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When I went to my first year of public school, which was also my freshman year of high school, I had a class with Diane Tait. We sat at the same table, and always talked whenever we weren't working. She told me during one of our many conversations that she was a member of the Montgomery County 4-H Rabbit Club, and that she raised a breed of rabbit called Polish. At the time I didn't think much of it, I didn't have enough time to even think about joining a 4-H club at the time, but I stored that snippet of information away, because it was something interesting about Diane. This was my only year in public school, and the next year I started home schooling, which I enjoy greatly.
Every year my mom takes myself and my two brothers to the county fair (sometimes my dad tags along, if he isn't working) , and the year after ninth grade wasn't any different. I had talked to my mom about maybe doing a 4-H project, since it would look awesome on my college application, and it would be a great learning experiance since I had the time due to being home schooled. So when we walked into the rabbit barn, something told me to check names on the cages to look for Diane's. And sure enough, she had entered rabbits! We got information about the rabbit club, and planned on attending the general 4-H new member meeting, to decide if it was something I wanted to pursue.
I did a ton of research on rabbits, and fell in love Holland Lops immediately, like many others. I searched for local breeders, and found Cass Kinnear. She was very helpful and answered all of my beginner questions. I purchased my first pedigreed Holland Lop from her in November 2006, a Black Tortoise Doe. Dakota was a brat when I brought her home, but I won her trust with a lot of patience, and of course treats. I also looked into Mini Rex, but purchasing from one breeder didn't work out, so I bought a Polish from Diane instead. So the day before Thanksgiving 2006 I picked up a little Broken Black Polish Doe, who I named Wynona after spending time playing with her. These two does taught me a lot about rabbits, mainly how to care for them, cut toe nails, groom, and most importantly, how to show. Neither of these does have done anything profound, but I cherish the ribbons they have won me, and the memories that I have are priceless.
I quickly fell in love with the Polish breed after expanding my herd with stock from Diane Tait. They have such fantastic personalities, each and every one of my Polish come right up to the door for some petting. The thing I like the most about Polish is that they don't come in a ton of colors, but there is a color for everybody. After working with the stock I purchased from Diane, I knew what I wanted to work with most. Ruby Eyed Whites, the original color, the color that you couldn't beat when the breed first came out. I'm working on selling the stock I currently have, keeping only what will work into my breeding plan. In October 2008, I'll be purchasing some Polish to bring into my herd to work on getting the type in REW. I have so far produced some quality REWs, but not quite as nice as I'd like to see, so the change is for the best.
I worked hard with my Holland Lops, but they never clicked like the Polish did. Sure I fell in love with that amazingly cute look they all have, but trying to produce quality, and getting them to breed was incredibly difficult. So I made the decision summer 2008 to sell out of the Hollands. They all went to great homes, which is all I could ask for. I kept one doe from my only litter, as she is missing an ear. So Miss Austin will be a permanent resident of KN Rabbitry.
American Fuzzy Lops have replaced the Hollands, and it's defiantly for the best. I wanted something wooled to have as a "show pet" and was debating between Jersey Woolies and American Fuzzy Lops. I checked out the numbers at a show, and decided to do American Fuzzy Lops since they aren't quite as popular as Jersey Woolies. Finding quality AFLs isn't hard, you just have to know who to ask. So I owe a debt of gratitude to Katie Rodgers, Christina Gillett, and Shari Albrecht for answering my many fuzzy questions, and especially Shari for selling me my first fuzzy! I bought Renegade in the spring 2008, and quickly fell in love with his temperament, which is nothing like his Holland cousins. I went about looking at some awesome fuzzy breeders on the west coast, and talked to Katie about purchasing from her at Convention. She was more than willing to send me info about what she had avliable, and I will be purchasing a trio from her. I'll be working with shadeds mostly, and some self thrown in for good measure. My lines are mainly AK, Brians, Bastets, Hobbs and Corbins.
I think that's pretty much everything you need to know, feel free to email me if you have any questions! I'm always willing to talk to people about rabbits, they are my obsession after all!
Kelsey Nelson, [email protected]
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