Monthly Archives: March 2013

Classified

Meat Rabbits, Pet Rabbits, Show Rabbits March 24, 2013 Leave a comment
Carin / stock.xchng

Carin / stock.xchng

To Whom It May Concern:

I am seeking a bunny ribbit, preferably a dough that is bread or already peruvian, with legs. This dow will be the start of my heard and I would love it if she could be a loop-eared bred. Would prefer the animal to come with it’s own bowel and food for at least a moth. I am not interested in a spade do, as she will be used mostly for bredding. Am also open to a Rex, both the velveteen and regular kind, for the pellets. Please let me know if you are sailing your bunnee, as I would like to have it run free in my pastor as soon as possible.

Tank U.

(This post was inspired by the many classified listings for rabbits filled with misspellings and the humor of my fellow rabbit lovers! This is intended to be humorous, not mean-spirited!)

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The Fight of the Easter Bunny

Meat Rabbits, Pet Rabbits, Show Rabbits March 17, 2013 Comments: 2
thea0211 / stock.xchng

thea0211 / stock.xchng

Once upon a time it was the season of eggs and pastels, spring was right around the corner. Parents began to wonder if little Susie would like a bunny for Easter and rabbit breeders far and wide began to bicker.

The Fight of the Easter Bunny divides into two large camps with a scattered few opinions in between. One one side you have the people who appreciate the pet rabbit buyers. On the other side are those who take the high ground that pet bunnies are the next thing to evil, mix breed rabbits are best used for meat, and anyone who sells to anyone other than a reputable breeder is hypocritical.

And the scattered few in between scratch their heads and wonder out loud, “Can’t we all just get along?!”

Both camps have valid arguments. Anyone who cares about the sanctity of any life recognizes that an animal purchased on a whim then left unattended in a cage that fills with feces is not acceptable. Rabbits have a 7-10 year life span and require the same sense of commitment and care that a dog or a cat need. If veterinary care is needed there’s a large price tag that comes with the professional; letting a rabbit loose in an empty field or dropping it off at a shelter is a sure-fire way to prove you’re a pretty low human being yourself.

On the other side, many, many people fall in love with their rabbit companions and treat them with love and affection! Most rabbit breeders begin their love of the animal with a mixed breed bun they picked up at the pet or feed store for a few bucks. It is unfair to assume there is no purpose for a pet rabbit in this world.

At Mad Hatter Rabbits we’ve decided to straddle the fence between these two camps (and I’m sure we’ll get a splinter or two on occasion). We will never breed more rabbits than we can personally provide excellent, loving, and humane care for. We also provide a blanket guarantee to accept any rabbit we have bred back if their new owner can no longer adequately meet their rabbits needs. Each animal that leaves our rabbitry goes with a booklet with recommendations of how to care for your bunny at the bare minimum requirements of the Animal Welfare Act and recommendations for how to go beyond the bare minimum into to a truly enriching relationship with a furry friend.

We don’t see the Fight of the Easter Bunny as black and white. Our primary reason for beginning to breed rabbits was to provide a healthy, organic meat source free of antibiotics and such things for our family. This is a rabbit’s natural role in the life cycle – at the bottom of the food chain as a meal for larger predators. But in our rabbit journey, we found we really enjoy rabbit shows – and it takes the same amount of feed to raise a show rabbit as it does a less type-y rabbit so we may as well work toward having excellent show rabbits with sweet dispositions, fun personalities, and great pedigrees! Finally, for those rabbits that aren’t quite up to snuff on a show table for one reason or another, their attitudes make them a reasonable option for a person who wants a companion.

If we don’t limit human beings to only one point and purpose of life – if we can comprehend a life where there is a capability to wear multiple hats – then there’s space in this world for our livestock to fulfill a multitude of purposes as well!

Anyone want to join us on the middle ground?

Common Terminology for Rabbits and Rabbit Shows

Meat Rabbits, Pet Rabbits, Show Rabbits March 14, 2013 1 Comment
Sometimes terms can be confusing. Use this guide to help!

Sometimes terms can be confusing. Use this guide to help!

A HUGE “Thank You” to Kim’s Rabbit Hutch for this helpful guide to rabbit terminology.

Buck – A male rabbit
Doe – A female rabbit
Junior – A rabbit under 6 months of age
Senior – A rabbit over 6 months of age
Intermediate or 6/8 – A rabbit between 6-8 months of age. Most common in larger breeds

Varierty – Color of a rabbit
Class – Age group of the rabbit. Either Junior, Intermediate or Senior
Broken – A color in conjunction with white. With either a blanket or spotted pattern of the color on the body.

