"Legs and Points" in showing English Angoras

By
Betty Chu
________________________________________
The first time I went to a rabbit show, I saw a teenager holding a cute rabbit. I commented, "That is a nice rabbit!" She answered, "Oh yes, she has two legs."
I looked and looked; this rabbit had four legs on its body, I couldn't figure out why she said they rabbit had only two. Recently, I was in a rabbit show. Two ladies came by and wanted to buy one of my bunnies. I said, "Both of his parents are grand champions. His papa has six legs and his mama has five legs." They gave me a blank stare. I realized then that they were as confused as I was years ago when I first attended a rabbit show.
In showing English Angora rabbits, two varieties are accepted: White and Colored. The White variety includes: Ruby-eyed white, Blue-eyed white and Pointed white (Himalayan marked). The Colored variety includes: Black, Blue, Chocolate, Lilac, Cream, Fawn, Red, Chestnut Agouti, Blue Agouti, Chinchilla Agouti, Lynx Agouti, Opal Agouti, Blue Cream, Chocolate Cream, Siamese Sable, Smoke Pearl and Tortoise-Shell, etc. Each variety consists of four classes: Sr. Buck, Jr. Buck, Sr. Doe, Jr. Doe. Senior is defined as 6 months of age and over or meets the minimum senior weight; a junior is defined as less than 6 months old. A junior can compete in a senior class, but a senior cannot compete in a junior class. The judging is done by the American Rabbit Breeders Association, Inc. (ARBA) licensed judges according to the STANDARD OF PERFECTION.
Unless all the rabbits entered are unworthy of an award, the judge usually will place the animals from the last to the first. If the class has at least five rabbits shown and these five rabbits are entered by three or more different exhibitors, the first place rabbit gets a leg. Disqualifications are counted in the number of animals shown except when a wrong sex is entered, such as, a buck is entered as a doe. If there are two white senior bucks and three white junior bucks entered, the first place senior buck and the first junior buck do not get a leg automatically after winning the first place. However, provided that these five white bucks are entered by three or more exhibitors, if the first place white junior buck wins over the senior, the junior wins a leg, the senior doesn't, and vice versa. If one white senior buck, one white junior buck, two white senior does and one white junior doe are shown, of these four classes, only the Best White wins a leg if these five rabbits are entered by three or more exhibitors.
During the show, a judge will select in each variety the first place winner of the senior buck, junior buck, senior doe and junior doe, usually in this order. In the same variety, the senior buck will be compared against the junior buck and the winner stays on the table. The senior doe will be compared against the junior doe, the winner stays. Then the winner buck will be judged against the winner doe. The winner of the two will be the Best of Variety (BOV) and the other will be the Best Opposite Sex of the Variety (BOSV). At this time, there should be four rabbits on the table, a colored buck, a colored doe, a white buck and a white doe. The Best White will be judged against the Best Colored and the winner is the Best of Breed (BOB). If the Best of Breed winner is a doe, then the two remaining bucks will be compared and the winner is the Best Opposite Sex of the Breed (BOS). If the BOB winner is a buck, then the two remaining does will be compared for the BOS.
In addition to the above-mentioned eight classes, there are two additional classes for wool competition: Colored Wool and White Wool. In order to compete in wool, the rabbit has to be entered in one of the eight regular classes and must not have been disqualified in the regular classes except for the ones who were disqualified for wrong sex. These two classes do not differentiate between bucks or does, juniors or seniors. The only difference is whether the wool is colored or white. Best White Wool and Best Colored Wool are selected by the judge. Of the two, the judge picks the Best Overall Wool winner. These two classes are mainly for honor since there is no leg awarded regardless of the number of animal entered. There are sweepstakes points awarded, though.
To summarize, it takes at least five rabbits and three exhibitors to qualify a leg for one rabbit. If a rabbit wins three legs which were awarded by at least two different judges, with at least one leg being a senior leg, and this rabbit is registered by an ARBA licensed registrar, this rabbit qualifies to become a Grand Champion. The owner mails the three original leg certificates with registration number and $4.00 to the secretary of the ARBA. The secretary of the ARBA will send back a Grand Champion Certificate with a grand champion number assigned to this rabbit. One rabbit qualifies for one grand champion certificate in his lifetime. An owner still can show this rabbit after being "granded", the legs earned after that are just for the honor rather than working toward the certificate.
One might ask why would anyone want to show a rabbit who is already a grand champion? The answer could be: just for the fun, for the honor and/or for the sweepstakes points. What are the sweepstakes points? If the exhibitor is a member of the National Angora Rabbit Breeders Club (NARBC), and the shows he attended are sanctioned by the NARBC, the club sweepstakes chairperson keeps a record of all the show winnings of each member. The club newsletter publishes a list of the top ten highest point exhibitors in the nation. How are the sweepstakes points calculated? Here is an explanation:
• lst place rabbit wins 6 points multiplied by # of rabbits in the class,
• 2nd place rabbit wins 4 points multiplied by # of rabbits in the class,
• 3rd place rabbit wins 3 points multiplied by # of rabbits in the class,
• 4th place rabbit wins 2 points multiplied by # of rabbits in the class,
• 5th place rabbit wins 1 point multiplied by # of rabbits in the class.
The BOB exhibitor gets l bonus point multiplied by # of rabbits in the breed, the BOS exhibitor gets 1/2 bonus point multiplied by # of rabbits in the breed. There are no bonus points for the Best of variety exhibitors. Starting from the beginning of 1989, the Best In Show exhibitor in an all-breed show gets 100 bonus points and the Best in Show exhibitor in the ARBA National Convention and in the National Angora Specialty Show gets 200 bonus points. No bonus point is awarded for regular specialty show Best In Show exhibitors. All points earned in the ARBA National Convention are doubled.
The big sweepstakes points exhibitors may or may not coincide with the winning exhibitors in the show circuits. An exhibitor may take two rabbits to a show and win the BOB and BOS but win very limited number of points if these two rabbits happen to be entered in small classes. Another exhibitor may not have won one single leg in a show but become the Best Display winner of that show. That is, he gets the highest sweepstakes points in that show by entering a large number of rabbits and winning many 2nd to 5th places. In addition to the number of rabbits entered and the size of the classes, another deciding factor in sweepstakes points ranking is the number of shows an exhibitor has gone to in the sweepstakes year. For NARBC, the sweepstakes year runs from August 1 to July 31 of the next calendar year. In summary, competing in sweepstakes takes quality, quantity and consistency.
The top ten sweepstakes winners are given an award in recognition of their accomplishment during the ARBA National Convention breed banquet. The ones who do not attend will receive their awards in the mail. Any member of NARBC who has won, in NARBC sanctioned shows, at least a BOB or a BOS will receive a silver colored pin and the one who has won at least one all-breed Best In Show will receive a gold colored pin.
The author has been the first place winner of the English Angora sweepstakes for 14 years consecutively since 1988. Her rabbits have won BOB and/or BOS in the ARBA National Conventions in 1987, 1988, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1997, 1999, 2000 and 2001. She is the breeder of the only Angora rabbit who has ever won the Best in Show in ARBA National Convention history.

