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[wendymac]

Wow...what a long day! We pulled out at 3 am this morning and never got back home until almost 11 tonight. We're all exhausted!

I finally got to meet Pam! She's a super lady, for sure!! Even though I fell asleep during 3 hours of of the Mini Rex, I got to learn a lot of useful things. Pam, please share your secret on flipping them over! I did forget to ask you that, but apparently Max doesn't mind flipped...she just minds when I do the flipping. haha

Results: My daughter ended up taking her only 3 Cals that could go. 2 I knew wouldn't do well, but wanted to hear official opinions to see if I was right. I was. Those rabbits were just purchased for meat pens for the 4-H sale.

Anyway, her little doe that we bought at the PaSRBA convention (from Kelly Ann's Rabbitry) did well. Her first show, under a judge I can't remember (haha), she got 1st out of only 2. I was a bit shocked that he didn't fault her for her shoulders (which is the area I knew the buck would have to make up for when we breed her). The second show, under Pam, she got 1st out of 1. haha Pam knocked the shoulders, confirming that I somewhat "get" what I'm seeing. She handled all the stress of the show like a trooper. It was her first time shown, too. None of Kitty's animals had been shown before, and she doesn't have a single tiny scratch mark. Keep that in mind for the rest of the story. LOL

Max's first show, under Pam, did really well. She got 1st out of 4 in her junior class. I don't know how Pam did it, but she had Max posed like a pro. Looked nothing like my posing/picture shots, let me tell you. LOL Her second show, under judge Joe Collucci (I THINK!!! I was about dead by this point), she got a 3rd out of 4. He said her crown was too narrow, her head was poor, and she had an open coat (no clue what that is, so need to do some reading). Max didn't care for him, either. When he tossed her back into the coop, she thumped her feet...twice...loudly. She didn't do that with Pam. LOL This judge actually dropped one of the junior does on the cement floor. He had all 4 of them out on the table at the same time. Now these are juniors, and most hadn't been shown much (if any) before this. Max was in the front, and thankfully he put a hand up to stop forward motion. But Max was PO'd at this point, and just smashed her chest into the table and glared. Didn't improve the judge's impression of her, either. LOL The black doe appeared to be okay, thankfully.

Rosa got DQ'd under Pam, for not making weight (a LOT were DQ'd, and I heard a lot of people complaining because, "None of the other judges ever weigh them."). I thought she'd either be DQ'd or just squeeze by (she's gained, but not a lot). Anyway, I scratched her from the second show. The second judge didn't weigh a single animal, and those that were underweight went on to win a leg. I learned that she had a good head and ears, lacked bone (which I knew), was lacking in the midsection (which I didn't know, because I thought the midsection was actually the middle of the rabbit. haha) and had pinched hindquarters. Now I need to pick some brains and see if a pinched hindquarters and lacking midsection is something more time will improve (I've only had her a month, and she's gained weight, but still needs more) or if it's a permanent thing. THEN I have to decide if I should breed her or just re-sell her.

I'm not too worried about Kitty's Cals. Her buck is super nice, and if Twila's litter is anything to go by, he should help improve on the does. The only one I really have hopes for is Trisha (the junior), who seems to be mainly lacking in the shoulders. The other two does were just fillers for the 4-H fair in August, until Kitty gets her herd off the ground.

Rosa will probably end up leaving, depending on what I find out about her faults. It really stinks about Spaz, because he has really thick bone, really wide head, and a nice hindquarters (lacks in the shoulder a bit, I think, though).

I can't wait to see how Max looks once she matures a bit more. She's only 4 months old now, so had quite a bit of growing to do.

OH!!!! I almost forgot this part. Remember how I said Kitty showed 3 that had never been shown before? And got away with even a tiny mark? Me, I wasn't so fortunate. LOL While holding Rosa, waiting for Sr. does, she just completely wigged out. BIG bloody scratches on my right arm, holes in my shirt, and my belly was bleeding because it bled through my navy blue shirt. Then, during the second show, I was holding Max, and she just decided she was getting down. Scratched open my left hand, more holes in my shirt, and more bloody belly. My stomach looks like I crawled on it through briers. I need to get these hernias fixed so there's not a ledge for them to dig in to. LOL

 

[woahlookitsme]

Open coat means molting or out of fur condition.

I know how you feel about the scratched belly it sounds like the rabbits had a long day too lol congrats on their first show! Oh maybe i missed something, did yall take spaz?

 

[ZRabbits]

Sorry about the scratches, but it looks like your bunnies did well through the whole experience. It's odd to hear about the weight thing, because I thought it would be mandatory to know if you are actually looking at a Junior or Senior.

But anyway, I guess you are exhausted. Wow, long day, but sounds worth it. You got experience under your belt and knowledge in your mind.

K

 

[wendymac]

Thanks, Sarah. I think my "super secret grooming product" is actually at fault for some of the rabbits and their fur. I saw a few breeders using Show Sheen at a show. I HATE that stuff, for horses, because it contains alcohol and actually dries the hair out. On the horses, I use a product called Foxfire. It makes their hair super soft, and is great. However, it made all of the rabbits feel like satin hair. LOL I think for the next show it'll be straight water for grooming.

No, Spaz didn't go. But if I can't breed him, then I have to look for another buck that has very heavy bone. I wish Max was a darn buck.

