Hoppin’ T Rabbitry

08/15/2024

“You can’t keep them all!” is my second least favorite part of raising rabbits. That said, due to cage space and upcoming litters, along with the fact that this girls sister managed to earn a leg at 3ish months old so I’m keeping her… I’ve come to the conclusion that I need to offer HTSUGAR to a new barn.

She is out of a white doe and a black buck, the only issue with that breeding was black self’s with blue-shaded eyes. We didn’t have any steels or other unrecognized varieties pop up.

She is kid friendly and loves to snuggle! We’ve all heard of the wild Mini Satans, that’s not this girl. I think she’d be a great fit for a youth who needs a smaller rabbit to show.

She normally poses quite easily and stays posed, albeit slightly relaxed. However, this morning she does seem to be picking up on my mood and wasn’t quite as cooperative as usual.

Once show season gets underway I will probably have some Tortoise Mini Satins, bucks and does that I need to let go of. They’re a little younger so I’m giving them some more time.

08/14/2024

Well this is exciting! Rustin, our oldest, applied for and was accepted to be a member of the Texas 4-H Rabbit Advisory Board!

If you’ve met him you’ve probably realized he’s not shy to tell you about his project or ask about yours, and is always excited to help others.

08/14/2024

Learning what people are telling you about a rabbit can feel a lot like learning a new language!

Tan pattern refers to the “shape” of the markings. There’s a breed called Tan that’s markings are shaped like these.

Otter is what the tan pattern with white or silver and a secondary, creamy color in addition to the main body coloris called in many breeds. Out of the breeds in our barn, Otter is recognized Mini Satin & Satin.

Silver Marten is the name of a rare, heritage breed and also the variety that looks like them in multiple breeds. It’s tan pattern but only has silver in addition to the body color, no cream. Out of the breeds in our barn, Silver Marten is only recognized in Mini Satins but there’s a C.O.D. (certificate of Development) for them to become recognized in Satins.

Himalayan is another fun one, as it can refer to the ancient breed, or the variety in other breeds that’s marked like the actual breed. To add to the confusion, up until a few years ago, this pattern of markings in Satins was only recognized in black, so it was called Californian (yes, that’s also another breed!) when they chose to also recognize blue, chocolate & lilac they changed the name of the variety to Himalayan. Because this is a recent change, you’ll still hear the more experienced judges and breeders call them “Cal Satins” more often than not.

I’ve also heard people refer to rabbits of other breeds as “Dutch marked”.

Clear as mud?

08/13/2024

Filling in the fall calendar!

08/13/2024

If you’re new here, it’s important to know that our six year old, Alysen, is obsessed with her Dutch and likes to pretend she’d love for us to get rid of everything else and just have a barn full of Dutch.

While we sorted out this last baby boom and made decisions, I may or may not have stuck some young Satin does in one of her Dutch cages. Over the weekend some went to new homes so I moved those over to the Satin side of the barn.

Alysen: Momma?! Where’s Ruth?

Me: Who’s Ruth?!

Alysen: the little black otter that I like to snuggle! She was in this cage!

Me: 🤨 You want my Satin back over here in your cage?

Alysen: 😁

Me: Are you going to SHOW her, too?!

Alysen: Nope! You are. I’m just going to spoil her.

08/10/2024

Who has the smallest show team?

Coming in with *one* rabbit is Kayleigh, and her first homegrown Himalayan, Meat Ball! 🍝

🤞 Hopefully the 5 in the nest box will be awesome and we’ll have two more nest boxes full next week. 🤞

08/09/2024

Introducing ‘Poppy’ (black) & ‘Foxy’ (blue), Adalyns Silver Marten Mini Satin show team for this fall! There’s a few months between them, and hopefully we’ll have more in the nest box soon, but she’s so excited about these two silly girls! Their Daddy, Jordan, will likely tag along for a few shows as well.

08/08/2024

Throwback Thursday + Story Time

It’s October of 2022 and we just walked into our third ever ARBA show in Okemah, OK.

At this point Rustin is showing a lone black Satin and a black New Zealand. Kayleigh is showing a Broken Rex, a pair of Broken New Zealand’s and shopping for a blue Satin. These two have a double show under their belt. Dustin & Reba are showing a trio of Silver Martens, Alysen is showing Butter Bean and we entered those babies in all 3 open shows plus the specialty, this is our first show as exhibitors.

