Rabbit Showing As A Hobby
<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0><tr> <td valign="top" colspan=2 height=110 BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#080000" bgproperties="fixed" background="041f0f21egerdp.jpg"> <div> <B><IMG SRC="042203c0.jpg" border=0 width="32" height="60" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B><FONT SIZE="5" COLOR="#66334C" FACE="Arial" ><B>Avalon Dwarf Lops</B></FONT><B> | </B><A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Avalon Dwarf Lops"><B>home</B></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id17.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Genetics">Genetics</A> | <A HREF="id29.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="So You Want To Breed Rabbits?">So You Want To Breed Rabbits?</A> | <B>Rabbit Showing As A Hobby</B> | <A HREF="id38.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Other Sites To Visit">Other Sites To Visit</A></div> <div> </div> </td> </tr><tr> <td valign="top" width=210 BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#080000" bgproperties="fixed" background="040f2f02egerdp.jpg"> <div> </div> <div> <IMG SRC="0e8958b0.jpg" border=0 width="149" height="139" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> No part of this article may be reproduced or transmitted in any way or by any means without the permission in writing from the author. </div> <div> Yvon Abbott. </div> <div> Avalon Dwarf Lop Stud. Plymouth, Devon. UK.</div> <bR> </td> <td valign="top" height=370 width="100%" BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#080000" bgproperties="fixed" background="043f0f03.jpg"> <div> <I>Rabbit Showing As A Hobby</I></div> <div> Many people do not realise that there is a relatively inexpensive interesting hobby showing rabbits. People who keep exhibition rabbits are known as Fanciers and their collective aim is to promote the breeding, improvement and showing of exhibition rabbits throughout Great Britain</div> <bR> <div> There are over 56 different breeds of rabbit divided into three groups; namely Fancy. Fur and Rex Breeds. Each of these breeds can have many different colour varieties, for instance the breeds which have become popular with pet owners the Dwarf Lop and Netherland Dwarfs each have in excess of twenty recognised colours with more being created each year.</div> <bR> <bR> <div> Shows are held throughout the country on a regular basis to compete in friendly company against other exhibits in your chosen breed or breeds for Challenge Certificates which enable your rabbit to qualify for Championship status. Each show you attend has been granted `Star Status' of either one, two, three, four or five Stars. The most common shows held are either two or three Star Shows, four or five Star Status is granted only to the big Championship Shows which are normally held in Leisure Centres or other similar large buildings with the required standards of catering and comfort. Your rabbit qualifies for a Silver Diploma when it collects 11 Stars, it obtains a Championship Diploma with a total of 25 Stars and then, on reaching 35 Stars it has the honour of being the holder of a Gold Diploma.</div> <bR> <bR> <div> Rabbit showing can become quite a family affair, children aged between five and sixteen are classed as Juniors and can show their own rabbits in the main show but they also have a special Junior section where they are competing against people in their own age group, although many Juniors have won Best In Show against the adults in the main show!</div> <bR> <bR> <div> To start showing rabbits you have to become a member of the British Rabbit Council, for further information write to the British Rabbit Council. Purefoy House, 7 Kirkgate, Newark, Nottingham. NG24 lAD enclosing a stamped addressed envelope.</div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <div> Your animals should wear an identification ring on one hind leg for showing purposes. Each rabbit which wears a ring is registered in the owners name with the British Rabbit Council. It is necessary to have some form of identification to prevent the wrong rabbit being taken home at the end of the show, if by any chance you do pick up the wrong rabbit a telephone call to the BRC will soon identify the rightful owner and then arrangements can be made to re-unite you with your own rabbit.</div> <bR> <div> There are pet classes at each show which are judged on cleanliness and condition only and the rabbit does not have to wear a ring to enter these classes.</div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <div> When the summer gets hotter please spare a thought for your rabbits comfort and health and site the hutch in a shady part of the garden. Rabbits can die of heat-stroke if left with no shade to lie out in. Another drawback associated with the hot weather is a condition called fly-blow. Please check that your pet does not have a dirty rear end as it attracts the flies which lay their eggs on the rabbit fur. When the maggots hatch they burrow into the rabbits skin and the poor animal is in agony. A rabbit should not normally have any trouble in the summer if their backsides are clean, sometimes too much veg will cause the animal to have the runs, and left uncleaned, they are very vulnerable to fly attack. If your rabbit suffers from the runs it is not normal, and you should try to find if the cause of the problem is connected to the diet. Good quality hay, fresh water and rabbit food bought from the pet shop is all your pet needs, lettuce is one of the biggest cause of digestive upsets and should never be fed. If you insist that your pet has veg please wait until the animal is over six months old and introduce very small quantities at a time. Do not be tempted to pick dandelions and grass from a hedgerow to feed your rabbit as they could be contaminated by weed killer or fouled by other animals. These too can cause your pet great distress or even poison it.</div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <div> Above all enjoy your rabbits, if they are not neglected they can give you years of companionship and pay you back tenfold for all the care you put into them.</div> <bR> </td> </tr></table></body>