The Nature Trail Rabbitry BLOG
Tuesday, October 31, 2006
  Results
Results for open Hollands:

Solid Senior Buck

1 Hartwig/Waddel
2 Zemny/Feld
3 Zemny/Feld
4 Hartwig/Waddel
5 Todd Naragon
6 Mueller/Radfoth
7 Todd Naragon
8 Dumas/Valentine
9 Scott Rodriguez
10 Zemny/Feld

Solid Senior Doe

1 Roehe/Gibbons
2 Zemny/Feld
3 Rachel Mastrangelo
4 Debbie Russell
5 Muellerl/Rafoth
6 Dumas/Valentine
7 Dumas/Valentine
8 Lukeman/Buchenauer
9 Tracie Deling
10 Dumas/Valentine

Solid Junior Buck

1 Tiffany Schwandt
2 Janice Kevin ?
3 Tiffany Schwandt
4 Mueller/Rafoth
5 Julie Brown
6 Lukeman/Buchenauer
7 Coin/Nelson
8 Katie Hirschman
9 Gene Styles
10 Kay Miller

Solid Junior Doe

1 Dumas/Valentine
2 Mueller/Rafoth
3 Lauren Wark
4 Laurie Stroupe
5 Hartwig/Waddell
6 Becky Brim
7 Robert & Cindy Teel
8 Zemny/Feld
9 Hartwig/Waddell
10 Dumas/Valentine

Broken Senior Buck

1 Jenny Poprawski
2 Hartwig/Wadddell
3 Joy Kretzer
4 Coin/Nelson
5 Hartwig/Waddell
6 Chris & Willis Plank
7 Dwayne Scott
8 Lisa & John Braun
9 Coin/Nelson
10 Coin/Nelson

Broken Senior Doe

1 Brockreide/Sandoval
2 Ormond/Odabashion
3 Laurie Stroupe
4 Hartwig/Waddell
5 Laurie Stroupe
6 Hartwig/Waddell
7 Tiffany Schwandt
8 Ormond/Odabashion
9 Rachel Mastrangelo
10 Roehe/Gibbons

Broken Junior Buck

1 Katie Hirschman
2 Linda Jinnings
3 Tracie Deling
4 Mark & Nancy Taylor
5 Zemny/Feld
6 Coin/Nelson
7 Julie Brown
8 Katie Hirshman
9 Carrie Campo
10 Gene Styles

Broken Junior Doe

1 Henry Sabetti
2 Ormond/Odabashion
3 Ormond/Odabashion
4 Henry Sabetti
5 Tiffany Schwandt
6 Christina Topf
7 Zemny/Feld
8 Becky Brim
9 Laurie Vitale
10 Ormond/Odabashion

BOB Jennifer Poprawski
BOS Brockreide/Sandoval
BOG Solid - Hartwig/Waddell
BOSG Solid - Dumas/Valentine
BOG Broken - Jenny Poprawski
BOSG Broken - Brockereide/Sandoval

The numbers for each class for open weren't posted, but I believe the largest classes were 161 and the smallest was about 78 minus scratches.

Laurie Stroupe
The Nature Trail Rabbitry
  7:39 PM 0 comments links to this post
Monday, October 30, 2006
  Judgment Day
Today really started seven months ago. That's when all of the Holland breeders competing today looked at the calendar and planned their breeding for juniors. We made our best choices, practiced good husbandry, and hoped and wished.

Then we culled and evaluated, picked and repicked. Then it was time to travel. Finally, we were down to grooming and plucking a few loose hairs. It was time.

The most wonderful thing happened today. I got a chance to ramrod for a judge. I had a great time. It was so much fun and it kept me busy and kept my mind off of what was going on, on the other tables.

The judges were Joe Lugo, Joy Eckstrom, Manuel Hidalgo, and Jeremy Watmuff. I worked for Joy Eckstrom. Her first class was broken junior doe. Her second, solid senior doe.

About mid-morning, a friend came by and asked how things were going. He went to check on my bunnies and came back to report that NT499, which is The Nature Trail's Millicent, was still on the table and there were four rabbits left. After he left, I turned to the breeder next to me and told her that I wasn't going to get excited because as soon as I did, there would be a bunch of bunnies in the back in a coop. Two minutes later, my friend was back. "There's a bunch of bunnies still in the back." See, I told you.

But Millicent did come in fourth place after all out of 166. So my friend wasn't wrong, he was just early!

Later in the day, I noticed May in the coops behind Joe Lugo. When there were 15 cards left on the table, I glanced over and saw that both Panache and May were still on the table. I got busy again helping Joy, but later saw Joe Lugo weighing May. I caught the eye of a breeder who held up three fingers to me. I just realized that I should have known that she actually came in third - we only weighed the top five this year - but I refused to believe it until I saw it in writing. May was third and her grand champion daughter Panache was fifth.

Those were my only top ten placements, but I'm quite pleased with them. I also had a 12th with Zeppo, a 16th (I think it was) with April, another May daughter, and an 18th with Quinten. Quinten is Millicent's littermate.

I have no idea whether there was anything else interesting, but I do not believe there were any more top ten placements. I would be happy if another bunny came in 20th or something like that. I do know that my two senior bucks were still on the table when the class got down to 40 something out of about 140. They are still pretty young, so I was pleased with that.

Jenny Poprawski was Best of Breed with the same broken senior buck that won at Nationals. Spanky joins a very short list of rabbits to win BOB at both Nationals and Convention.

Nicole Brockreide and Debra Sandoval won the BOS with their broken senior doe.

Laurie Stroupe
The Nature Trail Rabbitry


  10:10 PM 1 comments links to this post
Sunday, October 29, 2006
  Saturday and Sunday
It's Sunday evening already. I've been here less than 48 hours, but it has been 2 1/2 days since I left home. So much has happened and yet nothing has happened. The main event is yet to come.

I started out Saturday morning quite predictably by going to my cousin's first kung fu test. Just kidding. I really didn't see that one coming! She is 6 years old and was trying to earn her first fringe on her white belt. It was all quite fascinating.

By lunchtime, we were ready to head back to the showroom. It was a one-hour trip that lasted over 2 1/2 hours. Construction, apparently.

I did get a chance to show my cousins a lot of the rabbits. They seemed to really like seeing such different rabbits, especially the English Angoras. I enjoyed giving them the grand tour.

Next, I met up with my roommate and got settled into the hotel room. Then it was back to the showroom to officially check in and continue with getting the rabbits settled in. Virtually none were eating and drinking. The only thing that seemed to universally tempt them was the Oxbow hay. A few liked the dehydrated banana/pineapple chunks I brought. But most are being quite stubborn about eating.

My roommate's luggage never arrived. I began to feel pretty fortunate that my trip the previous day hadn't been worse. Apparently many people were still without their rabbits and/or luggage. I heard the same stories, over and over. The details were different, but the story was the same: everything that could go wrong, did.

Eleven more of my bunnies arrived on Sunday; they had ridden in with friends from North Carolina. Two went straight to folks who had purchased them. I cooped the remaining nine.

Thanks, Keith, for saving the day. My feed did not make it here and the manufacturer didn't send any. Thankfully, Keith brought a bag and was willing to share with me. I thank you and my bunnies thank you!

Here is the reality of Convention, if you take a fair number of bunnies. You go from coop to coop, perhaps to put in risers, feed, water, groom, clean the coop, lock the coop, unlock the coop, or something else. By the time you make it to your last coop, it is time to go through them again to do another item from the list!

Even with making the rounds several times to my coops, I had some free time to visit with people and look at bunnies. I went to the judge's conference in the afternoon. There was plenty of time after that for shopping the vendors and just going with the flow.

