BY BARBARA RADER
Staff Correspondent
Tomorrow, children around the
world will be celebrating Easter.
Among the traditions that mark
this special holiday, is the hunting
of brightly painted Easter eggs
and baskets stuffed with chocolate
candies, jelly beans, stuffed toys
and perhaps a live, cuddly baby
bunny.
Rabbit raisers will see their
commodity sell at its peak, as
children exclaim to parents, “Oh,
mommy, can I have that one?” or
“Ah, isn’t he cute! ” These phrases
are heard over and over again as
Audrey Thomas, Butler, takes her
4-H’ers to the Butler Mall to
merchandise their product.
As a well-informed veteran in
the rabbit business, Audrey can
competently field all the questions
she gets about rabbits. She has had
rabbits nearly all her life. Her
children had rabbits when they
were little, but phased out of them
as they grew. However, once
Audrey’s children had kids
themselves, the rabbits came back
and have remained ever since.
Since 1972 Audrey and her
husband, Bob, have been showing
and raising rabbits under the name
Pant & Puff Hutchery. They’ve
raised many varieties of rabbits,
but say the Flemish Giants are
their first love.
About eight years ago Angoras
entered the couple’s hutchery. The
Thomases currently have around
100 Angoras and the same number
of Flemish Giants. A few mini lops
and Dutch have found their way
into the hutchery as well.
Since rabbits of each breed come
m a variety of colors, the
Thomases usually have ah seven
colors of the Flemish Giants and
several colors of Angoras.
“Easter bunnies are mor^than
just pets,” Audrey stresses. The
combination is food, fur, fancy and
fellowship—the four F’s.
“All rabbits provide fellowship
no matter what breed they are,”
she said, explaining that there are
about 40 distinctive breeds of
rabbits recognized by the
American Rabbit Breeders
Association.
“Fancy” she explained, are
rabbits that meet the standards set
by ARBA to compete in shows.
Various classes for all the different
Audrey Thomas holds an English Angora rabbit and spins.
The rabbits in front from left are a Flemish Giant, Red Satin,
and a Mini Lop with three of her babies. Behind her shelves
hold just some of the many plaques and trophies she and her
husband, Bob, have won.
breeds have standards to meet.
Usually four classes per breed are
shown, consisting of senior does,
senior bucks, junior does and
junior bucks.
Rabbits weighing 10 pounds or
more are broken into a six class
breed. The classes consist of six
months and under; six to eight
months; and rabbits eight and
over, with separate classes for
does and bucks.
The most popular meat rabbit
breeds come from the six class
breeds; however, smaller rabbits
do supply meat.
Domestic rabbits are a perfect
food for dieters and for folks who
must watch their cholesterol in
take, Audrey explained. Rabbit
meat contains a lot of protein and
less cholestrol than most other
meats.
The final “F” that Audrey at
tributed to rabbits is fur, which is
used for clothing and novelty
items. Angora rabbits are the only
breed that do not bear fur; they
wear a coat of wool. The Angora
wool is usually brushed or plucked
out, Audrey explained. Keeping
the pen and the rabbit clean is the
most important aspect getting top
quality Angora wool.
The wool is usually spun without
being cleaned first, so people
generally aren’t allergic to it, she
said. People who are allergic to
wool are usually reacting to the
cleaning aids and detergents used
to prepare commercial wool.
Spun Angora is becoming in
creasingly available in stores, and
is used mostly for clothing trim
mings. There are two kinds of
rabbit wool the English Angora
and French Angora. The English
makes a fluffier and softer wool
than the French, while the latter
breed carries more of a guard hair.
This makes the wool a little coarse,
but it is still very soft.
The English Angora rabbits can
be distinguished from the French
Angoras by the wool tassels on the
tips of their ears and toes. The
French rabbits have no wool past
the first knuckle on their front feet
and they have clean ears with no
bangs.
