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

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

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

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

"Why do you keep showing your Grand Champions?" Some breeders have been asked this question many times and here is why I continue to show every and any rabbit, especially my best rabbits, at any given show: First, the most obvious of reasons: It is not my top goal to get three legs to then retire my Grand Champions from showing. Some show breeders find satisfaction in this as a top goal, while others see "granding" their rabbits as a step on the ladder to their top goal. Second: My goal is to win Best in Show (and Sweeps but that is another conversation). There is no chance for a rabbit to win Best in Show if it is not shown. Why would any breeder who wants to win Best in Show keep their best rabbits out of a show?  Third: Even though a rabbit has been shown many times before, it could win Best in Show or Reserve in Show on any particular day with a particular judge because of several factors, like it is in near-perfect fur and condition or the other Best of Breed

When my husband and I decided to enter the inaugural show of Southeastern Bunny and Cavy Shows (SEBACS) and donated the double sanctions, I was hoping there would be other Silver Fox breeders who would attend but it turned out we were the only ones—just one exhibitor with five rabbits: one buck in a significant molt (but less than the others I left at home), two intermediate sibling does, and two junior sibling does. In most cases, I might have passed up on the show. It was the wrong time of year to show a fur breed, but fur would be an issue with most of the breeds as we had been in the hottest part of the summer. There would be no available legs for Silver Foxes, not even for the assured title of Best of Breed since I was the only exhibitor, but I was not thinking about winning as much as supporting the new club, getting comments on the does, talking with friends, and just having fun.  It was a smaller show but the judges were some of the best and there were some top breeders also. T

God is in everything, even in a rabbit show, and He talks to us in many ways. We attended a double Silver Fox specialty show last weekend that was squeezed in between the rush of birthdays, college graduation, and a piano recital. The first item on the show day was an opening prayer and I loved that God was honored first among friends! I also loved the message God gave to us all. It was hidden but God wanted it to be revealed. For the last few years, I have been led to give my rabbits names that have spiritual meanings and to honor my Lord. When I walk in my rabbitry and say their names it is like giving blessings over my rabbitry as well as the rabbit, but my Lord brought it to my attention that He also gave a blessing to us at the show. Selichah is a junior doe who just finished filling in her coat so this show was her first. When I assessed her for show potential, I thought she was not only the sweetest doe I have had but the best doe we had produced out of our rabbitry, although I

As I am in the process of updating my rabbitry records and preparing for the 2023 National Silver Fox Show, I reflected on the progress of how one line from my first Silver Fox meat rabbit, who was far from show quality, progressed to grand champions: granddaughter and great-grandaughters and even great-geat-grandaughters and some bucks in there as well! I am also reviewing the past year and reflecting on my purpose of showing rabbits. Why do we show rabbits? That is the question. The ideal answer: Showing rabbits determines if we are improving  the breed toward its standard of perfection. If everyone had that single purpose in mind, things would go more smoothly in the rabbit-showing world. While judges' opinions differ on what is ideal and much also depends on the condition of the rabbits presented on any given day, over the course of several shows, the better rabbits will win more consistently.  When I select my rabbits for a show, I am not thinking about whose rabbits will be t

How to make people happy as a show breeder: Go to every show you can but DO NOT WIN!  Only be happy when other people win...but tone it way down if the rabbit is one you bred. If you should win, express how bad you feel for winning, scratch that rabbit from the remaining shows so you cannot win the next ones, and then immediately sell your winning rabbit to someone else. Okay, that is over-the-top crazy. But, is it?  Because I have heard other breeders over the years say to people directly or in a conversation about them: When are you going to retire "Winning Rabbit"? Rabbits should be retired after they become Grand Champions. "Winning Rabbit" should be at home making babies, not at shows. It seems unfair that you brought "Winning Rabbit." Hasn't "Winning Rabbit" won enough already?  How many more legs does "Winning Rabbit" need after all? Here is how each sounds on the flip side—especially if you were to ask a judge: Stop showing