Friends       and       Relations Rabbitry

    Hello and welcome to Friends-and-Relations Rabbitry. My name is Cristina Strube.

Friends-and-Relations is currently only a small operation with one breeding pair, though I hope to expand in the future. I breed Angora rabbits. There are 5 breeds of Angora (4 recognized by ARBA) but Friends-and-Relations has only French Angora. All Angora are fiber rabbits; their wool can be spun into yarn. French Angora can be distinguished from the others by their short-furred heads, medium body mass, and a lack of ear tufts and shiny fur. Currently all my rabbits are Ruby Eyed White, or albino, but I plan to add other colors in the future. Every rabbit I sell comes with a pedigree. They are all handled from birth to make them as suitable for pet life as possible. Rabbits are $90 each unless otherwise specified.

 

    Now I will tell you a little about how the rabbitry got started. Ever since I can remember, I have loved animals and wanted to work with them. Now that I am in high school I have entered the agriculture program, which automatically made me a member of FFA.

All students in FFA must have an agricultural project called a Supervised Agricultural Experience (SAE), and that is what my rabbitry is. For an SAE I knew I didn't want to grow any  plants - honestly I just find them boring. I wanted to do animals, but most weren't even options. A cow would monopolise my parents' back field, and we have no shelter for a sheep, goat, or pig. We didn't need any more chickens. I knew that rabbits were the easest livestock to raise, but I held back at first. If my grandfather, raised on a farm, couldn't slaughter rabbits, then I most definitely couldn't. Then my mom had the brilliant idea of raising fiber rabbits because you can make use of their fur without hurting them -  and so the idea of my own angora rabbitry was born. I got two unrelated angora kits, and when they were old enough to breed, registered my rabbitry. I named it Friends-and-Relations after "Rabbit, and all his friends-and-relations" from Winnie the Pooh. So here I am. Just because it is a school project doesn't mean I am any less serious than other rabbitry owners. It is a real business, and my rabbits are like my little kids (with their own little kids in tow). Goodbye for now; I hope to see you adding a French Angora rabbit to your home!