Rabbit wool spun into yarn
usually sells for about $7 to $l4 per
ounce, Audrey said. Articles made
from rabbit wool are lighter and
seven tunes warmer than those
Cuddly Easter
/
are more than
made from lambs wool.
Much rabbit wool is used with
sheep wool or other yarns when
made into garments or trimmings.
Most of the rabbit wool is used in
trimmings rather than complete
garments because of its expense.
Audrey spins her rabbit wool
using her own spinning wheel,
loom, and carding machine. She
took her wheel to the Butler County
Fair last July, hoping to catch up
on her spinning during the week.
Her 4-H’ers were intrigued by her
spinning and decided that they’d
like to try it themselves.
Their interest sparked the
beginning of the Cottontail
Twisters 4-H Club. Nine of the
youngsters traveled with two other
Butler County spinning and
weaving groups to enter the Sheep
to Shawl Contest at the Penn
sylvania Farm Show.
Under Audrey’s guidance, these
members made a scarf from sheep
wool. They learn to spin on sheep
wool first because it is heavier and
easier to work with than rabbit
wool.
Audrey has joined her resources
and talents with those of another
woman to form to form “Bunny
Hugs,” a small, home business.
They specialize in Angora wool,
raw wool, spun wool, and
crocheted and knitted wool gar
ments. They attend a few craft
shows to promote and market their
items.
She has also found time in her
busy schedule for another 4-H club.
The Butler County Cottontails 4-H
Rabbit Club was formed nine years
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This English Angora rabbit is surrounded by items made of rabbit's wool. The items
are knitted and crocheted by "Bunny Hugs."
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bunnies
just
pets
ago with Audrey being the sole
leader. With as many as 60
children in the club at one tune,
she broke them down into three
age groups, so she would have
three meetings instead of just one
a month.
More recently the three groups
have been meeting together
because their projects are similar.
The actual project is to have two
does and a buck and raise two
litters of bunnies to merchandise.
Most projects are with pedigreed
animals.
When the club started the 4-H'ers
needed a place to exhibit their
projects. Audrey stepped in and
arranged for both 4-H and open
show competition at the Big Butler
Fair and at the Butler Farm Show.
This talented lady is also an
active member of the Pitt
sburg/Butler Babbitry
Association, where she has served
as the show secretary for the last
eight years. This year’s two-day
double show, held last weekend,
brought in well over 1,500 entries
from Pennsylvania. Ohio, New
York and Virginia.
The Thomases travel to many
states to compete for premium
honors. Their home is decorated
with plaques, trophies and other
special mementos from local
shows and National ARBA Con
vention shows.
Audrey offers the following
advice to children who receive
little bunnies in their Easter
baskets. “One thing that kills most
Easter bunnies is rough handling
and the wrong feed," she says.
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“The best rule is to remember to
feed no greens. Root crops can be
fed, but without tops. Plenty of
good pellets and hay with fresh
water at all times will excel their
daily diets,” she explained. Treats
such as gram cereals, fruit treats
and Oreo’s are a favorite in
preference to greens, and are fine
if used correctly, she said.
Responsible handling is also a
must. “Never, never pick them up
by their ears. Get their feet onto
something secure as quickly as
possible,” she recommended. In
most cases, she continued, they
should be picked up by the loose
skin on the back of their heads,
with the opposite hand supporting
their back legs.
The rex breeds should be han
dled differently because their fur is
very much like velvet. Handling
becomes a major chore so as not to
endanger their fur, she said.
Housing is an important factor
which is sometimes neglected.
Rabbits should have a pen that is
protected from direct wind and
sun. Good sanitation is essential to
keep the pen clean.
Bunnies do make good house
pets, and can be easily litter
trained when kept in a confined
area with a litter box for a short
period of time. But beware,
Audrey warned, rabbits like to
chew on wires.
So if you receive a cuddly,
floppy-eared surprise in your
Easter basket, take the advice of a
woman who knows rabbits •
“Your treatment of rabbits makes
them what they are. ”
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