Yes I did!
My family thinks I have jumped right off the deep end and I may have. Welcome to rabbit life. Finding out it takes a lot of time, money, effort and energy. I wanted to breed (and show) rabbits. I have always felt breeding and showing go hand in hand. So here is the beginning of our story.
I am a photographer and set up a photo shoot with some baby buns. A friends granddaughter had a litter just the right age to bring into the studio for kids to hold during their photos. This event is what peaked my interested in rabbits. Those adorable little fuzz balls were amazing! We got some great images and we had so much fun. One day shortly after while online I did a search for rabbits breeds and came across the beauty of a Lionhead! I was smitten and my quest for a bun began.
It wasn't easy to find such an illustrious bun. After searching for weeks I ended up finding Chicka, a sweet Black Tort VM from Tumble Weed Farms in Moses Lake Washington.
Next step was joining the NALRC and ARBA to get some hard fast education. After searching high and low I reached out to Nita Shannon from Legendary Rabbitry. She graciously shared a buck and a doe with us.
Our first experience has been relatively smooth. After joining a few breeders groups on Facebook I started to get nervous reading about all the things that can go wrong because no one posts about what goes right, right? No one needs advice when all is well. Stories of moms eating their young at best or just plain out dying during birth at worst. Cleaning out dead kits from the nest box daily and finding older dead kits for no know reasons. Who knew these were such delicate little creatures.
Chicka is a mature female at 2 years and was so ready to be a mom! She had a text book pregnancy and birth. I read after breeding her that if a doe hasn't kindled by 2 years it can be tricky and best not to breed. An old maid by 2. Who knew? I guess we got lucky this time. I am sure in time we will see it all as they say in the world of breeding. It's not for the light hearted. I am just thankful everyone is happy and healthy. Bintu is now proven. I wanted him to have a great experience the first time and Chicka was a great choice. His training wheels are off now and he is going to have to work at the next one. Izzy wants nothing to do with him as of yet!!! I hope she comes around because I am really excited and hopeful for a litter from them both.
There can be a lot of conflicting information out there. I always go with the advice from long time breeders who have specialized in a certain breed. Their life experience is pure gold . Good luck in your breeding ventures. Hope to see you showing off at ring side one day!
