How did you find what type you wanted to breed/show?

[Luv-bunniz]

I have been looking at showing rabbits for a year or two, and when I have some good stock maybe even breeding them. But I am totally unsure of which to breed and show so was wondering how you lot found wich ones you wanted to breed/show.

As most of you will probably know, I LOVE the giant breeds, there is just something about them that catches my eye, especially British Giants and Flemish Giants and I have found a British Giant breeder in my area wich will hopefully let me have one when the next litter comes along, but I also like the medium sized breeds like the dutch, lops and english spots :? . My mum said she will let me have a show rabbit if I can find a good breeder and maybe one day breed my own to show and improve quality of bloodlines.

 

[polly]

I had pet netherlands before I went into breeding and showing them Ihave always loved the breed especially their natures I truly could not see my life without my nethies in it!! We do also have a couple of lionhead that we show with as well. But have to admit that nethies are my passion.

The reason I like them so much is the choice of colours lops are the same where a lot of the bigger and fur breeds don't have so many colours. My biggest thing at the moment is that I am trying tosource some argente bleu coloured netherlands brought in from Holland which would bring this new colour into our country the options with them are endless!!

if you dont want to show and breed with what you have as pets then definately go to a show and ask around because different breeds have different personalities then go visit peoples sheds its amazing what you learn!!

 

[BlueCamasRabbitry]

Well, I'm not really sure how I ended up picking the breeds which I raise/show now, but when I got my MR doe, I wanted to start breeding them, so we did and now we have Ray & Bruce (our two bucks) and we're looking for some good breeding does.

I got into English Lops when I saw one at a show and then a couple months later got my first one and then two months ago I just got my second EL, whom we're planning to breed in November after her first show.

I guess the breeds just kind of fell on me, but I definitley love the breeds! lol.

Emily

 

[clevername]

I got into breeding with English Angoras. I always wanted to keep livestock and was looking into fiber animals when I found an article on Angora rabbits. I started doing research, talked to breeders, went to my first ARBA show and saw them...I was hooked!
They are just the sweetest breed and I was really surprised how calm their temperaments were.

From there my husband started researching endangered breeds and he pushed to get into Silver Foxes. I tease him that he was embarrassed standing next our little fluff balls at shows so he went out and found a more manly rabbit--a meat and fur breed. But really it was all about conservation. We've got good area for showing and we thought it would be fun to spread the word about the breed....same goes with my Satin Angora.

Besides, I'm partial to pretty bunnies.

 

[Starlight Rabbitry]

In 1991,saw an ad in the local paper about registered Dutch so I called to get a pet one. When there, the lady was very knowledgeable and taught me a lot. A few months later, I started my freshman year at a vocational/agricultral high school and called her up to begin my "project". I wanted to breed a rabbit and raise its babies.

She gave me a pair of Dutch. Know that I think about it, they were kind of "horrible" show rabbits. None-the-less, I bred them and she took me to shows and 17 years later, I still raise Dutch. Some of my rabbits are decendants of those original rabbits.

I added Jersey Woolies in 1995 because I fell in love with the angoras but knew that those buns required too much work so I went with the dwarf version. The woolies are bred to be low-maintainence. Currently, I have more woolies than Dutch but Dutch are still my first love and the one that I am the most serious with.

Sharon

 

[RAL Rabbitry]

I started with a pair of mixed breed rabbits for the kids and of course they lost interest so I started taking care of them and enjoyed it. I decided that I wanted to show and breed rabbits so I did some research and decided on mini-rex. They have good personalities, are small and there is lots of competition out there at shows.

Roger

 

[BlueGiants]

I've had probably15 different breeds as pets since I was a kid, and right up through when I got married. nThen I got my first Flemish. I was looking for a large, sturdy breed that my kids could enjoy. Well, if he didn't steal my heart! After he passed (at 7 1/2 years of age) I was so upset. Had to find another... It took me almost a year... didn't want ANY other rabbit...

I got a Blue doe from a breeder upstate NY. She told me she had tried to breed her two weeks before, and she didn't think it "took"... but just incase... (she gave a long list of instructions!). I was SO happy when 2 weeks later I got 6 beautiful babies... As they say, the rest is history. It's been 10 years...

Best thing to do is talk to rabbit people, lots of people, breeders, owners, etc. Attend shows, see what you like and who is willing to mentor you. And see what suits your ability to care for them, the space you can dedicate to them, the time you can dedicate to them, the money you can spend.... As Polly said, she can keep 4-6 Nethies in the space of one of my giants. And I'll bet one of my guys eats a little more than a few of her Nethies.... (Giant poops may be harder to get rid of too, unless you have a really big garden, or lots of gardening friends!)

Learn as much as you can before you breed them. Make sure you are ready for whatever may come. And then sit back and enjoy your rabbits. There is nothing better than a warm, loving bunny at the end of a stressful day.