Resource : http://www.bettychuenglishangora.com/

Grand Champions and Legs

Grand Champions and Legs
A Grand Champion certificate can be awarded to any rabbit that has won at least 3 'legs'. Legs are earned through wins at ARBA rabbit shows - any legs earned will be printed by the show secretary and included with your show report.
Below is a copy of a leg one of my Holland Lop does won. The info is hard to read on this copy because I compressed it to fit on the page. You can still see the general layout: below the exhibitor information, the rabbit who won is listed and below that are the awards won. The show and judge information is to the right and below that are the rules about awarding legs. The back of the leg has information on how to get a Grand Champion Certificate and a Best in Show Certificate if you won that award.



A Leg of Grand Champion will be awarded to any rabbit that:
1. Wins first in a class providing there are 5 or more animals exhibited by 3 or more exhibitors.
2. Wins Best of Breed providing there are 5 or more exhibited in the breed by 3 or more exhibitors.
3. Wins Best Opposite Sex of Breed providing there are 5 or more as the same sex as the winner exhibited in the breed by 3 or more exhibitors.
4. Wins Best of Group providing there are 5 or more exhibited in the group by 3 or more exhibitors.
5. Wins Best Opposite Sex of Group providing there are 5 or more as the same sex as the winner exhibited in the group by 3 or more exhibitors.
6. Wins Best of Variety providing there are 5 or more exhibitors in the variety by 3 or more exhibitors.
7. Wins Best Opposite of Variety providing there are 5 or more as the same sex as the winner exhibited in the variety by 3 or more exhibitors.
8. Wins Best in Show providing there are 5 or more animals in the show exhibited by 3 or more exhibitors.
9. Leg for Grand Champion may only be awarded at an official ARBA sanctioned show.
10. Leg for Grand Champion is to be furnished to the exhibitor by the show secretary within 30 days of conclusion of show.
11. Rabbits must be judged by a licensed ARBA Rabbit judge.
12. Only 1 leg of Grand champion may be awarded to the same animal for the same show.
So What Do You Do With Your Rabbit's 'Legs'?
Save them! After your rabbit earns three legs, you can fill them out and send them to the American Rabbit Breeders Association, along with a $4 fee, to obtain a Grand Champion Certificate for your winning rabbit. Many breeders proudly display their rabbit's Grand Champion number near the rabbit's name on websites and other promotional materials.
Here is the address to send in for your Grand Champion Certificate:
American Rabbit Breeders Association
Executive Director
PO Box 5667
Bloomington, IL 61702
A Few Rules About Grand Champion Certificates.....
• Your rabbit must be registered with ARBA before you can obtain a Grand Champion certificate.
• You can register your rabbit and send in for it's Grand Champion Certificate all at one time thru one of the registrars commonly found at rabbit shows.
• At least one leg of the three, must of been obtained when the rabbit was a senior or an intermediate.
• The wins must be under at least 2 different ARBA judges.
________________________________________

