Arfa Rabbits

Hi, my name is Sarah Freeman, and I am the owner of Arfa Rabbits Stud.  I live in rural Waikato, New Zealand with my three young children, three dogs and two cats.

Rabbits have always been around since I was tiny, with my mother breeding Angora's and spinning the wool.  Over the years I had many a pet rabbit, including a beautiful blue magpie Standard Rex named 'Arfa'.  Once my husband and I became settled in our own house and with being home alot with my son, I decided to go on the hunt for another rabbit like Arfa.

I contacted a local breeder, the late Ernst Rust, little did I know that I was meeting one of the best and most successful breeders in the Country, and he wasn't about to tell me so!  I went home with a buck and a doe of exceptional quality, still totally unaware of the outstanding reputation of this stock.  My first litter was born in January 2006, and the rest, as they say, is history.

I was quickly bitten by the show bug, my first year was exceptional, that pair produced an Ermine doe, Arfa Rabbits Marshmellow, who took out Best In Show at the North Island Nationals in 2006 as an u/5, and who later went on to breed outstanding offspring, every one of her kits that was shown (and only one of her kits wasn't shown as was sold to another breeder) won a Best In Show at an All Breeds Show.  Full credit to Ernst Rust.

I had many highs with the Rex, but as we moved North we found they didn't cope with our high temperatures and the heartbreaking decision was made to part with them.  I still miss them dearly and they remain a passion of mine.

I had dabbled with the Mini Lops over the same period of time, and at this stage they took over my shed.  I enjoyed them immensely and for awhile they were my main focus until circumstances saw me take on a whole stud of Netherland Dwarfs. 

2009 saw us move on almost all of our mini lops, though I was super proud to have an u/5 rew buck take out Best In Show at the RCNZ Stan Baldwin Memorial Show before they all moved on to their new homes.  Just one lop remains here -        Ski-bunnys Sadie, she was my first mini lop and is a very special and much loved pet.  Sadie has a very strong attachment to me, to the point that she refuses to eat and throws destructive tantrums whenever I am away.

January 2010 and we have moved house again, this time just the Netherland Dwarfs and my retirees moved into our now modest 3 metre x 3 metre rabbit shed. 

Over the years we have dabbled in a few different breeds and also had Flemish Giants consistantly, (though only a handful, as they are expensive to keep and you need the patience of a saint to breed them with them not being mature until 12-18 months old!)  We have just made the difficult decision to move the entire flemish stud south to be a part of a fellow breeders stud who will be working to preserve the breed.

October 2011 saw us move back down to the Mighty Waikato, the nethies coming too of course, and with a lovely big shed this has given me room to spread out and take on a few projects.

2012 has been a rough year for us on many levels, but a very successful show year with 10 best in shows at main show level, our most successful one to date.  It has also seen my eight year old son take a more active interest in rabbits with the addition of a pair of Silver Foxes.

I have been heavily involved in the show scene and clubs and I breed to the Show Standards of the Rabbit Council of NZ.  I have been a RCNZ recognised and approved registered breeder for Standard Rex, Flemish Giants and Miniature Lops, and have just been accepted for my Netherland Dwarfs.

The rabbits are more than a hobby here, they are a passion, and I am currently training to become a Judge.