Solid – A color of a rabbit that is covering the entire body
Agouti – A type of color that has bands and ticking. Most common colors are Chestnut and Chinchilla

Shaded – Refers to colors like Sable Point. These colors have darker colors on the nose, ears, and other parts of the body. While the whole of the body is one solid lighter color.

Molt – A coat that is shedding and out of condition.
Finish – A coat of a rabbit that either lacks finish (poor condition, molting, etc) or has a good finish (well groomed, not molting) could mean the difference between winning and losing.

Pedigree – A piece of paper charting 3 generations of the rabbit with ancestory history.

Registration – A piece of paper also charting 3 generations of the rabbit with ancestory history. This paper however states (for the rabbit it is issued to) that it has free of disqualifications and has been deamed an acceptable representation of said breed. The rabbit also recieves a registration number unqiue to that rabbit.

Ear Number / Tattoo – A series of numbers and/or letters tattooed into the rabbits left ear. Usually no more then 5 are in the ear. A circled R may be tattooed in the left ear if the rabbit has been registered.

Leg – A leg is earned by winning in an ARBA-sanctioned show as long as there are three exhibitors and five rabbits competing for the win. For example, first place in a class of five or more bunnies showed by three or more different exhibitors would earn a leg. For classes without enough exhibitors and/or bunnies, it may be possible to earn a leg by winning BOSV (if there are sufficient numbers of the related sex in the variety), BOV (if there are sufficient numbers in the entire variety), BOS (if there are sufficient number in the related sex of the breed) or BOB (if there are sufficient numbers in the entire breed). A rabbit may only earn one leg per judging.

BOB – Best of Breed
BOS – Best Opposite Sex of Breed (ie. If the BOB rabbit is a buck, BOS winner must be a doe. Which is why it’s called Opposite Sex

BOV – Best of Varierty
BOSV – Best Opposite Sex of Varierty (ie. If the BOV rabbit is a buck, BOSV winner must be a doe. Which is why it’s called Opposite Sex

BOV and BOSV winners go on to compete for BOB and BOS
BIS – Best in Show (this is big. To win it, your rabbit must get BOB. At the end of the show, all of the breeds who had a BOB winner compete to see who is the best of the best.)

1st Runner Up / Reserve to BIS – This is the 2nd place rabbit to who won BIS
2nd Runner Up – This is the 3rd place rabbit to who won BIS
DQ – Disqualification. A rabbit can be disqualified for many reasons. Most common is over the weight limit, bad teeth, or illness present.

Flesh condition – Just like it sounds. If a rabbit is “rough” in flesh it means the skin over the backbone is very loose and thin. Bones are easily felt. Most common in rabbits suffering from some illness, not being fed enough, or does coming off weaning litters.

Open – Usually refers to an all “adult show.” Which means anyone of any age is allowed to enter, but it is usually adults competing with other adults. They will usually add the letters: A, B and C to the end of “Open Show” if they are having multiple shows.

Youth – An all youth only show. Only those 18 and under are allowed to enter these shows. Youth breeders must put their own rabbits on the judging table.

Cull – A breeder goes through a litter selecting ones he/she wishes to keep. The rest are sold (or eaten, if they’re a meat breed.)

Kindling – Term used to mean giving birth to baby rabbits.
Kits – Term describing baby rabbits.
Cavy / Cavies – These are not rabbits. They are shown sometimes at rabbit shows. They are basically guinea pigs.

Running Totals

Pet Rabbits March 10, 2013 Leave a comment
kodakgold / stock.xchng

kodakgold / stock.xchng

I was watching the Hurt Locker last week. If you haven’t seen it, the movie traces the life of a man who is a demolitions expert as he disarms bombs overseas. At one point a commanding officer asks him how many bombs he has disarmed and the man tries to dodge the question. However, the C.O. pushes and suddenly a very specific number comes out of his mouth. Each bomb, even though he has disarmed many, many, has a special significance to him.

 

You may feel this is a strange way to start a blog post about rabbits, but stick with me – my point is coming! Rabbits are not bombs, but I keep a running count of these little animals in my heart. Just like that movie character, I know without a pause each little life I have been responsible for, even if only for a short while.

 

Yes, here at Mad Hatter we breed rabbits primarily as a healthy food source for our family, but that in no way means we don’t care for them deeply. Each day, often many times a day, we are out visiting them, checking on their welfare, and watching their personalities develop. Each rabbit is special to us.

 

And when it comes to numbers, I can’t tell you off the top of my head exactly how many baby bunnies we’ve bred this year to date, but I can tell you without a pause that we’ve lost 20 kits. I hate seeing a baby bunny die, I just hate it.

 

The reality? Natural selection is true and there are some babies that simply fail to thrive. Other times we have to face a hard reality that a rabbit mother does not have the same maternal instincts that a human mother would have. She can refuse to feed her litter or even eat portions of them! In our circumstances we’ve lost babies to freezing weather.

