Questions about showing rabbits??

[Pancake in the River]

I have a Flemish Giant Doe who is about 8 or 9 months. I am thinking of trying out showing her but do not know much.

My mom was in 4-H when she was a kid but.. So anyway here are a few questions

1. Would she be Fawn in color?

2. What age is best time to show?

3. How big of a factor is weight?

3a.What are the average weights for each age?

4. How do judges handle the rabbits?

( how well do I need to socialize her )

5. Anyother Tips on looks that will help or hurt her chances would be great!!

 

[debilorrah]

The best advise I can give you is to go to www.arba.net and purchase the book Standards of Perfection. I know nothing about Flemish! They can be shown as young as 8 weeks, though it is best to wait til 12 weeks. They are called a Junior until they are 6 months, then they are a senior. You can win legs as a junior ut you need one senior leg to complete a grand championship which is 3 legs.

Judges expect a rabbit to be still, pose the right way and NOT BITE. They pose them, flip them over to check toe nails and sex. So they need to be able to tolerate that with no adverse reaction to it.

Flemish weights I have seen at shows are anywhere from 14-20 lbs. Bigger than that they don't fit it the judging cages.

 

[Pancake in the River]

Thanks debiraymond

If anyone knows Giant I can post pics for you to judge
Just tell me what angles I need.

 

[Harmony]

Are you talking about ARBA shows?

At eight months of age and over Flemish Giants are shown as Seniors. She must weigh at least 14lbs, be longer than 20 inches in length (tip of nose to base of tail), and have ears that measure no less than 5 and 3/4 inches. Most of the points are for the color, fur, and condition (45 out of 100). The second largest factor is the body (35/100 points).

1. If you post a picture I can tell you what variety she is.

2. She can be shown at any age. Although she'll be competing against rabbits that are a bit more "mature," and some rabbits take a while to fully develop.

3. If it came down to two Flemish Giants, with all conformation aspects being equal, the larger Flemish Giant would win. However the standard says balance is more important than size. If your smaller rabbit is superior to a larger one it would likely win.

4. The judges will pick the rabbits up, turn them over, check the feet and legs, check the teeth, left ear for tattoo, ect. She just needs to be calm enough to allow the judge to handle her, and as debiraymond said, not to bite the judge.

You can go to these websites to find shows:

http://www.arba.net/showsSearch.php#showsearch
http://www.wsrba.net/shows.htm

 

[Pancake in the River]

Thanks for the advice!
I am not sure what ARBA shows are...

or which shpws I would compete in?

Opps!!! I ment to post pics the first time

so here are a few..... I can get more tomorrow if that would help

 

[gaited horse]

ARBA is the America Rabbit Breeders Assc.
You can show her in 4-H shows also.
She is a fawn. I don't show Flemish but I have heard lots of good things about them.
Here is a link to the ARBA's breed webage: http://arba.net/breeds.htm
and you will be able to go all over there website

Here is a link to the Flemish giant clubs website: http://www.nffgrb.com/
Just a warning about rabbit shows they are addicting.