About TLG Rabbitry
TLG is located to Georgia, and is made up of my husband James and myself, Kathryn Dodd.
Our pet mini-rex doe, Wufei, died at the ripe old age of 9 in 2009, and by chance the ARBA Nationals were being held close to where we lived, a few months later. We decided to visit for a day to check out the various breeds of rabbits that were being shown there to see if we could find a new pet. However, much like Alice stepping through the Looking Glass, going to that rabbit show changed our lives...
At the show we fell in love with the Britannia Petites. An adorably cute, but sometimes feisty breed that weights about 2 lbs or less, and is not particularly common. Because we have also kept finches, and saw that Britannia Petites were small enough to fit comfortably in some of our spare cages, we purchased a pair. It didn't take long to realize how wonderful these little rabbits are, and soon sought out a few more to round out our herd. In April of 2010, we expanded our horizons to the amazingly patterned English Spots. Both are considered Running Breeds, but the Britannia (due to hyperactivity and an apparent tendency to jump off the show table) are not actually allowed to run when being judged.
The breeds are fairly different in personality and temperament as well. The Brits can be shy and skittish if not regularly handled, but are also quite strong minded, and if not used to people may opt to take the Fight route if Flight does not seem to be an option to them. But when they are well socialized (perhaps more so than some other rabbit breeds), that strong will becomes an endearing intelligent personality with a desire to play and explore. This is why we try to make certain that our show petites are well used to and comfortable with being picked up and held, as well as petted and given treats by hand. This allows them to associate people with a positive experience and brings out their inner charm. For our shyer ones, we still train them to take treats by hand or accept being petted, but forgo showing, because it can only stress them. For our friendlier non-showable colors, we we have started to harness train them, and hope to train them for Bunny Agility. Their smallness may be a disadvantage, but they like a bit of challenge and are active enough to potentially enjoy themselves which is the most important thing.
In 2012 we started working on 2 new breeds. The first are a complete departure from the full arched breeds, and a completely different experience for is. They are mini satins, which enticed us with their multi-purpose utility, and that fantastic shiny fur. We started out with whites, but quickly progressed into a range of appealing colors bred for meat, show, and fur. The second is still in progress, but we are working towards Belgian Hares. The reason we strayed into rabbit shows in the first place. Please check back often as we update our progress on this wonderful rare breed.
Our pet mini-rex doe, Wufei, died at the ripe old age of 9 in 2009, and by chance the ARBA Nationals were being held close to where we lived, a few months later. We decided to visit for a day to check out the various breeds of rabbits that were being shown there to see if we could find a new pet. However, much like Alice stepping through the Looking Glass, going to that rabbit show changed our lives...
At the show we fell in love with the Britannia Petites. An adorably cute, but sometimes feisty breed that weights about 2 lbs or less, and is not particularly common. Because we have also kept finches, and saw that Britannia Petites were small enough to fit comfortably in some of our spare cages, we purchased a pair. It didn't take long to realize how wonderful these little rabbits are, and soon sought out a few more to round out our herd. In April of 2010, we expanded our horizons to the amazingly patterned English Spots. Both are considered Running Breeds, but the Britannia (due to hyperactivity and an apparent tendency to jump off the show table) are not actually allowed to run when being judged.
The breeds are fairly different in personality and temperament as well. The Brits can be shy and skittish if not regularly handled, but are also quite strong minded, and if not used to people may opt to take the Fight route if Flight does not seem to be an option to them. But when they are well socialized (perhaps more so than some other rabbit breeds), that strong will becomes an endearing intelligent personality with a desire to play and explore. This is why we try to make certain that our show petites are well used to and comfortable with being picked up and held, as well as petted and given treats by hand. This allows them to associate people with a positive experience and brings out their inner charm. For our shyer ones, we still train them to take treats by hand or accept being petted, but forgo showing, because it can only stress them. For our friendlier non-showable colors, we we have started to harness train them, and hope to train them for Bunny Agility. Their smallness may be a disadvantage, but they like a bit of challenge and are active enough to potentially enjoy themselves which is the most important thing.