I purchased two Standards of Perfection. I keep losing mine. If you see one lying around somewhere with my name on it, please send it back to me. I'd be happy to pay postage!

By evening, I was starving. I had some wonderful Tex-Mex food and then headed back to the Hilton to write my BLOG and watch Desperate Housewives.

The trick tonight will be trying to get some sleep with such an exciting day just around the corner.

Laurie Stroupe
The Nature Trail Rabbitry
  9:28 PM 0 comments links to this post
Saturday, October 28, 2006
  A Series of Unfortunate Events
My biggest fear in flying with my rabbits was getting separated from them. The worry of it stole my ability to sleep soundly on Thursday night. I woke up at 4:00 a.m., when I had the option of sleeping until 6:00 a.m., with too much on my mind. Too bad because I had a long day ahead of me and could have used those last two hours' sleep.

The day started with rain. I was annoyed because it made packing up the rabbits so much more difficult. We can't drive the van down the dirt road to the barn when it rains - there's too much chance of getting stuck. And of course, there's packing up with cold water falling on your head, too. But had I known how much impact the rain would have on my day, I would have taken time to curse it before starting the long, long day.

We left on time. That may have been the only thing that actually worked according to schedule. So what was the plan? Drive to Charlotte, arrive two hours before the flight. Fly to Atlanta and catch a connecting flight to DFW. Take a shuttle to the Convention Center. Check in, coop my bunnies, and then be available to ride home with my cousin William whenever he finished his work for the day. As you will see, my day only loosely resembled the plan.

We did get caught up in traffic on the way to the airport. When we finally passed the "wreck," is was four apparently undamaged cars off the road on the left side. But even still, we managed to make it to the airport on time.

Let me take a moment to describe my bunny set-up. It's extremely wonderful. I have two carriers with five rabbits each in a large dog kennel. A third layer in the kennel is a large, flat plastic container with rabbit supplies. The top is fastened to the bottom with twelve connectors. Then we flip the wheels to the top and bungee them on.

But when we first arrived, the kennel was on wheels, so we wheeled through the line and checked in via computer kiosk. When we got to the part where you check your baggage, I was told that we were in the wrong line. We should have gone to the "International" line. Of couse, why didn't I think of that?

After waiting through what I admit was a short line, we were met with an agent who had no idea what to do, so she read every regulation on her screen. She asked for the health certificate. I mentioned that the certificate was not required since I was traveling with the rabbits, but it was easier in the end to point to it taped to the top of the carrier.

Finally, we were approved. One suitcase was overweight by 10 lbs. - the weight of the laptop. So I ended up lugging this sucker all of the way to Dallas. Be sure to read my BLOG each day during this week to make it worth keeping this on my shoulder for so long!

We were lead to an out-of-the-way spot to wait for the TSA agent. He showed up five to ten minutes later. We had to take the kennel apart and show him the layers, then we reassembled the whole thing and flipped the wheels. All we had to do was wait for a skycap to pick up the kennel and then I could go through the screening process to go to the gate.

But then we waited and waited and waited. The ticket agent made several calls. I began to worry that I wouldn't be able to go through the screening process and make it to the gate on time. I began to worry that the rabbits would make it and I wouldn't. Finally I was "reassured" that my flight had been delayed - due to the weather - and that my ticket for my connecting flight had to be adjusted to a later plane. But then she found that that flight was delayed, too, so no changes were needed.

Now remember, we're stilling waiting for someone to pick up the kennel. Finally, the TSA agent announces that he has "work to do," so he takes the approval sticker off the kennel and leaves.
About five to ten minutes later, the skycap comes to pick up the kennel, but now there's no TSA approval. So we wait another five to ten minutes for a different agent. Now we have to take the kennel apart again. This agent is even more thorough, but we get everything reassembled in the end and the kennel is now safely on its way.

The flight that was supposed to leave at 12:05 was now scheduled for 2:00 p.m. So I waited and waited. I should have had a crystal ball telling me to eat something. My next meal would not be for quite some time.

We finally boarded and then were told that we had an additional 45-minute delay. We got to the runway and watched plane after plane after plane take off while we sat. Finally, we were on our way.

The flight was blissfully uneventful, especially after we cleared the bad weather. The next unfortunate event in the series was that I had missed my connecting flight - you remember, the one that was supposed to be delayed and no problem.

I was told that the next flight out was on the next concourse over - and leaves at 7:50 p.m.
On my way there, I saw a flight boarding for DFW and decided to see if I could still get on the plane. Apparently people were still trickling in due to the delays everywhere and I got on. But I checked to see if my bunnies made it. The flight attendant asked one of the luggage handlers if the rabbits were on board. I told him mine were in a large white kennel. He assured me they were. But something did not inspire confidence. Unfortunately, my gut was right.

We arrvied at the Dallas-Fort Worth airport about 6:30 p.m. I waited for the luggage, but mine never showed up. There were rabbits on the flight alright, but they weren't in a kennel and they weren't mine, obviously.

The next flight from Atlanta was to arrive at 10:00 p.m., so I sat down to wait. Where else would I go?

I decided to write this BLOG and worked on it for quite awhile when the "low battery" light came on. I attempted to save my work and lost the whole thing. Oh well, this one is working out much better anyway.

The plane finally landed just before 10:00 p.m. A white kennel of rabbits arrived. Yeah! Booooo. Not mine. Then kennel and carrier after kennel and carrier full of rabbits began to arrive. I had been so worried because the showroom closed at 11:00 (a very poor choice on the part of the planning committee - people flying obviously cannot control when they arrive). But I learned from another breeder that we would be allowed in to coop our bunnies. How nice to have one worry relieved. Now, if I could just see MY bunnies, I could start feeling optimistic.

Finally they arrived. I could see that the ones in front were still alive and doing well. I stopped to call the phone number on top of another kennel of rabbits. I was sure that if the owners had been there, they would have picked them up already. It turns out that they had been told their rabbits were delayed until morning, so they had gone to rent a car. I saw them later, and they were quite happy to be getting their Dutch that night.

I pulled my couple hundred pounds of luggage and bunnies out to the curb to wait for the shuttle. I had to drag everything about 7 gates to get to the right place. The first car they sent was way too small, so I had to wait for another shuttle. After riding around in the airport checking all of the gates for about 45 minutes, we headed downtown.

Lucky for me, my cousin was willing to continue working until about 12:21 a.m. when I arrived at the showroom. My cousin joined me and helped me coop my bunnies. We then drove to Plano, about an hour away. I was so starving by then that I had to make time for a sandwich. After a shower, I was in bed at 2:30 - 3:30 a.m. home time.

The good thing was that I had a delightful conversation with the second flight attendant and met a delightful man waiting for his wife, who apparently missed the flight I caught. And I got a chance to catch up with my cousin.

And of course, now I'm here, in Texas, planning to return to the showroom in a little while, ready for what has to be much better days ahead.

Laurie Stroupe
From Convention!
  9:59 PM 0 comments links to this post
Thursday, October 26, 2006
  Last Day Before Convention
Today is my last day to prepare for Convention. There's a lot to do, but things are pretty much under control. Yes, you can remind me at midnight today when I have "just one more thing" to do!

I'm taking my airplane bunnies to the vet. The certificate is not supposed to be required, but too many people have said that they were asked for one anyway. I don't want to take chances. Plus, that will get me an acclimation certification (bunnies are okay down to 20 degrees), which may be required.

If you are going to Convention and will be at the HLRSC banquet, don't forget to bid on my auction item: the design and development of a deluxe rabbitry website! It includes a year of free maintenance. If you've been thinking of having a website designed, now is the time to jump on it.

