Back to COD holders page

Anita White Interview

#1: Anita, tell us a little about yourself and your family, your rabbitry and where you live. What do you like to do in your “non-rabbit” time? Just share whatever you would like about yourself. I attended South Western Michigan College 1991/1992 for Practice Management in Veterinary Science. Part of the inspiration came from my love of animals and showing Netherland Dwarfs/Hollands in late 1980s. I have 4 grown children and 5 grandchildren. I also have diseases which slow me down but do not stop me from enjoying what I really love, that is raising Lionheads & Holland Lops.
Although my illness (RA/Scleroderma/Asthma) has taken me out of the veterinary field, I still maintain work in finance. Occasionally I do miss all the “fur Kids” that I used to see on a daily basis. I decided if I do become disabled at some point, I will maintain my rabbitry as a way to stay active.

#2: How did you first become interested in the Lionhead Breed? When and where did you first hear of it? How many animals did you start out with? How long have you raised the breed and what other breeds do you raise? I had moved to Minnesota in 2000 and found pictures of Lionheads on the internet. My first Lionheads were Chocolates and Blacks from a youth breeder. I started out with 6 and had Hollands at the time. The Lionheads were so different then Hollands. They were inquisitive and full of energy! That is where my love for them grew. I was astonished at the rainbow of colors in each nest when breeding two different colors together. It was unheard of in Hollands due to most were TORT.
In 2003 I moved back home to Indiana. I brought a total of 37 bunnies with me with over half of them being Lionheads. The Rabbitry got the Wizards name after the move back. Cimmarons ALF daughters were a part of that group as were RB&P Faxon and R&P Little Man.

#3: Where and when did you get your original stock and what varieties did you start with? How did you use these first animals to move the breed forward? Did you cross with other breeds? Stick to what you had? Experiment with several crosses? Only breed Lionhead to Lionhead? The original stock consisted of a Black buck named Scotty and his Chocolate brother with several does in black as well. As time went on, I purchased a few from Gail Gibbons, Bob Whitman and Theresa Mueller. The Self and shaded WIZARD LINES were mostly Cimmaron with a mix of Pridelands and RB&P. The Agouti WIZARD Lines were nearly all RB&P. I have attempted a few crosses with Dwarfs but did not like the results so stuck with primarily Lionhead to Lionhead.

#4. When did you receive your COD and what varieties are you working on now? I received my COD summer of this year. I really love the Agouti Pattern and thought it best for me to do my part in this breed since I am one of the long time breeders now. My colors are: Black, Chestnut Agouti, Chocolate Agouti, Chinchilla, and Squirrel. (Admittedly, I still love Otter too so I was excited that someone had pulled one for them)

#5: What do you consider the hardest part of raising this breed? The most frustrating part? I think the most frustrating part is the mane in particular on the bucks. Testosterone plays a role in the mane on bucks so it is much harder to get a buck with luscious mane. I believe there is more at work genetically then just single or double mane gene. I believe there are modifiers much like rufus intensifiers. We are all still learning and striving to get to that perfect Lonhead who will pass the same attributes on for generations.

#6: What do you see as the major changes in the Lionheads from the earlier years? Oh my, remember some of the colors that were not describable or those long flat bodies on some of the imports?? I see much cleaner color, more compact animals with much nicer manes. Early on there were also teeth issues in some imports that we don’t see much at all anymore. I look back at my first Lionheads in awe of the difference in quality of mane, type and rich color.

#7 Was there an animal that was the most influential in your beginning stock? The 3 bucks that played the biggest role were 2 from Bob Whitman: Sable Pt “RB&P Faxon” a Chinchilla “RB&P Little Man” and a Broken Tort from Gail Gibbons named “Cimmarons ALF.”
ALF is in background of all Wizards Broken patterns. I have a doe back from old Wizard Lines in my barn who is Alfs great-granddaughter, her name is Wizards Nora and she throws awesome broken patterns. She will most-likely retire here just because she represents so much for me.
RB&P Little Man really moved the Agouti pattern forward. He was tiny yet stocky and had correct rings. He threw wonderful babies in Chestnut and Chinchilla. I have great-great grandchildren that go back to him as well.Bob Whitman was an inspiration to me in many ways-he wasnt afraid of color and tried to bring it to the board early on. (Thank you BOB!)
My most recent addition that has proven her weight in GOLD is “MossyPossum Haiku.“ She has had lovely Black otters for me and I am anticipating some correctly ringed Agoutis in the future. Other promising additions have been MossyPossums Silver Streak and Black Jack as well as several nice bunnies from my friend and COD Holder Lee Nevills. (She made Chocolate Agouti possible for me!!)