We signed up for Bows & Bullets 4-H because Sis got an archery set for Christmas, and she was a fairly good shot. When your kid is hypermobile, there isn’t a ton of sports she could do, and at the time, her arms were not a huge issue. She wanted to shoot, but her school didn’t offer an elementary aged archery program, so 4-H was a fantastic opportunity. The first day, they not only let her shoot archery, but put a firearm in her hands and she was over the moon.
When we realized she could have other projects, she decided she wanted to have a rabbit to take to fair. None of us have ever been the same.
Anyone who is in the rabbit realm knows that there is no such thing as “one rabbit”; and I’m still astounded that my old high school friend didn’t laugh aloud in my face when I asked for one rabbit. They insisted we take two for several reasons, and since they were the experts, Potato and Bun Bun came home to the brand-new stacking pens Grammy and Grandpa bought for our back porch.
That first year, our goals were to show rabbits at the fair, and to learn everything we could about what that encompassed. We had great success at learning, and Sis was bitten with the 4-H/Shooting Sports/Rabbit bug. At the Livestock Auction, Sis convinced us that she wanted the rabbit that her swim team friend had for sale. We had no idea how the auction worked; we didn’t even know what breed of rabbit we were buying! Talk about blissful ignorance!
We came home from the fair, and Sis set the goal of breeding and raising a rabbit to bring to fair. Of course, that meant that someone needed to procure a breeding doe for Potato and Bun Bun, since they were both bucks. Thank goodness our rabbit friends were honest and connected us with one of the most amazing mentors around! And yes, when we went to pick up our breeding doe, we were given an “extra” for good measure! So, we jumped from two Mini Satin to four and had one lonely Netherland Dwarf that needed a mate.
The kids and I drove to the northeast corner of the state to find her boyfriend and stopped off at my nephew’s scrimmage on the way home, just because it was on our way home. Of course, she read books about rabbit care and breeding. She was careful to keep the pens clean and give them plenty of feed and water. However, it was (and still is) me who stays up late when kits are due and runs out to make sure windows are shut when it’s raining. But other than my “mothering” the rabbits, she has been the Bun Boss the entire time. She makes all the decisions about breeding, which rabbits get shown, which shows we go to, type of feed, supplements – all of it.
Yes, we advise her, we help research – but all final decisions are hers and hers alone.
So, when she won Best of Breed her second year, we were shocked. Not because the rabbit wasn’t beautiful; but because Best of Breed is important, and our rabbits were competing with our mentor‘s rabbits. Year 2 also meant that she had babies to care for. She had to learn about weaning and what kind of protein content a nursing doe needs. She was diligent in her care and her kits were just as beautiful as the Senior Buck she brought to fair.
Sis set her sights beyond our county for her third-year goal. She wanted to show at an American Rabbit Breeders Association (ARBA) sanctioned show. Now, mind you, brother and dad went along as well, and we became a family of rabbit enthusiasts.
In the past three years, my little doe eyed girl went from wanting to participate in something and have a cute little rabbit to snuggle with to being a business owner, decision maker, and rabbit breeder. She started the line of Mini Satins that gave her brother success at the fair this past summer. She chose the best to keep and breed and had helped him start the third generation in our Mini Satin line.
It was Sis who decided that we would show ARBA, become members of ARBA, and start an ARBA registered rabbitry. Sis is the one who tells us what rabbit is nervous about and which one has an “attitude”. She is sweet to them but takes zero opposition. She is quick to determine which rabbits she will keep to breed, which ones she wants to show, and who goes up for sale.
Sis helps to update the website and determines which shows we attend. She is the one who cleans the pans, scrapes the bottom of the pens, and wipes baby rabbit booties. She is the giver of the BOSS and the keeper of the barn key. She is the Bun Boss for sure.
This past year, we were astonished to be asked to make a video about rabbit breeding for our county. First of all, we’re not what I would consider experienced, but it was good for her to gain some confidence in her own knowledge. The next wonderful opportunity came when she was asked to step in and give a little talk about having a Rabbit Project to a Clover Club. That was fun, and of course, Shadow went along with his Mini Satins. Finally, Sis was blessed to be a mentor to three younger girls in the rabbit project area. She said that was her favorite part of the year.
She put effort into every project and each presentation. She planned out what to say, took notes on index cards (and then promptly decided she didn’t need those notes!); wrote letters to parents and mentees, planned activities for the mentor sessions, wrote a script for her breeding video, added captions and learned how to upload that video to Google Drive. Sis made little “bio” sheets for each rabbit for the Clover Kids to learn about the rabbit they would show before the fair, so that they could be prepared too. She was even determined to let those girls feel special, so she wore her “Proud” shirt during their show, because she wanted them to recognize that it was their show, not hers.
She clapped and celebrated when her friends won awards for their rabbits and tried to attend other livestock events to watch her club friends show their animals. She studied hard to know her rabbit facts and did well when it came to showmanship. Gaining confidence in showmanship was one of her third-year goals as well.
In the end, she didn’t really want to apply for a county award. She is still shy about accolades. She prefers to let her rabbits get the credit. However, after some encouragement from her dad and I, she decided to apply.
It was a pleasant surprise to learn that she won the award, and I wished she could have been there to receive the congratulations from her peers. However, as someone wise told me, sometimes our lives are not our own. Our club put on a great little “mini” awards ceremony on Sunday night, and she received her Intermediate Rabbit Project award with her Outstanding Record Book award and CBI Bank award for Excellence in Participation.
She has set her fourth-year goals and is working toward them daily. Her brother determined that he would help her show, but he does not share the passion for breeding, so he is getting out of Mini Satins. She has agreed to let me be her partner now, and I am extremely excited to get to work alongside her, instead of being just “mom”. I am immensely proud of her accomplishments. I love to see her set goals and blow past them!
Momma Rich's 