Sold

Will be retained

Found Homes

Will be retained

Boy for sale $20

Girls for sale $25

Boys for sale  $20

Girls for sale $25

Two females, $15 each, for sale

Sold this one, male, private home sale

retained this one, female, Maggie

This pup available for sale, $10, male

This pup sold, female, private home sale

This pup, female, retained

If you don’t do this, how do you ever get your toesies clean???

This funny bunny is a Himalayan.

I think you got him!   But watch out!  Black Bart will be back.

The next step is to remove stains.  I find that peroxide works especially well on feed stains.  I had a buck with such a short muzzle that he couldn’t eat without getting food on his forehead.  Before every show, though, I could get it sparkling clean with peroxide.  I’ve heard of people drying the peroxide with corn starch, but I never had to do that.  I just let it dry naturally and then brushed the fur out.

Bunnies clean themselves daily just like cats do.  Bathing a bunny in water (with or without regular shampoo) can remove its natural oils and will make the fur worse than it was in the beginning.  I use a rinseless shampoo for stains only.  After spraying the stained area with the shampoo, I use a towel to dry and then finish up with brushing.

For rabbits just starting into a molt or those who haven’t been brushed in awhile, nothing beats just rubbing down their bodies repeatedly with slightly damp hands.  Shake the dead fur off your hands occasionally and continue until no more dead hair is being removed.

I also use an antistatic spray from FoxAllen Farm.  It really allows the fur to show at its best.  For longish hair that is flyaway, it is especially helpful.  I just spritz a tiny bit into my hands and rub them almost dry, then backrub the fur.  A bit of brushing and I have a very nice fur!

Use a metal bristled slicker for brushing.  You can use a 4″ brush for the body and a smaller specialty brush for faces and tight spots.

Do not use horse preparations that leave a residue on the fur.  It is against ARBA rules to change the fur artificially by any means other than grooming.  There has been some discussion about what that means, but you are safe if you remove stains and dead fur, I believe, but do not coat your bunny with shiny additives!  You can improve the look of the fur by simply barely dampening your hands with water and rubbing the fur.  You will remove dead fur that way and distribute the naturally-occurring oils.

I know the following topic is not about fur, but I can’t finish talking about grooming without mentioning it:  clip your rabbit’s nails.  I admit, it was a skill I put off for as long as possible.  I was afraid of cutting too deeply.  But then I had a rabbit that ripped off a long nail in his cage.  I figured that I couldn’t possibly hurt them as much as that hurt!  So I dove in.  Yes, I made some mistakes in the beginning (and still do), but it is much better for the bunnies to have their nails clipped for looks, for their proper foot balance, and for judging.  Some judges will practically throw a long-nailed bunny off the table.  Certainly, I’d be pretty sure no judge takes long nails positively.

Just so everyone knows, I did not pick the name Bumper because it sounded like Thumper.  I picked the name before I even met him, and I didn’t know he’d be gray like Thumper.   I wanted a frisky bunny, one that was always jumping and playing and bumping into things.   I think that was the idea behind “bumper.”

Originally, I didn’t want a rabbit.  I didn’t want anything to do with a rabbit. I had asked for a horse, and a rabbit is not a horse.   Fall of 2001, my Mommy decided that a rabbit was both more economical and practical, and told me to “think rabbit” all winter because we would get one in the spring.

I told her to go away.

At Christmas that year, I got one “early” present:  “Your Rabbit,” a book by Nancy Searle.   All I remember was disappointment.  My mom claims I asked her, “what am I supposed to do with this?”   (Of course, a few months later the book was well worn and highlighted.  Almost six years later I had the opportunity to meet Nancy in person, and she bought a couple of my rabbit books.  That was cool!)

