Showing angora rabbits

Can anyone give me any ideas about showing angora rabbits?

An angora breeder here in Hawaii (that's on this forum. lol) suggested I look into showing Margie. She's a black angora rabbit.

She's lovely, right at 6 pounds, built like a brick. Pretty face. lol

I don't know what they look for in rabbits. She lets me groom her however I want.

Would she need to be in full coat? What weight should she be at? What sorts of things does one "do" to show a rabbit? What does the rabbit need to do?

I've only been to one rabbit show. HOWEVER, Betty Chu and Casey Jones, Big Names in showing English Angoras, were kind enough to allow me to accompany them to one of the Angora tables and to answer some of my beginner questions about Angoras.

The Angoras were, each and every one of them, in full coat. Thus the fear of many Angora owners, that the rabbit will decide to molt the week before The Show.

Both Ms. Chu and Ms. Jones travelled their rabbits to the show in double-bottom cages so that there would be no wet/dirty bottoms. One clever rabbit managed to mess himself anyway, so he got wiped clean and brushed up again!

Nails--all trimmed. Ears--all cleaned. Bellies and bottoms--all *very* clean. :wink:

Feet, bottoms, bellies, sides, backs, front feet, chests, necks, faces, in fact every square inch of every one of the English Angoras (something like 18 rabbits altogether for the two exhibitors, I think)--brushed/combed/blown out within an inch of its life.

They. Were. Gorgeous.

There was one irregularity, though: the show secretary didn't have a scale to weigh one rabbit the judge thought *might* be off-weight versus the SOP. Neither Ms. Chu nor Ms. Jones--who told me that they usually bring a scale "just in case"--had brought one that particular day. So this tells me that whatever weight the SOP requires for female English Angoras is what your doe should weigh, or very close to it. The weight seems to be taken pretty seriously.

In the event, the judge "weighed" the three best Angoras in that particular class against each other (relative weights). Finding, he said, "almost no difference" among them in weight and (I would guess) feeling very little difference as his hands examined the three, he then assigned their placements in that class.

Hope some of this helps!

1 - Buy a blower. Start blowing her coat 2 - 3 times a week, and STOP brushing .

2 - Buy a standard of perfection and read it.

3 - Realize that an OCD person will be driven slowly insane by showing English Angoras .

3 - Ideally know if you have molting lines, or non-molting lines. They are handled slightly differently.

4 - Have fun, you always leave with the best rabbit - your own .

I show 3 breeds of Angoras (soon 4), and I love it. Shows pass in a blur of laughing, fun, camaraderie and fuzz. Angora people are awesome

I have a K9II for dog grooming. I use that on them regularly. I usually use that and a comb. Much like I would a husky.

I'm not spending money on a SOP at this point. Frankly, I'm not sure I'm even interested in showing. I can buy a bag of food for the cost of that.

I have the type that you pluck the hair, not shave. So I assume molting?

dayna":34tizt8j said:

I have a K9II for dog grooming. I use that on them regularly. I usually use that and a comb. Much like I would a husky.

I'm not spending money on a SOP at this point. Frankly, I'm not sure I'm even interested in showing. I can buy a bag of food for the cost of that.

I have the type that you pluck the hair, not shave. So I assume molting?

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Yes, molting. If the hair wants to come out on its own and you pluck it without the rabbit objecting (i.e., you're not pulling the hair out by the roots!), then yep a molting-type coat.

Glad you already have a blower!

Yeah so far no one has complained but on my buck, I almost plucked him bald before I noticed! lol The fur was loose.... And we were just cuddling and plucking... And he ended up with a bald spot on his head. lol

They both seem to enjoy the plucking, maybe the molting fur itches? But I don't know how to pluck a rabbit for show. Is it like plucking a terrier for show? lol THAT I can do.

You can't pluck, brush, or comb an angora that's showing. If you don't want to buy a blower, you can use a hair dryer on a cool setting, but absolutely do NOT brush, comb, or pluck your angora. It looks like they have plenty of wool to spare, but density is key. Even just a tiny bit of wool lost every day will ruin your show rabbit.

Pretend that your angora's wool is made out of pure gold, and every time some of it comes out... a very adorable puppy dies.

I got a rabbit from Betty Chu's lines and was taught how to groom for show. My girl won several BIS. I would blow her for 5-15 minutes a day at least.

Some people may disagree with me, but there's really no reason to bother with the brushing. Blowing (even with just a hair dryer) is very easy and rewarding. I wouldn't go about it any other way.

Yeah, I do have a blower. A K9II.

http://www.groomerschoice.com/K-9-II-Dr ... nfo/ECK92/

Oops. I skimmed over that post. That's great.

If you have a moulting line and don't show.. Just blowing isn't going to cut it.. you have to comb or brush..

It's all about getting a bun to look like a round ball of fluff. Keeping that coat on the body during show season is the hardest part. I assume you are keeping your buns in the AC?

AC?

dayna":2rour4s0 said:

AC?

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Air Conditioning. I don't have any buns in temp controlled environments, it seems most Angora breeders in warmer climates do.

Oh AC! lol I don't know what I was thinking. No, I don't have AC. I do have my buns in the shade.