What questions to ask?

[Anntann]

I'm NOT a show rabbit person...yet. I haven't gotten up the nerve to take one to a show so far. BUT...I am going to a first rate breeder's show barn/rabbitry next month to buy a couple of rabbits, and he's said that I should have questions ready for him, and he'll try to answer. He'll give me a tour of the rabbitry and show me what to look for, etc.

I know what to ask about with Angoras, but NOT with show rabbits. What do you show people think I should be asking? I know he'll show me the good parts of the body type (mandolin) and breed standard, but are there other things that I should ask while I can?

 

[Brody]

I'd ask if he could show extremes of type - excellent and not great so you can actually get your hands on them to see if you can feel what he's talking about

 

[Jack]

And have him explain why/what he keeps
and show you how the breed develops from about 4weeks to 6mo

Most of the difficulty in breeding is choosing who to breed to whom,
and choosing who goes to freeze camp or the pet store.

 

[Anntann]

I hadn't thought about asking him about the breeding which doe to which buck to make "hips" better, or better fur, etc. like..which trait is a dominant sort of thing, which is a recessive.

Brody, I'm hoping he can show me a "can't sell this one because she's really poor" and a "here's what you NEED to look for" animal. I know he won't sell an animal that isn't "up to snuff"...and he's one of those that won't sell kits until they can be evaluated reliably...so that's cool.

 

[SatinsRule]

It never hurts to ask to see their pedigrees. At the very least, you can tell how many times a certain buck and/or doe have been used in their background.

 

[ladysown]

if you look at showing sometime....ask what needs to be done to get them show ready.