I am taking a laptop to Convention with me and will try to stay awake at night long enough to write my BLOG. We'll see how well that works. I tend to have a hard time staying awake long enough to eat supper, so it will be a challenge.

I still have to pack my clothes, wash some bunny dishes, pack last minute items, including enough feed to get my bunnies through judging. I'm still working on a little booklet to go with my auction item. I still haven't checked tattoos. That's my least favorite thing, so I tend to put it off as long as possible.

I'll rack my brain trying to think of the one thing that I'm forgetting. I will lie awake tonight wondering about what that thing is.

I'm going to miss a lot while I'm gone. The kids are so disappointed that I won't be here for Halloween. I've never missed it before. The puppies should open their eyes while I'm gone. I have newborns in the nest box who will be huge when I get back. One nest box needs to go in while I'm gone, too (I know, bad planning, but Andrew said it was okay).

Last night, I dreamed that I had to go home from Convention early, so I didn't know how my rabbits had done. I got a cell phone call from someone who was trying to tell me what happened, but the call kept breaking up. So, my crystal ball is just not working. As always, I feel like my bunnies can't possibly compete with the incredible competition that will be there. It just seems so improbable.

The good thing is that I'll have fun no matter what happens on the show table.

Laurie Stroupe
The Nature Trail Rabbitry “Home Of Grand Champions”
Precious Pet Rabbits
Affordable Web Site Design
  8:06 AM 0 comments links to this post
Wednesday, October 25, 2006
  The Good Holland Judge
We all want a good Holland judge to evaluate our rabbits. Sure, when I got started, I used to joke that I wanted bad Holland judges who might accidentally pick my rabbits! But even then, I really wanted a judge whose opinions and placements really meant something. But what makes a really good Holland judge?

The Right Touch

We can argue about which characteristic is the most important, but for me, it is the right touch. Hollands require gentle but firm handling. A Holland cannot be forced into the right pose. They are independent enough to fight that. The Holland must be encouraged into the right pose. The judges with the best touch seem to barely touch the rabbit, but still convey exactly what they want.

We know that Hollands' ears should be evaluated when the rabbit is calm, but that really goes for every part. A top line doesn't look right until the rabbit settles in a bit. And many Hollands calm best when being handled by calm, reassuring hands. I've had rabbits that were allowed to sit on the judging table to relax. The judge obviously didn't realize that that freedom kept the Holland's curiosity - and ears - in high alert. Calming hands would have reassured the Holland and those ears would have come right down.

Who has the best touch? I haven't shown under all judges, so this is not an exhaustive list, but I have high regard for Todd Naragon, Allan Ormond, Cathy Patrick, Randy Shumaker, Bruce Ormsby, Greg West, and Terry Fender in this area.

Uses The Standard Over Personal Opinion

I've heard judges say that a rabbit has to have x, y, or z to be successful on their table. If you have been showing for a while, then you know that certain judges favor certain parts over others. The famous "meat judge" reputation is tantamount to a judge only caring about the body. All of these approaches are just wrong.

There's only one way to judge any breed and that is according to the specific standard for that breed.

I love to see a judge review the standard before the rabbits come up. And I give kudos to any judge who checks the standard again when trying to make final selections. A judge may recognize that bunny A has a better crown and bunny B has better fur. That's the time to see where the points lie and break any ties according to the standard.

[I must add, too, that judges vary in their skill at accurately interpreting the standard. The best judges have supplemented their reading with real life experience with Hollands so that their interpretation is real and accurate, not just their understanding of the words.]

Allan Ormond gets top award for this, mentally calculating the points as he judges. Lee Engel has a nice understanding of our breed. Rusty Westhoff is good at checking that standard. Robert Frizzell also keeps his standard nearby and refers to it as necessary. I know I've seen other judges do it often as well.

I hope that judges don't see checking the standard as a sign of weakness. Generally I've noted that it is the very best judges who do it most.

Good Time Manager

This skill, in my opinion, is far less important than the first two, but has the potential to ruin an otherwise promising judge. The worst time management error, in my opinion, is the one who rushes. Sure he or she has some nice bunnies at the top of the class, but they tend to miss more worthy bunnies, too.

Too slow is okay for new judges. But we should see improvement over time.

The best time managers have a very good system. They can take stock of the class size, make a plan, communicate it to their writer and ramrod, and work through the class logically, whether there are 5 or 50 or more. They save time by knowing what they are looking for and handling the rabbits less often. They spend more time at the top, making the close calls between the top placing rabbits. They don't spend a lot of time organizing the bottom of the class.

Jeff Hardin impressed me at Nationals with the clarity of his thought and his management of the classes he judged. Todd Naragon is extremely thrifty in movement and time without giving rabbits short shrift.

Impartiality

I've heard judges sum up a breed of rabbits before they even came to the table. They know which breeds have an outstanding rabbit in that geographical region and they expect that rabbit to win. I've seen exhibitors who routinely rush to schmooze the judges before the show starts and even cross over the line in interacting with the judge while he or she is judging. Those are the ones who plop their rabbits down right in front of the judge or always hold their rabbits until last, so that the judge is sure to know which is theirs.

The best judges are immune to exhibitor behavior, calling the worst behavior to the attention of the show superintendent, and start each new class with a totally clean slate and open mind.

It's nearly impossible to forget that a certain rabbit has 40 legs or that you just picked it Best In Show last week. Judges are just human, after all. But the best judges make a conscious effort to say to themselves, "This is a new day and a new competition." They are open to the a whole new set of outcomes.

I can't evaluate judges on this dimension. All we have to go by is appearances. I do know there are some judges who need to ask themselves some tough questions and to evaluate their appearances of bias.

Professionalism

An otherwise great Holland Judge loses all appeal if she or he lacks professionalism. There's no place for a defensive judge, an antagonistic judge, the prima donna, the complainer, or a rough talking, insulting judge.

Any legitimate comment can be made by a judge in a professional manner. Judges that have problems at the show should bring them to the attention of the show superintendent. Complaining or whining is not becoming.

A professional judge, in my opinion, is friendly without becoming best buds with just a few exhibitors, exudes confidence so there's no need to be defensive, makes all comments in non-inflammatory terms, arrives on time, gives complete comments, and treats the table secretary as a team member.

One of the most professional judges ever is Ray Brewer. He's friendly, gives complete comments, and let's it be known that we do things the ARBA way at his table, without being the least bit offensive about it. He strives to be consistent in his application of the standard. We could use more judges with his level of professionalism.

I've shown under Ray quite a bit, so I can personally vouch for his consistency. I've shown under Joe Lugo just three or four times, but he also shows a high level of professionalism at the table. I've seen him twice at national-level shows and once locally. I look forward to showing under him again some day.

I recently showed under Terry Fender for the first time, and he struck me the very same way - very professional. I hope that the sample I saw was his normal way of operating. If it was, then I'd have to nominate him for one of the most professional judges.

Total Package

I'm sure there are lots of other qualities that go together to make the total package, but these are the most important qualities to me. There are probably many judges who exhibit these qualities that I'm not yet familiar with. But I'm always on a quest to add a new judge to my "Favorite Holland Judges" list.

Laurie Stroupe
The Nature Trail Rabbitry “Home Of Grand Champions”
Precious Pet Rabbits
Affordable Web Site Design
  9:03 AM 1 comments links to this post
Friday, October 20, 2006
  Evaluating a Rabbit
I have a friend with a brand new bunch of bunnies. I feel for all of the work her family will be going through to get to know those bunnies and decide which ones to keep and which to eventually sell. Never mind trying to figure out which are the smart pairs to breed! Her situation has gotten me to thinking about how we evaluate our rabbits anyway.

