2nd qtr 2023

MARK CHARLES
nmrrcd6director@gmail.com
Alabama - Georgia - Florida - Louisiana - Mississippi -
March 2023
Hello everyone,
We are really looking forward to Ohio! It has been way
too long since we visited with our bunny family.
Everything seems to be quiet with the club right now.
We do have a new board member that will be joining us
shortly…please take a few moments and make them feel
welcome.
I have thought and thought about what a good topic for
this article would be. We haven’t attended many shows
lately so I really had nothing to report from that end.
The weather in our area has been fairly mild so that was
a moot point for us.
Then a few days ago we had to make one of the hardest
decisions there is to make when you own livestock.
When to know they have reached the point where their
quality of life is just not there. It becomes a decision
that can break your heart.
Sometimes you just have to do what is best for the rabbit
even when you would very much prefer they stay with
you…as selfish as it may seem. It is never easy to make
that call but sometimes they just let you know. We truly
love our rabbits and do everything that is in our power to
take the very best care of them we possibly can. In the
end though we try not to become too attached to any one
individual rabbit unless they have earned a long term
spot in our barn. In this case it was one of those special
ones, Kings Bluebell. When we made the decision to
begin raising and showing mini rex again we reached out
to Doug King. Needless to say, he helped us with no
hesitation to begin to rebuild our Castor breeding
program. Kings Bluebell ended up being one of the
most instrumental bucks in our herd, he not only was
one of the most personable bucks in our barn, but he was
also ALWAYS ready to breed and if we trace most of
the bunnies in our barn now, he is in there somewhere.
When we were missing a piece of the puzzle in almost
any breeding we did, Bluebell could fix it. That being
said…his legacy will live on in our barn for many
generations to come.
Over the years we’ve learned that it is best not to get too
attached to our bunnies, breeding rabbits and culling to
improve your line go hand in hand. You will breed, you
will make mistakes, you will have injured rabbits, old
rabbits, sick rabbits and in the end, culling must be a part
of the process. In our experience, to do our jobs
properly as herd managers we must be somewhat
detached to make the decisions that have to be made to
keep our breeding program moving forward.
Everyone has a little different way of operating their
rabbitry, we love our animals and take the very best care
of them. That includes getting them the best quality
food we can even if we must ship it in. Just for FYI that
is no chump change I promise you. The rabbits have
given us so much enjoyment that it’s hard to describe,
they have given us a hobby we can enjoy together,
travels to places we never would have gone to and
friends and family all over this country that we could not
even have imagined and that would not be possible
without them. So, the bottom line is it’s okay to fall in
love with your rabbits but know that your heart is going
to be broken somewhere down the line.
Remember it takes all of us actively participating to keep
our hobby and club alive, if you can please volunteer for
leadership roles and help the local clubs with the
enormous job it is to put on a show.
Also, if you see a new breeder take the time to answer
questions, help them out, introduce them to the Mini Rex
club, remember we were all that NEW breeder at some
point in our journey.
Looking forward to seeing everyone in Ohio!
Blessings,
Mark
NMRRC Publication Quarter 2 April-May-June 2023
15