Hi, my name is Amanda, I am 23. I live in Fairbanks, Alaska where I own Treasure Street Rabbitry. It is a small rabbitry that has been through many up and downs over the 13 year period it has been in existence. Here is a little history. TSR started out as a 4-h project when I was ten years old. I began with a mini lop doe and a pair of hollands. Later I added polish. After a few years I cut back to just 2 hollands for some time then got a French lop, then had some satins and then in 1996 I aquired my first pair of mini rex from Horn Rapids Rabbitry in Washington. I had finally found my calling. I shipped up several more beautiful rabbits from Horn Rapids and began to breed some of the nicest mini rex in Alaska. Unfortunately in 2002 I had to sell everything to move to Hawaii. While there I had one standard rex as a pet and became a member of the Hawaii All Breed Rabbit Club.
In 2004 I moved back to Alaska and got a few mix breed meat rabbits that of course led to some purebred rex \"meat\" rabbits ( for the husband
LOL). However I just recently aquired 5 more mini rex because there is no escaping the breed you are called to raise!
This year has been a real doozy for me as I have gotten back into rabbits, got married and had a son. I am trying juggle it all and for the ost part it seems to be working out good.
If you have any questions regarding keeping rabbits in the cold I can usually help otherwise I can find someone who can. I have experience in keeping rabbits to as low as -60f and up to 95f.
Sorry if I have bored you all to death.
Luckyrabsfoot
Treasure Street Rabbitry<))><
Nice to meet you!
I live in Minnesota and have two rabbits that I keep outside. Several months ago I recieved an email from a woman who called herself an \"educator\" and worked with rescue rabbits. Here is small part of her email:
\"...our pet rabbits are decended European wild rabbits who burrow beneath the frost line to build warrens away from harsh winter weather (and predators). In outdoor hutches, they cannot do this. Yes, they huddle together for warmth and survival! But, what about the lone rabbit living outdoors in the freezing temps? The stress of that living takes YEARS off their life span.... To develop your empathy for hutch rabbits I suggest that next winter, put on a warm coat and spend a couple of nights (and days) outside on the deck or porch when it\'s 0 degrees. Plus they suffer isolation and loneliness from being deprived of indoor family activity and interaction. It\'s guaranteed a person is not going to spend even the minimum amount outdoors in below freezing weather to interact and play with their rabbit....\"
What do you tell people who have this attitude?
Thanks.
P.S. I hope this woman NEVER aquires a horse!
Hmmm....
Sounds like a case of anthropomorphism to me. I love my rabbits, but rabbits are not people. Their bodies do not function exactly like ours.
A true test of whether a rabbit is healthy and happy in their environment is whether or not they will breed, conceive, and successfully raise a litter of healthy kits. In nature and in domestication scenarios, animals ALWAYS forgo reproduction in favor of survival.
Also, the REAL reason that the lifespan of a wild rabbit is cut short is PREDATION. Plain and simple, 99.9% of rabbits meet their end by becoming someone else\'s dinner.
Yes, rabbits enjoy attention, and you should give them plenty, but as long as their outdoor hutch is clean, dry, draft-fee, and protected from the elements; with adequate ventilation as well as a nutritious diet and access to clean water, you are a GOOD RABBIT KEEPER.
Charlcie Gill
Zodiac Rabbitry
Astoria, OR
http://www.zodiacsatins.com
It bothers me that this woman is or was an educator. I am now wondering if these organizations recrute members by using false information as part of their tactics. Since these organizations collect almost no information on good outdoor rabbit practices, I find it hard to believe any of the stats I have read on some of their web sites.
Can you imagine how much lower the quality of life would be for house rabbits if there were no organizations supplying people with information? If the quality of life of outdoor rabbits is low, I don\'t understand why almost no one gives out information on improving the quality of life for outdoor rabbits! What are animal welfare organizations thinking? We have to depend on web sites like this one, and people like you, Charlcie, and luckyrabsfoot, to find out information, or experiment on our own. I recently bought a \"Rabbits\" magazine from the pet shop and there was not one article on outdoor rabbits!
Keeping my rabbits in the house is not an option for me, as with a lot of people, and the shelters are filled with rabbits, and so giving up my rabbits might mean euthanasia for them. I never planned to get rabbits as pets, I just happened to find some that needed rescueing. Yet it no longer suprises me when I meet people that treat me as an abuser, because I have met so many of them.
I did report this woman to the national organization for which she worked, but recieved no apology. She also forwarded her email to the local organization in my state, which did apologize for her behavior, and stated that they were not longer part of that organization did not want to be associated with her. They do however, still have a close relationship with that organization
I agree. It is VERY frustrating.
Typically, groups such as this lady is aligned with, depend on misinformation to fuel the fire against people like yourself who keep rabbits in the traditional outdoor hutch. I have no problem with folks who prefer to keep a \"House Bunny\", but not everyone\'s situation is adaptable to that kind of arrangement. To say that a person who keeps their rabbit(s) outdoors is inhumane is narrow-minded and preposterous!
Charlcie Gill
Zodiac Rabbitry
Astoria, OR
http://www.zodiacsatins.com
Thanks for your kind words. I am 90% sure that the educator who wrote to me got my address from someone at the national headquarters of this organization. In her email, she implyed that she had been an Educator/Fosterer since 1996. Also desturbing to me is that Animal Control, the Humane Society and the ASPCA have all had working relationships with this organization. I can only wonder if they benifited financially by supporting their views and misinformation. They may have helped a lot of rabbits, but many of their tactics are very counter productive.
Sorry for getting off topic. If we have anymore to say on this subject, maybe we should start a new thread.
Amanda,
Thank you for joining this site. We need people like you and you are a welcome addition. If you have a web site, I hope you share it with us.