How we got into rabbits�
Dusty and his family raised rabbits when he was younger. They raised many
breeds including: Dutch, Mini Lops, Holland Lops,Netherland Dwarfs, Mini Rex and Californians. With the Cals being Dusty�s specialty.
In 2000, we all went to the Illinois State Convention in Springfield. There was my first look at all the breeds of rabbits. When I was growing up we would go to the local county fair, but it was nothing like what I saw that day. I was like a kid in a candy store...petting anything that I could get my hands on.
Then I found the Mini Rex row. Instantly I was in love. I looked at all the varieties out there and found opal to be my favorite. I begged and pleaded with Jerry Thrilik to sell me the little opal doe that he had there to show. He was willing to part with her, but we had to leave soon and he didn�t want to take a scratch on her but offered me a free �throw away� bunny. For whatever reason he didn�t like the litter mate of the doe I wanted to buy.
Now that I had the doe, I needed a boyfriend for her. Dusty approached Jerry Hicks on this subject. He had just what I needed�a Romeo for my brand new Juliete (hey what else do you name your first pair of rabbits?).
That day, we came home in a rented suburban, with more rabbit stuff then people. Cowboy, Sue, Rusty, Theresa, Dusty and myself all came home with a rabbit or two. Me, well I took turns holding first Juliette and then Romeo all the way home on the two and a half hour drive.
Currently�
Now about 18 months and a whole lot of time and money later we are getting our rabbitry up and running. Dusty has recently decided that he is going to start breeding mini rex. His color of choice is of course Himalayan as close to a Cal as you can get. And I decided to start breeding dwarfs too. My color? Well I love sable martens and chinchillas. Which is good because at least Dusty can breed them to his other colors. Unlike me who can�t breed opal to himi in the mini rex...Thanks a lot Dust!
I am always on the look out for himi and opal mini rex, and marten and chinchilla dwarf rabbits now, we are tweeking our herd to just the way that we want it. Since both colors are so scarce around here, we are looking all over the place. If you or you know of anyone with these colors or are looking to get something from me, always feel free to contact me.
I would like to extend a special thank you to all the folks that we met at Mini Rex Nationals. I have a great time and picked up some very beautiful animals.