Whether we are buying rabbits, dividing up a rabbitry, or getting to know our own juniors, we need to know how to evaluate a rabbit. So here are my thoughts on the subject.

Health First

Eyes, nose, and bottom tell the vast amount of the tale when it comes to health. Clear eyes, clean nose, and clean bottom are a must. Take into account any rabbit that has been sitting in a carrier for too long. Also, remember that changes in feed can take a toll. But any small problem with stool should clear up after a couple of days in a clean cage with plenty of hay.

But also look at the rabbit's ears for signs of ear mites and canker. The ear should be clean. There should be no lumps or bumps, other than scars from tattoos and perhaps nips from littermates.

Check between the shoulder blades for signs of dander. Blow into the fur. If you see something that looks like dandruff, you may be looking at fur mites. It's not big deal, actually. Anyone who shows is at risk for them. But you would want to treat for it before exposing your herd to them.

Feel the abdomen and all over the body, searching for lumps or bumps that should not be there. Chin and cheek areas are prone to abscesses. Check the abdomen for pot belly or tumors. Lumps with an open hole at the top (you may have to wash the lump to see the hole) may be a warble - a parasite growing under the skin which requires removal.

Check the footpads for sore hocks. With Hollands, this is not usually a huge issue, but if you see that the feet are starting to wear, you will know to give that rabbit a solid rest surface for a while.

Check the genitals and face for any signs of vent disease - pimples, sores, swelling.

Check for Disqualifications

Check teeth. That's a tough one if the rabbit is nervous and clenching his or her teeth. Try to check the teeth when the jaw is relaxed. Broken teeth should grow back in, in about two weeks. Missing teeth may or may not grow back in, depending on whether it is pulled out or broken at the gum line.

Check nails. Very short nails may actually be mismatched nails. Look at the standard for the rabbit's color to know what you are looking for. The front middle nail is very prone to being mismatched. Dilutes tend to have trouble with white toenails. The intensity of color may be different on the front and back nails, but the nails on the same foot and corresponding foot should match (if the color standard calls for matching; it is not an issue on broken rabbits). Missing nails may not grow back in.

Check toes. Yes, sometimes rabbits do not have the right number of toes, but I'm really thinking about broken toes. You will know one when you feel it. It's very wobbly feeling compared to the rest.

Look in the eyes. You looked at them for matter before. Now look for cloudy spots or dimples in the surface of the eye. Make sure you have good light for this.

Check the fur for foreign white spots or chunks missing that a judge might decide detracts from the rabbit's appearance. These usually appear in the ears. Missing chunks on the body may be from barbering, but they may also be from mange or other problems.

Check the genitals and confirm the sex. Make sure bucks are not split and have two descended testicles (seniors). If you cannot find two testicles, you may be able to get them to descend by thumping or firmly patting the hindquarters. Some judges plop the rabbit on the table from 6 to 8 inches above.

Check for a tail. Some Hollands are missing these or are missing part of the tail. I've never seen a crooked Holland tail, but check for any abnormality in the tail.

You are probably very familiar with the tort color standard. But if you are looking at any other color, you may want to peek into the standard to make sure all requirements are met. Rings or no rings, proper under colors, matching eye colors, and so forth are very important.

Weigh the rabbit.

Conformation

You've already done a ton of work checking out this rabbit. But now it is time to really get into the nitty gritty. There are some awful Hollands that would pass every inspection so far. But you still wouldn't want them in your herd.

I start with the hindquarter because I think that's the most important part. Check for cow hocks, undercut and pinching. The ideal is parallel hind feet, far apart. Most successful Hollands are some close approximation of that. Few are near perfect. But I can't tolerate hind feet that are more V than parallel. They must be mostly parallel. Narrow hindquarters in does especially should not be tolerated.

A full-to-the-table Holland is a valuable thing. Even if it's not up to show quality in other ways, it is usually valuable for a breeding problem.

Check for pin bones. Sure, an underfed rabbit will feel bonier than a well conditioned ones. But a Holland with pin bones will be sharp over the hips no matter what you do. And it's stubborn to breed out, so don't even go there.

Shoulders are tough in Hollands, I think. If you get really wide shoulders, beware. I most often find them in flat rabbits. When I get the really upright, showy rabbit, they often have more narrow shoulders. So, I'm looking for acceptable shoulder width. I will not accept a flat rabbit to get good shoulder width. I'd rather give just a little on the shoulder width and get the proper depth. You have to make your own decision. But try very hard not to keep anything with very narrow shoulders.

I do not tolerate low shoulders very well. Next to a great hindquarter, I think the proper top line is one of the most important parts of a Holland. The shoulder depth starts that top line out right. It should continue at the same or slightly greater depth until over the hips, where it should make a beautiful turn toward the table.

Do not buy or keep anything with a bad slope over the hindquarters. It is too tough to breed out. And it ruins the look of a Holland. It is one of the most difficult parts to properly evaluate because it depends on getting the rabbit well posed. I can make my best rabbits look sloped by posing them badly (and, I unfortunately do sometimes in my photos when I can't get the cooperation I need). I cannot make a sloped rabbit look like it has a great top line, though.

I personally feel that this is one of the important things about Hollands that is not appreciated, evaluated, or understood by many breeders and judges alike. I see sloping Hollands used on rabbitry logos and in rabbitry ads. Obviously, if they saw it as the severe fault that it is, they wouldn't use those pictures that way. And too many judges will place a severely sloping Holland high in the class.

Off my soapbox and moving on . . .

Note whether the rabbit has a wide and deep chest. A narrow or short chest ruins the beefy look of a Holland.

Bone is so important; it sets up the massive look of our Hollands. More than one judge has commented lately that Hollands are getting to be way too light on the bone. Would I keep a perfectly balanced rabbit with light bone over a heavy boned Holland with nothing else much going for it? Probably, if that were the choice. It's probably best to keep neither, in that case. Now if we're talking about medium bone with everything else nice, I'd probably keep it and try to breed it to bone.

I've saved the head for last because I think it's an easier piece to get than a nice hindquarter and top line. Check for full cheeks, broad, even width between the eyes, eyes that are so deeply set that you cannot see them from the front, and a bold eye. Ask yourself whether the head is round, shows good curvature (one of my favorite parts), and is massive.

The ears should ideally start just behind the eye. If it does, that means you have a wide crown and a crown that is set properly and not slipped. Crown definition refers to whether you can see it projecting away from the head. Check for width side to side, width front to back, and vertical depth.

I am picky about my ears. I know they don't carry a huge number of points, but they, with the crown, give the Holland its distinctive look. I keep short, fat, thick, well-furred ears. Yes, if everything else about the rabbit is outstanding, I'll take acceptable ears. But I get really excited about great ears. I almost sold Prescott the other day, but I took another look at those ears - almost as fat as they are long, very thick, and very well furred, and I just couldn't do it.

You do want to evaluate the fur, but it is best to try to figure out where the fur is in its life cycle. If the fur is in its prime condition and still not so hot, you need to take that into consideration. But if it is a dead or slipping coat, a baby coat, or a double coat, you want to take that into consideration, also. Ask yourself to separately evaluate density, texture, color, and length.

There are tons of other things you want to look at including the overall balance and attractiveness of the rabbit. Do the parts really add up? Also, check for hollowness in the loin or just before the hips. Evaluate the rabbit's natural pose and check the spine for deviations. If you have to fight too hard for a pose, be honest with yourself before you just decide he's shy. I think 90% of posing is genetic.