As we’re standing in line to look at a blue Satin buck Reba has messaged some random person on Facebook about (Hey now! Lots of those random people are still our friends and mentors today!) the breeder pulls something out of a travel cage that makes Reba forget her overwhelm and ask “What is THAT?!” Justin Nash chuckles as he looks up with a smile and says “it’s a blue otter.” Reba was ready to hand over her money and jump into the Satin world but Christopher Clanton had beaten her to it that time.

Fast forward two years. Reba is standing in the barn attempting to build a show team, a sale list and a cull list. “Oooh! You’re pretty!” she says, and puts a star by the rabbits name. “Oooh, you’re pretty too!” she tells the next one, and stars its’ name. “Wow! I really like you!” she says, as she begins to realize she may have a problem.

She thinks back to that day two years ago when a blue rabbit with a shimmery belly caught her attention and smiles. “I’ve made it. I have a barn full of you!” she whispers to the young buck as she kisses his forehead.

08/07/2024

Alysen came up with the funnest names for her Dutch show team this season!

Pictured is ‘Uganda’. Alysen met a missionary that works in Uganda while we were at church convention and now Uganda is her obsession.

Not pictured are torts ‘Pinto Bean’ & ‘Sparrow’, and blacks ‘Butter Ball’ & ‘Crow’.

BUTTER Ball & Pinto BEAN are plays off their Daddy’s name, ‘Butter Bean’. He’s the one that fueled her Dutch obssssion to start with. Then her plan was to stick with bird names. But Uganda happened! 😂 Maybe when he’s a Daddy we’ll have to research birds that are native to Uganda.

08/05/2024

Is there an experience level of tattooing rabbits where you don’t end up with ink all over yourself, the table, and the white rabbits?

Not asking for a friend! 😂

08/05/2024

Now that everyone is tattooed and our family has made their final decisions, we’re ready to start making appointments for families shopping for the 2025 County Rabbits.

In Randall County rabbits must have been born in 2024, have a pedigree, a permanent tattoo in their left ear and be one of the approved breeds (Californian, Champagne D’Argent, Havana, New Zealand, Rex, Satin). Ours check all of those boxes, and we won’t sell anything we wouldn’t put on an ARBA show table ourselves, in either open or youth.

Appointments will be set on a first come, first served basis August 11-25. We can work with you and meet in Canyon, Amarillo or Tulia if you have a general idea of which rabbits you’re interested in.

I will not be photographing them. I do not have the coordination to do them justice and would prefer students get their hands on them and learn how to choose them anyways.

This availability list will fluctuate as decisions are made.

1 Blue Buck
1 Blue Doe
1 Broken Black Buck
1 Black Otter Buck
3 Blue Otter Bucks
3 Blue Otter Does
1 Siamese Doe
1 White Doe

08/05/2024

The number of times these youngsters have heard “You better pose like your life depends on it, because it does!” is astounding! 😂

Guys....🫠

08/05/2024

Usually when we go quiet for awhile it means we’re up to something! This week it was going through spring litters and doing another round of culling.

Just today we tattooed 5 Dutch, 3 Mini Satins and 15 Satins, gave a dose of wormer to all (weaned) rabbits in the barn and trimmed the nails of 53 rabbits.

Random photo of Adalyn practicing with her 4 week old Mini Satins.

07/26/2024

Not rabbit related, but we love helping the community we’ve built around us in the rabbit world!

If you’re considering homeschooling your children but are intimidated because you have questions you don’t know where to ask, we’re here for you! We will help you figure out state laws wherever you are, and do our best to walk you through the whole getting started process, and continue to be here as you run into more questions.

We regularly post info on Crossed Arrows Homestead + Homeschool, and Reba is even more passionate about homeschooling than she is about rabbits (please don’t let that scare you away 😂) so just know you will not be bothering her by asking all the random questions about either topic.

We are not against public school for all families, we just believe it’s not the best fit for most families. We are first generation homeschoolers ourselves so we know what it’s like to be the first ones to step away from the norm. Now we want to support others taking that step.

07/26/2024

It is so good to be home!

