Fisher Brook Rabbitry
Once upon a time there was a young girl and two little rabbits....
Summer & Rabbits
Heat Kills Rabbits!
It is critical that rabbits be kept in a well shaded, well ventilated area during the hot summer months. Keep your rabbits out of the direct summer sun at all times. Rabbits become overheated very easily and can die in a matter of hours. If you keep your rabbits indoors remember that power failures or rotating black outs can kill a rabbit kept indoors very quickly if it is hot outside.
Several ways you can keep your rabbits cool during the hot summer months include:
- Frozen 2 liter soda bottles - anytime temps are expected to exceed 80 degrees, put a frozen 2 liter bottle of water in the cage with your rabbit. If over 100 use a 3 liter bottle if you can get them.
- Adding ice cubes to your rabbits drinking water - Rabbits will not drink hot water so can become dehydrated quickly if their water is not cooled.
- Fans or swamp coolers - If you run fans or swamp coolers for your rabbits, be sure to direct the air flow above or below the cage, not directly on the rabbit. Use vinegar in swamp coolers to prevent the growth of a bacteria that can make rabbits sick.
- Misters - Misters are another way to cool the air around your rabbit. You don’t want to get the rabbits wet but just cool the air around them with the mist.
Use extra caution at summer shows! Too often our experience has been that summertime is no time for a rabbit show. Often the buildings used for shows at fairgrounds are intended for larger livestock and are just are not set up to be cooled sufficiently for the heat sensitive rabbit.
If you do choose to attend a summer show we recommend the following:
- Make sure your air conditioner in your vehicle works.
- Take an ice chest with ice and frozen water bottles.
- Take as large a fan as you can or multiple smaller fans.
- Pay only for Show A not Shows A & B, that or be prepared to forfeit your fees you paid for Show B if you decide to leave due to the heat and your concern for the well being of your rabbits. Sadly our experience is that too many clubs putting on summer shows consider their own financial benefit first.
About Fisher Brook Rabbitry
Fisher Brook Rabbitry is co-owned by mother-daughter breeders Katheryn & Andrea Fisher. We are located northwest of Oklahoma City, in Enid, Oklahoma.
What began as Andrea's FFA project with a Black Mini Rex doe and a Chocolate Mini Rex buck, soon became a small hobby based mother-daughter rabbitry. We do hope to see our rabbitry grow beyond our current stock however we will still remain a small rabbitry by some breeder's standards. Of course that just means our rabbits will get the love and attention which will allow them to be as happy and healthy as they can be. We are after all doing this because we love rabbits. So while we do try to take a professional approach in what we do we also place the well-being of our rabbits first. Excellent health, good environment, good temperament, and adhearance to the ARBA standard are what we strive for.
We specialize in Mini Rex with our focus being on the self (solid colors) in Black, Blue, Chocolate and Lilac and the Otter varieties. Our specialty is the Chocolate and Otter-Chocolate varieties. We find their size and temperament make the Mini Rex very enjoyable to breed, raise, and show and also make them very desirable as pets. We do breed on a small scale so often have young rabbits to sell that are suitable for show rabbits, breeding programs or for family pets. If we do not have what you are looking for in a rabbit either by breed or variety, we will do what we can to help you locate a breeder who does have what you are looking for.
You can ALWAYS ask us questions about rabbits. We will do our best to answer your questions or we will refer you to someone who can. We try to make this site informative by sharing our own experiences and by offering links to the sites of those with more experience than ourselves. We do not consider ourselves experts because every day with these beautiful creatures is a learning experience.
We hope you will visit the other pages on our website and return often as we try to update our site frequently.
Last Update: August 3, 2008
A Little Mini Rex History
The Mini Rex Breed of domestic rabbit traces it’s history back to a pair of dwarf Rex rabbits won by Mona Berryhill, of Texas, that had been donated by Marylouise Cowan at the 1984 ARBA Convention in Orlando, Florida. The little buck from this pair, named Zoro, was later paired with a small Lynx Rex doe named Cotton. They produced a litter of 7 kits who were named after the seven dwarfs from the story Snow White. Three does from this litter became the foundation for the Mini Rex Breed.
In 1986 at the ARBA Convention in Columbus, Ohio, Mona Berryhill, presented the Castor Mini Rex to the ARBA Standards Committee who approved the working standard for the Mini Rex rabbit. The 1989 ARBA Convention in Tulsa, Oklahoma saw a the first official convention entry of the Mini Rex Breed. Mona and Ken Berryhill, took both Best of Breed and Best of Show with a pair of Castor Mini Rex. Since then the Mini Rex has continued to be a favorite breed of domestic rabbit, loved by both breeders and pet lovers alike. There are currently at least 15 varieties of Mini Rex recognized by the American Rabbit Breeders Association, and other new vairieties being developed by breeders, giving fanciers of the breed a lot of choice.
The 6 varieties of Mini Rex we raise were accepted by the American Rabbit Breeders Association at the following ARBA conventions:
- 1988 Blue
- 1992 Black
- 1992 Chocolate
- 1995 Lilac
- 2005 Otter (Includes: Otter-Black, Otter-Blue, Otter-Chocolate, & Otter-Lilac)
- 1988 Red
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