Ideas for rabbit meeting talks, demonstrations, and activities.
—Selecting a rabbit for show (how to choose a rabbit breed that is right for you i.e. size, housing, care )
—How to build a nesting box
—How to breed rabbits
—Rabbit kits and kindling
—Caring for a new rabbit litter
—Weaning your new rabbit litter
—Caring for orphaned kits
—Fostering rabbits
—How to feed rabbits effectively
—Rabbit grooming and care
—Rabbit conditioning and conformation
—Disease Detective (rabbit diseases)
—Setting up a rabbitry
—Rabbit showmanship
—Getting ready for the fair
—Finding Faults (what are s some common faults that ARBA judges will mark a rabbit down at a show)
—How to build your own rabbit cage
—All about legs (what are “legs” why are they important?)
—What is a pedigree?
—A demonstration on any specific breed, its markings, history, size, fur, etc. (For instance explain the specific markings of a dutch or harlequin breed, their conformation, etc)
—What is the ARBA? (talk about state shows, the association, what they do)
—Attending an ARBA show (talk about how judges judge different , best of show, best of breed, show a judging card)
—Showing a rabbit at the state fair
—Fur is Fur. Isn’t it? (The differences between rabbit furs and how they require different feeds, care, etc.)
—When to cull a rabbit
—House training rabbits
—General housing tips for rabbits
—Sanitation
—How to palpate a doe
—How to tattoo a rabbit
—Determining the sex of your rabbit
—Plants, foods, or conditions that can harm or kill a rabbit
—Care of rabbits in hot weather
—Parts of the rabbit
—Selecting rabbit equipment
—Making a rabbit carrier
—How to determine a sick rabbit, or what to do if your rabbit gets sick
—Doctoring sore hocks
—Trimming a rabbits nails
—Determining a rabbit’s finish
—Making a grooming table
—Pedigree vs Registration
—Opportunities beyond the County Fair (shows, careers)

More Advanced
—An in-depth look at breeding (line breeding vs. cross breeding vs. outcrossing)
—When to medicate—rabbit medicines
—Tracing the Development of the Unborn Rabbit
—Understanding a feed tag
—Humane treatment of rabbits
—Keeping records
—Explain your personal breeding, culling, or herd improvement plan

Ideas for outings/activities
—Rabbit skillathon
—Attend an ARBA show as a group
—Tour a rabbitry
—Attend the State Fair showmanship workshop as a group.
—Have a mock showmanship competition
—You Be the Judge! Have a mock judging competition
—Ask a veterinarian to visit and talk about rabbit diseases and health care
—Ask an animal scientist to visit and share rabbit information with members
—Have an equipment, feeds, or medicine supply company visit or go visit them, and have them explain the benefits of using particular equipment or products
—Ask a rabbit breeder to visit and explain how they started their interest and share tricks of the trade
—Ask a rabbit or showmanship judge to visit and explain what they look for when they judge a class
—Have someone who builds rabbit cages for sale come and have each member build a rabbit cage
—Rabbit Bingo
—Rabbit Jeopardy
—Get acquainted games (pin cards with rabbit breeds, diseases, or faults to someone’s back and have them guess the card by someone describing it to them)
—Guess the pregnant doe (Have two does, one pregnant, one not and have kids palpate the doe and ask questions to determine the pregnant one.)
—Rabbit Disqualification Game
—Have two groups have a competition to sex a litter of baby rabbits (See which teem was more accurate)
—Identify the parts of a rabbit
—Rabbit Breed Scavenger Hunt (can only be done at a rabbit show)
—Rabbit Breed Flash Cards
—Quiz Bowl (in depth quiz on rabbit breeds or other topics)
—Make an observation chart of a healthy rabbit (record temperature, etc.)
—Rabbit Pyramid
—Stump the Teen Leaders! (4-H'ers vs Teen leaders in a trivia contest)
—Constructing the Ideal Rabbit
—It’s not their fault! Have some members bring rabbits with faults and see if the members can figure out what they are.
—Bunny Hop
—Disease Detective

Resources
Books—Contact Virgene and Regina for information or books regarding any topic on which you need information. We each have the Standard of Perfection (also available at the Jewell and Webster City Libraries) as well as several ARBA books. etc.

Tattoo kit available for checkout—A tattoo kit is available for checkout from the Hamilton County Extension office. It should not however, be checked out around the time of the county rabbit tattoo day, as it is always needed for that event.

Judges Rabbit Scale—Can be borrowed from Regina. Hopefully by next year we will have an electronic tattoo set as well.

Check the ARBA website and the Internet for further information on rabbits.

Check the Rabbit Link and Rabbit Info pages for further information on rabbits.