How Many Do You Show?

I showed 11 animals at the show in Mocksville, which surprised a fellow exhibitor.


To break it down, I had:

1 Jr. Agouti Buck
1 Jr. Broken Doe
1 Sr. Self Buck
1 Sr. Self Doe
1 Jr. Self Buck
2 Shaded Sr. Bucks
1 Shaded Sr. Doe
1 Shaded Jr. Buck
2 Shaded Jr. Does


So in my list- only two classes had more than one animal. In the Shaded jr. does, one doe had been to a show before, the other had never shown.

Do I consider this a lot of entries? NO. Not when I have seen people bring 25-30 animals. I strive to bring animals that are competing in separate classes, not dumping 10 in a single class.

It's also not a case where I'm "buying" Sweepstakes points with lots of entries. Every rabbit I bring, I believe has a chance to win it's class. Remember, if these all only get 2 points per rabbit, that's only 22 points. That isn't going to catapult you to the top of the sweeps lists.

In the occasions where I have 4 shaded/self/whatever junior does, I may bring them all to their first show and have them competing against each other- but only if it's a case where I'm not sure which I prefer and want a fresh opinion on them.

Each person has their own philosophy on how many to show, whether it's a maximum number of animals plan, an entry fee cap, or if there is no plan at all and they simply bring as many as they feel like that day.

My personal philosophy is I try not to go over $100 in entry fees, though it seems I usually don't have more than 7-8 animals entered. I try not to show 5 animals in the same class if they've been out before and I show the ones I think will do the best for me. Sometimes I do bring animals I should have left at home, don't we all? Sometimes those animals still win. Sometimes they are bottom of the class, but they help someone else get a leg.

I feel that I do well in Sweeps points because I breed hard and I cull hard and compete well. No one is harder on my rabbits than I am. If you only show 1 rabbit per show, are you going to be WAY up there in the Sweeps? Probably not. If you show 30 rabbits per show and they ALL place dead last, are you going to be WAY up there in sweeps? No.

I'd love to hear the philosophies of other folks- how do you decide who to show? Leave a comment or email me at enslavedbybunnies @ hotmail . com :).

-Kristen
Keep's Rabbitry