Had a NZ White male when I was 3 years old!!

by Elaine M. Hasenkamp
(Lindsay, CA - just 63 miles N of Bakersfield, CA)

When I was about 3 or 4 years old, now I am almost 60, I had a New Zealand White male as a pet. I named him "Billy" but of course, at that stage in my life, every pet was named "Billy!!" The dog, a beef steer, etc. I would put my rabbit in a clutch purse that my mother gave to me. He didn't flinch when I put him in it and zippered him in. I would play for hours with him. Mom and Dad sold him, because they got out of the rabbit business and went into the puppy business.


I also had a NZ white female that I got, back in 1994. She had one litter of kits for me, but none of them lived. So, I traded her for a cat, which was even sillier than the rabbit.

This rabbit - named Sissy, was kept in the house, and she mentally adopted one of our male cats, who was almost grown. She would eat with him, lay around him, and she just loved him, for some reason. He would get on my bed, and here she would come, jumping up on the bed, to be near him. A lot of times, he looked like he was saying, "Help me!!"

I don't know if breeding her to a Silver Satin-Cottontail cross male rabbit caused the kits to die, but I know that this female wasn't a good mother. But, she was a lovely pet. I didn't want to birth any more babies, so I gave her up to a lady who wanted to get rid of a cat. My daughter was the cat lover of the family, and I was the bunny lover. Still am. You have a wonderful website, and I have learned a lot. I knew that there was NZ whites and blacks, but not the reds. See, at almost 60, I learned something new!!!

Thanks for the great website, and I have saved your website in my favorites.

***** Karen Sez *****
Great story! Glad you like our site.

I'm very curious about the Satin-cottontail cross male rabbit you mention, as I was under the belief that cottontails and domestic rabbits could not interbreed successfully. Was the cottontail a new-world wild rabbit or simply another domestic rabbit?? Do you know?

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Jan 21, 2012
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by: Elaine Hasenkamp

Hello Karen-I rescued 4 rabbits, 3 males and one female, which was named-Ajax-a Silver satin male, Moe-a black lop earred male, CB-for Chicken Bunny-who was the Satin-Cotton tail cross, and Sissy, who was the New Zealand female-from some people who were going to kill and eat them.

I don't have the foggiest idea if CB was crossed with a Cotton Tail rabbit, as he looked like a Cotton Tail rabbit, but had a little bit of the silver in his fur, from the Silver Satin breed. I think the people might have raised a Cotton Tail rabbit as a pet, which, being a farm girl, is hard to do, cause usually, they starve themselves to death, if the mother rabbit is not there, feeding them. I gave him away-CB-in 1995,' hutch and all, to someone from Delia, KS, as she wanted a pet for her daughter. So, my ex-boyfriend and a neighbor guy hoisted the hutch and all up on the back of her pick-up and CB went down the road.

I also had another CB, later, that was Chocolate Bunny, cause he was a Chocolate or Cinnamon Satin male. Pretty as a picture. But, my fave rabbits was Pee Wee a cat yellow spotted and white Spotted Giant breed male.

I always let my rabbits have run time, or play time for about an hour a day. When Pee Wee was out, I would go to the bathroom, usually wearing slacks, and he would come in there, and check what was on the inside of my pulled down slacks. He was gentle, and easy to catch, when I had to put him back in the cage. He also had a bad habit of tossing off the three stuff toy bunnies on the lower shelf of the tv shelving unit. Then, when he has the three bunnies off of the shelf unit, he would lay down and stretch out on the hard wood.

I had to give up my bunnies, cause I was moving, at the time.

The last bunny, I got for my birthday in 1999,' and had her for about a year. Her name was Patches, and she was half regular sized Dutch and half dwarf Dutch. What a mix, but she was kind of compact in size. Her momma was a regular sized dutch, and was blue grey in color. Her dad, of course, the dwarf, was tan dutch, so she was mostly the blue grey dutch with a very large white jacket on. She had 4 squares of fur, on her haunches, that looked like the Lord just plastered the two colors on her, there. So, ie. the name Patches. I gave her away in June of 2000,' to a no kill small animal shelter in Topeka, KS, cause I was going on a trip to CA. She got adopted right after she came to the shelter, tho.

I would get a rabbit, now, but for me, being disabled as I am, I cannot take care of a rabbit, so I collect figurines, now. Or bunny toys. Plus, in the complex here in Lindsay, CA-there's a
$200 deposite for a pet, and I just can't afford that much money for a pet.

Thanks for reading, Hugs-Elaine from Lindsay, CA

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