Photograph The Rabbit

If you already have the rabbit home, such as your own juniors or new seniors, then photograph the rabbit. Spend enough time so that you get a well posed front shot and a well posed side shot. Staring at the rabbit trying to see if it's a good shot will teach you so much about the bunny. And, then you'll have photos to use to compare with other rabbits. You will definitely see things you did not see before.

Check The Pedigree

Especially when you are buying a rabbit, but even if you aren't, check the pedigree. When you are buying, you are looking for full information for three generations. This information must include the variety and weight. Ear numbers are optional. You are also looking for lines that you know cross well with yours.

If it is your bunny, then you are looking for family traits that you think the rabbit is starting to show. Also, you will want to get a sense of whether the rabbit is from a slow-developing line or a quick one. It may help you interpret weight, too. I have a line that zooms up to its adult weight and slams on the brakes between 4 and 5 months. I have other bunnies that grow until they are 9 or 10 months old.

If I'm looking at a group of junior bucks, for example, the pedigrees may tell me that I like two brothers from the same litter equally well. In that case, I'll keep the broken and sell the solid! I'm almost just kidding - I do love brokens! In the case of a tie, flip a coin if you don't have cage space. If you do, keep them until you have a clear winner. That's the better answer, of course.

Summary

Now, once you've done all of that about 150 times, you should be pretty good at it. If you are planning to evaluate many rabbits, you might want to make yourself a scorecard for them so you can compare information you gather over a period of time.

Thankfully, our breed is too complex to ever full conquer, but having a plan and consistently following it can help you to make better decisions on buying and culling.

Laurie Stroupe
The Nature Trail Rabbitry “Home Of Grand Champions”
Precious Pet Rabbits
Affordable Web Site Design
  8:41 AM 0 comments links to this post
Thursday, October 19, 2006
  Let Nothing Stop You
I'm the oldest of three children. I have a brother who is 15 months younger than I am. Until this week, he has spent his life as a bachelor. The fact that he got married for the first time at 43 is pretty miraculous in itself, but the rest of the story is really spectacular.

Paul fell in love with Lynn when they were 13 years old. They "dated" until they were 15. At that time, Lynn's parents felt they were too young to be that serious and put an end to their relationship.

Paul really never got over Lynn. He didn't date anyone through high school. He did meet a woman in college and eventually became engaged to her, at least twice, if my memory serves me, but they just never could get things right.

Paul says that he spent his life comparing every woman to Lynn. I often said that losing her had broken his heart and he had never really gotten over her.

Lynn was under the impression that our family had moved away, so she never looked for Paul in his home town where he has lived for the last three decades. For the last several years, she tried looking him up and actually found our sister once. Unfortunately, Wendie has only sporadically had email, so she never received Lynn's message.

Then just a few weeks ago, she found Paul's number. She was so afraid to call him. He was probably married with a bunch of kids, she thought. But she finally got up the nerve to call and just say hello.

It's a good thing she did. They were married yesterday.

I knew that Paul was in love when he told me, "She looks just like she did!" Now remember, he hadn't seen Lynn since she was 15 and now she's 43. That's love alright!

Now I don't know if that means they hold the family record for the shortest relationship before marriage. My parents dated for six weeks before getting engaged and were engaged for six weeks before getting married. Do we count 2 1/2 weeks or do we include the three years they dated as teenagers?

Well, either way, it has been an amazing week for our family. I can't believe it's only been a week since my brother called me to tell me about getting back together with Lynn. He just asked if I'd talked to mom recently to which I replied, "You're getting married, aren't you?" I didn't even know he had a girlfriend at the time, but I could hear it in his voice.

My brother is more alive today than he has been in at least 20 years. I'm so thrilled for him, and wish Lynn and Paul the very best.

So what does this all have to do with bunnies? Nothing. I just think it's a wonderful story.

Laurie Stroupe
The Nature Trail Rabbitry “Home Of Grand Champions”
Precious Pet Rabbits
Affordable Web Site Design
  7:24 AM 2 comments links to this post
Wednesday, October 18, 2006
  Correcting Errors
Do you check your show report and legs as soon as you get them in the mail? You should. Errors do happen and the sooner they are caught, the easier they are to correct.

I just got a show report today. Everything was in order except that one leg was missing. I've made the mistake in the past of not jumping right on the problem and never got that leg. So I emailed the show secretary today, explained what had happened and requested that the leg be sent. I'm sure there will be no problem. The show secretary still has show information. The club is required to keep it for six months.

Another time, two of my does placed in the top of the class. One was BOS. When the judge got to the end, he decided to call out the first place rabbit's ear number first. The table writer missed that and got them reversed. I heard him do that and remembered the order distinctly because the #2 rabbit had been BOB the week before so I told her that she'd had her turn (you do talk to your rabbits, right?). Anyway, because they were both my rabbits and because I had nothing but my own recollection to go on, I decided not to say anything about it. I figured both does would grand.

Wrongo. The doe that got the leg in error died. If I had only spoken up right away, the living doe would have gotten the leg and been able to use it.

Since that time, I've seen things written down incorrectly several times at the show table. Things are noisy. Ear numbers are similar. Not every judge makes it crystal clear when they decide to change the order of things.

[I wrote for a judge the other day that was so good at that, by the way. He stopped and made a big deal out of the fact that he would be calling out the first place rabbit's number before the second place. It would be nice if they all did not.]

Because things can happen, I do try to keep an eye on what is being written down. It's so much easier to correct when the judge still has the first place rabbit on the table! Next week, and a few hundred rabbits later, that judge may have no clue whatsoever.

If you care about sweepstakes points, you should also keep a record of those. Then, check them against the show reports. Sometimes, there will be a small difference such as the number in the class. I might argue that not every show secretary knows which DQs reduce the class size and which don't, but usually there are not enough points different to be worth the discussion. So, just like adjusting your checking account by 6 cents instead of spending hours looking for the error, I just adjust my spreadsheet. If my points come out to be vastly different than the club's at the end of the year, I will have all of my documentation available to help correct the problem.

I've had a few problems with my Grand Champion Certificates and registration certificates. By and large, they are very accurate. A couple of them have had misspellings on them. All that I've needed to do is email ARBAREGISTRATION@aol.com and explain the situation. When the problem is on their end, they send a new one with no cost.

One of the rabbits that I registered for someone else ended up with wrong parents on the registration form. Looking back, I know what happened. The forms and pedigrees got jumbled up, and when they were rematched, one was matched incorrectly. Susan at ARBA has informed me that that sort of correction needs to be made immediately and involves fees and a copy of the pedigree. I need to start remind folks I register rabbits for to be sure to check their certificates as soon as they get them. Me, too. I usually look them over, but I need to be more consistent about that.

I did see once that a rabbit named D'Artagnan was misspelled on a pedigree. I didn't think much of it, until it showed up again. Duh. That problem was in the database now and it would continued to be misspelled for three generations. I learned to check the registration form and get the problem corrected right then. It's worth it.

None of these problems is difficult to correct It all boils down to paying attention, checking over paperwork, and correcting the problem immediately.

Laurie Stroupe
The Nature Trail Rabbitry “Home Of Grand Champions”
Precious Pet Rabbits
Affordable Web Site Design
  4:20 PM 1 comments links to this post
Tuesday, October 17, 2006
  Packing For Convention
I've been packing for Convention for quite a while now, but since my last show before Convention is finished, I need to get serious.

First, there are a few things that I won't pack. I'll purchase hay at the show certainly. It's time for a new bottle of Vanodine, so I won't need to take any with me. I want to purchase a couple of Standards of Perfection - I keep misplacing mine. I'll have to make sure that I have a shopping list with me. I can't believe that I'll only purchase three items!

