We have raised French Angora rabbits for a couple of years. They are sweet, fluffy and produce great fertilizer for our gardens. We have also harvested their soft fiber for future sales and projects.
A few months ago, we had an unfortunate incident where one of our dogs broke into their containment and killed all but one of our rabbits. We were left with Bugs as our only rabbit. Bugs was born from Lucky, our original lilac buck that died of old age, and Houdini, a lilac doe who died in the dog incident.
We had to make a decision. We could keep Bugs as a pet (he is a great rabbit!), we could sell Bugs, or we could find Bugs a friend and restart our rabbit setup. The rabbits have never been a huge money maker on our property. Despite this realistic view, I simply enjoy having and caring for them. We decided to find Bugs a lady-friend.
Finding a French Angora doe wasn't as easy as it sounds. It turns out that there aren't many rabbits of this particular breed available in my area. After a long search and a two-and-half-hour drive, we found Blue.
She is a sweet and friendly blue doe. Her color is a bit darker than Bugs' lilac but I think they can make beautiful bunnies.
Then, we ran into a problem...
Of all the animals that I have been around and raised, rabbits have been the most difficult to determine the sex, especially when they are small. The breeder that we purchased Blue from was very careful to help us verify that she was a female.
We soon discovered that our original determination of Bugs' gender was false. I realized that despite the combings and care that we take with our rabbits, I don't spend a lot of time looking at their undercarriages. Once we (falsely) determined the gender of Bugs, we never bothered to verify it at a later time. Although looking back, I should have known something was amiss when Bugs kept her room and fur much cleaner than her daddy.
So, we now have a female lilac named Lady-Bugs and a female blue named Blue. The hunt is on for a suitable French Angora buck to help us make beautiful, furry babies!