Tuesday, February 14, 2006
Rabbit Registration Party
I'm big on registering rabbits. I try to register my rabbits as soon as they turn six months old. My rule is that, if they are good enough to breed, they are good enough to register.
The benefit is, of course, that whenever I grand a rabbit, its registration is already done and I need only send in the legs and fee. And, once the parents' generation is all registered, it is much simpler to fill out the paperwork for the offspring. The registrar who registers my bunnies once remarked that he loved registering my rabbits because it was so easy. Very seldom do we have to complete information for more than the sire and dam.
When folks buy rabbits from me, they get to enjoy the same benefits. I don't have to worry about their registering an offspring before I get the chance to register the parent. They don't have to miss out on getting a red, red & white, or red, white & blue seal on my account. And, they can tell at a glance that the rabbits in the pedigree were DQ-free.
When I first started out, I took my rabbits to shows to register them. But I generally do not show senior bucks at six months of age. They generally aren't ready to be competitive. And I like to breed does right at six months, so, depending on the show schedule, I would have to delay breeding for a week or two. That's no big deal unless I'm trying to breed a group of does together.
So, I talked with my registrar and found out that he's willing to come to my house as long as I have about a dozen rabbits that need to be registered at once. Great! I have that many every three to six months anyway. But I find that those that just missed being old enough to register on one visit may have gone overweight (especially if they've had a litter or two) or developed an injury-related DQ by the next visit, if it's six months between.
So, to solve this problem, I'm going to start throwing rabbit registration parties at my house once a quarter. That way, even if I don't have 12 rabbits to register, surely between my friends and me, we will. We are going to push the furniture aside and roll up the carpet to set up rabbit show-style in our great room. We will help each other fill out and check over the paperwork and look over each other's rabbits, just for fun. So I've suggested to my friends that they bring any rabbit that they want to have registered and any that they want informal peer review of.
Without the pressure of having to get rabbits to the judging table, we will have the time to look at some of our rabbits in-depth and compare opinions. I think it will be not only a fun time for all, but also a learning experience, too.
And of course we will have food. Chocolate. And something for the salty food lovers, too.
I hope that snow doesn't ruin our plans. I don't think I have another open weekend for quite awhile!
Didn't get on the invite list but are willing to drive to my house this weekend (one hour NW of Winston-Salem, NC, two hours from Charlotte, NC, less than 1 hour from Wytheville, VA)? Just email me! There's room for all!
Laurie Stroupe
The Nature Trail Rabbitry
Holland Lops Of Distinction
Precious Pet Rabbits
Pet Rabbit Care Information, Quality Pet Rabbit Breeders, and Rabbit Fun ¶ 10:04 AM
The benefit is, of course, that whenever I grand a rabbit, its registration is already done and I need only send in the legs and fee. And, once the parents' generation is all registered, it is much simpler to fill out the paperwork for the offspring. The registrar who registers my bunnies once remarked that he loved registering my rabbits because it was so easy. Very seldom do we have to complete information for more than the sire and dam.
When folks buy rabbits from me, they get to enjoy the same benefits. I don't have to worry about their registering an offspring before I get the chance to register the parent. They don't have to miss out on getting a red, red & white, or red, white & blue seal on my account. And, they can tell at a glance that the rabbits in the pedigree were DQ-free.
When I first started out, I took my rabbits to shows to register them. But I generally do not show senior bucks at six months of age. They generally aren't ready to be competitive. And I like to breed does right at six months, so, depending on the show schedule, I would have to delay breeding for a week or two. That's no big deal unless I'm trying to breed a group of does together.
So, I talked with my registrar and found out that he's willing to come to my house as long as I have about a dozen rabbits that need to be registered at once. Great! I have that many every three to six months anyway. But I find that those that just missed being old enough to register on one visit may have gone overweight (especially if they've had a litter or two) or developed an injury-related DQ by the next visit, if it's six months between.
So, to solve this problem, I'm going to start throwing rabbit registration parties at my house once a quarter. That way, even if I don't have 12 rabbits to register, surely between my friends and me, we will. We are going to push the furniture aside and roll up the carpet to set up rabbit show-style in our great room. We will help each other fill out and check over the paperwork and look over each other's rabbits, just for fun. So I've suggested to my friends that they bring any rabbit that they want to have registered and any that they want informal peer review of.
Without the pressure of having to get rabbits to the judging table, we will have the time to look at some of our rabbits in-depth and compare opinions. I think it will be not only a fun time for all, but also a learning experience, too.
And of course we will have food. Chocolate. And something for the salty food lovers, too.
I hope that snow doesn't ruin our plans. I don't think I have another open weekend for quite awhile!
Didn't get on the invite list but are willing to drive to my house this weekend (one hour NW of Winston-Salem, NC, two hours from Charlotte, NC, less than 1 hour from Wytheville, VA)? Just email me! There's room for all!
Laurie Stroupe
The Nature Trail Rabbitry
Holland Lops Of Distinction
Precious Pet Rabbits
Pet Rabbit Care Information, Quality Pet Rabbit Breeders, and Rabbit Fun ¶ 10:04 AM
