For the last few months, I have been getting grief from RidgeRunner about the rabbit hides I give him. Grief might be a strong term. Let’s just say he’s bored with white.

Yes, too cryptic, I know. You see, RidgeRunner gets all of the rabbit hides when I harvest my rabbits. I bag them up and freeze them until I can get them to him. At that point, he takes over, turning raw rabbit hides into tanned rabbit pelts, worthy of being turned into higher end crafts, or simply enjoyed as is.

RidgeRunner does lovely work. I’ve tanned my share of animal hides in my younger years, but I simply don’t have time for one more project that will upset my wife. (See Hurricane Prep, Day 4 for my stance on that) Plus I can snag a hide from him from time to time as part of the “price” of the raw hides.

So, in an effort to make my good friend happy, I’ve been searching for rabbits of color….ANY color. I preferred a New Zealand (NZ) doe, since that is what I have, and I’ve had good luck with them. (Plus it allows me to maintain a breed, if I ever get a NZ buck).

I searched Craigslist. Hoobly. Multiple rabbit breeder websites. Bulletin boards at feed stores. The Florida monthly market bulletin.

And came up mostly empty handed.

I did find a few folks with black or red NZs, but they were young, not yet breeding age. I wanted something NOW dammit! So I passed on those and continued looking. (Ironically, had I purchased the first one I found, it would be of breeding age by now :P)

So when I stumbled across an ad for rabbits from the breeder I purchased my original trio, I realized I’d forgotten to ask them if they had anything. And they were less than an hour south of me. Even better, I had work lined up that was less than 15 minutes from them.

Contacting them through their Facebook page, I arranged to meet them Tuesday afternoon to see what all they had. Probably the best appointment I’d had all year, as it turned out.

Bogle’s Bunny Farm is located in western Palm Beach County, and offers both pet and meat rabbits. (Barbara dropped the term “table rabbit” on me, and I plan on using it.) Breeds include, but not limited to:

• Flemish Giants
  

  

• Californians
• Lionheads
• Holland Lops
• German Giants
• Netherland Dwarf
• Hotot
• Mini Rex
• AlTex
• and of course, New Zealands

I may have missed a few, I was a bit overwhelmed and excited to be there. I truly enjoy raising rabbits for many reasons, and being able to talk with folks that REALLY knew about raising them made my day. They have many of the same thoughts and feelings about rabbits, both as pets and as livestock.

They also see the value in rabbit manure for gardening. And in fruit trees. And aquaponics. In fact, I’m certain that if Jeff and I spent much time together, we could have both of our wives completely annoyed at us from all the projects we would goad each other into.

Greenhouses. Ponds. More fruit trees. More rabbits. Goats. Emus. Llamas. Frog farming. Shrimp farming. Manatee farming!

Ok, I’m stretching things a bit. But in truth, they are great folks, and they have a VERY professional operation, they understand the pet market and the meat market, and don’t judge either way. My only regret was not considering them sooner.

They are trying to get established on the web in order to better provide for the market. If you could go over to their Facebook page and “like” them, I would consider it a personal favor…and if you’ve been reading regularly, you KNOW how much weight that carries with me…

And if you live in south Florida, and are looking for rabbits, give them a shot. Even if they don’t have what you are looking for, they are plugged in to the rabbit breeder scene, and will probably know someone that has what you are looking for. They also can build cages to suit. And if you just want to talk rabbits, give them a shout. And if you stop by, ask to see their trained potbellied pig. Smart critter! (But I am still thinking about them as a backyard bacon source!)

And yes, they had something that worked rather well for me, a pair of black NZs, one male, one female. Their mother was red, so there is no telling what I’ll be getting, color-wise, but I WILL be getting colors now 🙂 For now, my youngest has decided to love it and mother it like it is a pet….because it is. Remember, I want all my animals to have a good life, and only one bad day.

Peace,
db

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