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Hi. I'm Rachel, co-owner of the Backyard Bunny Barn. Here's a little about the history of the Backyard Bunny Barn and how I got started in rabbits.
The Backyard Bunny Barn was started in 1990 as a 4-H project. I started out with one black Mini Lop doe named Shadow. At the time, my parents told me you can have only one rabbit. (Little did they know what it would turn into in the years to come).
After about 6 or 8 months of having just one rabbit, I ended up having all of the Lop breeds (English Lop, French Lop, American Fuzzy Lop, Mini Lop, and Holland Lop) as well as Siamese Satins within the next 2 years. After experimenting with these breeds, I decided then to breed Holland Lops as my main breed. But I also kept white Satins for my 4-H project (for meat pens), and American Fuzzy Lops to breed on a small scale.
After a couple years on those breeds, I got rid of the Satins when I started college in Arizona because I wasn't in 4-H anymore, and the Fuzzy Lops because I just didn't have time for their grooming demands.
I started going to ARBA shows in about 1991. At first, being a new breeder with only a few rabbits, like most new breeders, I didn't do very well. My dad then built me a barn that could easily hold 50 cages (not including overflow) while I was away at a summer music camp. More cage space meant I could have more rabbits. So, I bought some more stock from local Arizona breeders, and began developing my herd from there. Soon, I began to notice improvement.
After a little work (ok, a lot of work), I began winning at shows, both statewide and nationally. My biggest accomplishment would be winning Best of Breed at the 1995 ARBA National Convention (youth) in Louisville, KY with a rabbit I bred and raised - "BBB's Chubby Checker" #TUCK (pictured with me below). Also, that year, I was the HLRSC (Holland Lop Rabbit Specialty Club) top youth breeder for the year.
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Since Fall of 1997, I have been showing in the Open division in partnership with my mom. My husband has also caught the "bug" for raising show rabbits too! I'm glad he's taken an interest in the hobby, and supports my rabbit habit!
