I see a lot of people breeding American rabbits in their backyard and not show them. When asked why, the usual answer is we’re just raising them to feed our family. Well guess what, did you know that showing your rabbits can help you feed your family better? And there are a lot of other good things! Let me tell you about my path into raising rabbits.

I started raising rabbits to feed my family, sounds familiar? A lot of people raise them in my parts, and it was easy to get my hands on meat mutts. They were big bunnies, I felt they provided a lot of meat. Then I started tanning the pelts. I was breeding to get specific fur colors. And then I saw a lady selling off her meat mutts and she had a tricolor! So I drove a few hours to get that tricolor, imagine the pelts! We became Facebook friends, and I saw she was raising American Sables. Wow, what a color!! I need those pelts! So I contacted her and asked if she would have an older doe maybe? Because I new she was showing them and winning competitions. I didn’t want a winner, I wanted sable pelts! So she answered, she had brood doe for me. But the sneaky breeder put 1 condition: I had to come and get her at a show.Oh, she knew what she was doing! She knew she would get me hooked!

So again I drove a few hours to get my sable doe. I arrived at the show, was welcomed, and introduced to her friends. There was a lot of laughter and passionate conversations about rabbits. She got me to stay long enough to see what a show is. I saw judges giving comments on each rabbit, breeders getting praised for their efforts, lots of smiles and congratulations. I heard judges commenting on what could be improved to get more meat on a rabbit. And that was it. I wanted that! I wanted a community of friends that are as enthusiastic about rabbits than me. I wanted to learn how to get more meat out of my rabbits. And it is what I got and even more. Eventually, while looking into which breed I wanted to raise and show, I went for the beautiful, good tempered and in need of help for its survival: the American rabbit.

Everyone will tell you, the friends you make when you show are what’s going to keep you in the hobby for a long time. There are many amazing friendships that were born in the showroom, not to mention a few marriages as well! And it all makes sense because unlike school or a workplace, you meet people who are passionate about the same hobby as you. And that community is strong, welcoming, helpful and a big part of my life!

But that’s not all, showing your Americans will help you improve your meat production. Why? Americans are meat and fur rabbits. The Standard of Perfection (SOP), which are the guidelines of what your rabbit should look and feel like, is meant to get you to have a good rabbit, with lots of meat and beautiful fur. If you breed in your backyard, oftentimes, you breed whatever rabbit with whoever. The goal being mainly to get grow outs to butcher and fill your freezer. When doing this, you might inadvertently breed away from the SOP, meaning away from a good meaty rabbit. You might think it’s not important and doesn’t really matter, but it does. I saw the difference when I went from meat mutts to pure breeds, wow, I realized my meat mutts had big bones and little meat on them. I doubled the width of the loin going purebred! Isn’t your time and resources precious? Aren’t they worth getting more meat for the same amount of work? Going to shows will get you there. The judges will give you comments on what to improve on your rabbit so it is closer to the SOP. Being closer to the SOP means more meat and better fur. This is precious feedback you can not get in your backyard. This also gives you goals in your breeding and to me it made more sense. I liked that my rabbit breeding wasn’t just about filling my freezer anymore, I was also contributing to the survival of a rare breed. And the SOP gives me a goal to achieve, that perfect American rabbit that will win at Convention! And lets not forget, more meat in my freezer for the same amount of resources. 

Showing your Americans will also help the survival of the breed. Why? Because then we know you exist! Backyard breeders are not accounted for when the ARBA sends numbers to the Livestock Conservancy, so attending shows adds you to the global effort to keep the breed alive. It also enables you to easily meet other breeders and gives you access to breeding stock you wouldn’t have not showing.

So in a nutshell, showing your rabbits at ARBA shows will bring you:

• new friends
• new goals for your breeding
• better meat and fur production by following the SOP
• include you in the global effort to save the breed
• better opportunities to get stock 
• did I mention awesome friends?

So I hope you will join us in the American adventure and that we will see you in shows! And it’s ok if you don’t know if you have a show quality american or not. Just bring it to a local show and the judge will let you know what to improve. The more you attend shows, the better you will know the breed and what to look for. And your new friends will be there to help!