Lops of Enchantment

People are aghast.

When we start talking about the number of animals we raise, people look at us and shake their heads.  “Why would anyone want so many animals?”

I really do not know how to answer that question.  It just seems to be the natural way of things.  We’ve never questioned if there is such a thing as too many animals.  Simply put: we are “animal people.”  I guess it’s in our genes.

The odd thing that occurs in the rabbit raising world is, as you walk the floor at a rabbit show and talk to the many different people who have gathered, it is a very rare occurrence when you find someone who raises only rabbits.  I don’t think that is the case with dog breeders.  Dog breeders generally raise dogs only.  However, rabbit breeders frequently will have many other kinds of animals that they are either raising, tending, or simply have as part of the family.

When you look at the pictures of our “other animals” consider this list of animals I discovered at two recent rabbit shows that are being raised by rabbit breeders:  Goats, turtles, parrots, snakes, peacocks, geese, ducks, chickens, turkeys, pigs (pot-bellied to hogs) cows, horses, dogs, guinea pigs, chinchilla, and pigeons… and this was from only a handful of people.  If we were to conduct a scientific survey among people attending rabbit shows it is my guess that we’d find hundreds of species being raised by rabbit people.

Yes, we love rabbits but our affections are not limited there.  If it is an animal, we love it.  What animals do you love and why?

I had a lot of different things in mind for my first post on the “rabbit” blog but a discussion on turkeys wasn’t one of them. However, tonight we experienced the loss of one of our baby turkeys. It is our first pair of turkeys we’ve raised and they are only about 8 weeks old. (see picture under “Other Animals) In the short couple of weeks we had the turkeys we grew very fond of them. They are very unique in the way they explore the yard in search of food and places to roost. They came running to greet and follow us every time we entered the yard and they have a wonderful chirping or whistling sound of contentment.

Now our flock of turkeys is down to one. All I did was leave a gate open by mistake which the turkey took immediate advantage of only to find the “loving” jaws of one of our dogs. It is now dead.

My heart sank when I saw the carcass neatly laid at our back door by the dog. It hurts to lose an animal needlessly. My first reaction was anger at the dogs until I saw the gate ajar and then the realization that it was my fault came to roost. Ouch! If I hadn’t been so careless this tragic death would not have occurred. It is an awesome responsibility we have to our animals to provide them a safe haven in which to grow and thrive. A careless moment can result in tragic consequences.

No matter how many animals you raise, losing one to an untimely and premature death is always painful.

Welcome to the Lops of Enchantment Rabbit Blog. With this site we hope to share in the experiences of raising rabbits we face , the victories and the challenges, as they occur. (We may also insert some tidbits on chickens, goats, and turkeys when we cannot resist the temptation.) Feel free to raise questions, provide feedback, and debate the issues you are facing as a rabbit breeder or owner. Through this dialogue we hope to share with you the knowledge and expertise we’ve obtained through 15+ years of rabbit raising along with the vast pool of expertise available in the rabbit raising world. The overall goal is to share in the joy and wonder that is available from the companionship domestic rabbits provide.