Karen, they did extremely well. Max, though, is either still pouting or is worn out. I swear, that rabbit holds grudges. haha I carefully studied Pam and her flipping method, so going to work on that when Max is done sleeping. I just hope she's not left-handed, or I'll really be discombobulated. LOL

I think all of them should be weighed, for sure, and was shocked when everyone was saying how uncommon it was. There were only a few youth rabbits, and I think they were all DQ'd for weight (both Pam and the second judge). But, for whatever reason, the second judge didn't weigh a single open rabbit. And I know there were quite a few that Pam weighed that got DQ'd.

I did learn a lot, about the breeds in general and about my own. And I met a lot of really nice people, too. My "neighbors" had a little boy. He was 4, and cute as could be! He showed me every picture on his phone (and I'm talking hundreds here!), told me about his dogs, and even said I could put my rabbits in their shed when I came for a visit. Not "if" I was coming for a visit, but "when". LOL He was absolutely adorable.

 

[pamnock]

Glad I got to meet you!!! What an incredibly long day - I was exhausted.

Yes - I'm the "scale queen" which elicits much grouching : ) Weighing is generally uncommon because shows don't supply enough scales and judges don't have time to walk over to shared scale. I bring my own carefully calibrated scale. I don't think it's fair to other exhibitors if DQ rabbits are winning classes and collecting legs.

Show sheen is "illegal" because it's a silicone based product that artificially coats the fur shafts. I could feel it on some of the coats - it gives them a very noticeably slick texture.

Welcome to the world of showing!

 

[wendymac]

Pam, I don't know how you do it! That standing on concrete all day would kill me. Not to mention dealing with hundreds of rabbits.

I love that you weighed them, and I wish all the judges did.

I didn't know that about Show Sheen. I saw someone using it at York, which is why I tried out Firefox. And I bet that's illegal, too...although I don't plan on even trying it again. I never read all the ingredients, but it's an oil based product, so it coats the shafts even more than show sheen. Oops!

Thanks for the show welcome! It's lots of fun, at least when you only have 5 rabbits there. Some people looked pretty frazzled, but they also brought a TON of rabbits.

 

[wendymac]

Oh, about your scale! Some guy (I think his name was Rob, but not sure...had quite a few FLops) was complaining that your scale must have been off, because he just KNEW his rabbit made weight. It was all I could do to keep from laughing out loud. I said, "hmmm." LOL!

 

[CCWelch]

Sounds like you enjoyed your first show experience and had a good time! The last show I went to, I enjoyed the show just fine but on the way home we ran into snow and freezing rain and a trip that should have been an hour and a half tuned into 4 hours, I don't know who was more stressed when we got home, me or the rabbits.

 

[wendymac]

It was definitely fun. It'll be more fun when we have more rabbits to show, I'm sure.

I would have been a basket case! I hate driving in the rain, much less snow and freezing rain. And I'd take snow over the freezing rain, because at least you can see it. I bet the rabbits weren't half as stressed as you were.

 

[Samara]

Reading stuff like this gets me psyched up to show. It's so intricate, interesting and challenging! It works the show-ers to really dive into their rabbitry and genetics and trains their eye to their breed.

What I wouldn't give to tutor under a judge or many-legged breeder when I finally get my head around what breed I like best

Wouldn't it be cool to shadow a judge at different shows, guys? Think of how much we'd learn! :highfive:

 

[ZRabbits]

Samara wrote:

Reading stuff like this gets me psyched up to show. It's so intricate, interesting and challenging! It works the show-ers to really dive into their rabbitry and genetics and trains their eye to their breed.

What I wouldn't give to tutor under a judge or many-legged breeder when I finally get my head around what breed I like best

Wouldn't it be cool to shadow a judge at different shows, guys? Think of how much we'd learn! :highfive:

I guess it would be cool. But I like the variety. I like talking to a lot of people. This way I'm not pigeonholed into thinking like the judge you are shadowing or the many-legged breeder. Amazing what you can learn from a lot of different people.

But that's just me.

K

 

[wendymac]

I agree. The more judges you listen to, the more you learn. And a judge, after all, is only giving their individual opinion. It's better to hear opinions from multiple sources, I think.

The fact that it was a double show was very interesting. Just watching the different judges' opinions (on the same day, with the same rabbits) were different. The one top Cal rabbit under the one judge placed lower under the second one (or the other way around...can't remember now. LOL). But the same rabbits placed differently under both judges.

 

[wendymac]

Sammy, I meant to add this: It IS fun! And it's one thing to read, "should have a large crown, big bone" etc., and quite another to see a bunch of the breed together...with all types of good points and bad points.

Rosa will probably end up heading down the road. Although I like her crown, she doesn't have the depth and bone. It'll depend on what she has when I breed her.

Spaz would be amazing on the table, but that's never going to happen.

Adeline is a bit longer than what I saw at the shows, lacks width through her shoulders and midsection, but has a really nice crown/head/ears and good bone. I'll have to see how her babies mature to see if she'll be a keeper or not (the sire is big boned, short and very stocky).

Sonny (the buck I have to pick up yet) looks to be a bit shallow. Will evaluate him once I actually touch him. It's hard buying from pictures. I know I take absolutely horrible posed shots, and figure there has to be more people like me out there. LOL

Cher already has a leg, so really excited to add her. Too bad she's Sonny's brother, but I'm still holding out hope that Spaz will at least breed.

Anyway, it's fun to get your animals out and visually see the difference between your rabbits and the other ones there.