After her older sister just bought a car in cash, my younger daughter decided she wanted to step up her game so that she would be able to do the same in a few years. We explored many options available to her and her love of animals drove her decision. She decided on raising bunnies to breed and sell. We decided to start small, and dwarf bunnies are so cute so it seemed like a perfect fit. That is, until we realized that the pedigreed breed she had decided on was VERY hard to find. While this made for a perfect business opportunity, it is not an easy start when you need to locate both a doe and a buck (female and male rabbit) to begin your business.
This is how we both spent the last few days, scouring the internet and books for tips, tricks, advice, breeders and the like. I have learned more about rabbit reproduction and standards in the last few days than I ever cared to know! What I realized though is that this is a HUGE learning opportunity and my daughter is going to be getting a very healthy dose of biology through this project, complete with Punnett squares!
The research ended in an amazing turn of luck whereby a breeder we had located happened to be driving through a city close to us and she agreed to meet us with 2 bunnies we would be purchasing from her (this was a lifesaver as this breeder was almost 3.5 hours away in another state!). We are awaiting another breeder who will also be driving through a nearby city next weekend as she has a second buck we will be adding to the program.
To say that my daughter is overjoyed by this prospect is an understatement, she is in bunny heaven. I have to admit, these little guys are adorable and will certainly have no shortage of love and handling at this house!
We settled on a pedigreed breed called the Dwarf Hotot (pronounced Oh-toe). This is a papered breed that was a bit difficult to find and often has people traveling to different states to be able to find good breeding stock. The recognized standard of the breed is to have no markings on the pure white rabbit, save for a black or brown band around the eyes. My daughter's plan is to begin with 4H and hopefully some ARBA (American Rabbit Breeders Association) shows with her bunnies and to breed them for sale.
We began the process and will be keeping you updated as this seems like a fun learning experience!
Here is my daughter when we arrived home with the bunnies (yes we had to use dog crates to transport them to their new homes, no laughing!)
This is how we both spent the last few days, scouring the internet and books for tips, tricks, advice, breeders and the like. I have learned more about rabbit reproduction and standards in the last few days than I ever cared to know! What I realized though is that this is a HUGE learning opportunity and my daughter is going to be getting a very healthy dose of biology through this project, complete with Punnett squares!
The research ended in an amazing turn of luck whereby a breeder we had located happened to be driving through a city close to us and she agreed to meet us with 2 bunnies we would be purchasing from her (this was a lifesaver as this breeder was almost 3.5 hours away in another state!). We are awaiting another breeder who will also be driving through a nearby city next weekend as she has a second buck we will be adding to the program.
To say that my daughter is overjoyed by this prospect is an understatement, she is in bunny heaven. I have to admit, these little guys are adorable and will certainly have no shortage of love and handling at this house!
We settled on a pedigreed breed called the Dwarf Hotot (pronounced Oh-toe). This is a papered breed that was a bit difficult to find and often has people traveling to different states to be able to find good breeding stock. The recognized standard of the breed is to have no markings on the pure white rabbit, save for a black or brown band around the eyes. My daughter's plan is to begin with 4H and hopefully some ARBA (American Rabbit Breeders Association) shows with her bunnies and to breed them for sale.
We began the process and will be keeping you updated as this seems like a fun learning experience!
Here is my daughter when we arrived home with the bunnies (yes we had to use dog crates to transport them to their new homes, no laughing!)
 You can't tell from her face that she is excited, can you? |  |
So, here goes a new adventure in the life of an incidental farmgirl!