Then came Christmas with the extended family.  There are nine cousins, and we used to do a gift exchange, so the parents didn’t have to buy presents for all nine.   One aunt in particular was known for giving a large batch of presents to whichever cousin her son drew in the exchange.   Everybody liked to get gifts from Aunt Sally.  That year,  Aunt Sally had me.  And I got… a boatload of rabbit stuff.   What a letdown.  She gave me these bags of rabbit food.  They smelled like alfalfa — and to me, that was awful.  They stank up the car on the way home.  They sat in the basement and stank all winter.  I couldn’t believe how bad they smelled.

So spring comes, and a rabbit starts to sound a little more interesting.   We visited a few local shows.  I wanted a Mini Lop, but my brother wanted a Mini Rex.  I’m glad we went his way.

In mid-March 2002 we visited the home of a well-established Mini Rex breeder here in Michigan.  We came to the house, and she sent her daughter out on her bicycle to the barn, which apparently was some distance away through the woods.   Eventually the girl reappeared, with a rabbit carrier swinging from her bike handle, and a bunny in it.   We were a little concerned at this mode of transit, for the rabbit’s sake, but we needn’t have worried.  That rabbit was FEARLESS.  We took it home.

But it wasn’t Bumper.   That one, a castor Mini Rex, became my brother’s rabbit.  To find me one, we went to the home of a girl who was aging out of 4-H and selling her Mini Rex.  She was really nice and helpful, and showed us around her barn and helped us with some rabbit care tips.  She pointed out several bunnies for sale, but one caught my fancy.  According to her, he was an adult but still young, had pretty good show type, and was more playful than most of them.  My Bumpey.

He never did much in the breed classes, but was my showmanship bun for a time.  He retired early though, and was my little buddy.   Occasionally I would take him to a 4H meeting, but that seemed to make him nervous.  He would snuggle up to me and lick my hands and face.  He didn’t do that at home so much, just while we were in “scary public places.”

I didn’t get into breeding (purebred) Mini Rex, so never used him (*cough* much) as a herdsire.  But I sure loved him.  I’ve often wondered, if I could have only one rabbit, of any I’ve ever owned, which one would it be?  Only one other bunny, Baxter, ever came close to Bump.  I think I’d take them both.

Looking over some of my own writings recently, I came across this note from April 4, 2006.  Pardon the spelling:

Bumper disapeared on April 1st, 2006. I’m not sure he’s dead, but it’s likley I’ll not see him again. I don’t know how it happened. I was letting him run around the yard the day before like I always do, and I distinctly remember putting him back in his cage that day. I remeber because it had been raining and he was muddy. The next day his cage door was open, his feed uneaten, and he was gone.

There was no possible way he could have gotten out of the barn, I checked the inside and the outside: there were no holes. But wherever he is, I think I’ve lost my Bummy.

He never showed up again.

Bumper would be 11 years old today, as old as I was when we met.   Happy birthday, little guy!  I love you still!

Sorry girl, but I think you’re a little old to play tea party!

This bunny is an orange Mini Lop who lives in Australia with Michelle of Forrest Gait Rabbitry.  However, in Australia the breed known as “Mini Lop” is really more like the American Holland Lop than the Mini.

Should I threaten her with a trip to the dentist?

I hope it makes you smile, too.

Hey everyone!  If you haven’t seen it yet I’d like to invite you to check out Lazy Livin’ Farms: a small rabbitry with high-caliber Holland Lops for sale in Florida.   Located on the western part of the state in Citrus County, Lazy Livin’ Farms is owned by Wanda and her husband.   He raises Australian Lowline Angus, but her first love, critter-wise, is the Holland Lop breed.

Click the screenshot below to enter the site!

It was a pleasure to help Wanda with her website!  Here are a few of her animals:

Beau, her herd buck.   Beau took BOSB at a recent show.

Black Tort Male Holland Lop from Florida Breeder

This is Digit.  Isn’t that such a cute name?

Last but not least, a pile of baby Berkshire piglets!!!

Click to Visit Lazy Livin’ Farm

“We will..but I don’t know about the chick with the camera…  Hey lady, no room and no flash photography!”

