Perrysburg Rabbits Bunny Blog

We Pulled it Off!

Sat, 30 May 2009 18:24:45 -0400

The first annual Chautauqua County Rabbit Breeders Club show was a resounding success! With over 100 exhibitors, showing nearly 1000 rabbits.
The show ran remarkably smoothly. Judge Bonnie Burdick complimented the club with this message:

“From what I saw today; your show was a success!!!!!!!!!!!!
A very nice building, exhibitors were interacting very nicely... I never had to look for a writer & I did not have to wait for the rabbits.
THE COFFEE WAS GREAT, too!!!!
I had a FUN DAY!!!!”

The local newspaper also sent a reporter to cover the event.

Everyone pitched in setting up and breaking down, the show superintendent did a great job keeping things moving along.
All in all it was a great day. Congratulations to all the winners. Thanks for coming and we hope to see you again next year!

Small Shows

Sat, 9 May 2009 20:22:21 -0400

A fellow Lionhead breeder recently told me that it is her opinion that showing Lionheads in small shows where there may be only one or two exhibitors is a waste of time.
I couldn’t disagree more.
I like to think of myself as an ambassador for the breed when I show my rabbits. I want them to get as much exposure as possible. I feel it’s important that the local judges get experience handling and judging them and I think it’s important for the breed to be seen by as many people as possible.
When I have my rabbit out at a show people come up and ask questions. They want to see them and know more about them. These curious people may become future Lionhead breeders, so I take pleasure in educating them as best I can about the breed.
Small shows also usually attract a lot of youth breeders. I feel it is important for these young people to see the quality of animals being raised by open breeders so they can learn more about the breed standard and have a tangible goal in mind as they work to improve their own herds.

Merry Christmas and Another Fire Prevention Tip

Thu, 25 Dec 2008 22:44:47 -0500

I hope all of you spent a happy Christmas surrounded by family and good friends.
Now that winter has a firm grip on our part of the world and we have experienced some pretty frigid temperatures, our impulse is to do whatever possible to keep our animal friends warm and comfortable. But sometimes our best intentions can have devastating consequences.
After church this morning, we stopped to visit with some friends of ours. The woman’s eyes were red as if she had been crying and she had a difficult time getting any further than “hello”. Her husband told us their barn had burned down just a week ago, taking the lives of their horse, chickens, cats and rabbits. It was a total loss and they will not rebuild.
The culprit was an old heat lamp trained on the rabbit’s cages to keep their water from freezing.
It is extremely important to exercise the utmost care with any heat source. Keep combustible materials, like hay, far away (most manufacturers recommend a distance of at least three feet). Inspect your heat source and the area around it daily. You can’t be too vigilant, double and triple checking. If your heater is electric, feel the cord, plug and outlet to check for excessive heat that may signal a potential problem.
Fire is a horrible, scary thing; but with vigilance it can be prevented.
I wish you all a safe, happy and healthy new year.

A Satisfying End to a Wonderful Season

Sun, 9 Nov 2008 12:14:51 -0500

Yesterday was my last show of the Fall season at the first annual Old Timer’s show in Syracuse, NY. It was an unexpectedly long day as the Lionheads and Holland Lops both went up on the table around 3:30 pm. Chris Howell, a former NY judge now living down south, judged my lions. He was very impressed with my rabbits and told me of a show he recently judged in Maryland where there were 60 lionheads presented. He said ll four of my rabbits would have been in the top 20 at that show and he would rather judge four very nice rabbits that 60 who weren’t so nice.
His statements, along with other praise I’ve gotten this season, makes me feel very good about the direction I am taking my herd.
I’ve begun breeding for Nationals in May and I’m really excited about the potential for the next generation.

Controlling the Fur

Sat, 18 Oct 2008 17:12:03 -0400

Quite often it seems like every rabbit in the barn is blowing his or her coat at the same time. Frequent brushing is the only effective way to keep the loose fur under control. Grooming is important when a rabbit is molting for two important reasons: 1. When the rabbit grooms himself, he can ingest large amounts of fur which can create an intestinal block (a potentially life-threatening condition), and 2. flying fur is irritating to the eyes and noses of people. It also can be a fire hazard if allowed to build up in large amounts.
There are a variety of combs and brushes available to choose from - so, what tools do we use for grooming? Pictured above are the most frequently used tools in our grooming arsenal.
From left, they are: slicker brush, shedding comb, rubber brush and pin brush. The shedding comb works wonders on a rabbit in a heavy molt and the rubber brush works well when the rabbit’s guard hairs are coming off - fur that other brushes and combs often can’t grab. The pin brush works well to get snarls out of wool and the slicker is good for light shedding and general grooming.
In good weather we always do our grooming outside and let the wind take the loose fur away. When we have to groom indoors we have a small barrel handy to catch the fur.