07/25/2024

07/25/2024

Never fear, we will back to your regularly-scheduled content soon!

07/20/2024

Today we got some feedback from a person who drove 5 hours one way to buy a breeder from us. This is the second time she’s purchased a breeder from us. She told me “I’m just gonna tell you, your pictures don’t do your rabbits justice! I’m usually not crazy about them in the first picture you post. They look a little better when I get you to send more pictures. Then when I get my hands on them I REALLY like them!”

Let me just let y’all know, number one, this is the kind of honesty and communication I HIGHLY appreciate. Number two, I’m fully aware of this, I just don’t know how to fix it. Posing and photographing each one handed simultaneously is a learning curve all of its’ own. I know people say “don’t post it if it doesn’t do them justice” but I don’t know how else to let y’all see them when we’re in these long breaks between shows.

SO all that said… feel free to ask for more photos. If you’re reasonably close feel free to ask to ask to look them over in person. And I’ll keep practicing my photography skills. Know that we will eat anything we wouldn’t show ourselves, and it’s normally an “in it for fun, but it’s more fun when you’re winning,” personality that’s calling the freezer list.

Photo: a young Tortoise Mini Satin

07/20/2024

Last call! All juniors are still available. I am delivering some breeders to Amarillo tomorrow and would be willing to bring any juniors you’d like to take a look at.

07/19/2024

Silly rabbit, coffee is for Momma!!

07/18/2024

Reminder: Even if you’re not able to attend convention, you can still compete in the achievement & management categories.

Update from the ARBA Youth Committee. The contests portal is open!

Texas Reminder: You have to register through their portal in at least one individual contest (recommend breed id) to be placed on a team. Team registration for District 4 occurs after the Sept 1 deadline. Those that placed at the 2024 Texas state show are guaranteed their team spots. Additional teams (primarily breed id) will be formed from all other registered Texas contestants. Don't miss the Sept 1 deadline! Check out the portal now!

https://arba-youth-portal.web.app/login/sign-in?fbclid=IwAR06LcYQXsFdWMLGOD_JUw_nX0l7eL_WAg8AbGaYg27udRhNbFsGfsQsig0

07/18/2024

When people ask the kids “oh my! Are those rabbit scratches?!” and they nonchalantly explain “Yes, I was teaching my babies to pose.”

When I voluntell my 13 year old son to carry a bag of garden soil for a lady in Walmart and she says it’ll be too heavy for him, but I ask him to unload a few hundred pounds of feed at home.

When the kids are expected to feed and water their rabbits first thing every day, whether it’s cold, whether it’s hot, whether we’re leaving early.

“It’s too hard,” is not a phrase that flies around here.

Life is full of hard things that we have to do. Really, it’s just a series of getting past one thing and onto the next. My goal is for them to build a memory full of experiences where they overcame something hard, so that the next time it happens, they can look back and realize “I can do hard things”.

07/17/2024

This is about how the sale list is going at this point! 😂

07/17/2024

Tales From Hoppin’ T Rabbit Barn
No: IDK I’ve lost count!

Cheezy, the Silver Marten Mini Satin has a litter of three that’s three weeks old. Two show great promise and we’re pretty sure the third one does not have a dwarf gene. As I was making my morning rounds I saw Cheezy swat at the big one, who was trying to nurse. This is fairly normal. But this baby pulled the ultimate “If Mom says no, I’ll just go ask someone else”! Their neighbor, Etta, is a Blue Otter Satin who just weaned an eight week old litter of her own. This baby stuck its tiny snout through the side of the cage just enough to nurse from Etta, who didn’t seem to notice! No wonder this baby is so big! 😂

07/16/2024

Local friends! We decided to have a SUMMER SALE and try to get some Satins moved before we head to Florida. All available Satin juniors have been discounted by $25 THIS WEEK ONLY, MUST LEAVE NO LATER THAN SUNDAY 7/21.

🛻 Willing to meet in Canyon or Amarillo on Saturday.

07/13/2024

As breeders, one of the most frequent questions we get this time of year is “Can I show this rabbit in my county?” This is a tricky question because each county has their own requirements.

💥 Would you please add your counties’ requirements in the comments below?

07/13/2024

Sour Cream says “Oh no! Did you forget? We’re in Hereford until 6pm.”