Beginning Rabbits
Feb
3rd, 2009
Important
Dates to Remember:
Ø Cloverdale Citrus Fair, Feb 15th, 2009.
This is held at the Cloverdale Citrus Fair Grounds in Cloverdale. This is a one day double carry in show. Even if you do not
have anything entered in the fair it’s still a great place to come and see how everything works.
Ø Market Livestock Expo, Feb 28th, 2009.
This is being held at the Redwood Empire Fair Grounds in Ukiah. This event is for anybody who has an interest in these animals.
There will be a fun motivational speaker in the morning and seminars in the afternoon. You can only attend one animal. If
you plan on taking a Meat Pen to the fair you really should attend this expo. $5.00 pre-registration, $10.00 at the door.
(I’m going to have a educational booth there on raising rabbits for meat)
Monthly
Club Meetings: The rest of the club would like to hear from us! We need to select 1 person every month to get up and share
with the club what we’ve been learning. Also if one person would like to write an article for our newsletter talking
about something we’ve learned that would be great too!
Getting ready for a Show: A checklist
Part
1: Deciding on whether a show is right for you
r When is the show? Are you available that weekend? Will you have a ride?
r Where is the show? Will you have to stay the night?
r What rabbit(s) will you take?
r Do you have the money to enter your rabbits?
Part
2: Preparing your rabbit(s) the week before the show
r Do showmanship on your rabbits & here’s some things to check for:
o Do you need to cut the toenails?
o Does your rabbit have ear mites?
o Is your rabbit molting?
o Does your rabbit have sore hocks?
o Is your rabbit healthy enough to go to the show?
o Is your rabbit overweight? Underweight?
Part
3: The night before the show
r Prepare your carrying cages with fresh shavings and hay
r Check your rabbit one last time
r Make sure you have everything you need
o Toenail clippers
o Quickstop powder
o Grooming supplies
o Carpet square
o Wet wipes
r If you’re doing showmanship don’t forget these things
o Your uniform
o Your Standard of Perfection
o Take off any nail polish
o Take off any jewelry (Except for piercing studs)
o Bring an extra hair band
o Wet wipes
Part
4: Show Day!
r Put rabbits into carrying cages, double check ear tattoo’s one last time!
r Showmanship stuff
r Show stuff
Part
5: Thing’s to keep in mind
r Are you going to be buying a rabbit at the show?
o If so make sure you have an extra spot in your carrying cage
o If you don’t have room, make sure you bring money for another cage or find someone who lives close to you
that has an extra spot
r Rabbit shows can take most of the day, here’s some thing you can bring to pass the
time
o Homework
o A book to read
o Playing cards or other small games
o Folding camp chairs
o A blanket, sometimes it’s pretty cold!
o Coloring books
Part
6: At the Show
r Find where the table your rabbits are being shown on is?
o Once you’ve found this spot try and set up your carrying cages near that table so you can hear them yelling
out the breeds
r When your breed is called find your rabbit’s tattoo on the show cards and place
your rabbit that ‘hole’. (Cage space)
o Be polite and wait for your rabbit to be showed.
o Don’t make it obvious that you’re the owner of any one of the rabbits
o After the breed has been shown is a good time to ask the judge any questions you may have.
o Find the awards table and get your prize!
r If your rabbit has won Best of Breed you need to stay for Best of Show, if not you may
go home now.
r Best of Show works much the same as the rest of the show, except for only the Best of
Breed winners compete.
Tattooing Rabbits
We
tattoo rabbits for identification purposes. Tattoos are always in the left ear.
r Choose what you want your tattoo to read & here are some examples
o BR01
o Fluffy
o 0001
r Prepare your tattooing devise & have ink ready
o Clamp
o Tattoo Pen
r Wrap your rabbit up securely in something like a towel with only the left ear out
r Open the ear up with your free hand and look for any large blood vessels. Try to avoid these
if you can because the more an ear bleeds the less likely your tattoo will be permanent.
o If it’s hot or the blood vessels are swollen take an ice cube and rub the ear for a little bit
r Tattoo! If you’re using a clamp style tattoo device I like to hold it in the clamped position
for about 10 seconds.
r Rub your ink into the ear with a stiff bristle brush. Make sure you’re really getting
it into the holes.
r Wipe the ear out with a wet cloth and look to see if more ink is necessary
r When you’re satisfied about the ink rub some Bag Balm or Vaseline onto the ear to seal
the tattoo. Repeat daily for about 3 days.
r Write down your tattoo on their Pedigrees
