Meet the really big bunnies that call a Nova Scotia farm home
With his plump, fluffy deal with and tall ears, Ragnar the big white bunny appears like he belongs in a fairytale, not on a farm.
Weighing about 25 kilos and stretching out to three ft, he’s 1 of four grownup continental giant rabbits that belong to Pierce Grey and Christopher Poirier, who swapped their metropolis daily life in Toronto for a riverside farm in close proximity to Annapolis Royal, N.S., about three months back.
The few has converted the best ground of their barn into a cozy home for their giant fluffy friends — Ragnar, Bjorn, Valka and Paisley — in addition a rising number of babies.
“Absolutely everyone loves them, everyone’s fired up about them,” Grey claimed. “Everybody’s like, ‘I have a Flemish but these are even bigger. Oh my God, I want to see them!'”
Continental giants, the greatest breed of rabbit in the entire world, are related to Flemish giants, only bigger. They also have a little bit unique attributes that give them that “stuffed animal, sweet fluffy deal with,” mentioned Gray.
The breed originated in Europe and Grey stated the gentle giants are nonetheless unusual in numerous areas of Canada, together with Nova Scotia.
He thinks his family’s continental giants are the initial in the province. He could be proper. Frank Nutar, president of the Maritime Rabbit Breeders Affiliation, agrees he’s under no circumstances occur across a continental giant in the location.
Grey’s obsession with continental giants started when he adopted a 25-pound rabbit named Otis about five decades back from a breeder in the U.S. Otis, who has since died, often labored as a assist animal for children with autism and at an education centre.
Otis could often be identified on walks all-around his Toronto neighbourhood, seated in a red buggy, a great deal to the delight of passersby.
“Individuals are just in awe since their little ones run up to pet the rabbit and their young children lay down and it’s the identical dimensions as the rabbit and they’re just stunned,” Grey explained.
The couple’s four adult rabbits who moved with them to Nova Scotia are litter box-trained and act much more like smaller dogs than rabbits, Poirier mentioned.
“I definitely like their temperament, like you can just go sit with them and you really don’t have to get worried about them acting ridiculous or scratching,” he mentioned.
But these abnormal pets occur with some problems, as well.
In accordance to Grey, continental giants cost about $400 and require a lot of area and commitment. People fascinated in getting a large bunny could not fully grasp the dedication, and it truly is why Gray is not planning to component with the family’s little one bunnies any time quickly.
The big rabbits also occur with some really unique guidance about how they are bred.
“These rabbits are bred not just for dimensions, but temperament is quite critical due to the fact you you should not want a nuts huge rabbit,” he said.
‘These men make you smile’
Grey and Poirier are lovers of eccentric creatures.
In addition to their major bunnies, they also personal Toulouse geese, melanistic ducks that are solely black, and deathlayer chickens that lay eggs appropriate up until the conclude of their lives.
Grey hopes to introduce extra Nova Scotians to the unique breed of bunny that has had a big influence on his lifestyle.
“You know, you have a negative day, these fellas make you smile,” he stated.
Like a lot of huge breeds, he said they’re “calmer, a lot more peaceful, far more pleasant, a lot more tolerant,” which will make them in particular good with young youngsters and people with autism.
“I am on the autism spectrum myself and I consider I’ve usually appreciated animals for the reason that I guess they failed to trouble me like persons did,” he claimed with a chuckle.