Congratulations on your first Grand Champion rabbit! ARBA used to encourage exhibitors to retire their Grand Champion rabbits from the show table to make way for upcoming rabbits to win and earn their own Grand Champion certificates.
I no longer find this statement in the rule book. I don't think it meant that much anyway since everyone always showed their winners over and over. When my kids showed rabbits, these 'constant winners' were frustrating because others rarely got a chance to succeed, but then we realized that this only made us work harder to improve our stock, and what a great incentive that turned out to be!

Convention Results 2009

86th ARBA Convention
“The Endless Summer. In Search of the Perfect Rabbit”
San Diego, California November 1-5, 2009
www.theendlesssummer.org

BEST IN SHOW - OPEN RABBIT

MINI REX
DOUG KING

Group 1
Mini Lop
Jody Rosnik

Group 2
Mini Rex
Doug King

Group 3
Satin
Robbie/Amanda Wampner

Group 4
American Fuzzy Lop
Sherry Hartzell

Best of Breed (BoB) & Best Opposite Sex of the Breed (BoS) - Mini Rex

OPEN BOB



OPEN BOS



YOUTH BOB

Best in Show ARBA Convention and Show 2009

Nov,16 2009 1:40pm
'Hollywood' Bunny Nabs Best in Show at National Rabbit Competition



Courtesy Douglas King
Who was the best-looking bunny of the bunch at this year's 86th annual American Rabbit Breeders Association (ARBA) Convention and show? The coveted title of Best in Show went to Hollywood, an 8-month-old black broken Mini Rex rabbit from Sanger, Calif. "It was overwhelming," Hollywood's owner, Douglas King, tells PEOPLEPets.com. "To win at ARBA is the pinnacle. It doesn't get any bigger than that."

Hollywood (pictured right) beat out 13,000 rabbits of 47 different breeds who came from around the world for the ARBA convention earlier this month, the largest animal show in the country. (By comparison, the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show is limited to 2,500 champion dogs.) King hasn't missed an ARBA convention since 1991, but this was his first time winning the big prize.

"The judge had it down to two rabbits: my rabbit and an American Fuzzy Lop," King recalls. "He kept going back and forth over them." Hollywood, meanwhile, was doing her best. "She struck a pose and didn't move all through the judging and it helped her win," says King. "If she would have fussed, she would have been in trouble, but she posed perfectly and I couldn't ask for anything more."

When the judge announced that the Best in Show was the Mini Rex, the crowd erupted in screams and cheers. "I was so overwhelmed. I even got a little teary eyed, which isn't like me," says King. "All this hard work and all this effort, time and money has paid off. What got to me the most is that this is in the history books. My name will be there forever, and I think that's just amazing."

Since getting his first bunny at 8, King has spent the past 39 years raising rabbits. He is one of the top breeders of Mini Rexes in the country. "It's been a passion, and rabbits have always been a huge part of my life," says King, whose day job is working as general manager of a manufacturing company. "My parents never really liked rabbits, but they allowed me to have them."

It was their "gentle nature" that drew him to the animal. "You can have numerous rabbits, they're very clean and don't make a lot of noise," he says.

The Mini Rex breed is renowned for its short, super plush coat that feels like velvet. "They weigh about four- to four-and-a-half pounds, are even-tempered and calm," says King. "They're real popular as pets because they feel so soft to the touch, and have a very gentle nature." Mini Rex rabbits live for 8 to 10 years.

To prepare for competition, King spent hours each evening after work grooming his rabbits. (He entered a total of eighty in the show.) "I would do a little more conditioning and finishing of their coats, and that was the winning edge," says King. "People always want to know my secret, and it's just water. I use strictly plain old water on my hands and just rub the coat, and that water pulls out the dead fur."

Hollywood always stood out from the 200 other rabbits King keeps housed in a barn on his property. "She was one that I've been watching ever since she was 3 months old. I knew she was special," says King. "She's the best rabbit I've ever raised and I knew that going into the show."