Rabbit shows are judged differently from horse or dog shows.  Instead of taking only 1-3 animals to a show and entering the ring with them one at a time,  the rabbits are placed on a table in front of the judge.  Placements are made based on the rabbit’s physical appearance, not their performance. In order to be successful in showing, you usually have to be a breeder as well as a showman, always producing the next generation of juniors.   You improve your performance on the show table by selecting breeding pairs that will produce offspring with proper body type, color, fur, and condition.  The American Rabbit Breeders Association publishes a book that tells what you should look for in each breed, called the Standard of Perfection.  Of course, it’s always a learning experience and can take a while to understand what the desired traits look like.

Which breed should I choose?

The most common breeds these days are the small ones, because they take less space, less feed, and are the cutest!  I am partial to Polish, but other common breeds include Netherland Dwarfs, Holland Lops, and Mini Rex.  I love Mini Rex as well.  Raising a popular breed has its pros and cons.  You get plenty of competition, which is good when you are winning, but can be frustrating when you are starting out.  A good way to go is to pick a competitive breed, such as Mini Rex, but a less common variety, such as tortoise or chocolate.  Some breeds show all the colors together, such as Holland Lops.  This results in enormous classes, where you’re happy to place in the top 5 of 20.  Some breeds — like Mini Rex, Polish, and Netherland Dwarfs — separate the colors on the show table.

Larger breeds can make excellent show rabbits, as well as provide a meat source for your family.   Medium-small breeds such as Mini Lops and Dutch

Where can I buy show rabbits?

You should definitely go to an experienced show breeder rather than a pet store.  Your  first rabbits don’t have to be from champion bloodlines, but they should be pedigreed.  A rabbit from a pet store will probably not come with a pedigree.  Even if it does, it’s in the pet store for a reason — breeders usually only send rabbits to the pet store that are of little value on the show table or the breeding pen.

How much do pedigreed show rabbits cost?

When buying pedigreed bunnies, you often “get what you pay for.”  In other words, the more you spend, the better chance you’ll have of winning faster — but that’s not always the case.  Unfortunately there are some highly overpriced rabbits out there for sale.   They might have champion parents, but a pedigree doesn’t mean very much if the rabbit doesn’t have desirable characteristics itself.  In other words, buy bunnies — not pedigrees.

At a rabbit show you will find bunnies for sale, usually between $20 and $75 each.  Top quality rabbits of the most popular breeds, such as Netherland Dwarfs, Mini Rex and Hollands, can sell for as much as $200 and up.  Is a rabbit ever worth that much?  That’s a topic that breeders often debate, and I will probably blog about sometime. I do not recommend spending that much initially.  You should be able to get a nice quality starter herd for $150 to $200, maybe even less.  Often breeders will give you a discount if you buy more than one from them.  In fact, there are several good reasons to buy your stock from the same person.  When you buy rabbits from the same line, there’s less chance that you will get unexpected results in the litters due to the hidden genes from mating two totally unrelated rabbits.  It’s definitely a good idea to buy a trio from the same established breeder.

How many should I start with?

I think a good number to start with is a trio — two does and a buck — or two pair.  That way you can show the buck(s) and put the does into breeding.  Or, if you start with a pair of seniors and a pair of juniors, you can breed the senior doe and show the juniors, to see see how things go.

Always start small and grow as you learn.   Many breeders, I could probably safely say most breeders, go through a period where they sell off most of their stock and restart their herds, because they have by that time learned what to look for in show rabbits, and know that their herd isn’t what it should be.  It’s much easier to start over if you only have 10 rabbits than if you have 30 or 50!  If after a year or so you decide that breeding rabbits isn’t what you want to do, you don’t have so many to care for or try to sell.

Part 2 will cover what to look for when purchasing your starter stock.

Dude.  Get Busy. I’m PAYING you to do my homework.

This is a tortoise otter Holland Lop. The color’s also known as “orange otter,” “fox,” and for the light-hearted, “totter.”