A boutique farm in southern Indiana featuring fresh, naturally-grown fruits and garden produce, and hand-produced animal fibers.
Meet Our Animals
Rabbits, Alpacas, and the Support Staff of cats, dogs, and chickens
**In Memoriam--Animals die, animals get sold. These animals are no longer at Forsythia Farm, but we still remember them through their fiber and photos.
French Angora Rabbits
Angora Rabbits grow hair that is exceptionally fine and soft. It is several times warmer than sheep's wool, and is collected by combing or "plucking" the loose shed fibers. Our rabbits receive frequent exercise, grooming, and cuddling.
Callahan has a luscious coat of pure white wool, and it's thick enough to rival Uncle Bruno's. He is an active rabbit who will run and explore the room when he has a chance--or just run circles in his cage if he's not let out.
Murphy is slippery. He can sense when someone is trying to catch him, and he evades--usually successfully, to my frustration. He has a little brown spot on the bridge of his nose which distinguishes him from his brothers.
Flopsy had an ear that wouldn't stand up straight when he was a little bunny. His ear straightened up in time, but the name stuck. Now he likes to nose under his rusty cage door, which has left him with a perpetual dark smudge around his eye.
Squeaker was the runt of his litter. He is still a small rabbit, but his voluminous white fur makes up for his size. His special skill is that he makes little squeaking noises.
Bianca is a gorgeous rabbit: small delicate face and a lush white coat. She's adventurous, too, and likes to explore not just the rabbitry but also the whole barn and yard when she can.
We got Bella from a breeder who lives between Bloomington and Ellettsville--hence, her name. She's a boisterous bunny, frequently flinging her food dish around her cage at feeding time.
Bluebell is a big, gorgeous, adventurous doe. When her cage door is left open, she's quick to hop out and explore the room.
Sparky is small and meek, but his luscious fur is soft and abundant.
Clover's litter of seven bunnies was born on March 17, 2017. McCoy is their father. They're 3 weeks old in this picture.
The five boys are Gallagher, Kieran, Murphy (all black), Finegan, and Callahan (both REW). The girls are Molly (tan) and Shamrock ("blue").
Alpacas
Balthazar, medium brown, really stands out in our herd of light colors. He also stands out at feeding time, when it becomes evident that he is extremely possessive of his food. "Balthazar, don't spit!" He actually does have eyes under those shaggy bangs.
Fozzy, or Fawn Deere as he was originally christened, is somewhat aloof, preferring to hang back a little and simply watch the action. His color is medium fawn.
Yuri, light fawn, has learned an important skill since he got to our farm: He knows how to eat treats out of our hands. He has become quite a persistent beggar.
Ivan, medium fawn in color, is a tall stately fellow. He is friendly and curious, but still a little distrustful.
Support Staff
Hazel, the calico kitty, showed up at the farm as a scrawny starving kitten. After one bowl of cat food she made it clear that she was staying. She is in charge of rodent control, tree-climbing, and keeping laps warm.
Winnie is our Livestock Guardian Dog (LGD) -in-training. She is a Great Pyrenees/Anatolian Shepherd mix. When she's older she will be in charge of keeping the alpacas safe from predators. Right now, though, she's just a really cute puppy.
The chickens, a free-range mixed flock of cuckoo Marans, black sex-linked, silver-laced Wyandottes, Starlight green-eggers, Rhode Island reds, and one independent-minded bantam hen of unknown breed, keep us well-supplied with eggs and entertainment. The number and breeds of the chickens change regularly. All of them are named simply "Chicken."
In Memoriam
Ghost, whose name is an evolution of his registered name "High on Summertime," is a typically-curious alpaca. He likes to know what's going on around him. He will come running at a gallop from across the pasture when he thinks there's a chance of getting a meal or a treat. His "light fawn" color is the lightest of our herd, and is compatible with his name.
Finnegan is a clever rabbit. He has figured out how to nose his door open when it's left unlatched, and now expects to get out every time we feed him.
**Hugo is a lovely broken blue rabbit. Her fur has the most delightful "poof" to it. Hugo enjoys reaching her front paws up people's legs. She's also an amazing jumper, bouncing around the room doing "binkies" and climbing on top of boxes and storage tubs. When she's had enough of a run, she'll snuggle up in my lap and just...sit.
**Molly likes her cage. As a bunny, she showed signs of adventure--always the first one out of the box, or the one who wandered the farthest from the rest of the litter--but now she's a homebody. She shares a cage with her sister, and I've seen Molly comforting Shamrock after Shamrock has had a particularly stressful grooming session.
**Bruno is highly spirited. He always wants out of his cage, so he can run circles around the other rabbits. He is also an endless source of pure white bunny fluff. Read more about Bruno here.
**Simon's hobby is eating; he can often be found with his front paws in his food dish. He's a pretty easy-going rabbit.
**McCoy was so bony when he joined the herd that we had to name him after the Star Trek character. It has been a delight watching him blossom from a scrawny and shy little creature with short hair of indeterminate color into the handsome, sturdy, self-assured buck that he is now. The amazing softness of his fur was a wonderful surprise when it grew out.
**Agatha is a docile bunny. She's usually content to sit in her cage and wait patiently until she's fed, but when she's let out to play, she runs about the room and yard enthusiastically. Her wool has a much deeper color than the other rabbits'.
**Sven is the brother of Fluffernutter. He was shown at a show around 2014 and won Best in Class. He's a pugnacious little beast, picking fights with anything that moves: Bruno (when he walks outside Sven's cage), his cage door, the food that's poured into his dish.
**Clover is our alpha female. She doesn't get along with our other does. She is stubborn and opinionated, and her wool is light and airy. Bruno is her brother.
**Kieran ("little dark one") was the runt of Clover's litter. He fell into the frog pond when he was a little bunny, but he suffered no harm from it. He's grown up into a strong buck.
**Fluffernutter's warm peanut butter-brown color with touches of marshmallow-white evokes thoughts of the classic sandwich. She's a large rabbit, and would probably rule the herd--if she could get past Clover. She seems intelligent and thoughtful. Sven is her brother.
**Shamrock is a beautiful blue rabbit, with long dense fur. She doesn't like coming out of her cage, preferring to snuggle with her sister Molly.
Gallagher is a big, sturdy fellow. He is generally calm and uncomplaining, and nothing seems to excite him. He has a tendency to get impatient at grooming time, and he will pick up the scissors and drop them on the floor. He has a wonderful coat of long, thick fur. In this photo, it's evident that he has recently "blown his coat," but it will grow back in.