Meet more amazing animals on PEOPLEPets.com:
War Buddies: A Marine's Unlikely Bond with a Dedicated Iraqi Dog
Andre the Dog Is Out on Some Fancy New Limbs
Helena Sung

Best of Breeds ARBA Convention & Show 2009

Four English Angora Best Of Breeds, One Of Each Kind



White doe Chu's Susie won BOB in the 2009 ARBA Convention.



White buck Chu's Nolan won BOB in the 2008 ARBA Convention.



Colored doe Chu's Sevenah won BOB in the 2007 ARBA Convention.



Colored buck Chu's Ashton won BOB in the 2003 ARBA Convention then advanced to winning the Group.


Betty says,

"It is unusual for a buck to win Best of Breed in any of the Angora breeds; it is even more unusual for an English Angora buck to win the BOB in the ARBA national convention.

In 2008, Judge Randy S. asked me whether Nolan was the first white buck to have won that honor. I don't know whether it's the first ever, but I do know it's the first in 23 years that I have attended ARBA conventions; and I also had only seen one colored buck winning BOB English Angora in the ARBA convention and that was Ashton in 2003.

Most of the years the winner would be a white doe or a colored doe, bucks are usually the Best Opposite Sex of the Breed (BOS). In the past years, I have had many does, white and colored, winning the Best of Breed even Best In Show in the national conventions. Buck wise, I have only had two winning convention BOB and group and those are Ashton and Nolan.

At the present time, I have four convention BOB living in my barn: colored buck Ashton, colored doe Sevenah, white buck Nolan and white doe Susie; four BOB and one in each kind.

Ashton is Sevenah's grandfather; Sevenah is Susie's mother. Ashton is also Nolan's great grandfather, and Nolan has sired Maddex, the BOS in the 2009 convention. It is a family tradition to compete in the national conventions.

Ashton also has the honor of having his photo as the breed photo in the most current ARBA poster and the same photo is on the breed page of the 2009 ARBA convention official catalog. Furthermore, a different photo of Ashton is gracing the page of Angora rabbits on Wikipedia."

Resource:http://ncag.blogspot.com

Nestbox Management for English Angoras

Reach Out and Touch Somebunny

by
Betty Chu

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Leave the Doe and Babies Alone ?

When I started raising French Lop rabbits in 1981, I read everything there was about rabbits in the library. What I read about kindling does was invariably: Do not disturb the doe, leave her alone. Do not handle the babies. The doe will not take care of the young if there is too much human scent on the babies.

When my first french lop litter arrived, I followed just that advice. Sweetie Pie, my first french lop, had her babies on the wire at 10 o'clock on a rainy night. I picked up the babies and put them in her nest box and left Sweetie Pie and the babies alone. The next morning, to my horror, half of the babies were dead and the remaining few were cold and dying. I called Sweetie Pie's breeder, Cathy, asking for help. She came and put the cold babies in the warm oven. Unfortunately, all still died except one. Sweetie Pie did not know what to do with this one survivor; neither did I. Cathy's mini lop raised this one baby named Valentina, who was born on St. Valentine's Day.

It has been a long time since this happened. Sweetie Pie and Valentina have both gone to bunny heaven, and I no longer have any french lops.

Over the years, I read, I listened and I learned through my experience and my mistakes, I decided that this leave the doe and babies alone attitude is entirely wrong for nestbox management. This method probably is practical for a commercial or a meat rabbit breeder, who may have a large number of does in production and losing babies may mean a financial loss but not an emotional hardship. For an Angora fancier as well as a true animal lover, I think the reach out and touch somebunny attitude is a much better way.

Reach out and Touch Somebunny

Here is my involvement with does having babies from conception to 7 weeks old:

1. Pick a date:

I check the calendar to make sure that 31 days from the of breeding is not a time that I am going out of town or going to a show so that I'll be available for the doe when she is ready to kindle. If the doe is a first-timer or has a tendency to have difficulty in kindling, I will arrange to have her due day earlier in the week, Mondays or Tuesdays, so that it does not run into a weekend in case she needs to be taken to the veterinarian.

2. Mating:

After selecting the right combination, I check the buck's and doe's genital area to make sure that they are all clean. I take the doe to the buck's cage early in the morning. If it is a successful mating, the buck should fall over and stomp his feet repeatedly . I'll take the doe out and hold her in my arm for 3-5 minutes so that she does not urinate to flush out his sperm immediately after mating. I'll put her back in her cage and repeat the process again 7 hours after the morning mating.

