Father and son 4H members

[stonesrock]

Our family has been thinking about getting a rabbit (now 2 rabbits). We have attended three 4H meetings at a breeders house. We have recently built a hutch that was originally intended for one. Can it hold two? 36" x 30".

It has been a long journey thinking about what rabbit to get. Getting prepared by building the hutch has given us time. We started thinking a lionhead from one of the 4H girls, but then we learned about some of the other breeds. Thriantas are just about the cutest thing in rabbit I think I have ever seen. (and yet, I have never actually seen one in person. Only through pictures and video on the internet have I seen them.

We think we want Thriantas and are willing to drive 5 hours south to Corvallis/Eugene to get them. We have contacted Fall Creek Thriantas near Eugene and Jill's Wild Dutch Bunch of Corvallis and another guy in Corvallis. THey have Jr's and Breeders. Whats the difference. Are "Jr's" pre-breeding and "breeders" are old enough to Breed? Obviously I have a lot to learn. Is it better to get the breedable rabbits from two different breeders for genetics? Any other input you might have is appreciated.

Thanks,
John, Cormac and Bridget

[Briana]

Welcome! I'm Briana and I raise Thriantas, Jersey Woolies and Polish in Michigan. I've been in 4-H with my rabbits for 7 years and show rabbits in 4-H and ARBA shows all around Michigan.

Fall Creek (Ken) actually has an account on this forum.

It's not really wise to house more than one rabbit together in the same cage unless they are a bonded pair... or else they may fight (and can kill eachother... I've had it happen when I first started) or you'll get lots of unwanted babies if they are male and female. So I suggest that they have separate cages that are at least 24x24.

Junior rabbits are under 6 months old. If they are does, they aren't ready to be bred yet. Bucks will sometimes breed at 5 months old... Seniors are rabbits that are older than 6 months old and are ready to be bred... so I guess that would be a breeder bunny. lol

And just because 2 rabbits come from the same breeder doesn't mean that they are related. But even so, they can still be bred together. Sons and daughters can be bred back to parents... uncles to neices and so on.

Hopefully this helped you out! Don't be afraid to ask more questions.

[stonesrock]

Thanks for the info. Getting Thriantas this weekend is on hold. I need to reinforce fencing in little yard where the cage is to keep racoons out.

[stonesrock]

Hooray! We got our rabbits today! I thought we were going to get two Thrianras. But it became apparent that a Dutch was a better fit for my 6-year-old son. He really fell in love on first sight with a grey Dutch. (Do I say Blue Dutch? I'll find that out as we go.) He named her "Blueberry" I got a Thriantra for myself, so we each got a rabbit today. We love them.

[Briana]

Blue and gray are two different colors. Here are pictures of all the colors. www.dutchrabbit.com/aboutthebreed/aboutthebreed.html

Congrats with the new bunnies! ;D

[rachel]

Welcome to the board! Did Jill have any of her awesome "Red Dutch" around from experimenting with Thrianta/Dutch crosses? What an interesting mix.

Anyway, hope you're enjoying your bunnies!

[Dutchess]

Nov 25, 2010 18:07:40 GMT -5 rachel said:

Welcome to the board! Did Jill have any of her awesome "Red Dutch" around from experimenting with Thrianta/Dutch crosses? What an interesting mix.

Anyway, hope you're enjoying your bunnies!

Red Dutch? Now *that* I would like to see! Are there any pics yet?

I know there is not an ice cream's chance in hell of any new colour getting through the United Kingdom Dutch Club here (they won't even take my beloved Tricoloured Dutch seriously), but as I am a breeder of both Dutch and Thriantas, I am curious to say the least. I did in fact mate up a Tricolour English to a Thrianta doe, just to see that gorgeous red against the white. I got one buck (from a litter of four) which can be described as mantle. He looks quite stunning! So a red Dutch (IMO) would look equally remarkable.

(And before anyone suggests it, it would be a complete waste of time bringing a new colour of Dutch to the table here, so I refuse to go there! lol! )

[tundratreasures]

I can tell you that thriantas make some VERY interesting crosses, I had a back (think it was self, but not sure) from a little behind my back breeding of a pet broken rex/lop mix and a certain adventurous female that just had to go eat some grass on the other side of her cage when I was cleaning it.

half the litter was broken, one orange and white, the other tri, black orange and white
the other two where black, lighter under coat, that developed ORANGE ticking, almost like a silvered black, but orange. There are some funking things going on in the thrianta.

[stonesrock]

Both our rabbits are does, so no worries about cross breeding yet. No, Jill did not have any "Red Dutch" on our visit. My son (age 6) really loves his Blueberry -Blue Dutch. He must have had her out of her cage for 4 hours today (in 30 min stretches). Very mild mannered. Red Head likes to be held, too. The closest I seen her sleep is when she is held.

It may be sacrilege posting anything other than a Thriantra on this site, so here is a photo of my son with Red Head

[tundratreasures]

nice, but don't hold rabbits by the ears, you can break them , scruff of the neck is preferred, comes with handling or a hand under the front paws on the ribcage, where it's diffifult to kick if held right, and very secure.

if he kicked in the hold your son has, your son would either be hanging him by the ears, or have to let go.


I know he is showing the rabbit off, but you and the bunny can be hurt holding him like that.

[stonesrock]

noted. He does not hold Red Head too often. I think he's holding the scruff over the ears. He's not holding just the ears. He could use some work on the technique, agreed, and his hands are mixed up.

[tundratreasures]

He is cute, looks like a teddy in that photo