In 2012 we started working on 2 new breeds. The first are a complete departure from the full arched breeds, and a completely different experience for is. They are mini satins, which enticed us with their multi-purpose utility, and that fantastic shiny fur. We started out with whites, but quickly progressed into a range of appealing colors bred for meat, show, and fur. The second is still in progress, but we are working towards Belgian Hares. The reason we strayed into rabbit shows in the first place. Please check back often as we update our progress on this wonderful rare breed.
About Our Rabbits
Housing
All of our Petites are kept in cages ranging from 16x24 up to 18x30, depending on the individual animals. The older more sedate brits get a smaller size whereas the active youngsters and breeding does get larger cages. The younger brits love to run, and this gives them enough space to do so. They can often be seen kicking up their heels and bouncing around their cages just for the fun of it.
As it turns out, Mini Satins are not very active, and quite happy with an 18x24. They're very likely to snooze in between eating, lounging, and napping, being inclined to a much more sedate life.
The Belgian Hares, and our one Checkered Giant are much closer to the Petites in activity, and being much larger breeds get a minimum of 36x30 cages, and can go up as large as 4'x3'. They because of delicate feet on the hares, and the body weight of the Checkered, they all get large resting mats or fully solid floors with litter pans.
Enrichment
All of our rabbits are talked to, petted, played with and/or otherwise handled daily. Kits are socialized before and during weaning with lots of hands on time, and many of our rabbits will spend time with us on the couch or in a play pen when we're watching some TV. Every cage has at least one toy, a castle to climb in or on, or the occasional piece of unprinted cardboard to rip up.
Diet
Our diet is an ever evolving thing. We started out with one brand of feed and switched due to the level of dust, and high cost, and eventually landed on Penpals 15% complete rabbit feed as our base diet. Along with that, the rabbits get a hay cube to chew on or play with once or twice a week, or as needed to finish out a moult, and occasional supplements of rolled oats, calf manna, and/or black oil sunflower seeds. As a treat, or a training reward, we sometimes give a small handful of zupreem cockatiel pellets. They smell fruity and are clearly delicious because the rabbits love them!
All of our Petites are kept in cages ranging from 16x24 up to 18x30, depending on the individual animals. The older more sedate brits get a smaller size whereas the active youngsters and breeding does get larger cages. The younger brits love to run, and this gives them enough space to do so. They can often be seen kicking up their heels and bouncing around their cages just for the fun of it.
As it turns out, Mini Satins are not very active, and quite happy with an 18x24. They're very likely to snooze in between eating, lounging, and napping, being inclined to a much more sedate life.
The Belgian Hares, and our one Checkered Giant are much closer to the Petites in activity, and being much larger breeds get a minimum of 36x30 cages, and can go up as large as 4'x3'. They because of delicate feet on the hares, and the body weight of the Checkered, they all get large resting mats or fully solid floors with litter pans.
Enrichment
All of our rabbits are talked to, petted, played with and/or otherwise handled daily. Kits are socialized before and during weaning with lots of hands on time, and many of our rabbits will spend time with us on the couch or in a play pen when we're watching some TV. Every cage has at least one toy, a castle to climb in or on, or the occasional piece of unprinted cardboard to rip up.
Diet
Our diet is an ever evolving thing. We started out with one brand of feed and switched due to the level of dust, and high cost, and eventually landed on Penpals 15% complete rabbit feed as our base diet. Along with that, the rabbits get a hay cube to chew on or play with once or twice a week, or as needed to finish out a moult, and occasional supplements of rolled oats, calf manna, and/or black oil sunflower seeds. As a treat, or a training reward, we sometimes give a small handful of zupreem cockatiel pellets. They smell fruity and are clearly delicious because the rabbits love them!
About the Artwork
The Artwork in the banner on some of the pages here is a portion of the larger painting below. It depicts Alice drinking tea with the March Hare, who is actually an English Spot, who (being mad) thinks he is the French General Napoleon. The artwork was created by Kathryn Dodd, and it, and more in the series may be seen on http://KathrynDodd.weebly.com