 

Some animal lovers like to think of their friends as passing over the “Rainbow Bridge.” It seems like a silly concept to me, this Rainbow Bridge… and yet it isn’t at all. There is something very wholesome about recognizing the value of life in all forms. Part of valuing life is recognizing the significance of death.

 

Many times there are no explanations for the loss of baby rabbits, but that usually isn’t a comfort to the rabbit breeder. We grieve over the loss of life and second guess ourselves for how we could have prevented it or try to come up with strategies, get advice from long-time breeders for the healthiest, most successful ways to care for our animals.

 

We have seven litters expected this week and even though I’m terribly excited for the babies, there is also a piece of me worried about what the week will bring in terms of success rates. We have three first-time moms expecting and the reality for us is most of our first timers lose one (if not all!) of their kits. So, if you think of it, send positive thoughts our way… we’re sending the same to all the other breeders we know!

 

Birthday Parties and Petting Zoos

Pet Rabbits March 7, 2013 Comments: 2
Bunny Parties are a Hit!

Bunny Parties are a Hit!

I have a sense of uneasiness about most people, and that unease turns fairly regularly into alarm when I look at small people. Specifically children.

 

I am head over heels in love with my own children but they’re very strange. And other people’s children… well, it’s hit and miss.

 

This distrust is why I first paused when we talked about doing Bunny Birthday Parties. Going to someone’s house and spending a few hours while children touched, squished, and smeared cake into our precious little buns had all the allure of walking over hot coals barefoot. Possible? Definitely. Wise? Questionable.

 

However, our good friends asked if we would participate in their bunny party and we said yes. The theme was wonderfully played out, the invitations were bunny rabbit Pinterest-worthy, the cake could practically have hopped off the table it was so life-like, and I enjoyed having brocolli, carrots, and cauliflower with dip served in addition to the typical birthday sweets.

 

We brought our rabbits to the house and waited for everyone to arrive. I pulled out one rabbit and did a quick talk about how to handle it with care and avoid the possibility of scratches, talked about how rabbits can serve multiple roles as pets, shows, or nutrition, and described the breed we brought (Rex). Then I handed a bunny to each kid (we were fortunate to work out the numbers so each child had a rabbit) and let them be.

 

The kids were great with the rabbits! They were gentle, considerate, and a few didn’t want to play the party games because it meant giving up their cuddly ball of fluff. The rabbits were the stars of the show for about an hour.

 

This has given me the courage to try Bunny Birthday Parties again – and I may… possibly… even participate with the buns in the petting zoo our 4H club is sponsoring at our local garden center next month. Wonders never cease!

 

 

The Quirky Art of Tattooing

Show Rabbits March 5, 2013 Comments: 3
Every show rabbit must had an identifying tattoo in its ear.

Every show rabbit must had an identifying tattoo in its ear.

As a kid raising rabbits, we never worried about tattoos in their ears – we knew which rabbits we had and which cages they called home. No biggie!

 

As an adult coming back into raising rabbits the need for tattoos has become apparent. Not only are tattoos required for any rabbit in a show, having permanent ear markings can come in quite handy when you’re trying to discern just which all black bunny you’re you’re checking out!

 

Almost every rabbit we have has an ear tattoo now. ARBA requires the tattoo to be in the rabbit’s left ear. If you choose to register the rabbit, they receive another tattoo in their right ear. Tattoos can be words, letters, numbers, or combinations and can be applied using a clamp or a tattoo pen.

 

We have chosen to use the KBtatts Tattoo Pen. This is the only tattoo device we’ve used so I don’t have a basis of comparison, but I don’t want to use another one… ever! I was expecting the rabbits to twitch or jump while tattooing… and they don’t. In fact, I began to wonder if I was actually tattooing correctly because they didn’t move a bit. Turns out it’s just a great pen with a quiet motor and needles that get the job done quickly and efficiently.

 

Trying to decide how to tattoo is another fun occupation. We’ve decided to use a system that begins with “H,” representing Mad Hatter Rabbitry, the number of the month the rabbit is born in (using letters for any two digit numbers), the last digit of the year, the number of the rabbit in the litter, first letter of the name of the sire and first letter of the name of the dam.

 

So, Mister, who was born in November 2012 and is the first kit out of Bucky and Duchess, has the tattoo: HB21BD.

 

Other people will use their own system or the name of the rabbit. Judges at shows get an eyeful when they see rabbits with names like “HOT STUFF,” “DINNER 4 5,” or “HONEY BEW BEW.” Hopefully judges keep a good sense of humor and breeders use common sense in their tattooing!