Twisted Hollow Homestead and Rabbitry

12/06/2025

We’re all set up in the church for the Church Street Christmas Market here in Deerfield! We’ve got our teas, candles, soaps and more!

12/04/2025

A sneak peak of things to come in 2026!

12/02/2025

Why do we have so few rabbits available? This is why. The only way I can ensure we are contributing quality stock to the breeds we raise is by culling hard. I get calls daily asking if I have rabbits available. It would be very easy to go out to the cull pens, take whatever rabbits are there and sell them as “meat stock.” The reality is, I choose not to do that. I want what comes from my barn to represent the breed. Rabbits that don’t meet standard and benchmarks go to the cull pens. I would rather lose the sale than send out subpar rabbits from my lines. Our cull rabbits are worth more in their meat and pelts than the sale of breeding stock, even though the breeding stock would bring in more money.

A Post-Convention Season Reminder 🐇

Every year after Convention, there’s an influx of new breeders excited to start their journey — and that enthusiasm is wonderful. But as you pick up your first pair or trio, especially if you’re working with a heritage or rare breed, please keep this in mind:

Not every rabbit you produce should be sold.
Ethical breeding requires culling — even in pet breeds — to prevent genetic issues from spreading and to protect the long-term integrity of the breed. Selling everything you produce doesn’t make you a good breeder; making hard decisions for the betterment of the animals does.

And remember: even rabbits sold “just for meat breeding” should be high quality. The Standard of Perfection is written to maximize meat production on the animal — poor structure has no place in a meat program either.
Additionally, many rabbits sold as “just meat breeders” often end up back in the show ring or passed along to a 4-H or youth breeder as “show quality.” If it shouldn’t represent the breed on a show table, it shouldn’t be leaving your barn under any label.

Edited to Add - And of course, sports in marked breeds and false dwarves have their place as well — with responsible care and honest representation. Not every off-variety rabbit is a cull, but they still require the same ethical standards in how they’re managed and where they’re placed.

Silver Fox are on track to be one of the first breeds to graduate from the rare breed list. As they become more common, the responsibility becomes even greater. Please cull hard. We don’t want this breed associated with low quality animals or with breeders who let anything leave the barn just to make a sale.

If you truly care about the breed:
Breed the best — eat the rest.

11/22/2025

Please send if you have not done so already! Keep our access to herbal extracts and tinctures.

ACT NOW - CALL TO ACTION for New Hampshire Residents: PROTECT OUR ACCESS to Herbal Tinctures

UPDATED - Online summary & details now available via APHA at https://www.ahpa.org/NH_herbal_tinctures

SAMPLE LETTER FURTHER BELOW

MESSAGE FROM MARIA:
I was shocked and dismayed to learn that the NH Liquor Commission recently required several local stores (such as the Concord Food Co-op and Granite State Natural Foods) to remove ALL herbal tinctures (herbal dietary supplement alcohol-based extracts) from its shelves. This includes legally compliant big and small local companies including Herb Pharm, Gaia Herbs, Oregon's Wild Harvest, Vitality Works, WishGarden, Herbal Energetics, Bach Flower Essences, Host Defense, and more. For decades, federal law (such as DSHEA and FDA dietary supplement regulations) protects their status as dietary supplements not alcoholic beverages; these products are legally under FDA dietary supplement regulation, not the liquor commission. However, New Hampshire liquor law title XIII currently lacks language/clarity on this. Efforts are underway, spearheaded by the American Herbal Products Association (APHA) and working alongside the NH Liquor Commission and NH State Senator Tara Reardon to amend current laws with clarifying language to be in compliance with federal regulations and get tinctures back on NH shelves.

👉 ACT NOW: ***NH Residents** are encouraged reach out to both Senator Reardon and your town's representative senator (if not Reardon) to voice your support

See a summary of details and a sample letter via APHA at https://www.ahpa.org/NH_herbal_tinctures

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MORE DETAILS ~

To Be Clear, As Per FEDERAL REGULATIONS:
* Tinctures may contain alcohol as a solvent, but they are NOT alcoholic beverages.
* They’re federally regulated by the FDA as dietary supplements, NOT by the liquor commission.
* They are not and have not been illegal in the state of NH per our laws. However, our laws have some gaps in things they do not include in their language.
* Tinctures have been protected as dietary supplements by federal law including DSHEA and FDA dietary supplement GMPs for decades
* This law/enforcement kerfuffle is harming NH citizen’s freedom and lawful access to herbal remedies and hurting NH businesses.
* The FDA has clear guidance documents distinguishing dietary supplements (which use alcohol as a solvent) from beverages. Their labeling, dose, flavor, purpose, and method of use all clarify this distinction.