3. Signals of being bred:

Most rabbit books have pictures showing how to palpate the does at14 days after the initial mating. This, once again, probably is more important to a commercial breeder than to a fancier. A commercial breeder does not want to lose two weeks of time for an empty doe to sit around and consume his feed. To me, breeding is for show, for fun, for improvement of the breed. Palpating is a dangerous process. If one is not careful or not good at it, one may squeeze the babies out of the sack and kill the babies as well as the doe.

I do not do palpating. The doe usually tells me how she feels by her behavior. 2-3 weeks after mating, if she is bred, she picks up her sitting rag or hay in her mouth and starts to dig in the corners. I give the doe a nest box lined with clean rags, hay and/or torn paper towels on around the 26th day after mating. Also I give her some loose hay every day. In general if she is bred she'll be busy picking up the hay and whatever is in her cage and putting them into her nest box. She may even pull wool at this stage.

4. Time to kindle:

About 29-32 days after being bred, the doe kindles. Some does give me no worry. They have the babies in the box , cover them well and nurse the babies right away. Some may need help. More than once I've seen one baby born on the wire cold or dead, no babies in the nestbox. This is the time when help is necessary. Since I know the birth canal has already opened due to the birth of the first baby, 1/4 cc of Oxytocin sub-Q may be injected to help the doe to push out the babies. (Do not use Oxytocin if you are not sure the birth canal is open!) Usually the rest of the litter will come out 5-10 minutes after injection. It happens so fast that the doe sometimes is caught by surprise and does not have enough time to jump into the nestbox. I always wait around to pick up the babies and put them into the nestbox when necessary.

5. Saving the young:

If I find a baby cold but still alive, the chance of saving it is very good. I pick up the baby right away and keep it warm. I prepare a bowl or warm water (warm, not hot!), put the baby in a sandwich bag with the top open, and put the sandwich bag on the surface of the warm water. This is to simulate the mother's womb, warm and liquid. After 3-5 minutes, the warm water needs to be warmed up again. Afterwards, I place the baby in a cookie can covered with wool and place it under a lamp for a while. If one wishes to use a heating pad , it should be used very cautiously. I have heard of several cases where the bunnies got cooked. The first rule for using a heating pad is to set LOW. The second rule is to put the bunny container, such as a cookie can, half on the heating pad and half outside the heating pad. Just in case the heat gets unbearable, the bunnies will have a place to climb to. When the baby's body feels warm, put it back with the rest of the litter. If the baby is basically heathy, it will grow up as normal as the rest.

6. Nestbox management:

After the doe has kindled, I take the nestbox out of her cage. Take out dead babies if there are any. I place a disposable diaper or clean clothes under all the hay and wool for the absorption of moisture as well as for the comfort of the babies. (I do not put the diaper in before kindling because the doe would shred it into pieces during the nest building activities. ) I cut the wool into short pieces since Angora wool is long and strong. If left uncut, the wool may wrap around the babies' feet or neck . I've known instances where babies were killed or worse, a foot was cut off. The nest materials are changed often, every 2 or 3 days in the first week, every other day in the second and subsequent weeks.

At this point, my involvement with the doe's effort in baby-raising intensifies. I prepare a nursery in my family room: A carrying cage big enough for the nestbox. I put the nestbox inside the carrying cage and close the cover. This is especially important if you also have cat in the house. Every morning and/or evening, depending on the doe's preference, I take the nestbox to the doe. The doe usually will jump into the nestbox right away to release the pressure in her nipples. She finishes her nursing in about 5 minutes. I take the box out of the doe's cage and check each baby to see whether it has gotten enough milk. The ones that got enough milk have a firm and fat tummy. The ones that did not get enough are soft. If there are some soft ones, I have two choices: I can supplement mama's milk with KMR (Kitten Milk Replacement, available in feed stores or pet supply shops); or I can put mama on her back and let the babies nurse. I usually ask for my husband to help me if I choose the latter method since the doe's back feet are strong that she may kick and harm or even kill the babies.

If it happens to be a large litter, that is, 8 or more, the latter method may not work since the doe may not be able to produce that much milk. The KMR certainly will come in handy. Hand feeding is a little messy but a lot of fun. I use a pet nurser for kittens. Making the hole is a little tricky: if it is too small , the babies do not have the power to suck the milk out of the bottle; if it is too large, the milk may come out so fast that it may choke the babies. I usually test the suitability by using very hot water. If hot water streams from the hole, it is too big, the rubber nipples is ruined; if it needs my fingers to squeeze to release the hot water, it is too small, try again; if the hot water drips from the hole, it is just right. It is a trial-and-error process, the hole that I find works well is a small cross cut with a toenail clipper.

