First rabbit show next January - what to do?

[hotzcatz]

Aloha!

There is a new rabbit club forming on our island and they are hoping to have a sanctioned rabbit show sometime next January. If someone is showing English Angoras, is there anything special to do to prepare the rabbits for a show? The particular rabbits I have shed their fur down to almost a "naked rat" stage and I don't think they'd do well at a show if they were at that particular stage in their coat in January. Do angora rabbit folks clip the rabbits at a certain date before the show so the coat will have time to grow in a particular amount for the show? Do they get washed and shampooed for shows?

My rabbits also don't have tattoos in their ears, are they required to have tattooed ears? How does one get them tattooed? I don't think they get taken to a tattoo parlor, do they?

I have a pair of English Angoras which are about two years old and they just had a litter last month, so the babies could be shown as "juniors" in January, couldn't they? Can a "broken black - VM" buck be shown or is that color a disqualification? The doe is a REW and the kits all came out either solid black or REW, although I haven't specifically checked for white toenails on the blacks yet.

I've never even been to a rabbit show before, what do I need to know before showing a rabbit? I have a large cage and some airline kennels to take the rabbits to the show, but I'm not sure what else I'd need. Perhaps a grooming table of some sort, water bottles and feed dishes, brushes and combs, etc.

So far the rabbit club hasn't had any meetings yet, but I'm sure there will be one or two before time for the show, I hope.

A hui hou!

 

[billylilwigeon]

Your rabbits will need to be in a carrier with a leak-proof drip pan.

Most shows require that the rabbits being showed be permanently earmarked in the left ear.

At 5 months of age (which is what the rabbits from that litter will be) they will be old enough to be shown as juniors.

The only thing I ever did to prep a rabbit's coat for the show room was use a spray bottle of water, but then again, I never raised angoras.

Other than that, since I've not been around showroom angoras that much, I really don't know what to tell you. Above all else, just go and try to have fun with it.

 

[grinlow farm]

I show english angoras and you want to have your bunnies in their best possible coat for the show. Some of my bunnies will hold their coat for 12 months or longer. Last week I evenly clipped several bunnies for spring showing in March. That means they have 6 months to get read for spring showings. This weekend I will be showing 16 angoras. Some are now 8 months old seniors and still have their baby coats on, about 7 inches of wool. Seniors need at least 3 inches of wool. When their coats are short I groom once a week with blower and brush legs and funishings. When they they are in full coat I blow them out every day or two.
I do not wash them but clean any stains as they occur. When grooming look for alot of flaking in the wool (looks like very heavy dandruff) and if found medicate for wool mites. They will ruin your wool. Make sure you check ears frequently for ear mites.
There is usually someone at the show (registrar) that will tattoo the left ear for you for a small charge.
Broken English Angoras can be shown as exhibition only - since they are still going through the approval process. VM are not showable. You need to check all tonails to make sure they are all the same color. White nails on a colored rabbit is a DQ. Seniors need to weight 5 pounds. Your rabbit will need touched up at the show so bring your grooming supplies. Blowers need to be used outside. Take supplies to clean up any accidents. Bunnies sometimes get a little stressed and you may have to clean a messy butt. Take a nice comfortable chair, snacks and have a wonderfull time!!!!

 

[avdpas77]

I guess you could air condition their cages down to 40F or so.

 

[hotzcatz]

Thanks Rabbit Folks!

Okay, I'll make a few carriers with drip proof pans, that shouldn't be too hard. I only have a total of seven angora rabbits right now (although there could be more by January) and one is a Broken Black - Vienna Marked so he's not showable so at the most, I'd only need six carriers. I'll see what rabbit sized tray is available at the garden supply store and build a cage around that. I've built something similar to fly animals inter-island with and it comes out nice enough looking for a show table, I'd think. Do these carriers usually have the door on the side or does the whole top hinge up?

I don't have a blower so they just get combed and brushed. I can clean their feet fur up with peroxide, perhaps, to get them white again? I used to use Mrs. Stewart's Laundry Bluing on my sister-in-law's Bichon Frise to get it really white, would that work with rabbits? I could wash them when they are at the "puppy clip" or even the "bedroom slipper" stage of fur growing but it would probably be a huge mess at the "dustmop" stage. I haven't ever washed them, though, I'm not sure they'd like that and afterward they'd have to be kept warm and completely out of drafts until they dried. Some folks with Yorkie dogs tie the hair up with rubber bands when it gets long and they also keep them in little knitted snoods to keep the hair neat. Does that work with rabbits?

The English Angoras I have also completely shed their fur several times a year, I don't see how I could convince them to keep their fur on for any really long length of time. It's really handy that they do since I want the fiber for spinning, but it seems I'd have to time the coat growth to the show times somehow.

Hmm, I'd better get a scale, too. What sort of scale do folks use to weigh rabbits with? Somehow a bathroom scale doesn't seem sensitive enough and a kitchen scale not quite big enough. Somewhere we have a fish scale but it's not overly accurate, either. Do they weigh the rabbits at the show?

I hope we have a rabbit scale AND a tattoo person at the rabbit show. That sure would make it easy.

Wow, showing sixteen angoras at one show. I don't think we even have that many of them on this island! At least, not yet, anyway. That's a lot of brushing. Is blowing out their coat a lot faster and easier than brushing and combing?

A hui hou

 

[grinlow farm]

At one of your next club meetings ask if someone can come and tatoo rabbits for you. I use a tatoo pen. They will weigh a if the judge thinks the rabbit feels too light or too heavy. I do not keep scales for the rabbits. If I have a question about weight I just use my personal scale.
I try not to brush too much because the rabbits are judged on density. brushing can remove too much wool. That is why I use a blower. It opens the coat and you can tell if there are places that will need brushing. I think using a blower makes grooming alot easier if you have really long coats.
Good luck at your show!!
English angoras use to blow coat every 4 months. The rabbits I had in the 70's do not look like the rabbits I have now. Show rabbits now are keeping the coat so much longer. That is why you see pictures of angoras with the massive coats. When my rabbits are retired from shows, I clip when the wool reaches 4-5 inches. I really don't want to spin fiber that is any longer.