Article on colony raising - interviews?

Hi everyone,

I'm a freelance writer and I've raised rabbits for many years; I'm currently writing an article on colony raising for a magazine. I would like to conduct some short interviews with breeders who have experience with raising rabbits in colonies. I am seeking to include some quotes from breeders in my article, and I have prepared a short list of questions. Would anyone here be interested in answering them via email?

Thanks so much for your time!

Samantha

May I ask where your article is going to appear? And what the point of the article will be? I ask because it's a bit like a request I responded to once from another forum where a number of people responded, and then we saw the article. The person had used our words, out of context, and photographs, as NEGATIVES and to promote his own point of view, with our various methods as "what not to do" and "bad management". That one left a VERY nasty taste in my mouth.

Also...well...to be blunt, we don't know you. It's a bit like being on my farm and having a total stranger drop in and say "hi, I've been a farm for years and would like to interview you for a TV spot we're doing".

If you don't receive any help from RT folks, there is a yahoo group for colony raising that might be of assistance, too.

Thanks for your response--the idea is to present colony raising as an alternative method of rabbit-keeping. Sort of along the lines of pastured poultry or grass-fed beef; natural alternatives. My editor is very enthusiastic about presenting this method to the magazine's audience--so the article will obviously be presenting colony raising in a positive light, although the potential difficulties/hazards will of course be discussed for accuracy.

I completely understand your reluctance--and if anyone is uncomfortable with the idea of answering interview questions, that's okay. Being interviewed is not everyone's cup of tea.

If anyone might be interested in answering my questions, please contact me and I will privately send along additional details about this project.

Thanks!

Samantha Johnson

Ann voices my own concerns. It makes me uneasy when someone joins a forum simply to ask for help of this kind. Had you been a participating member here, known to us and sharing your own experiences and advice over time, I might feel more comfortable about it.

In addition, I've had a colony for a short time only. I do not feel it would be appropriate for me to participate in an interview for publication until I have substantially more first-hand experience. Sorry I can't help at this time, but I wish you well with your article.

Thanks, MaggieJ, I do understand your concerns. I post on the Homesteading Today forums under the same username--and I saw the link to rabbittalk.com on that site. Then once I visited here and saw the specific forum just for colony raising, I thought it would be the perfect place to post my question. So that's why I joined here and posted.

I guess I should have just posted my question on HT, but I thought I would be able to directly reach a higher number of interested people here.

I'm sorry to have made anybody uneasy--I do appreciate your responses.

Thanks!
Samantha Johnson

Why would raising colony rabbits make anyone uneasy? If done right, this is a wonderful natural way to raise rabbits. If done wrong.. well.. its as bad if not worse then rows of dirty cages. Just like cage raising there can be pit falls, however if done right, with care and knowlage it is a ( and I quote from people that have visited my farm) " A Disney land for rabbits"

Education is key and for someone to do an artical asking for educated points of view to give what we do a positive light in the rabbit world I think is a good step. to many times colony raising is given a black eye.

I would say.. if you like, please contact me or see my website

http://www.pet-rabbits.netfirms.com Please don't use anything on the site with out my premission. I would like to know what is being used, and where it is going.

Jauson<br /><br />__________ Sat Mar 12, 2011 8:32 am __________<br /><br />Oh.. about the Yahoo group, Im a member of that group and it makes me bang my head on my desk.. Questions like.. why are my does being bred to young ( when they never remove bucks) and a long list of stupidity.. makes me think.. thats not the right place to go.

Jauson, I suggested the colony yahoo group to her to find people to help her out with her article. There are quite a few successful colony folks there. yes, there are people who are just getting into colonies who make mistakes, ask questions, etc...but the only stupid question is the one that isn't asked. It's how many people learn.

there are also at least a dozen different ways to "correctly" raise rabbits in a colony...it all depends on your personal situation. I was told I could NOT raise angoras on a solid floor, let alone in a colony. And yet..here I am..getting glorious wool and wonderful kits from a colony on a solid floor. They will graduate to outdoors/indoors this summer when my new barn is built. (angoras do NOT do well in the wet so they do need a house/barn)

Some colony people don't have good land...so the rabbits eat the grass down immediately. Other's don't have enough land to make even 20x20pens for 3 rabbits. They still feel that the animals are better off than in cages, so they supplement with hay, cut grasses, veggies, etc.

I rather enjoy reading all the strangeness on the colony group. A couple of people I feel really sorry for because they get so many folks hammering on them.

but I digress. I sent her there to find people for her article who raise in a colony..she needs the good and the bad. not just one viewpoint

I agree that there are many ways to get to the finish line with coloneys. IF she is new to this, and has never been exposed to colony raising, my thought was there are many many posts on there from people that are new and learning the hard way. It could bring about a bad article. When exposing someone especially the press or public for the first time, my thought was to make it totally positive. I know from experience that you mention the word "colony" and people look at you like you abuse your rabbits. Im a bit defensive of that anymore. I had a doe get a leg at a show last march, The show was on the day of a blizzard so bad many didn't make it.( my point being the doe was coming out of winter) When the judge commented on the wonderful condition of the doe, I couldn't help say "not bad for a doe thats been eating snow all winter" He was shocked she came from a "colony" People think of it as lessor and if someone is willing to do an article, it was my thought to change that point of view by helping the author find positive experiences to write about. I see your point if someone is wanting to learn about this way of raising rabbits. My experience with press and those who write articles is they skim the surface so they get their 2100-2500 words in.

I'll be interested to read the finished article. I did respond with answers to her questions..which were mainly "what is your favorite part; what is the worst; how large a space; what kind of space (indoor/outdoor/hardfloor/etc.)"

I remember being told that there was NO WAY I could raise angoras on a hard floored cage, let alone a colony. But I checked all the French sites I could find, and discovered that not only does the angora INDUSTRY raise their animals in concrete cages, but they regularly turn them out in outdoor pens. Many of the household angoras are raised in colony settings. :shrug:

So..I tried it. by golly...they groom each other, they run so much that anything in the wool (like hay) just shakes out, and while the belly wool is poor the back/sides/haunch wool is excellent. AND they're happy. When the buck is in with them, they all lay around with him, grooming his ears, sucking up to him.

I do have some rabbits in large cages still (mainly the ones that were adults when I got them and won't socialize) but I DO understand why people keep rabbits in the traditional cage setting. the rabbit doesn't hurt itself, there's less possibility of contagious disease spreading rapidly, and it's easier to keep track of everyone. (I'm having a bit of a problem with the 11 identical white angoras, atm. ...sigh)

I'm hoping that when the bunny barn gets built next month (Michael? are you listening?) that my one ANGRY doe can get a new attitude with a big grassy pen. Most of the "pens" inside will have doors to large pasture areas. The meat girls will have a pasture, with er...houses.

gah. rambling on again

I just found this thread; I think this person could have been more forthcoming in who they were, where teh article would be published, privacy policy etc....

oh, she was when you PM'd her. I, too, was put off by the "i need info for an article", but since she's a freelance I can understand the need for privacy.