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Rabbit lovers abound at Trumbull Co. Fair
Video
By RICHARD L. BOCCIA
The event gives rabbit lovers an outlet for their hobby.
BAZETTA — At the Trumbull County Fair, one thing ties diverse rabbit wranglers together: commitment to the hobby.
With the price of feed going up, they spend their money and even more time raising rabbits.
Stacey Van Horn, a stay-at-home mom from Greene Township who’s got a magic touch with rabbits, was reared on farms around Trumbull County. While she only got into competition a year ago, other rabbit farmers say she’s like a rabbit whisperer. They take problem rabbits to her, like one large animal named Penelope that Van Horn brought to the fair.
The rabbit jumped violently around her cage until Van Horn took the rabbit’s head in her hands for a massage around the ears. Instantly, the animal quieted.
“The rabbit doesn’t understand what’s going on and what you want it to do,” she said. “So you’ve just got to show them.”
“They’re like a dog. You can train them,” said Van Horn as she held another rabbit in her arms. He laid on his back like a baby as she relaxed him almost to sleep, running her fingertips around his eyes until they almost closed. Then she woke him up with a tickle.
For her, the rabbit hobby isn’t about profit. She’s more concerned with minimizing the animals’ pain. That’s why she uses a single needle to tattoo them with a brand of ownership rather than the standard tattoo ear clamp, which has multiple, painful points.
Van Horn also has rescued some rabbits at auction — one was covered with scabs, having lost all his hair when the other rabbits in his cage bit him repeatedly.
Cathy Benton, the fair organizer for the American Rabbit Breeders Association, sold Van Horn her first rabbit. Benton said rabbits can sense emotion like any animal, and Van Horn understands that.
“She just goes right in there with no fear,” Benton said.
Benton said rabbit feed is more expensive than it used to be. That’s why she’s surprised that people are still as interested in raising rabbits. The student competitors at the fair share Van Horn’s hobby, and they understand the time it takes to care for rabbits.
Alexis Loomis, an 18-year-old who raises rabbits, said staying in the rabbit game means daily care for the animals.
Is the challenge worth it?
“We all look forward to fair all year,” Loomis said. “We’re hot and sweaty, but we still have fun.”
Loomis, of Weathersfield, said she sold some award-winning rabbits for $75 this year. Still, she couldn’t sell her first rabbit when she was offered $40, even though she got him for free. She was too attached. Her love of animals has led her to study horsemanship at Hocking College in Nelsonville.
Loomis said another 18-year-old named Jonothan Brzysck usually edges her out in competitions.
While Brzysck of Bloomfield puts a lot of time into competition, for him it’s more of a hobby than a career. Since 11, he’s bred rabbits for the challenge and profit. This year paid off: Brzysck earned $260 for three meat rabbits. His big commitment to the rabbits is time.
“You’ve got to be out in your barn at least twice a day,” he said.
rboccia@vindy.com