I have a dog kennel with my carriers fit inside. I am hoping to put my risers, that I have yet to cut out, under the carriers. We'll see how that works. There's room in a large suitcase for them, being the flat types, but that strategy wouldn't work on the way home when they are well seasoned with bunny.

I've purchased hay cubes, have Pedialyte to "water" my bunnies with upon arrival, and have counted out individual bags to put their feed in (I'll pack them with "water" and feed in case their kennel does not arrive with me, along with instructions for feeding).

I have one large suitcase that is dedicated to bunny stuff. I have a rolling crate that folds up neatly. This is will be used to tote around my feed, water, and such as I make my rounds to the various coops. Speaking of coops, I have my little decoration for each coop that will help me find my furry babies much easier. Since we are going to the Lone Star State (my home state, by the way), I've made stars for the coops.

There's a plastic bag with grooming supplies: brushes, comb, nail clippers, stain remover. There's another bag with office supplies: spiral bound note cards, markers, pens, tape, and so forth. I have another bag with my contact information to put on each coop. After last Convention, when several rabbits were injured due to running youth and the fear of a strange hat walking down the aisle, I want to be sure that I can be contacted 24 hours per day if one of my rabbits is injured.

My hay cubes for the return flight are in that suitcase, too. I'll put some feed in there as soon as I buy my next batch in the next few days. That way, it will be as fresh as that being fed at home. I can't hope to take enough feed to last all week, but I do hope to take enough to last until Monday morning. I'm also packing my supplement of choice, which is Sunshine, these days.

I'll also be taking probiotic, dehydrated fruit, baby gas drops, and other remedies for common problems.

Although I will touch up all of my tattoos, I'll take tattoo equipment (probably just a non-electric pen), just in case something is not readable along the way. Having nice tattoos doesn't so much affect the judging, since coop numbers are clearly written in the opposite ear, but it can make check-out go more smoothly.

Then there's puppy pads for the carriers and vinyl gloves to make the chore of changing them more pleasant for me. I always buy a new mini dustpan and broom, which I will dispose of rather than bring home. I'm trying to figure out how to get a plastic bucket there to put used feed, water, and shavings in. I guess I'll figure out something.

Then there's my item for donation to the banquet auction. I'm also making an abbreviated pedigree book with duplicates only, to take with me. I won't risk losing legs, certificates, and so forth, but I'll have my information there in case I need it. I know who all of my seniors are out of, but I often need to look up my juniors. If one does well, I'll be planning breedings before I get home from Convention, you can be sure! Plus, I will have at least one sold bunny, so I want to make sure I have his pedigree. And, that will be a great place to keep my directions to the banquet, hotel confirmation information, check-in sheets, and all of the other nice paperwork that comes with Convention. I'll also take my catalog, so I can remember where and when meetings are being held.

I'll have aprons and towels, baby wipes and spare plastic bags, my grooming shelf and business cards, a spray bottle for mixing up Vanodine and locks with keys. Zip ties. You can never have enough. And a new lint roller, which will come in handy should I ever actually want to leave the showroom and go somewhere else.

I'll also need to pack snacks for me as it seems that I seldom get away from the showroom during the day. And, this year, Halloween candy is definitely called for.

I always hope I don't need it, but I'll also take a first-aid kit with me.

The last thing I intend to fit in is a laptop. I hate those things - nasty little keyboards. But, I'm going to at least attempt to BLOG from Convention this year. We'll see how well that works. Most of my Convention buddies are aware that I have a hard time staying awake through dinner. The question is, will I be able to stay awake long enough to BLOG?

Now it's your turn to help me. What have I forgotten?

Laurie Stroupe
The Nature Trail Rabbitry “Home Of Grand Champions”
Precious Pet Rabbits
Affordable Web Site Design
  8:08 AM 1 comments links to this post
Monday, October 16, 2006
  The May, Must, and Cannot of Color Genes
You may wish to pull up or print out the chart of 144 rabbit coat colors and their genotypes before reading this BLOG post. It will make much more sense if you are aware of the genotypes of some of the more common Holland lop colors.

From time to time, folks write me about their color gene mysteries. Most of the time, it's really no mystery. Once a few basic concepts are understood, the inquirer "sees" what's going on. Occasionally, we find an error in a pedigree. Perhaps kits were fostered and not tracked appropriately. Sometimes people change colors when they copy pedigree information.

This weekend, I saw a pedigree for one of the rabbits I pedigreed - on different paper, from a different computer program, and with a different color listed - totally inaccurate. Those types of things shouldn't happen, but they do.

But let's say that the information you have is accurate. What does it tell us about the kits we might produce?

Two Recessive Genes

"Musts" and "Cannots" come in when both parents carry two recessive genes in the same location. If you have two self rabbits (aa), for example, they must produce selfs and cannot produce agoutis or martens or tans or otters. You can eliminate 2/3 of all possible colors if you know that both parents are "aa."

Likewise, if both parents are "ee," such as with tort, blue tort, sable point, blue point, orange, fawn, ermine, blue ermine and the like, then the offspring must be also an "ee" color and cannot be an "E" color.

One of the biggest applications of this concept comes when you have a rabbit that you think might be a smoke pearl (blue sable). If neither parent has the E gene, such as found in black, blue, Siamese sable, chestnut, opal, chinchilla, and squirrel, then you cannot have a smoke pearl. You probably have a blue point.

Other Cannots

Certain genes are dominant and recessive, being in the middle of a dominant-recessive sandwich. The a-series has three genes, the c-series has five genes, and the e-series has four genes. In those cases, you cannot produce rabbits with a more dominant gene than the most dominant one possessed by a parent.

That sounds more confusing than it is. If you breed an otter and a self rabbit, you cannot produce an agouti color. If you've got a puzzler, don't even list an agouti color among the possibilities.

Likewise, if you breed a rew to a chinchilla, there's no need to consider any full colors (C-gene).

Dominant Genes

When even one parent has a dominant gene, things can become more interesting. You do not usually know what the other gene hides, unless the parents of that rabbit have given you a clue. Or perhaps previous offspring have given you the information you need.

Suppose you have a black rabbit. You know that it is aa B- C- D- E. But what are those recessive genes? Could this rabbit produce a blue? a tort?

First, look at its parents. If one of them is a tort, which frequently happens, you know that that parent only had a recessive "e" gene to donate. So you can update the genes thus: aa B- C- D- Ee. Now you can see that this rabbit can easily produce a tort.

Perhaps the other parent was blue. Therefore, that parent would only have had a recessive "d" to donate. Now we can update the genotype again: aa B- C- Dd Ee.

But maybe one parent was a sable point instead. Then we can say that the second c-series gene is either a sable gene, himi gene, or rew gene (the sable gene plus the rew or himi gene makes for a properly-gened sable point - we wouldn't know which of these was inherited).

Ferreting It Out

I have a doe that produced a REW in one litter. She's a tort, so I can update her genotype to Cc. In another litter, she produced a sable point. I can update the sire's genotype to Ccchl (full color plus the sable gene).

That's one example of combining information from different litters to determine what those recessive genes can be.

When you have puzzlers, first list the genotype for the rabbit. Fill in as much as you can from the parents. Next, go to the chart of 144 rabbit coat colors. Eliminate all of the "cannots" based on the genotype that you know. Then, eliminate the "cannots" based on your visual information. If it is a light-colored rabbit, you can strike black and Siamese sable, for example.

By this time, you will have a very small pool of colors to work with, I'm guessing. It's time to whittle away a bit more.

If you are not specifically working with chocolates in your barn or in the lines you work with, you can assume that the rabbit is BB. Even though it is theoretically possible that chocolate hid for generations, it's pretty rare unless you specifically go after it.

