A note from your webmaster

Calling all newsies! Amy, Catie, and myself are looking for content submissions for both the newsletter AND the website.
As your friendly neighborhood webmaster, I’m looking for anyone with WordPress experience to help me make this site better! I have been trying to set it up to be as user-friendly as possible so other folks can login and submit content, but I’m so old school I want to just write it all in HTML. Anyone who has suggestions or experience with WordPress get in touch! [email]webmaster@americanrabbits.org[/email]

Also, HUGE shout out to Catie and Krista for all the work they’ve done behind the scenes on sweeps, and to the rest of the board for all the hard work (and extra meetings, and super long meetings, and side meetings, and phone calls!) that’s been put in over the last few months as we reorganize with new board members and new plans moving forward! It’s been a huge team effort and we are all working hard for the members!

Krista Hudgens-Gleaves, Vice President

Hello my name is Krista Hudgens-Gleaves. I am the Vice President of the Breeders of the American Rabbit N.S.C. I live in Texas and am a mother to 5 wonderful kids + 2 bonus kids that we raised and 2 grandsons with another on the way. We have a little ranch with cattle, rabbits, chickens and ducks. My kids all show through FFA cattle, goats, lambs, rabbits, chickens, and ducks. We travel all over the nation showing so I feel that I am on the road all the time.  My youngest son started us out in Americans in 2013 one rabbit and now we have three barns full. My 2 youngest followed suit. Sora, my youngest, is all about the rabbits. If you ask her what her favorite animal is and she will tell you her Americans. We fell in love with the breed for their size and how docile they are. If you see us at a show you will see Sora with one in her lap all the time.

Catie Bolze, Secretary

I was blessed to enter the rabbit world in 1989 with a gift of a New Zealand White from my grandfather, Monroe Robinson, affectionately named “Rose.”  The bunny bug bit me as a spunky six-year-old, and I’ve been here ever since. Rose made sure I had any breed I wanted along the way, including “fancy” breeds.  However, for the last decade or so, I have focused on commercial/semi-arch breeds that are considered multi-use.  Presently, we have Americans, Rex, American Sables, and a smattering of Californians.  I enjoy doing my part to bring endangered breeds and varieties back to healthy numbers, which is part of what drew me to the American breed.  Ultimately it is my goal to see Americans moved off the rare breed list.  My family and I joined the American club in 2020, and my husband and I are thrilled to be your Secretary and Treasurer.  Please contact us with any questions or concerns.  See you at the shows!

Courtney Bolze, Treasurer

Toni Case, Pacific Director

Cortney Lannan, Central Director

Amy Lambrecht, Mountain Director

Hello everyone! I’m Sidney, and I am a Florida Native currently residing in North-Central Florida. I first learned of American Rabbits from the Livestock Conservancy, of which I am a member. I joined and after reading about the Americans, which were on the critical endangered list at the time, decided that they would be my first rabbit breed.

Originally I got into rabbits for meat, but quickly realized the best way to improve your herd is to show, and since my first show I have been hooked; it really is the best way to find out what you’re doing right and how to breed to the standard of perfection!

I am especially drawn to the Blue American, as blue is my son’s favorite color and one of the reasons we got into rabbits was he is autistic and animal husbandry was recommended by his care team. If I look tired in this photo, it’s because I had a buck named Abercrombie who managed to escape his cage and breed all my does at once; I had six dozen kits being born within a few days of each other to grow out!

I love this breed because they’re sweet, good mamas, have huge litters, and are always down for ear scratches and snuggles! I am completely dedicated to this rare, heritage breed, and hope to continue to help other folks get into breeding and showing these amazing rabbits!

Sidney Thomas, Eastern Director of BARNSC

American National Results

Lebanon, Indiana

Judge Joey Martin 

April 28, 2023

American National Specialty Results

Lebanon, Indiana

Judge Bruce Ormsby

April 28, 2023

Website Update

Sidney Thomas, BARNSC board member, has also been named as the webmaster for the club.  She is doing a fantastic job.  The website looks amazing and we hope you enjoy the new features it provides.  Presently, member applications and show sanction forms are available on the website at: https://americanrabbits.org 

If you have any suggestions, please reach out!  Thank you, Sid!

Promote Your Americans     

Are you doing anything in your area to promote the American rabbit?   Did you win a BIS or RIS?  Have a great showing at your local show?  We want to hear about it. Just email us at [email]secretary@americanrabbits.org[/email] with a picture and a blurb about what you did, and we will publish it in the next newsletter.

Parameters of Rabbit Breeds

Ever wonder how the American rabbit was placed on ARBA’s “rare breed” list?  Below are the parameters used by the Livestock Conservancy.  As Catie stated above, Americans have moved from “Threatened” to “Watch.”  Keep those registrations coming!  Our breed depends on them. 

Rabbit breeds on the Conservation Priority List generally conform to certain genetic and numerical parameters.

1. The breed census satisfies numerical guidelines:
   • Critical: Fewer than 50 annual registrations in the United States and estimated global population less than 500.
   • Threatened: Fewer than 100 annual registrations in the United States and estimated global population less than 1,000.
   • Watch: Fewer than 200 annual registrations in the United States and estimated global population less than 2,000. Also included are breeds that present genetic or numerical concerns or have a limited geographic distribution.
   • Recovering: Breeds that were once listed in another category and have exceeded Watch category numbers but are still in need of monitoring.
   • Study: Breeds that are of genetic interest but either lack definition or lack genetic or historical documentation.
2. The breed is a true genetic breed (when mated together, it reproduces the breed type).
3. The breed has an established and continuously breeding population in the United States since 1925. Or, if imported or developed since 1925,
   • The foundation stock is no longer available.
   • Must be below global guidelines for inclusion (see #1).
   • Must have at least five breeders in different locations in the United States.
   • The global population is threatened and the United States population is making a contribution to conservation of the breed.

