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Combined Breeding Takes RIS

Some months ago, I was offered a breeding with Waldrop Acres Rabbitry Ashur, half-brother on the dam's side to Karen Waldrop's 2023 National Silver Fox Show winner. My Atarah is getting to that age when her kindles would tend to be smaller, but I chose her because she has a record of producing good buns with different bucks. Out of the breeding, I got two does.  This past weekend was their first show and I thought they were still a bit too undeveloped, so I was mostly hoping for comments and for them to get some show experience. The judges for this two-day show varied widely in placements but, to my surprise, both those little does managed to get their first legs as first-of-class junior does. I was also very excited about another friend when she had three rabbits who won their classes and were on the table at the same time for the Best of Breed judging. She won both Best of Breed and Best of Opposite Sex of Breed in Show B. (She had brought some offspring to show from my Yanis

Brother and Sister in the Spotlight

I had entered four rabbits in a show with a quad open, the first being on Friday night. I wish I had been able to make the first show but that did not happen, however, my husband and I went on Saturday for the remaining three shows. It had to be on one of the coldest days in a building with no heat and frozen water pipes but being the rabbit show people we are, we all toughed it out that day! My dilemma was what to do with a very nice typed young doe, whose silvering is over the top. I decided to acknowledge her blessing with the name of Zeevah, which in Hebrew means "radiance, brilliance, light, brightness, light of God" and show her. I had gotten several good comments on her type before, but it surprised me that she won Best of Opposite Breed twice this past weekend and now has two intermediate legs! That is amazing to me, but her brother's record is very impressive also. Gavriel won two more Best of Breed awards. He now has six BOB legs and another leg for being first

If It Is Not Your Deal

Some years back, a Silver Fox listing on Craiglist became a topic of discussion. I remember it listing young Silver Foxes that would not have yet developed their silvering at prices that many show breeders might sell a Grand Champion. There were the cutest pictures of young bunnies in Christmas boxes, Easter baskets, teacups, or other things. Yes, this same listing was repeated throughout the seasons for a few years. Every advertisement made a point that the Silver Fox was a RARE BREED. The persons involved in our discussion about it were highly critical of the "business practices" of this unknown person because they felt whoever posted the ad was trying to profit from it being a "rare breed" and not on the quality of each rabbit, which was too young to assess. I just stayed quiet for a time.  You see, this was an attitude that I found concerning and I still hear it now and then. While I am absolutely in favor of protecting and improving the breed, I am concerned wh

The Blessing of Chaya

Just recently, in a conversation with a friend, I confessed that for most of my life, I hid my Christianity in the closet, so to speak: no stickers on my car, no jewelry other than a cross necklace once in a while, and I even toned down my talking of God so that I would not draw attention to my beliefs or offend anyone. Perhaps it was not so much to avoid offending anyone who had unresolved issues with God, but mostly, I did not want anyone to judge God by me. Then I heard God say to me: "But then you are not honoring Me." It was very convicting. In my heart, I believe that God should be honored in all my endeavors, including my rabbitry, and He is, but now I do not keep that a secret or tone it down. I wanted to share this for you to understand I try not to just honor God by praising Him for the good things that happen but asking for His guidance and following what He asks of me to do...and some of those things do not seem to make any sense by the world's standards, like

Convention Comparisons

I think most people hang with the people of their club/breed at the Convention. This time, I hung out with a group of another club and breed because a friend of mine is well-established with another breed and just starting with Silver Fox. Throughout the last year, I have gained some insights into how different our two national clubs are. Every club has its overall personality, so to speak, but those of us with only one breed tend to only see the one national club associated with that breed. I was truly blessed to experience how another club does things. The banquet was a breakfast and during the last showing of a variety they hoped would earn its third and last pass, which it did. I thought members of the club might not have appreciated the scheduling conflict but it is very difficult to schedule club events at the Convention without conflicts. It was not fancy but simple with an adequate breakfast buffet. Then they had the awards ceremony! Youth was first and I have to say that I enj

When Visiting Another Rabbitry

This is just a reminder that breeders need to be respectful when visiting another breeder's place. I write this because I have heard many stories from breeders over the years, who regretted allowing some people near their home and rabbitry. Some were stories of breeders with atrocious manners, some acting with entitlement, and some were just a bit irritating in being disrespectful. To be honest, I have had to bite my tongue several times when looking at dirty cages or cages that looked too small for the rabbits. However, I did not have what I would describe as an abrasive entitlement experience...until I did. Some time back, someone needed her juniors to be transported so she came to my place to drop them off. After they were placed in my garage, I thought she would be leaving but instead, she walked out toward my rabbitry. There was no asking me if she could and there was no reason that she should as I did not invite her to do so, yet she proceeded. Since I was doing this as a fav