The Rabbits at Dream Catcher Ranchito

On the Ranch

Take one look at the domestic rabbit, and you will understand its appeal. Recognize it is an animal that thrives almost anywhere, is inexpensive to procure and easy to maintain. Add its legendary prolificicy, unmatched cleanliness, and stedfast refusal to bark at the moon at midnight or crow at the neighbors at 6 a.m. Consider, above all, its versatility and you will readily comprehend the rabbit's perennial popularity.

Reasons to Have a Rabbit

The domestic rabbit produced in backyards and rabbitries is mighty good to eat, or you might be one of the fanciers who love to show rabbits across the U.S. Then there is the accommodating rabbit who also serves in daily medical research and sometimes as mittens, muffs, angora sweaters and coats However, one of the main reasons may be that you're a gardener and you love their manure! The manure boasts unique proprieties that that benefits trees, shrubs, flowers and vegetables alike. Some gardeners raise them for no other reason.

Rabbit History

So what do you know about the rabbit? The rabbit was domesticated several centuries ago. It might have happened first if Africa, Spain, Belgium or Rome depending upon which report you read. It is said that wild rabbits were used for food in Asia at least 3,000 years ago. Geologist claim to have proven that rabbits are the oldest known living mammals and date back 30-40 million years. Ancient Spanish caves contain paintings of rabbits. A sphinx built in Turkey in 1500 B.C. has been standing on the figures of two rabbits for more that 3,500 years!

Rabbit Trivia

The Easter Bunny legend originated with the Teutons, an ancient Germanic tribe. According to one account, a goddess changed a bird into a rabbit, and the rabbit was understandably so appreciated of this metamorphosis that when the goddess scheduled her spring festival, the Lagomorph laid colored eggs for the occasion. Imagine a rabbit that could lay eggs. It boggles the mind!

Why Rabbits?

As a young girl growing up in Wisconsin, I, like many children, received a bunny, maybe not every year, but every couple years for Easter. I was the little girl in the neighborhood that would stroll down the street, pushing my bunny in my baby carriage. People would ask, little girl, what do you have in your carriage? I would proudly lift the cover and show them my 13 pound rabbit!

So my answer to the question, Why Rabbits? I'm coming back home to where I left off and finding a new path with the rabbits that are now in my care. Life is a journey, and the Ranch proves that every day.