21 Sep 2018 No Comments
Our first Colorado show at Hotchkiss
Beveren were a hit at our first Colorado show! Annabelle refused to cooperate with staying in a carrier – she insisted on holding court, perched on the grooming table for hours – greeting passerby. Some packed her around the show room. One thing I can count on with the Beveren is winning people over with their personalities.
We have a few very nice show quality blue eyed white Beveren juniors for sale – very promising! Also a blue sport (great for white lines if you want a little color) with excellent type out of my champion buck Seamus.
Annabelle holding court at the Hotchkiss show accepting adorations from her subjects, for five hours.
I’m out of Americans and Silver Fox, and Blanc de Hotot except for a few nestbox babies, who will be sold when weaned. I am selling off all Harlequins, fun and delightful as they are. 
Beveren are now on sale for $50 apiece (
The majority of my French import Hotot stock went to Barbara Blankenship in WA, while some also went to California breeders – Jo Carroll in Central CA, Mandy Lott, and Michael Pollack of Lupin Lapin, both in Northern CA. Feel free to chase down my purebred lines through any of these folks. I have also sent stock to Kristin Renk in NE, and Mattea Lear in OK. I highly recommend working with purebred lines for higher percentages of correct markings, best mothering instincts, and calmer, more friendly personalities.
Knowing there are really top notch breeders who come to National Convention from all over the U.S., this came as a surprise! We still consider ourselves new breeders going on 6 years with this breed, and this is only our second National Convention.
We also won Best White Fur at National Convention with Trickster Hares Shooting Star.We hope to make the next one in Indiana for 2017!
Also showing was giant blue hares! People got a big kick out of this hare. We’ll see about making something else for the Belgian Hare booth for 2017!
26 Nov 2020 No Comments
Raising Rabbits during the Plague
Yes, we’re still raising Beveren and Belgian Hares, through the coronavirus pandemic, RHD rabbit pandemic, and, well, 2020. We have not been out to shows since 2019, because of all the above. It was a rough year of too many rabbits as we had bred for the West Coast Classic and National Convention!
Our home is up at 6,700 feet and our county has not had any recorded RHDV2 cases. It has spread in the high desert, but not up into the mountains. Perhaps the mountain cottontail species in the higher altitudes aren’t as susceptible as the desert cottontail, but that’s just speculation. It may be a matter of time, and we’re keeping our eyes and ears open, and prohibiting all visitors to be safe.
We aren’t really conducting sales at this time, unless you are aware of RHD and necessary precautions, aren’t coming from a hot zone, and understand the risks involved. We’ll go on lockdown if the RHD virus comes near here. Some vets have imported vaccines and this may be a solution if you are in a risky area; note that you do have to get boosters for the vaccines if this disease lingers.
We chose not to vaccinate due to the size of our herd and the yearly cost that would entail, eliminating our benefits to raising our own food. While they double as show rabbits, being a rare breed they don’t pull in enough demand to offset that yearly cost, making the whole project cost-prohibitive. For smaller herds it’s more feasible. It’s also unfortunate but what I’ve read, a rabbit can still contract and shed the virus, just not come down sick if vaccinated. That means someone could pass on an animal with the disease unknowningly – no thank you. In order to stop transmission of this virus I’d rather be aware if I had any infected animals.
I prefer to breed for genetic resistance – my research has turned up something like a 30% up to 90% death rate. That tells me there’s a chance plenty of my herd would survive, to breed more resistant rabbits. I think that is the only way to beat this disease if it becomes endemic. When we were in California, we saw this happen with Myxamatosis – it was rare, but we had some Harlequin who just didn’t come down with the disease even when exposed. (The only breed we saw this resistance in.) I believe it is possible, and more sustainable, even if it entails the loss of some of my beautiful stock. Everyone gets to make their own choice. And, if you are near a hot zone starting off with a trio, getting a vaccine on your new foundation stock is a pretty good idea, as a small number of rabbits is manageable in this way, and keeps them safe.
Hopefully the human and rabbit diseases soon pass. Stay safe!
by Trickster Hares in Belgian Hare, Beveren, Rabbit Health, Shows Tags: RHDV2