There is an effort underway to make the NH legislative language CRYSTAL CLEAR and in compliant with federal regs, rectify the kerfuffle, avoid such confusion in the future, and restore our access to these important remedies.

Senator Tara Reardon and her aid Karen Davis are working with the American Herbal Products Association (AHPA) to propose to amendments to current laws to make it even more explicit that dietary supplements are regulated by the FDA, not the state.

--> I encourage you to support these proposals for amending

N.H. RSA 175:1(XLII) to add in its definition of liquor that it does not include dietary supplements as defined by 21 U.S.C. 321(ff)/DSHEA of 1994 law.
and
N.H. RSA 175:5-a(I) to note that NH liquor law is are not intended to apply to dietary supplements, as defined by 21 U.S.C. 321(ff)/DSHEA of 1994 law, regardless of alcohol percent or proof.

This will bring us in harmony with federal standards and regulatory expectations and bring lawful products back on store shelves where they belong.

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This is real. My sources:
* AHPA website and direct emails and phone conversations with the APHA president
* Phone and email conversations with the store managers of Concord Food Co-op and Granite State Natural Foods
* Phone conversation with the NH Liquor Commission
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Is this important to you? Let them know!

👉 ACT NOW: ***NH Residents** are encouraged reach out to both Senator Reardon and your town's representative senator (if not Reardon) to voice your support

See a summary of details and a sample letter via APHA at https://www.ahpa.org/NH_herbal_tinctures

11/17/2025

Please take a moment to read!

As some of you know, I have finally obtained my clinical herbalism certificate. I’m in the process of getting my clinical practice going.

NH State Liquor Commission is now proposing a BAN in tinctures and extracts. Please take a moment to voice your support for clinical herbalists and herbal product makers like myself.

AHPA advocates the U.S. Congress; state governments; FDA; FTC; USDA; FWS; NIH; NCCIH; U.S. Pharmacopeia and others for effective laws and regulations that promote the responsible commerce of herbal products.

10/11/2025

As we are prepping for tomorrow’s last market in Gilmanton of our farmer’s market season, I wanted to take a moment to say thank you.

Thank you all for your patience as we navigate these new waters of rabbit meat sales. Switching gears mid season has been a whirlwind. The demand has been high, and we have tried to keep up as best as we can. This has been a new and challenging venture, and we are excited to see where it takes us next.

Timing our grow outs for markets has been a challenge, and we appreciate how understanding you all have been as we get things settled. We’ve had many requests for pre-orders, and we know day of shoppers have not had the easiest time getting out rabbits. This is a kink in the chain we’re learning from and we hope to have it smoothed out next year.

For tomorrow’s market, we will not have day of orders available. If you have preordered a rabbit from us, we will have your rabbit.

Thank you for your patience and understanding this season as we grow. We’ve got plans in place and are looking forward to the future!

09/20/2025

Herd sell off!

I need cage space for our meat program and it’s time to part with my angoras. The remaining English Angoras we have are up for grabs. If you are looking for very friendly fiber rabbits with great wool for spinning your own yarn, these cute little guys are it!

Here is what I have available:

1 VM Ermine Senior Buck
1 Lilac Tort Senior Buck
1 Chocolate Senior Buck
1 VM Harlequin Senior Doe
1 VM Torted Harlequin Senior Buck
2 Pointed White Senior Does
1 Blue Senior Buck
1 Harlequin Senior Doe

Photos coming and will be posted in comments. All will be shorn prior to sale. All are available for 1️⃣0️⃣0️⃣ each.

08/31/2025

10 minutes into today’s market and we have SOLD OUT of rabbit!

Missed out? We’ll be processing more once the next batch of grow outs is ready!

08/24/2025

Yesterday was a great show!

Not only did Blackberry (TH01T) win BOB for rare breed, but Sunflower (TH42S) won BOSB in show A and Stardust (TH06T) won BOSB in show B.

Despite the molt, each rabbit I had on the table received great feedback on their fur! Density, texture, length, silvering… these rabbits had it all.

The Silver Fox is the only breed of rabbit with standing coat. It was developed not only as a meat souce, but to combat the over harvesting of the wild silver fox, a genetic variant of the American red fox. Considering this is a fur breed, and we are fur producers in addition to meat, hearing that their fur is excellent means I’m on the right track in my program!

08/23/2025

Sunflower (TH42S) won Best Opposite of Breed in Open A!

08/23/2025

Blackberry (TH01T) took Best of Breed in the Rare Breed show today at the ARBA show in Acton, Maine! 17 in the show too!

08/14/2025

Out of 24 eggs, 24 hatched! We have one that is clearly not a NH Red, but we have 24 very healthy and happy chicks! Looks like I need to clean out the bigger brooder tomorrow.