Changes In The Rabbit Barn

As the seasons shift I’m going excited for a fall garden, and updates to our rabbit barn. When we decided to buy rabbits this year it was very much an impulse buy. While I had already decided Meat Rabbits would be a good fit on our homestead. We bought a herd of show and nearly show quality Mini Rex Rabbits. And that is when I discovered that I love keeping rabbits. Here we are a handful of months and nearly two season later. I’ve sold some of my breeding stock, and narrowed my focus.

Vienna Marked/Blue Eye Whites I have a beautiful blue eyed black VM buck. And for now I’m keeping his sister, a VC black doe. They rabbits have beautiful pelts, and personalities. As well as a lovely balanced frame to work with. But the buck and doe they are out of are sweet, correct rabbits. Vienna Marked rabbits might not be a showable color as this point. But the blue eyes and white markings on a colored rabbit is striking. So rather then keeping them for the sole purpose of producing Blue Eyed White, I want to see if I can breed rabbits with consistent eye color, and markings.

Castor and Opal I love the richness of these colors. In be breeding program I have 4 animals that are really going to be used for these colors. A soil Castor buck, a Broken Blue Doe, and Opal doe, and a Broken Castor doe. Broken Castor is probably my favorite broken color. My Opal doe, Lilly is probably the best rabbit in my herd. She is correct in frame, her pelt is dense, plush, and velvety soft. She is calm, and friendly. She is everything a Mini Rex should be.

I do have a few other rabbits that are of outstanding quality. Like my solid Black buck that possibly carries the dilutes of Blue and/or Chocolate. I don’t know if one rabbit can carry both. But his mother was a solid Blue rabbit and his dad was a supper sweet solid Black that carries chocolate. But back to my buck, he is simply too lovely to part with, and by far the best buck in my barn. And like a little black dress, it’s never a bad idea to keep a little black rabbit on hand. And my children chose a Charlie Otter, and her sister a Ruby Eyed White. They have matured out to be of beautiful quality, so rather then being just pets, they are also in the breeding barn for a time at least.

So not only am I excited to breed these rabbits and some others. But we are in the process of building, and putting up new cages. Having a setup that makes better use of our space is something I have looked forward too since the day we got rabbits.