At times a baby may have problem in urinating. I use my finger or a wet cotton swab gentlely rub the baby's little tummy and genital area. Baby usually will respond quite quickly.

One may ask why do I keep the nextbox away from the doe. The reasons are threefold: First of all, if the nestbox were placed with the doe all the time, the doe may nurse during the middle of the night. Sometimes a baby may hang on to the doe's nipple when she jumps out of the nestbox. The doe has no way of putting the baby back in the nestbox and this perfectly heathy baby usually dies of exposure. Second, the doe at times nibbles at the nest material including her own wool. Taking the nest box away lessens the chance of her getting woolblock. Third, the human touch. Since the nest box is in my house, I play with them frequently from day one. They are very accustomed to human handling. When they grow up they are usually very sweet, very attached to people. My does don't mind human scent on their babies since they were brought up exactly the same way. My does don't mind fostering other does' babies either. I do not have to use anything to divert the doe's attention to put in babies from other litters. I do it in plain view. They accept any baby readily without hesitation. I have had cases where two does shared one nestbox, one nursed in the morning and the other nursed at night. Both litters grew up fat and strong.

7. 10 days to 3 weeks old:

At 10-12 days old, bunnies' eyes open. Once a while, a bunny has problem in opening one or both eyes by itself. By the 13th day, if the eyes are still not unopen, I'll wet the bunnies' unopen eyes, lightly massage a little then use my fingers to open them. If left without help, the unopen eyes may be become blind.

At 2 to 3 weeks old, the babies are jumping in and out of the nestbox. I still keep them separate from their mama for the following reasons: Less wear and tear on the mama and safety for the babies. At this time the babies have very small feet. They are also not very coordinated at this young age. I've known instances where a baby got its foot broken while caught in between the wires and had to be put down. I line my babies' cage with my old T-shirts or towels to prevent this possibility. Doing the same is not too practical when the doe is with the babies since the doe eats a lot and passes a lot. The cage could be a big mess in no time . In addition, I am sure we have all seen babies chasing their mama for milk. It certainly can be very stressful for the doe if she does not feel like nursing at that time. I feel that keeping doe and babies apart except at nursing time is a solution for both parties. And I am sure that they enjoy their quality time together much more.

8. 3-7 weeks old:

Bunnies are old enough to eat solid food now. I let my bunnies eat regular pellets as well as all the treats that my adult rabbits enjoy, including fruits and vegetables. Old time rabbit raisers advise no greens, especially for bunnies. I have fed grass, fruits, vegetables to bunnies as young as 2 or 3 weeks old and never had a diarrhea problem. Grass and greens are what wild rabbits consume as soon as they are old enough to leave their warren, so why can't the domestic rabbits? I feel that my English Angora rabbits' coats are enhanced by the variety of natural food that I feed.

At about 4 weeks old, the nestbox is removed; at about 6 or 7 weeks old, I try to separate the litter into several cages. I try not to keep more than 4 bunnies in one cage at this age. If the cage is too crowded, the bunnies' coats will not look and feel nice. Worse, sometimes they may even chew on each others wool.

At 7-8 weeks old, my bunnies are ready to go to their new homes. In addition to their excellent background, they are also very tame and very affectionate; they are generally loved by their new owners.

Since I've started this approach, the does that I raised are all very calm. They don't mind people in the rabbitry, they don't mind being groomed, they don't even mind people watching them mate, kindle and nurse. Best of all, I seldom lose any bunnies; they all grow up healthy and strong.

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Resource : http://www.bettychuenglishangora.com/

English Angora Pictures

Grooming English Angoras

by
Betty Chu

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Basic Tools

The types of grooming tools needed are dependent on how serious the owner is in showing English Angoras. If one is planing on keeping the rabbit as a pet or for the purpose of growing wool, the basic tools are a steel comb with wide-teeth (six or eight teeth per inch by one inch protrusion) and slicker brush. If one shows occasionally but is not seriously competitive, the tools needed are the above comb and brush, a bulb-tip pin brush and a strong plastic regular hair comb with fine teeth. If one shows frequently and seriously, in addition to the above mentioned tools, one also needs a strong blower and a grooming table with lazy-susan turn table at the top.

The reason that there are different tool requirements is that if one wants to be competitive in showing English Angoras, in addition to having good stock, it is necessary to find ways to keep the wool on the rabbit as long as much as possible without matting. The additional tools such as a blower is utilized to accomplish these goals. On the other hand, to keep an English Angora as a pet or as a wooler, one does not want to keep the wool on the rabbit for a long time; thus a comb and a slicker brush will accomplish the task.

