Thursday, December 06, 2007
Keeping Up With Paperwork
You buy your very first rabbit and the paperwork begins. You get a pedigree and now you have something to keep up with. And that's just the beginning. Before long, you have dozens of pedigrees, hopefully a number of registration forms, and eventually grand champion certificates. If you want to celebrate Best In Show wins, you may order a certificate for that, too. Then you have your ARBA card, show catalogs, directions to shows, cards for national clubs and local clubs. And your friends have given you their business cards, too.
Now you join in the paperwork generation yourself by issuing pedigrees for your offspring!
The best advice I can give those just getting started is to not wait until you have a lot of paperwork to get organized. Do it from the very beginning.
The first thing you need is a pedigree book. Don't scrimp here. I won my favorite pedigree book as an award for a best reserve in show. Besides a ring binder, it has a zipper to close up the book. If you had seen me leaving a trail of legs behind me at the Ohio Mini Convention one year, you would know exactly why I think the zipper is important. Walking along with an unzippered pedigree - upside down - can be a disaster.
You'll want to outfit this book with a couple of business card pages. Then you can collect your friends' cards, cards from feed dealers, and have a place for your membership cards, too. I can't tell you how many people lose their cards or can't put their hands on them when they want to register a rabbit.
I put four folders into my book. One is for show catalogs. One is for my entry forms for the current show I'm attending. One is for directions to the show. One is for forms. I like to try to keep membership forms for the clubs I belong to. I probably need to replenish that one.
Because I show Hollands, I have eight tabs in my book - one for each class. I think I should add a ninth one for rabbits that are for sale or are sold.
In each individual sleeve, I keep my pedigree showing on the front and the rabbit's registration form showing on the back. If the rabbit grands, then I put the GC certificate on top of the registration form. If the rabbit has a Best In Show, then I put that certificate on top of that. Legs go between the forms. If I grand a rabbit, then I keep the photocopy of the legs I sent in, in there as well.
I rarely keep comment cards or ribbons, but I may if they are from Convention or Nationals. I suppose if I had a rabbit that placed well in a huge class, I might keep that, too. Those would go in between with the legs as well.
It may seem that the book is irreplaceable. In a way, it is. But really, everything is replaceable except the ribbons, comment cards, and legs (and I might even be able to get a few of those back from very recent shows).
The reason that it is replaceable is that everything is recorded in my software program. I use Breeders Assistant and love it.
Of course, if I lost my book, I would have to request new pedigrees for the two rabbits not born here. But every bunny else is in my system. And I'd have to send ARBA some money for replacement certificates. But it could be done.
Having said that, you will find that I don't let that book lying around. It stays with me all of the time. If I leave rabbits in the showroom overnight, the book goes with me.
For Convention and Nationals, I make a mini book just with the pedigrees I need for the trip. Otherwise, I take everything with me every time. I never know when someone will have a question about a rabbit I've sold them. Sometimes I decide to sell a rabbit on the spur of the moment (I don't recommend that!). Maybe I need to confirm an ear number. But whatever comes up, I have what I need.
Of course, I do have to keep the book updated. When I add new juniors to my program, usually around 3 1/2 months of age, I put their pedigrees in the book. If I pet them out, then I just remove the pedigree. I've occasionally gotten behind or left one out, but keeping up with it as you go really helps.
I personally prefer to purchase from a person who has the pedigree on hand, who registers their herd, and who keeps good records. It makes me nervous to see pedigrees with weights or varieties missing. I don't really like to conclude a purchase on a rabbit and then be told that the pedigree will have to be sent later (that information should be mentioned upfront).
Keeping up with your paperwork will reduce the stress in your hobby. You won't "owe" people pedigrees. You won't have a ton of fees to send ARBA all at once. You'll develop a good reputation with your customers. You'll never have a mountain of paperwork to catch up on. And you'll always be able to see at a glance exactly what is going on in your rabbitry.
Laurie ¶ 11:00 AM
Now you join in the paperwork generation yourself by issuing pedigrees for your offspring!
The best advice I can give those just getting started is to not wait until you have a lot of paperwork to get organized. Do it from the very beginning.
The first thing you need is a pedigree book. Don't scrimp here. I won my favorite pedigree book as an award for a best reserve in show. Besides a ring binder, it has a zipper to close up the book. If you had seen me leaving a trail of legs behind me at the Ohio Mini Convention one year, you would know exactly why I think the zipper is important. Walking along with an unzippered pedigree - upside down - can be a disaster.
You'll want to outfit this book with a couple of business card pages. Then you can collect your friends' cards, cards from feed dealers, and have a place for your membership cards, too. I can't tell you how many people lose their cards or can't put their hands on them when they want to register a rabbit.
I put four folders into my book. One is for show catalogs. One is for my entry forms for the current show I'm attending. One is for directions to the show. One is for forms. I like to try to keep membership forms for the clubs I belong to. I probably need to replenish that one.
Because I show Hollands, I have eight tabs in my book - one for each class. I think I should add a ninth one for rabbits that are for sale or are sold.
In each individual sleeve, I keep my pedigree showing on the front and the rabbit's registration form showing on the back. If the rabbit grands, then I put the GC certificate on top of the registration form. If the rabbit has a Best In Show, then I put that certificate on top of that. Legs go between the forms. If I grand a rabbit, then I keep the photocopy of the legs I sent in, in there as well.
I rarely keep comment cards or ribbons, but I may if they are from Convention or Nationals. I suppose if I had a rabbit that placed well in a huge class, I might keep that, too. Those would go in between with the legs as well.
It may seem that the book is irreplaceable. In a way, it is. But really, everything is replaceable except the ribbons, comment cards, and legs (and I might even be able to get a few of those back from very recent shows).
The reason that it is replaceable is that everything is recorded in my software program. I use Breeders Assistant and love it.
Of course, if I lost my book, I would have to request new pedigrees for the two rabbits not born here. But every bunny else is in my system. And I'd have to send ARBA some money for replacement certificates. But it could be done.
Having said that, you will find that I don't let that book lying around. It stays with me all of the time. If I leave rabbits in the showroom overnight, the book goes with me.
For Convention and Nationals, I make a mini book just with the pedigrees I need for the trip. Otherwise, I take everything with me every time. I never know when someone will have a question about a rabbit I've sold them. Sometimes I decide to sell a rabbit on the spur of the moment (I don't recommend that!). Maybe I need to confirm an ear number. But whatever comes up, I have what I need.
Of course, I do have to keep the book updated. When I add new juniors to my program, usually around 3 1/2 months of age, I put their pedigrees in the book. If I pet them out, then I just remove the pedigree. I've occasionally gotten behind or left one out, but keeping up with it as you go really helps.
I personally prefer to purchase from a person who has the pedigree on hand, who registers their herd, and who keeps good records. It makes me nervous to see pedigrees with weights or varieties missing. I don't really like to conclude a purchase on a rabbit and then be told that the pedigree will have to be sent later (that information should be mentioned upfront).
Keeping up with your paperwork will reduce the stress in your hobby. You won't "owe" people pedigrees. You won't have a ton of fees to send ARBA all at once. You'll develop a good reputation with your customers. You'll never have a mountain of paperwork to catch up on. And you'll always be able to see at a glance exactly what is going on in your rabbitry.
Laurie ¶ 11:00 AM
