Hello all, new member to the forum. I have been involved with rabbits for about 9 years. I recently took over the lead of county fair rabbit barn for my area. I am always seeking out new information or new way to share information with my members. So happy to be here.
Jul
Oh bother, I re-read your post and now I'm thinking you were asking for input about educating 4-Hers/FFAers (members), not fair-goers. ?
If so, I have suggestions for that too.
Our local rabbit club has been working to develop programs for youth recruitment and education and we've been fairly successful. At our most recent ARBA Youth Shows - last Friday night - we had nearly double the number of entries (from about 30 to almost 60 rabbits) and almost half of the competitors were new. So here are the things we've been doing ...
Name-the-Breed contest: This stays new-feeling even for the youth who have already done it a few times. The competition gives the youth a motivation to learn the breeds, and it's easy to make it challenging for them but still give newbies a chance to get some of the answers right. For this one, we give out small prizes to everyone who at least tries. We hold it at nearly every Youth show, so over time the kids are really learning their breeds. It works for both rabbit club members and 4-H and FFA groups.
So this is how we set it up. I have made a set of pages that feature a representative photo of the breed (some but not all taken from the ARBA website
Recognized Breeds), as well as information that would separate similar-looking breeds. That information includes standard weights and number of accepted varieties, which differentiates each breed different from all others. We include some easy ones (Lionheads, Harlequins) and some tricky ones (the three breeds of Chinchilla rabbits, for instance). Competitors are free to, in fact urged to, study the ARBA SOP (Standard of Perfection), but once they're in the competition they cannot reference that. We do provide a list of ARBA-accepted breeds so they're not just guessing blind. Here is a sample of the test blank and some of the breed pages:
If your members get too good at naming the breeds, step up to identifying varieties. That one is best if you can have live rabbits for identification purposes, since some varieties require handling to identify them (looking at ring color, for instance). Some varieties will even stump some judges!
Showmanship clinics and competitions: This is another area where even experienced members can remain interested and growing. Once a member is an experienced hand at it, they can start being asked to give demonstrations and teach newcomers.
Rabbit Showing and Scribing Clinics: Many 4-H/FFA members don't know what actually happens at an ARBA show, so our "showing" clinics have been very popular. We include what goes on at an ARBA-sanctioned show, how to enter your rabbit, which rabbits can be entered (purebreds only), how to prepare your rabbit, what to do before and during the show, breed classes (junior, intermediate, senior bucks and does, etc.) and earning ARBA Grand Champion legs. For the kids that are already old hands at showing, we start them on scribing duties (
that responsibility will take anyone down a peg or two at first!).
Tattooing, Nail Clipping and Grooming Clinics: Not only are these useful clinics, but we have used them as fundraisers as well.
Coat Color Genetics Workshop: This can be for a group that already has all the basics as well as newcomers. I have found that running a beginning workshop for those new to genetics, and an advanced workshop for those that already understand that basics, works best.
View attachment Buyer Photo 2021.JPG