Frequency of Grooming

The ideal frequency for grooming an Angora rabbit varies. It depends on the age of the rabbit, the quality of the rabbit, the condition of the rabbit, and the planned purpose for the rabbit. It can be analyzed as follows:

1. The age of the rabbit:

Up to eight weeks of age, generally no grooming is necessary. Groom once a week between eight weeks to four months old, every four to five days between four to five months old, and twice a week between five to ten months old. At about ten months or older, a plucking or clipping of the wool is usually done. Generally speaking, when the rabbit is more than one year old, it tends to have more guard hair and thus has less matting and needs less grooming. It usually takes less than 15 minutes to groom a rabbit if it is done once a week, while it takes more than an hour to groom the same rabbit if it is done once every three weeks. It is far better for the owner and the rabbit if grooming is done more frequently.

2. The quality of the rabbit:

Some rabbits matt a lot, some don't. Some matt from the inside out (from the wool next to the skin to the surface, or felting), some from the outside in. The ones that matt a lot, especially from the inside out, should be groomed more often. The rabbits that don't matt as often and have their matts appearing on the surface first may be groomed less frequently. If kept for wool, with the right texture, some older rabbits may have their wool harvested every 3-4 months without much grooming in between harvests.

3. The condition of the rabbit:

If the rabbit is in full coat, more frequent grooming is called for. If the rabbit has been frequently plucked or clipped, one may not need to do much grooming.

4. The planned purpose for the rabbit:

If one plans to show a rabbit, one should be prepared for a show at least two months ahead of time. It takes frequent and careful grooming to keep the rabbit in tip top shape. The grooming tips described in this article are geared toward show rabbit grooming. If one keeps a rabbit for wool, for a pet, or for breeding, it is wise to keep the rabbit in short coat. By doing so the owner will have less burden of grooming and the rabbit will have less chance of being matted.

There are two different methods of grooming , one method which is suitable for someone who does not own a professional grade blower and one method for the one who owns one. The following is the method which has been used for many years before the blowing method came into light:

Grooming with a comb and a brush:

To present a perfectly conditioned rabbit in a show takes planning for the show and understanding of your rabbit. After selecting the pick of the litter for keeping, grooming starts at eight weeks old. Use the wide-tooth steel comb to comb through the entire bunny. At this time the bunny has more hair than wool so not much grooming is involved. Basically, make sure that there is no tangling behind the ears, sides, and feet. It is helpful to frequently lay the bunny on your lap with its back down to familiarize it with the position of grooming the tummy and the legs. By starting early, the bunny gets the habit of staying still for grooming.

As the bunny starts to have wool, start to use the slicker brush. Put the rabbit on your lap, use your left hand to press the side wool upward, and the right hand with the slicker brush to brush the wool from the bottom up layer by layer. If any matt is found along the way, use your fingers to tear the matt apart and then use the steel comb to comb it through. One important thing to remember while using the steel comb - always use your fingers to secure the base of the wool. It keeps the wool on the rabbit instead of on the comb, thus preserving the wool density.

After doing the layer brush through the sides and the shoulders, turn the rabbit on its back and brush the legs, tummy, and chest. Unless there are matts, use the slicker brush as much as possible to preserve the density. On the legs it is better to keep shorter but more complete wool coverage than longer but spotty wool coverage. I usually clip the wool short on the legs if it is at least three weeks away from the show. How much to clip depends on how long before the show and how fast the wool will grow back. There is no set rule, you just have to experiment a little to know the particular rabbit you are showing at the time.

After the tummy, chest and legs are all brushed, put the rabbit on the grooming table. The next tool to use is the bulb-tipped pin brush. The bulb-tipped pin brush can penetrate all the way down into the base of the wool without taking too much wool with it. Use the pin brush to thoroughly brush the rabbit; sides, shoulders, back, chest, behind the ears, tail, tummy etc. Now go back to the slicker brush. The slicker brush is used to brush the surface part of the wool. By using the slicker brush again, the surface will fluff up. After that, use your hand to check through the entire rabbit. If you feel any lumpy wool, go through with the pin brush and the slicker brush again. If not, use a regular plastic hair comb to comb the very tips of the wool back and forth, over and over again. The procedure serves two functions: it removes the loose hair, thus lessening the chance of woolblock, and it smooths the surface of the wool thus giving the coat a finished look.

If the above procedure is repeated once a week from the time when the rabbit reaches ten weeks old, with a good quality rabbit you may start seeing results on the show table as early as when the rabbit reaches an age of three and one half months. The procedure should take about a half hour after one gets used to the routine.

Grooming with a blower:

The British Angora breeders for many years have been using their vacuum cleaner's blower option (a clean one, of course) to help keep the Angora coat in shape. There was an article written by a British breeder published in the Summer 1988 newsletter of the Northern California Angora Guild newsletter Matts and Fluff discussing her vacuum cleaner method.

