Conditioning Rabbits for Show

Between 5 to 10 points out of 100, depending on breed, are allocated to condition. If your rabbit is out of flesh condition, you can be sure that its fur is affected as well.

Conditioning Rabbits for Show: Goals

Your rabbits are show-quality.
You’ve started with good quality foundation stock, and you’re using well-conditioned rabbits as sires and dams. Conditioning is heritable, as are mothering qualities. Just as you breed for type, breed also for the less tangible traits that will make your rabbits winners.

Your rabbits are healthy.

• Check for pinworms
• Check for loose stools or other disease, such as coccidiosis or abscesses.
• Check for fur mites and ear mites (these are disqualifications)
• Check for white snot. Don’t even think of entering a rabbit that has EVER shown any white snot. Even if it’s been a while since you last saw or heard any sneezing, the stress of leaving the familiar and traveling to the show may very well precipitate a relapse. Putting sick rabbits on the show table is a waste of your money and a danger to every other rabbit. Any white snot or evidence of it, such as matting on the front paws, are disqualifications. Mats mean snuffles - CULL the animal.

Your rabbits are clean.

• No urine or poopy stains in the fur
• Well groomed with no loose fur or mats
• Toenails clipped, so they cannot snag on the wire and rip out. A missing toenail is a disqualification, even if it is still present but ripped to the skin and not grown out yet.

Your rabbits are well-nourished but not fat.
The well-conditioned rabbit is neither too thin nor too fat or flabby. He has tight muscle tone and firm flesh. Enhance conditioning on a daily basis by:

• Giving all the fresh clean water the rabbit can drink
• Feeding a fresh, 16 - 17% balanced feed, milled not more than 2 months prior.
• Free-feed growing juniors but limit the rations of your senior (adult) rabbits. If there’s feed in the feeder the next day, cut back on the pellets. If the rabbit dives desperately at the feed like a drowning swimmer clawing for survival, then maybe it needs a bit more feed...!
• Providing grass hay every day or very frequently in order to prevent fur blockage
• 2 weeks to a month before the show, increase the feed slightly or add a top dressing to the rabbit’s rations. See Formula for Rabbit Fur Conditioning below. This formula is great for wool as well.
• Once your rabbit has achieved prime condition and coat, cut back slightly on the amount of feed you give the rabbit, without starving the animal. This will maximize the length of time that he stays in condition and his coat stays prime.

Your rabbits are housed in clean and well-ventilated surroundings.

• The common rabbit diseases are related to sanitation. Your rabbit is most likely to stay healthy in a clean cage.
• Excellent ventilation helps keep ammonia odors at a minimum. This is very important to overall rabbit health. Ammonia from rabbit waste can burn the lungs and precipitate snuffles. If you can smell the ammonia, it's too strong. If your rabbits have to continually heal their lungs, they will be less likely to achieve top conditioning.

  Consider using Bye Bye Odor. It doesn't just cover smells, it eliminates them using a biological, completely non-toxic formula.

  

Conditioning Rabbits for Show:
Feed Supplementation for that extra SHEEN

There’s a reason why Mr. Dennis Roloff, a formidable competitor in Standard Rex circles, manages to win so incessantly! He’s got a top secret conditioning formula! He kindly shared it with Raising-Rabbits.com. (Hehheh, we did tell him we planned to tell the world about it.)

(Look at the shine and the excellent body condition of this black silver martin rabbit.)

A 'magic' formula is not all you need to win big. Mr. Roloff's formula works for him because he’s gotten all the other factors right as well.

Conditioning Rabbits for Show - Formula for Rabbit Fur Conditioning

• 1 cup sunflower seeds with hulls
• 1 cup Doc’s Enhancer
• 1 cup crimped barley
• 1 cup wheat germ

Mix together with 1/3 cup wheat germ oil. Store leftovers in the freezer.

Triple the Recipe:
If you like, you can triple the recipe by mixing 3 cups of each of the 4 ingredients. Then mix it all together with 1/2 cup of wheat germ oil. If not too wet, add another 1/2 cup of wheat germ oil. (Don’t get wheat germ that is cut with other oils - you’ll get best results when using genuine 100% wheat germ oil.)

Give a tablespoon per rabbit per day; keep the extra Top Secret Formula in the freezer, or don’t make too much at once.

You need not be continually conditioning rabbits for show. Once the show's over, leave the Top Secret Formula in the freezer and put the rabbits back on their regular rations. If you don't they'll get fat...and out of condition.

Conditioning Rabbits for Show Part II -

Do YOU have a great rabbit conditioning tip?

Do YOU use any secret formulas that work like magic to condition your show rabbits? Maybe you have a picture of a perfectly primed and conditioned rabbit that won Best or Reserve In Show! Care to share?

Tips and Stories from Other Visitors

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