In the summer of 2016, we traded Colorado Springs for a little farm in Southwest Ohio.
After years of military life, our family was ready to put down roots. The children, dogs, barn cats, and chickens settled in, and adding rabbits felt like the most natural next step. At least, that is how “just a few rabbits” entered the conversation. My very patient husband has heard that sentence more than once since then.
4-H soon became a family passion. The more we learned, the more those “just a few rabbits” opened the door to heritage breeds, thoughtful breeding, preservation, and a much bigger story than I knew we were beginning.
“We did not begin as experts. We began with questions—and enough stubbornness to keep asking them.”
Learning in the rabbitry, one rabbit and one honest question at a time.
April
The plan, the pedigree, and unreasonable enthusiasm.
I am a Navy veteran turned full-time farm mom, a wife to one very patient husband, and the person most likely to arrive with a plan, a spreadsheet, and enough enthusiasm to make the plan twice as large. Genetics, pedigrees, and breed standards fascinate me—but the rabbits themselves keep the work human.
Our home includes four dogs, four cats, a barn cat, twelve chickens, children, rabbits, and enough daily comedy to make perfection a very unrealistic brand promise. I am not a perfect breeder. I am a curious one with plenty left to learn, plenty to share, and a lot of heart.
Jake • Chief Barn Engineer
The one who makes the ambitious ideas stand up straight.
Jake is an Army veteran, my partner in all of this, and the man who builds cages, fixes what gives up, hauls feed, and turns the systems I sketch into things that actually work. Living with MS means we think carefully about how the farm should function; his stubborn follow-through makes those improvements real.
I may arrive with the spreadsheet, but Jake is usually the reason the barn agrees to cooperate with it. This is our rabbitry, our family, and our beautiful shared bit of nonsense.
How the herd grew
First came the American Chinchillas. Then the rabbits revised the plan.
We began with American Chinchillas: soft coats, docile curiosity, useful feed-to-meat conversion, and the welcome ability to remain calm in our loud, lively household. They gave us a steady place to learn.
Four years later, Silver Fox joined us. Their silver-ticked coats drew me in; their personalities made the decision permanent. More recently, our first Crème d’Argent pair—Teal Stone’s Padme and Buddy—brought creamy coats, warm orange undercolor, and two more sets of opinions into the barn.
What we try to carry forward
A few promises we make around here.
The useful truth
We tell each other what is actually helpful—even when rabbitry life is messy, emotional, uncertain, or refusing to fit inside the spreadsheet.
Kindness first
We remember what it felt like to ask the first question, and we never make someone feel small for asking theirs.
What we have learned
We share the why behind our choices so another family can decide what makes sense for their own rabbits and goals.
Good stewardship
Animals, history, bloodlines, records, and trust are all living things placed in our care.
Keep getting better
We learn, adjust, and raise our standards without pretending any of us woke up knowing how to do this perfectly.
Always leave room to laugh
A little humor makes the hard days easier to carry—and this is the Nutt House, after all.
Our mission
Keep the rabbits, skills, and stories moving forward.
Rabbits provide food, fur, companionship, confidence, community, and a living connection to history. Preserving a breed means caring for the knowledge around it too—and sharing that knowledge generously enough that another family can carry it farther than we did.