In the late 1980s, California breeders started using hair dryers to help find matts and felt underneath the heavy coats of their rabbits. The hairdryer is also used to fluff their rabbits' coats just before going on to the judging table. I have been using my hairdryer to help my grooming since 1985. In 1989 ARBA convention in Tulsa, Susan Conley of Ojai, California used a professional-grade dryer designed for sheep-drying and dog-drying to "blow" the coats of her rabbits. She did so everyday for 6 continuous weeks before the convention. The result was remarkable. Her rabbits' coats were very long and in perfect shape with neither felting nor matting. Such method, pioneered by her in the US, become the most "in" method for the English Angora breeders. (For your information, Susan is originally from England.)

First of all, where does one find such a blower? How strong should the blower be? Such blowers usually can be found in veterinary supply catalogs under dog grooming section. The price range between $120 and $400. The higher priced ones do not necessarily mean a better one because the features carried by the high priced ones may not be relevant to an English Angora owner. The requirements for English Angora blowing is strong blowing power with cool or slightly warm air. Hot air is not only unnecessary but also damaging to the Angora wool. It is difficult to describe the strength. The one that I own, Mini Circ, has 60 cycles, 120 volts and 9.5 amps. I also own another one, Air Force 3, with 4.0 amps, a lighter weight to be brought to the shows. The blowing power should be strong enough to open up the coat - a regular hair dryer is not comparable.

Starting with a 3 month-old rabbit, twice a week, I would put the rabbit on the turn-table grooming stand, turn on the blower using one hand to hold the blower hose, and blow into the rabbit's coat, while the other hand holds on to the rabbit's ears and the skin behind the ears. To hold on to the rabbit's ears accomplishes two tasks - one, secure the rabbit in place since the blowing power is so strong that it may startle the rabbit and cause him to fall off the grooming table; two, protect the rabbit's ears from the strong blowing power. When the blower is on, I look for any webbing or felting underneath the wool. If the wool is not opening up in a totally divergent way, there is webbing and felting. Blow at these spot for a while. If these areas are not too severe, the wool will gradually open up, the pills from the webbing and felting will surface to the top of the coat, and I'll take my hand temporarily off the rabbit's ears to pull the loose wool away. If the felted areas are not improved by blowing, I'll stop the blower and use my steel comb to comb out the tanglings. Of course the principle of holding the base of the wool still applies. I repeat the blowing on the entire rabbit by gradually and gently move the turn-table into a desirable direction. If done regularly, it should not take more than 5 minutes to blow through the entire coat of the rabbit. If the blowing is done regularly, the chance of having a big webbed or felted area is not very high. After blowing, I use my steel comb to go through the top bangs, the neck behind the rabbit's ears and the cheeks since the blower nor the cannot take out the little tangles in such places, then followed by a slicker brush on the tips of the wool. At the end, I use my fine tooth plastic hair comb to smooth out the very tips of the coat. It takes me about 5 minutes to go through the brushing part.

There are a few points to know in regards to the blowing method. First, one will be very surprised by how dusty the rabbits are. If the rabbit has never been blown at before, there will be a blast of whitish dust flying off the rabbit. The groomer may be covered by this white dust from head to toe; the white dust even sticks on one's eyelashes. If you are slightly allergic to rabbits, make sure to wear a mask. Second, due to this white dust and the wool flying off during blowing, it is advisable to do it outdoors. When I first started, I did the blowing in my garage. Within one week, my garage did not need any decoration for a Halloween party - the wool stuck every place looking like spiders had worked overtime. The white dust was so fine that it renders a vacuum cleaner useless. Susan Conley told me that when she started blowing she did it in her bedroom and could not initially figure what was happening to her walls. If possible, do it outdoors, far away from everything else. Near where I do my blowing now, there is a pine tree. This pine tree looks like a Christmas tree decorated with Angora wool. Third, the reason why a turn-table grooming table is recommended is that the blower's hose is quite clumsy to drag around. It is easier to turn the table in order to put the rabbit into a position to accommodate the blower.

Blowing does not replace brushing altogether. It is a very useful complementary tool. It does help open up the coat, make the coat look clean and crisp, and reduce the time required for each individual grooming. Blowing does not change the genetics of a rabbit. If one's rabbit does not have the genetic traits of having dense coat with good texture and length, the blower certainly cannot change that. Blowing does not replace good nutrition and management. If one's rabbit is not well fed and kept clean, blowing cannot change that either. Last but not least, blowing/grooming has to be done on a regular basis. No blower, regardless of the strength , can open up a coat which is already matted.

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Resources : http://bettychuenglishangora.com/