Northern California Angora Guild: 2/23/25

Raising Bunnies Inside My Home

People marvel how tame and calm my English Angora rabbits are. They are "trained" from day one for the last 40 plus years. When the doe is due, a maternity ward is set up inside our house. The mama rabbit gets used to the comings and goings of daily routines. I hope to see the babies born, 24 hours around the clock I am on baby watch, even getting up every 2 hours to check.

When babies are born, I handle and check on them immediately. Bunnies get used to human touch and mama rabbit learns to trust me.

Kitties Bao Bao and Bei Bei watch the mama rabbit and babies.

Would I be worried about cats being too curious and potentially destructive? Yes, I do. I keep a watchful eye on cats and rabbits/bunnies. They need to learn that they are family and be good to each other.

Babies are handled and checked everyday.

When bunnies are old enough to jump out of nestbox, they go into a large carrier with a little "bed".

They learn to drink from a water bottle.

They learn to have treats in addition to the regular rabbit pellets. Notice a piece of wheat bread at the top of the photo?

I prepare two large carriers, one for the bunnies to live in and the other to be used and cleaned on alternate days. And there is a basket on the top of the carrier, what for?

By then their mama rabbit is back to her condo in the barn, the basket is used to carry the bunnies to the barn to visit mama and to get nursed.

Here are the curious but very calm bunnies.

Friends at Shows

Going to shows is not just for competition, it's also a chance to catch up with old friendship and make new friends. Casey and Betty are so happy to see Gabe who was into the French Angora but no longer involved. Without rabbits, Gabe is a rare sight in rabbit shows.

Betty and Scott are old friends for over 35 years. Scott was a youth and Betty was a middle aged but young at heart woman. Now Betty is an oldie but still young at heart while Scott is on the top of his game being a in-demand judge and an ARBA district director.

Adding Chris into the photo of old friends. Chris and Betty started in rabbits around the same time, now well into more than 4 decades. Scott is a baby comparing to the two old ladies.

Dara with her friends. Dara was a kid when her mom Trina started showing English Lops. Now Dara has her own family and children and English Lops.

Betty and Teresa made friends when Betty adopted Bao Bao and Bei Bei from Teresa at the Merced Fairgounds. Teresa is the Big Boss at the Merced Fairgrounds, but she is as down to earth as anyone. She takes care of the Fairground business but still have time to care for the feral cats. Bao Bao and Bei Bei were so lucky to have her looking after them and found a home with Betty.

The best friends of Betty, Casey and Carol. We always have the best time when we see each other with or without rabbits in our arms.

Another "I know you since you were a kid" friend! Paul was a preteen when he met Betty, look at how much bigger he is than Betty.

Fun Illustrations

There is a site selling all sorts of stuff with dog and cat images with personalized options. It's fun to play with it. It'd be nice if there are options with rabbits but unfortunately not.

Casey has several cats, the one stays inside and with the most fun is Felix who made the decision to join Casey's family.

Betty has two cats, both white, short hair and fat; they are littermate brothers Bao Bao and Bei Bei born at the Merced Fairgrounds.

Carolyn has a long hair tabby named Princess Fallyn who came to join Carolyn and Earl. Princess Fallyn knows how to wrap Carolyn and Earl on her little paws.

Carol is the coolest one! Carol has the two office assisstants Boo and Dallas, they are the Miniature American Shepherd. Boo and Dallas stay inside with Carol while the kitty cats Smoky and Bandit stay with rabbits.