from several generous Dutch breeders. In 2021, we're on the fourth generation of our "home-grown" Dutch, in other words, our own line of Dutch that combines attributes that we are striving for. They're the RR line (stands for Rainbow Rabbitry). We love to share what we learn and share some stock (especially with prospective 4-H'ers). It's not by chance that Dutch rabbits belong to one of the older breeds. They have sound body structure, manageable size and a great temperament. And let's face it, their ridiculous markings are flashy on the show table. Take a look on Our Rabbits page to see for yourself.
We occasionally test run other breeds as a way to learn. Two that we tried in 2019 were some of the newest additions to the ARBA-recognized breed line-up... Argente Brun and Lionheads. The Argente brun, Chewie, was given to us by a local breeder at a rare breeds rabbit show. Chewie won a best-in-show as a junior. He's now siring babies at another rabbitry that specializes in the breed. See his picture on the home page! we learned a bunch about the wool breed. Lionheads are born hairless, like all other breeds. Then, they become very wooly (too wooly to show). Then, they loose wool in the correct places to be showable. Then, they shed seasonally. So as far as I can tell, a lionhead is always changing. It makes me appreciate the work that goes into the ones on the show table. Lionheads require regular grooming and meticulous cleaning of cages. See the bottom of this page for our foundation buck, Buddy, on the day he arrived at our place. We've moved on from Lionheads. We knew they required more work than we had time to give. Dutch are much easier! We also have a guard-rabbit, a Champagne D'Argent doe (see below). She is a blast from my past when I showed this large and vocal breed so long ago.
There are differences in the rabbit raising world from my day ... new breeds and show hopping! In 2021, we brought in a Thrianta and a Dwarf Papillon to get to know the breeds. Rusty, is named after his amazing red coppery rufus-factor color (see pic below). It does not convey how wonderfully thick and luxurious his fur is. If you ever get the chance, pet a Thrianta! The cutest rabbit in the barn is Bandito, the Dwarf papillon. He weighs 3 pounds, 11 oz. He is full grown, even on the chubby side! Emily is working with him to be a show hopper, but he is very shy. If it works, he will slay with cuteness at hopping competitions. Check out our show hopping page (coming soon) to see any progress.
Our main hoppers have a natural tendency to be high energy and not shy .... We have a Tan and Rhinelander-English Spot crosses that just can't sit still! They race over a course of jumps. Some of the more energetic Dutch also jump! (The proof is in the picture below.) It's challenging and fun to train them. Watch one of our latest matches (Harrisburg, 12-13-19) to see my daughter make it look easy. Watch this video on YouTube. Lloyd had the fasted fault-free run (5.94 seconds over 10 jumps.).
The biggest challenge is space. We have room for about 25 rabbits, and they have big litters. Consequently, we continually move rabbits out to fellow Dutch breeders, pet owners, and youth education programs ... one at a a local nature center. I use this site to reach a wide audience and it replaces a physical visit to our rabbitry. Like most serious rabbit endeavors, we are a closed rabbitry, meaning that no visitors or prospective buyers may enter. Instead, we meet buyers off-site, like at rabbit shows and fairs. This strict policy is in place to ensure the biosecurity of our rabbits. This is especially important now that Rabbit Hemorrhagic Disease Virus-2 (RHDV-2) is marching across the country. In less than 2 years, it covers the western half and cases in pet rabbits are popping up sporadically, even in NY state! In 2022, I'm adding updates (coming soon) about the virus and what rabbits owners can do to protect their animals. Thank goodness an annual vaccine is now available in most states. Ask your veterinarian!
4-H'er 37 years ago...taking over our one-car garage in the process. Now, it's my daughter's turn. Emily has a rabbit barn because I need my garage in
upstate NY! This hobby is a great way to bond and cultivate responsibility,
leadership, and sportsmanship. We travel. We make friends and celebrate big
wins with them. We talk a LOT about rabbits. We learn how to raise healthy
animals. We clean and repair a LOT of cages. We train remarkable rabbits.
The Dutch breed is our favorite. I had them as a kid, and I knew how great they
would be a starter for my (then) 8 year-old. We started with foundation stock
from several generous Dutch breeders. In 2021, we're on the fourth generation of our "home-grown" Dutch, in other words, our own line of Dutch that combines attributes that we are striving for. They're the RR line (stands for Rainbow Rabbitry). We love to share what we learn and share some stock (especially with prospective 4-H'ers). It's not by chance that Dutch rabbits belong to one of the older breeds. They have sound body structure, manageable size and a great temperament. And let's face it, their ridiculous markings are flashy on the show table. Take a look on Our Rabbits page to see for yourself.
We occasionally test run other breeds as a way to learn. Two that we tried in 2019 were some of the newest additions to the ARBA-recognized breed line-up... Argente Brun and Lionheads. The Argente brun, Chewie, was given to us by a local breeder at a rare breeds rabbit show. Chewie won a best-in-show as a junior. He's now siring babies at another rabbitry that specializes in the breed. See his picture on the home page! we learned a bunch about the wool breed. Lionheads are born hairless, like all other breeds. Then, they become very wooly (too wooly to show). Then, they loose wool in the correct places to be showable. Then, they shed seasonally. So as far as I can tell, a lionhead is always changing. It makes me appreciate the work that goes into the ones on the show table. Lionheads require regular grooming and meticulous cleaning of cages. See the bottom of this page for our foundation buck, Buddy, on the day he arrived at our place. We've moved on from Lionheads. We knew they required more work than we had time to give. Dutch are much easier! We also have a guard-rabbit, a Champagne D'Argent doe (see below). She is a blast from my past when I showed this large and vocal breed so long ago.
There are differences in the rabbit raising world from my day ... new breeds and show hopping! In 2021, we brought in a Thrianta and a Dwarf Papillon to get to know the breeds. Rusty, is named after his amazing red coppery rufus-factor color (see pic below). It does not convey how wonderfully thick and luxurious his fur is. If you ever get the chance, pet a Thrianta! The cutest rabbit in the barn is Bandito, the Dwarf papillon. He weighs 3 pounds, 11 oz. He is full grown, even on the chubby side! Emily is working with him to be a show hopper, but he is very shy. If it works, he will slay with cuteness at hopping competitions. Check out our show hopping page (coming soon) to see any progress.
Our main hoppers have a natural tendency to be high energy and not shy .... We have a Tan and Rhinelander-English Spot crosses that just can't sit still! They race over a course of jumps. Some of the more energetic Dutch also jump! (The proof is in the picture below.) It's challenging and fun to train them. Watch one of our latest matches (Harrisburg, 12-13-19) to see my daughter make it look easy. Watch this video on YouTube. Lloyd had the fasted fault-free run (5.94 seconds over 10 jumps.).
The biggest challenge is space. We have room for about 25 rabbits, and they have big litters. Consequently, we continually move rabbits out to fellow Dutch breeders, pet owners, and youth education programs ... one at a a local nature center. I use this site to reach a wide audience and it replaces a physical visit to our rabbitry. Like most serious rabbit endeavors, we are a closed rabbitry, meaning that no visitors or prospective buyers may enter. Instead, we meet buyers off-site, like at rabbit shows and fairs. This strict policy is in place to ensure the biosecurity of our rabbits. This is especially important now that Rabbit Hemorrhagic Disease Virus-2 (RHDV-2) is marching across the country. In less than 2 years, it covers the western half and cases in pet rabbits are popping up sporadically, even in NY state! In 2022, I'm adding updates (coming soon) about the virus and what rabbits owners can do to protect their animals. Thank goodness an annual vaccine is now available in most states. Ask your veterinarian!