Taylor brings award winning rabbits to Stephens County

Tonya Taylor, by her admission, has been raising rabbits since she was three years old with her mother, for 4H and FFA and then on her own.

By the age of 15, she had her rabbits and participated in 4H and FFA at Breckenridge High School.

After that, she concentrated on the Flemish Giants, the largest breed of rabbits, as far as size is concerned. According to Taylor, the Flemish rabbits weigh in between 20 and 24 pounds.

Taylor also raises the oldest breed, the Silver. That breed comes from the United Kingdom and is known as the Heritage Breed, a rare breed and difficult to breed the perfect color for competition.

Taylor is attempting to become the first breeder in the United States of the Silver. A breeder must have 15 litters with charts showing the pedigree of all her rabbits. The prospective breeder must show her rabbits for three years and then appear before the governing breeders association to become certified as an authorized breeder of that particular Silver breed.

One could say that rabbits are her business. Taylor travels all over the U.S. to different rabbit shows and has won a ton of awards for her Flemish Giants.

For the full story, see the Wednesday, Jan. 22 edition of the Breckenridge American.