Judge Chris Zemny looking at English Angoras
The "Wool Room"
Judge Nate Burbridge judging Jersey Woolies.
A youth breeder showing her French Angora.
Judge Bill Waley gives Shepherds Delphinum BOG
PASRBA is the largest show we get to go to besides ARBA Convention. It helps that it comes along in Feburary when everyone has bunny show cabin fever. It is a chance to have some outstanding judges that we normally would never get to show under, again, outside of Convention. Two that were really a joy to listen and learn from were Judge Chris Zemny and Judge Nate Burbridge. So much information was given about each and every rabbit that these two judges handled that it was a total learning experience. I came away with so much knowledge about my two breeds.
And I don't want to forget about Judge Mike Avesing, ARBA president, who judges the angora specialty show is another teacher of all things bunny. I want to thank the show committee for the thought they gave in choosing these fine judges. And of course thanks for the "Wool Room" where like minded individuals have fun getting wool on themselves and others and no one even minds!
Here is Shepherd's Belladonna on the cover of Russian Harpers Bazaar with Naomi Campbell. Hoping to get some of the photos from inside the cover. I think she looks adorable.
Hurricane Sandy before this door blew in.
Here it comes.
Next was 10" of snow!
GC BIS/RIS Shepherd's Bellhop with his big Rosette.
GC Shepherd's Ladyslipper groomed up.
It has been a very interesting few weeks since the Lebanon show. Much to my surprise jersey wooly buck Shepherd's Bellhop won an open BIS at the Lebanon RBA show. I was told that there were 1,700 rabbits entered. What a nice win for a little 3 lb. bunny with almost every beautiful breed of bunny represented.
Next we had Hurricane Sandy that hit the Jersey shore with so much force and destruction. We lost out power and then when it came back on we were hit with a heavy snow storm that brought down trees and power lines so we lost our power again.
I was so happy to have the power back that the first thing I did was groom bunnies!
I was able to get to the Baltimore and Howard show by sharing a ride and transporting some bunnies home for local owners. It was so nice to see all my bunny friends and that them for the good wishes and prayers that they sent my way.
I am having to cut down on my beloved angoras and woolies. They went to some very loving homes. Very happy for them and their new owners. I will miss them but am very happy to see the smiles on the new owners faces. Now for more clean up as we pick up from Sandy and get ready to put our house up for sale after the holidays. Happy Turkey Day everyone! Gobble, gobble!
After an eye opening iced coffee,
GC Shepherds Lady Slipper, lilac tort sr doe and
Shepherds Delphi, rew jr doe and
Shepherds Flora, black jr doe come out of cold storage.
Most summers and especially this summer, I try to handle my angoras very little. It is just too hot for them and for me. Lucky for me, they have pretty easy care coats so they can hang out in the AC all summer and not be too worse for the wear. It is finally a little bit cooler, 80*, this morning and 3 ladies came out for a real good grooming. They were not too bad but still need some work on the underneath which gets the most felting and friction.
Shepherds Delphi is the first rew doe that I have produced in a really long time. I was originally looking to add other lines of rew but I am glad that I didn't as Delphi is worth the wait. She is much nicer than anything I could buy and her sister Shepherds Flora, the first black doe in a really long time, is also worth the wait. There are three other sibling from this litter and I will post photos of them as they get groomed. They will be the perfect age to take to Angora Nationals in Reno as seniors.
The iced coffee really did look like it had eyes and was staring back at me this morning! I must have been really tired.
GC Shepherds Shimmer
GC PP's Glacier Ice
Shimmer getting her senior coat
Broken and Not.
It is good to be back to blogging. I had dropped my camera in June and broke it, so no new photos. The computer also broke with a bad virus that took forever to get fixed. Plus it was too hot to do much of anything but try to stay cool and keep the bunnies cool, a full time job. And I forgot to mention that I am back to work, very exciting news.
Anyway back to bunnies, Shepherds Shimmer won a Best in Specialty Show in June at the show in Massachusetts. Very exciting as she had just turned senior and beat some very nice rabbits plus won over GC RIS Shepherds Bellhop who had won BOB and BOS at the two open Shows and over GC WW Queen Latiffa who won the reverse shows BOB and BOS. I am happy that the next generation is showing some promise as my two bellringers are molting badly right now.
I am looking forward to some fall shows although not as many as in previous years. My angoras have taken a toll this summer with the heat and the younger juniors are looking a little worse for the wear. Keeping them cool with the misters and spray bottles has made their coats somewhat felted. They also don't seem to have popped the wool as in previous years. We need some cooler weather to come along, like now. Well, it is nice to be back and I hope to have some angora photos up in the next few weeks once I work the kinks out.
Keeping angoras cool
Very difficult in hot weather.
If you have an angora with any length of coat in hot weather, it is best to keep them in air conditioning. Some owners bring them in during the day and then put them back out at night when it is cooler. Shade and a short haircut is most important with bunnies that are housed outside in hot weather. Fans to move the air, frozen water bottles or frozen ceramic tiles put in each cage are a big help. I spray down the concrete floors with cold water so that it keeps things cool as it evaporates during the day. There is a misting hose that runs around the outside of the rabbitry that sprays cool water and does drop the temps by a few degrees. Ice cubes in the drinking water bottles are a help as well as those frozen blue ice packs in the cage pans where the rabbit can't reach them. A fine mist spray bottle for cooling ears is also helpful as well as keeping the rabbit calm just letting them chill out during the day. Cool treats are also enjoyed, cold baby carrots, cold kale with the rinse water still on it or some chilled apple sclices. Anything that keeps you and your bunny cool and happy is great in heat like this. Keep cool!
Smoothing out his coat.
Looking for the Judge
I'm ready, look at me!
Some show rabbits are just natural posers and some have to be worked with for awhile before they understand what to do on the show table and some are just carpet huggers. It is a joy to see a bunny that loves showing so much that he actually is up on his hind legs trying to get the judges attention. He turns to follow the Best in Show judge so he is makes sure the judge will not to miss his best points.
This is RIS GC Shepherd's Bellhop and he just loves to show. It took him longer to blossom then his sister, RIS GC Shepherd's Ring My Bell, but he has surpassed her with his wins. 8 GC legs, 1 RIS, 8 BOB (unusual for a buck to beat a doe), 1 BOS and 1 BOG. His sister has 5 GC legs, 1 RIS, 2 BOB (one at PASRBA with over 65 woolies entered), 2 BOG and 1st. Junior Doe.
Their other sister, Belladonna, is a scardy cat and becomes one with the carpet at shows. Although she is just as nice, she only has one win under her belt. If only she would struff her fluff, she would do much better at shows. She did try her best to out pose Naomi Campbell at the Harpers Bazaar photo shoot by leaning into the fan every time the assistant moved it in the models direction. Maybe she is just prefers a different type of posing.
Some are naturals, some you can teach and some are just happier staying at home. This poser cracks me up, he is just so comical. Thanks to Anita Picco for these fun photos and love Alyssa Bowlby's beautiful English Angora sitting so nicely on her carpet.
