Going to the Rabbit Show!

[gypsy2621]

Quote:
ok she is a little small but that can be corrected.
lets start with a few questions.
how much grain are you feeding?
is she getting hay?
is she in a molt?
she could be a tweener, its been happening a lot ( called harliquin)
can you post a picture?
If she has density and texture of body the potential is there its just hiding.
I would suggest 1 tsp of Docs Rabbit Enhancer daily.
How large were her parents? sometimes this makes a huge difference with how they grow,
Flemish often do not finish off growing untill nearly 18 months old.
though I am sure there will be an argument for that.

 

[Felicia]

Quote:
All the answers to your questions:
1) She is free fed. She doesn't over eat, so I just leave it out all the time. She is about the perfect weight for her size. She does get alphalpha (3rd cut), but in very small amounts.
2) She isn't in a molt. She is just starting to loose a couple chunks of hair here and there, but it just started in the past couple days.
3) Here are pictures of her:

4)I don't know how big her parents are. The breeder didn't show them to me. And I made a huge mistake by not asking to see them

Guess you live and learn.

I will get some of that Enhancer next time I go into town.

Thanks!

 

[herbandteas]

Maybe you can change some of her condtion with better feed and hay.

 

[Felicia]

I am feeding her Dumor rabbit feed. It is what the breeder told me to feed her. What is a better brand of food?

 

[cutiepieacres]

give her time, you would be suprised. Both my Flemish didnt finish until almost 2 years old. My baby too was in the 6/8 class for quite sometime since she was so small. She is still smaller, barely 14lbs, but I found a great buck who filled in what she lacked and she had some very promising babies.

She looks like she could use a bit more conditioning to fill out. I am not familiar with the Dumor brand, so I couldnt say if its good or not. I feed Purina Advanced Nutrtion Show with some oats on top and they do great. I have always free fed my Flemmies, they get grass hay for munching.

 

[RabbitMage]

I can see that her coat looks a bit 'open'-she is starting to molt, isn't she?

I'm not a pro with Flemish type, so I can't help much there. I will say if you do try showing her again, you should wait until she makes Sr. weight. You can show a rabbit a class higher if they meet the weight requirement, but you can't show them in a 'younger' class than the really are.

I'm not familiar with Dumor, but if you're not happy with it, it wouldn't hurt to look into some other options. Purina is fairly popular nationwide and has a good reputation, and shouldn't be hard to find. We were using for a while with success, until we switched to something locally milled.

On her pedigree, her parent's weights should be listed. Regardless if it were me, I would be giving the breeder a call. Sometimes it's hard to know if a rabbit is going to stay show quality or not, but there should never be any doubts about making senior weight when they're supposed to.

 

[Felicia]

Quote:
Yes, she is just starting to molt. I will wait, and let her grow up a bit - and then try showing her again. I will try switching food to see if that helps her at all. I looked on the pedigree, and it doesn't say the weight of the parents. The breeder left it blank. I have tried calling the breeder multiple times, and have emailed her - she won't call or email back

.

I found an amazing Mini Lop breeder who is going to sell me a bunny. That way I will have a rabbit who will be ready to show by August (for fair). I talked to some other people, and they agree that she is a good breeder, and that she will help me out.

I'll also keep a the Flemish and see how she matures.

 

[gypsy2621]

Dumor is milled/owned by Purina. I have never had a Flemish do well wih Purina feed. For that matter I have never had any of my rabbits do very well with any Purina product.
I only feed Manna Gro its 18 % and the Flemish and French Lops do much better on it.
I can see what they were talking about with her butt, its not filled in as yet, giving her bottom a flat appearence.
She is a pretty girl with a nice head, shoulders are a little narrow but that could be because she needs to fill out some.

I would slowly switch her off the Dumor, I dont think its being very kind to her growth.
defiantely get the Docs its good stuff.
Keep us posted with her growth , she will blossom on you before too long.

 

[dddCT]

Felicia sorry to hear that you are having a less than excellent experience with your Flemish. Michigan is home to the current president of the national flemish giant breeders assoc...Bob Bomia You may want to contact him and pick his brain. The Bolyards are alos no slackers either and have a great reputation. Most breeders are really willing to help others for the most part. Did the breeder you got your rabbit from provide a pedigree. If they sold her as a show quality then she should have pedigree ( not required but again most breeders will provide it). That's where you'll get your info on the parents. I agree with what most have already said. Some Flemish take a little longer to come into their own. I have a buck right now that comes from the best breeding stock and he is slowing starting to look like he should and he is 8 months old. Up until now, we had our doubts about him.

A good breeding partner can definitely correct much of what she is lacking. I have a doe who is a solid rabbit but not a show stopper but boy she throws some gorgeous babies. The benefit of shows is that the judges can tell you exactly what you need to improve on for future breedings.
Good luck

 

[Felicia]

Quote:
I have a pedigree for her. But it doesn't say the weight of any rabbits. They left them all blank.