White or light bellies versus colored bellies will give you a clue about the a-series gene. So will eye circles, nose markings, ear lacing, and triangles behind the head. Eye color will clue you in to the rew or himi gene. A ruby glow to the eye might give you a hint about recessive c-series genes (usually REW).

If the color is different at the extremities, look at the c-series and e-series for answers there. Both the sable gene and "e" gene have that effect.

Deciding The Color

Usually, you can limit the choices based on your genetic information. Then the visual inspection of the rabbit confirms the color for you. But what if you narrow it down genetically to a blue point, blue, and smoke pearl, for example? Perhaps your visual inspection doesn't convince you of one over the other. Maybe the rabbit is molty, so it doesn't appear to be one solid color, but it could be. What next?

The proof is in the pudding, or, in our case, in the kits. Breeding that rabbit to a REW will test out the c-series genes. Breeding to an "ee" rabbit should let you know about the presence of the E in the tested rabbit. Let's say you breed this bluish rabbit with a rew and get a sable point and a REW. Then you'd know that the tested rabbit is either a smoke pearl or a blue point. You could eliminate the blue, which needs a full color gene.

Next, you breed the rabbit to several torts. Let's say there are ten kits in all and none of them are black or blue. They are all sable points or torts. Then we can pretty safely assume (due to the number of kits), that the rabbit in question in an "ee" rabbit, and therefore a blue point, since smoke pearl would require the "E" gene.

Summary

If this BLOG boggled your mind, don't worry. Until you learn some of the more common genotypes, it can really be difficult to grasp. I suggest that you learn tort: aa B- C- D- ee, sable point: aa B- cchl- D- ee, black: aa B- C- D- E, blue: aa B- C- dd E-, blue point: aa B- C- dd ee, and and blue tort: aa B- C- dd ee. Even more important is to learn the relationship between the colors:

So when you have a puzzler, write down what you know must be there, eliminate the colors that cannot occur, and make a close visual inspection to determine the color.

Laurie Stroupe
The Nature Trail Rabbitry “Home Of Grand Champions”
Precious Pet Rabbits
Affordable Web Site Design

  7:36 AM 0 comments links to this post
Sunday, October 15, 2006
  Fall Festival, Shelby, NC, Shows
The Fall Festival is a combination group of specialty shows and then a single open hosted by Footnotes. The attendance was really down this year. I'm sure part of the reason is it nearness to Convention. I know I left my Convention babies at home, with the exception of two possibles. The other reason is probably the lack of variety among the judges. I know that I have personally had each of the judges save one during the last several weeks.

In fact, the main reason I went to this show was to try to grand Francesca, who just turned senior. I'm glad to report that she did grand with a BOG/BOS in the first show and an additional senior leg in the second show. Mission accomplished: all else was gravy.

I was wondering whether I should take Francesca to Convention. She's just a young senior that I hesitated. I think now that it will depend on which two solid senior does is in best condition when it's time to pack. But she's definitely in the mix.

I also had a broken junior buck that I love, though he's pretty tiny. I wondered if he'd be giving any consideration. Well, since he was BOB - over Rio - in the first show, I'm thinking he's going to be bumping another broken junior buck out of his spot. That was just the confirmation I was looking for.

Rio was BOB in the second specialty show. He was also named "Best of the Best," a competition among all of the Best of Breeds from all of the specialty shows. He earned a very nice plaque, which was nice. Kitty was BOS with her solid junior doe, I believe.

Rio was also BOB in the open show. Gary & Susan Smith took the BOS with their very pretty solid senior doe. And I finally got a leg on MLK. I just love that black senior buck. He's been showing well for me, but has been beaten out by Quincy and Wizard and others. He was BOSG in the open show and I'm just thrilled.

Beauty picked up her first leg. If she will just get a senior coat in, we might go somewhere with that gal. Bustopher picked up his first junior leg as well.

I showed my Silver Foxes in the open show. The doe beat the buck, as I expected. When he molts out his fur, he will probably beat her - unless her appetite perks up in the meantime! The best comment I heard was that they seemed compatible for breeding, with counterbalancing strengths. Maybe I'll get a kit that is better than either of them.

As always, the best part was catching dinner after the show. The worst part is the long drive home. But compared to some of the drives I've had lately, this one was a piece of cake.

By the way, I did not skip my BLOG on Friday because it was Friday the 13th. I didn't even notice the date. It was because I could not get into the program to write it. Just chalk it up to technical problems. Hmmmmm. Maybe it was because of Friday the 13th after all!

Laurie Stroupe
The Nature Trail Rabbitry “Home Of Grand Champions”
Precious Pet Rabbits
Affordable Web Site Design

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  10:12 AM 0 comments links to this post
Thursday, October 12, 2006
  The Benefits of Membership Or What Are All Of These Clubs, Anyway?

Let’s start with the biggest organization for rabbits. Every rabbit breeder, fancier, or exhibitor (who lives in the areas served) should be a member of ARBA. Here’s what you get for your money:

But beyond that, by supporting the very existence of ARBA, we get trained judges, a registration system, standards to breed toward, rules and regulations to show by, and set criteria for what constitutes a grand champion. Sure, those who don’t join ARBA can still show their rabbits and benefit from the trained judges, standards, rules & regulations, and can even claim to have Grand Champions by virtue of collecting legs (even if they don’t actually send them in and support the system by paying their GC fees).

ARBA, by the way, is the authority on who officially owns which rabbits. There’s no official record for juniors, but registered seniors have their owners listed. Rabbits must be shown in the names of the owners. So, if an adult is listed as the owner or one of the owners, that rabbit may not be shown by a youth. If one person owns a rabbit, it should not be shown by a co-op. The rabbit’s registration, if the rabbit is registered, is documentation of the official owner of the rabbit.

Some co-ops avoid the problem by not registering their rabbits, I’m told. That’s definitely their option. My choice is to support all of the clubs and programs that I benefit so much from. Of course, I’m a registrar, so of course I’m biased in favor of registering rabbits!

But joining ARBA is just the beginning. The next step is to join the national specialty club for your breed. I think it’s important to understand the relationship between ARBA and these national specialty clubs. They are chartered through ARBA. The specialty clubs must follow ARBA rules first and then may make other rules not in conflict with ARBA rules.
Here’s what you get when you join a specialty club:

So, thus far we know that ARBA Convention, registrations, and grand champions are ARBA things. National breed sweepstakes fall into the domain of the national specialty club.

Next you want to join a regional all-breed club. Usually, that is a state association. But ARBA also charters circuits. A state association is pretty easy to figure out – it covers the local clubs within a state (or commonwealth, as in the case of Virginia). A circuit operates pretty much the same way, but the member clubs may cross state lines. There aren’t many circuits. There is one in the NC/SC region – Footnotes Show Circuit.

The state association or show circuit may also run a sweepstakes competition of its own. Some have newsletters. The same rights about voting and serving apply here, too. In addition, state associations may have royalty programs, youth judging contests, annual banquets, and other special activities not normally associated with local clubs.

State associations and show circuits are chartered through ARBA. They must follow ARBA rules first and then may make other rules that do not conflict with ARBA rules. Local clubs may be members of the state associations and purchase sanctions from them in order to participate in the sweepstakes contest. When state associations or circuits have shows, look for the ARBA sanction to make sure that legs are available for all breeds. Look for the specialty club sanction to make sure that sweepstakes points are available, if you are interested in that sort of thing.

