Welcome!!
Welcome to the Silver Desert Rabbitry official website!
We raise quality New Zealands and Belgian Hares just north of Reno, NV as a family operation. We have been a member with 4-H for almost 10 years now and joined the American Rabbit Breeders Association (ARBA) in 2010. All of our stock is pedigreed and most all are registered with the ARBA. We are a fairly small rabbitry, but we have a big heart for what we do!
Below I will elaborate on my rabbitry some more. Enjoy!
We raise quality New Zealands and Belgian Hares just north of Reno, NV as a family operation. We have been a member with 4-H for almost 10 years now and joined the American Rabbit Breeders Association (ARBA) in 2010. All of our stock is pedigreed and most all are registered with the ARBA. We are a fairly small rabbitry, but we have a big heart for what we do!
Below I will elaborate on my rabbitry some more. Enjoy!
About Our Breeds
I have raised a few breeds before really getting into the New Zealands and Belgians. I started out raising Mini Rex, then I went on to raise Champagne d'Argents, Thriantas, Satins, Rhinelanders, and Flemish Giants. Somewhere between all of those breeds, I got my first breeding pair of New Zealand Reds. I bred them, got a few litters, and decided I liked them. I had also always had a love for Belgian Hares even though I had never seen one in real life until the 2013 West Coast Classic show. There, I got my first pair of Belgians. Since then, I have decided to raise New Zealands and Belgian Hares.
I chose the New Zealand Red to start raising because it gave me a challenge. There are not very many Reds in my area that are good quality. I just got lucky that I started with good lines. My first New Zealand buck, Portlock's Wildfire, won 12 BOBs and 2 Legs in his first show season. He then went on to sire amazing babies. So far, with Wildfire's decedents, I have won many BOBs, also beating out the Whites, Blacks, and Brokens. I just recently decided to get into the Broken Reds after I picked up a Broken Red doe from a local breeder.
My lines for my NZs consist of Manuel's, Tisher's, Snavley's, Rose Red's, and Portlock's.
Just for further reference, I have thrown some Red Satin into my lines to improve color, coat quality, and body type. Some of my rabbits are a little smaller than they should be because they have smaller bone mass, but I am working on getting the bigger bone mass back into my Reds. They are still very high in the placings in the NZ classes.
I chose to raise Belgian Hares for three reasons: 1) because they are a very beautiful, graceful creature with a very unique personality, 2) because they are a challenging breed, and 3) because I wanted to bring a new and different breed into my area. I have not been raising Belgians for very long, but they will soon be as good as my New Zealands. So far, I have gotten several BOBs with both my buck and doe. And I tell you what, it is a sight to see when the judges around this area try to judge the Belgian because they have never had to handle such a unique breed.
I chose the New Zealand Red to start raising because it gave me a challenge. There are not very many Reds in my area that are good quality. I just got lucky that I started with good lines. My first New Zealand buck, Portlock's Wildfire, won 12 BOBs and 2 Legs in his first show season. He then went on to sire amazing babies. So far, with Wildfire's decedents, I have won many BOBs, also beating out the Whites, Blacks, and Brokens. I just recently decided to get into the Broken Reds after I picked up a Broken Red doe from a local breeder.
My lines for my NZs consist of Manuel's, Tisher's, Snavley's, Rose Red's, and Portlock's.
Just for further reference, I have thrown some Red Satin into my lines to improve color, coat quality, and body type. Some of my rabbits are a little smaller than they should be because they have smaller bone mass, but I am working on getting the bigger bone mass back into my Reds. They are still very high in the placings in the NZ classes.
I chose to raise Belgian Hares for three reasons: 1) because they are a very beautiful, graceful creature with a very unique personality, 2) because they are a challenging breed, and 3) because I wanted to bring a new and different breed into my area. I have not been raising Belgians for very long, but they will soon be as good as my New Zealands. So far, I have gotten several BOBs with both my buck and doe. And I tell you what, it is a sight to see when the judges around this area try to judge the Belgian because they have never had to handle such a unique breed.
Our Set-up
We have a combination of outdoor wooden hutches and all wire stacking cages. Most of our wooden hutches house our Belgians because of their size. They are about 3'x3' and they have a solid bottom made of carpet and slatted stress mats or wood with slatted stress mats. They are also much taller than the stacking cages so the Belgians have room to stand up and move around better. The all wire stacking cages (and a few smaller wood hutches) house our New Zealands. We have standard 28"x34" stacking cages. The New Zealands don't need quite as much room as the Belgians do because they are not a running breed.
Right now, we have 2 locations for the rabbits. In the winter, the wood hutches are moved into the horse barn to keep them out of the severe weather and cold that we get here in Northern Nevada. The 10 ton of hay that surrounds the cages provides extra heat. We move the stacking cages into our big shed we mainly use for horse tack. In the summer, all the cages get moved out to the back of the house. The stacking cages get tarpped, of course, to protect them from summer rain showers. We are fixing to build a lean-two shed for the stacking cages with a summer cooling system later on.
Right now, we have 2 locations for the rabbits. In the winter, the wood hutches are moved into the horse barn to keep them out of the severe weather and cold that we get here in Northern Nevada. The 10 ton of hay that surrounds the cages provides extra heat. We move the stacking cages into our big shed we mainly use for horse tack. In the summer, all the cages get moved out to the back of the house. The stacking cages get tarpped, of course, to protect them from summer rain showers. We are fixing to build a lean-two shed for the stacking cages with a summer cooling system later on.