Triskelion Duke:
The rabbit that started it all.
It feels like many many moons ago when this rabbit came into our lives, however, it also feels like only yesterday. He joined our family in December 2016 and we lost him suddenly, in March 2019 after a summer storm whipped up the fungal spores in the ground. His triumphs and his passing has taught me a lot about husbandry in general and the delicate nature of these cute, not-so-cuddly animals.
Duke was only ever supposed to be a pet, a house rabbit. But the more I delved and researched rabbits the more I realised I was completely clueless about how to keep them. I decided I'd try to find him a friend and in that process our next beauty came to join us...
Duke's Dynasty Smokey
While searching for a friend for Duke to grow up with, I met a lovely lady who had a tri standard rex doe and she really wanted to use Duke over her. I thought "why not?" She had a rabbitry full of mini rex, and jersey woolies and was showing them, so I figured there was no harm in giving her the use of my rabbit. But when those kits came along, I was absolutely besotted and so, Duke's daughter, Smokey came to join the family too.
That same lady convinced me to show Duke, and that was it! I was absolutely hooked after that first show in the winter of 2017 and not long after that, another sweetheart joined the crew...
Westhaven Cassidy
At a show in the Waikato, of 2017, I meet the lovely, Marty Bishop of Westhaven Rabbitry. She totally cleaned up at the show and she was so modest about it. I loved her immediately and she quickly became a person I looked up to in the rabbit world. So, when I decided I needed to start up my own rabbitry and focus on standard rex, I went to Marty.
Cassidy joined my new stud (rabbitry) in early 2018. She passed away in 2020, after a cat got at her. She had been my main breeding doe and produced amazing rabbits while I had her, including...
Duke's Dynasty Andy
Andy shocked me and probably everyone else at the show too, when he came out supreme champion over all breeds, at the 2019 Royal Easter Show, held annually in Auckland. So you can imagine my devastation when a few weeks later he developed pneumonia after a huge Autumn storm blew his cage open and he got soaked in the wind and rain. It was not long after his death that I decided to make sure all my show rabbits where kept indoors. And it was also the end of the Duke's Dynasty line with his passing too. But I had a new buck to keep the love and passion of rexes alive...
Triskelion Blackberry
This stunning broken black is an older half brother to Duke and he has wowed many at the show table with his an eye catching colour. He's a great size and type, too. And when I heard he was a 'Triskleion' rabbit, there was no way I could say no to adding him to my rabbitry. I later found out that both his dam and his sire were bred by Rebecca Chitham at Whitecloud Rabbitry. So it has been exciting having such good genetics to establish my line and the birth of Rayah Rexes.