Breeds not meeting all these criteria may be placed in the “Study” category and monitored.

Source: The Livestock Conservancy

Increasing Lactation in a Doe

By: Maria Bosclair, BARNSC Director

We sometimes have that one doe that seems to not be getting enough milk.  Here are some ideas to get that stubborn doe going:

First of all, when a doe seems to be lacking milk, a health check is in order. Does she have a mamite, abscess on the abdomen area, could she have milk fever? If there is no obvious health cause, look into her food. Is she able to get enough? Lactation increases calorie needs greatly and your doe should have access to more than usual / unlimited food.  Here’s what works for me: 

Offer fresh or thawed pineapple pieces in the couple days following delivery. When the doe cleans the nest and eats the afterbirth, she ingests more protein than usual and might have an upset stomach for it. Pineapples have an enzyme that eats through proteins. I give it to my does hoping it helps pass those protein along. Be aware that canned pineapples have been heated and the enzyme has been destroyed, so it is important to use fresh or frozen pineapples.

Increase fresh fruits and veggies. In addition to providing more water for your doe, it will also increase calories ingested and help your doe cover her nutritional needs. Be careful with the amount as you want to avoid drastic diet changes. A few more than usual pieces will usually do.

I also went into the literature to see if science could provide information as to what food could increase lactation. Most studies for mammalian lactation are studying either humans or cows. Needless to say I couldn’t find any rabbit lactation articles! One thing that does come up for all mammals is that lactation has some genetic background. If two generations of does have problems lactating, you should reconsider keeping these individuals in your program. As for food that increase milk production, most knowledge is from alternative medicine with few studies to support it. Still, here is a list of such food items that are safe for rabbits:

• oat
• fennugreek
• fennel
• ginger
• dandelion
• raspberry leaves

As for myself, I will usually offer raspberry leaves, fresh or dried dandelions, fennel bulb pieces and lactating cookies I make just for them. The cookies are more of a treat but might as well make them with pro-lactating ingredients! Here is my recipe if you want to make some too (very popular in my rabbitry!)

Rabbit lactating cookies

1 individual snack container of non sweeten apple sauce

3/4 c. oat flour

1/4 c. oats flakes (big ones)

2 tablespoon beer yeast or yeast flakes (not the one you use in bread, the one you find in health stores)

1/4 teaspoon ginger powder

1/4 teaspoon fenugreek powder (if you can find it)

1/4 c. sesame seeds

Mix all ingredients well and make little 1 teaspoon cookies. Dehydrate with a dehydrator until well dried or cook in the over a low temperature, around 200F, for 3 to 4 hours.

Americans on the Dinner Table

Grilled and Marinated Rabbit
Summer is here and the heat is on! Get out of the kitchen and cook on the grill to keep the house cooler.  Below is a recipe adapted from Jamie Oliver.

Ingredients

• 3 lb rabbit, jointed, with liver and kidneys(optional)
• 1 handful fresh thyme and rosemary , leaves picked
• 4 cloves garlic, peeled
• olive oil
• 1 lemon , zest and juice
• 1 teaspoon honey
• 4 thick slices pancetta, could use thick bacon in a pinch (watch out for flare ups on grill)
• salt
• freshly ground black pepper
• 5 wooden(soaked in water) or metal skewers

Method

1. Put your rabbit pieces into a bowl. Using a pestle and mortar, crush up the thyme and rosemary leaves to a pulp, then add the garlic cloves and crush again. Stir in 8 tablespoons of olive oil, the lemon zest and juice and the honey, and pour this over the rabbit. Put the meat to one side and let it come to room temperature while you light your barbecue. Set the grill temp to 400F.
2. Get a couple of sprigs of fresh thyme and tie them together like a little brush. Each time you turn the meat, dab it with a little of the marinade to give you an extra layer of flavor. You can use a BBQ brush if you do not have springs of thyme.
3. Keeping the marinade to one side, remove the pieces of meat and season with salt and pepper. Sandwich the pancetta between the 2 pieces of belly using 3 skewers. Put the legs and shoulder on the barbecue. When they’ve been cooking for 10 minutes, put the belly on. After another 10 minutes put the saddle and ribs on. Make sure you turn the meat over every so often. Look after it by controlling the temperature and basting it continuously with the marinade. Cut three-quarters of the way through each kidney and open them out like a book. Cut the liver into 4 pieces and push one piece on to each remaining skewer, followed by a kidney and more liver.
4. Basic cooking times for the different rabbit parts.
   Belly: 25 to 30 minutes.
   Kidneys and liver: 4 minutes.
   Loin and ribs: 15 to 20 minutes.
   Legs and shoulder: 35 to 40 minutes.
5. When all the pieces of meat are cooked, add your skewered bits of kidney and liver on to the barbecue and cook until golden, along with your 2 remaining slices of pancetta. After a few minutes, when the pancetta is browned, put it on top of the meat at the cooler end of grill.
6. You can serve the rabbit with white beans, roast potatoes, grilled vegetables, or different salads.