Next, we have regional specialty clubs. These are chartered through ARBA as well. These clubs sponsor National shows for their breed and specialty shows, often in conjunction with an all-breed show sponsored by an all-breed club. Occasionally, you will find stand-alone specialty shows. In our region, the Triple Crown is an example. This year, two specialty clubs will come together to have three Netherland Dwarf specialty shows and three Holland Lop specialty shows on one day, with no all-breed show. Sometimes, a specialty club will sponsor for an all-breed show judges who are very skilled in their breed to make showing for their members more worthwhile. So you want to join your regional specialty club. There are lots of benefits.

Local clubs are where the rubber hits the road. Local clubs are the worker ants of the rabbit club animal kingdom. They often work silently in tiny ways but manage to get an awful lot done. Without local clubs, those shows I go to virtually every week would not exist. So by joining a local club, and being active, you are saying that you are willing to roll up your sleeves and do your part to make all of this work.

Local clubs host local shows, purchasing sanctions from ARBA so that they can issue legs and BIS awards. They purchase sanctions from National clubs (normally not all of them, so check the catalog for which are sanctioned) so that points may be awarded for national breed sweepstakes contests. They often purchase sanctions for their state association or regional show circuit to participate in those sweeps contests as well.

Many local clubs publish newsletters. Some have Yahoo! Groups. Some meet monthly. Most do all of the work that they do with just a few active members.

Luckily, none of these memberships cost much. You probably spend that much on raffle tickets at just one or two shows. But what you get for your membership fees is invaluable. And what you can accomplish by joining and being an active member is immeasurable. Join today.

Laurie Stroupe
The Nature Trail Rabbitry “Home Of Grand Champions”
Precious Pet Rabbits
Affordable Web Site Design

  11:23 AM 0 comments links to this post
Wednesday, October 11, 2006
  Losing Kits
I lost a kit yesterday. But don't worry, I found it again. It was time to take out nest boxes yesterday for three of my litters. One litter had made a very cute tunnel in their nest material. They were adorable. So, I scooped them out and put them on the wire, placing their nest box on top of the cage. That's when I noticed that there were only three kits. I thought, "Andrew has forgotten to tell me some bad news."

You see, he has agreed not to give me bad news like that while I'm on the road. If a rabbit is dead, I can't do anything about it anyway, so our plan is not to spoil my trips.

It used to be that there was at least one disaster every time I went out of town for more than overnight. I felt like it was a matter of which, and not whether. But for quite a long time now, Andrew's had a perfect record of keeping the herd alive while I'm out of town. I figured the streak had snapped.

I got busy with feeding and working on websites. It was late afternoon when I finally asked Andrew about the kit. He had no deaths to report. For some reason, I let it slip my mind again. I figured that I must have left the kit in the nest box on top of the cages. Then I fell asleep.

I didn't remember the kit when I woke up. Andrew went with me to the barn at about 7:00 p.m. to fill my feed can. When he stepped through the door, he froze and put his finger to his mouth, indicating that I should be quiet. He quietly said, "Do you see him over there?" Now, with all that has happened during the day - discovering that the kit was missing, asking Andrew if one had died, figuring that I had left the kit in the box - what do you think I thought he was pointing at?

I thought it was a snake. Boy, am I out of it. Finally, I saw the kit on the ground. Now Andrew obviously remembered a day when we spent 45 minutes chasing a kit around the barn. But this time, I walked up to him, he came right to me and I easily scooped him up and put him back with his litter. He was apparently quite happy about that.

Unfortunately, most times when we lose a kit, we're not talking about misplacing one. There's no finding it again. I'm afraid that in that same litter, I will actually be losing one. It's a fader. At nearly three weeks, it's half the size of the others and has a very frail look to it.

What will I do for this kit? Nothing. I will let nature take its course.

In the past, I've fed these type kits by hand. I've babied them and worried over them. Sometimes, I got them to survive. But then they'd just die suddenly at 8 weeks. Or, if they made it longer, they ended up being about 2 lbs. as adults. Once babies get that far behind, they just don't seem to catch up.

And it may be that some genetic weakness or birth defect is operating. It's not just a matter of getting squeezed out at meal time. Perhaps something didn't fully form. I think that in many cases, the digestive system fails to make all of the changes it needs to for the kit to go from an all-milk diet to hay and pellets.

Whatever the cause, I have never found it worthwhile to coax along a kit that doesn't seem to be making it.

The good news is that, while I seemed to have many of those in the beginning, they are quite rare in my barn now. A breeder I know said that she had the same experience. She didn't feel that she did things much differently now than she did in the beginning, but her survival rate is higher and her instance of problems is lower.

I think part of it is that we do get better at husbandry in many subtle ways. Our observations are keener and we have broader knowledge to apply to situations. Some of my practices are indeed different now than they used to be. These differences aren't necessarily huge changes, either.

But I think that the biggest difference is that we cull according to which rabbits thrive on our practices. I'm building a herd that does well on a 17% extruded feed, no oats, in the humidity of my barn with the particular minerals that occur naturally in my water supply, and much more.

Sometimes, you will correct a huge problem and increase your survival rate all at once. I did that when I stopped giving oats to my rabbits. You may remember from previous BLOG posts that I was losing an older kit about once every few days. I stopped the oats and the deaths stopped immediately. But probably the little things have added up, too. For example, I always give a crock of water (away from the nest box) to nursing does. I've fine-tuned my feeding schedule for pregnant does, nursing does, litters beginning to eat, and weanlings.

So, if you are losing kits, I hope you find them.

If you are just getting started and you feel that too many kits are dying, go over your program with a more experienced breeder. And remember that chances are your survival rate will get better over time as you improve your husbandry skills and your herd is developed according to your practices.

Laurie Stroupe
The Nature Trail Rabbitry “Home Of Grand Champions”
Precious Pet Rabbits
Affordable Web Site Design
  6:54 AM 1 comments links to this post
Tuesday, October 10, 2006
  The Work Of Convention
Which of these sounds best to you?

These two are not a lot different. But in the first one, the person has chosen to suck all of the good out of Convention without giving anything back.

Last year, a couple of breeders looked out over the show floor while the judging was going on. There was a group of people working hard. Of the worker bees, many were carrying rabbits. Some were writing or ramrodding. The majority of the breeders were not working; they were buying and selling, visiting, or not there at all.

Of course, some people have more than one breed. Some have children in the youth area that must be supervised. Some people aren't physically able to carry rabbits (though don't be fooled, all those who carry rabbits all day go to their motel in pain and with extreme fatigue). There are some legitimate excuses for not pitching in. But is it fair to bring 25 entries and not carry a single rabbit? Or are you fooling anyone if you bring 30 and carry 5? How many people bring 4 rabbits and carry 50? Is there a point where you become such an important breeder than such tasks are beneath you? I don't think so.

A seasoned breeder recently said to me that she believe every breeder should carry at least as many rabbits as they entered (it would actually need to be twice the number to account for the trip to the table and back again). That sounds like a good minimum, doesn't it? Then, we'd each just have to carry a few more to help out those who are writing and ramrodding, judging other breeds, working with their kids, are physical unable to help, or could not attend Convention, but were able to send rabbits.

Last year at Convention, there were over 1300 Hollands. Each Holland is carried twice. That's 2600 trips back or forth to a cage. Did you do your share?

Laurie Stroupe
The Nature Trail Rabbitry “Home Of Grand Champions”
Precious Pet Rabbits
Affordable Web Site Design

  7:52 AM 0 comments links to this post
Monday, October 09, 2006
  Georgetown, Kentucky, and Rockspring, PA Shows
I suppose I'll just start at the beginning for this gargantuan weekend. On Friday, my good friend Linda Norris and I left here just after 1:00 p.m. and drove to Georgetown, Kentucky. It was a gorgeous drive through the mountains as the leaves are just beginning to turn. There's much more red in the leaves this year than I have seen in the last several years.