For those who find it interesting, here is the history of Laughing Lapins located in Greeley, Colorado.
I got my first rabbit when I was 12, he was a Blue Netherland Dwarf. I was drawn to these rabbits because they did not look like “normal rabbits”, for example, Beatrix Potter’s Peter Rabbit, or Joel Chandler Harris’ The Classic Tales of Brer Rabbit. In my eyes, Netherland Dwarfs were the perfect pocket rabbit! And yes, I carried mine in the patch pockets of my dress, until he was too big to fit. That little buck was my favorite, super friendly and very personable; in fact, to this day, I subconsciously judge any buck’s personality against his before I buy. Unfortunately, due to improper handling while getting tattooed at the county fair, his back was broken. To make matters worse, all I got from the overseeing adults were excuses, cold apologies, and comments on how I shouldn’t be so attached to a rabbit anyway. In the end, I lost my little buck.
My first experience with raising rabbits came when my family was given a pair of pet quality, Mini Lops and an American Fuzzy Lop doe. I enjoyed raising the babies, socializing them, and learning all I could on proper care of rabbits. It was at that time, I chose the breeds I liked and hoped to raise. I also determined that when I did get to raise these rabbits, they would be the calmest rabbits around. Rabbits, especially Netherland Dwarfs, are not known to be calm. Friendly, but not calm. Therefore, it became my goal to raise the calmest, most friendly Netherland Dwarfs possible. It wan’t till I joined 4-H several years later, that I had the desire to try showing rabbits. I had been soured on showing because of my experience, with my first Netherland Dwarf. So after making sure that the there would be someone who knew how to tattoo rabbits and choosing a larger rabbit, I decided to show. For my first show rabbit, I chose the Palomino. Got an already tattooed doe from a good breeder and entered her in the show. She did well, and I enjoyed the experience so much, I wanted to show more rabbits. By this time I was graduating high school and due to life happening, I had to sell or give away all my rabbits. I found good homes for them all and kept hoping that some day I would have my own rabbitry.
Fast forward 9 years, I’ve graduated College am interested in spinning fiber. Not having the place for Sheep or Lamas, I re-discovered the personable “fuzz buckets” of the rabbit world. I say “re-discovered” because I had practically forgotten about Angora rabbits. After months of research and you-tube videos, I chose the French Angora. These rabbits can learn their own name, love human companionship and are better for first time owners than the more popular English Angora. The main visual difference is that French Angoras do not have wool on their face and ears like English Angoras. Fiber wise, the French Angora’s wool is easier for hand spinners to work with as there are more guard hairs; this also, keeps the wool from matting as quickly. Both a huge plus in my eyes. With all the research done, I contacted a breeder from the American Rabbit Breeders Association breeder’s list; not having any babies, they connected me with another breeder who did.
Enter Chester, the goofiest, 10 lb, Great Dane sized personality rabbit, I have ever owned. In fact, he thought he was a dog! He chased the cat, and the chickens and tried to play with my 97lb and 77lb dogs. The other thing he enjoyed was giving visitors mini heart attacks by suddenly flopping over on his side, turning his head upside down, shutting his eyes and playing dead. I’m sure he knew what he was doing, because as soon as they start panicking, he would pick his head up like “Ha Ha, I got you!”. Weather he did this for fun or not, this is a normal action that only means he is as happy and content as a rabbit can be, and life couldn’t get any better.
Shortly after getting Chester, I got a couple Netherland Dwarf does… just to show. That grew into buying a buck and raising the cutest little hoppers ever. This started me on the path I am now, registering my rabbitry and refining my herd to provide quality show and pet rabbits that are friendly and well socialized.
Now for a little about the rabbitry name. I chose Laughing Lapins because I want my rabbitry to be a place of laughter, joy and happiness. Not only for me, but also for my lapins, which is “rabbits” in French. I chose the French language because I wanted something that included Chester and sounded unique at the same time. All told, I’ve owned and raised rabbits for close to 10 years. With Netherland Dwarf’s being there every hop of the way. Yes, they are still my favorite breed and if it’s big enough, I still carry them in my pockets.
Laughing Lapins 