Conditioning French
Lops
by Tom
Sabrey
I think one of the most
overlooked areas of showing and raising
French Lops is conditioning.
Many people don't give conditioning
much thought because they are
more concerned with body type and
massiveness of their lops, but if
you are interested in competing
with the New Zealand and Californian
for best 6 class then conditioning
will usually make the
difference.
At
one time I
felt that my lops fur condition was what was holding me
back at
the show table, but after concentrating on this area and a
little
patience my rabbits were performing better on the show
table.
Many people feel that fur quality is all genetic or that
everything
they need for their rabbits should be supplied through the
feed
that they use but that is not necessarily true. The three
things
that I used to improve my rabbits fur condition was: hay,
supplement
feed, and light
grooming.
First, and
most important,
is hay. Since most people use wire cages it is easy
to feel there
is no need for the use of hay or straw, but it is very
important
not only for conditioning but also for their digestive
system.
A rabbit that goes off feed due to illness will often enjoy
a
handful of hay to make them feel better. My lops are all on
wood
hutches so they always have a full cage of straw to nibble
on
(this also helps prevent sore feet), besides the straw I feed
my
lops two types of hay two or three times a week. I use timothy
hay
once or twice a week and a rich alfalfa once a week, which
is a
favorite among my rabbits. Many of them start beating down
the doors
of their cages when they see me take out the alfalfa.
I feel that the
feeding of hay is very important in conditioning
of a breed like
French Lops especially since they have longer
and thicker coats than
many breeds.
Second is
supplemental
feed. I use multi grain mix, which is a combination of
many grains
including black sunflower seeds, oats, barley, wheat
flakes, soybean
oil, and other grains that have a slight oil base to
them. These
grains give nutrients to the flesh of lops which ofcaorse
will
be noticed in their fur. I also use a product called
Primeline
Conditioner, which is a syrup that is cherry/yucca flavored
that
comes in a spray bottle to squirt on the feed. Both of these
products
can be purchased through Moore Rabbit Supplies, who is at
numerous
shows throughout the year. There are many other products and
grains
out there that will probably work just as well but these are
what
I use.
Last
in my opinion
is light grooming. And when I say light I mean only
when needed.
I think that many people over groom their lops and
sometimes it
makes their rabbits coats even worse than they were
before. Have
you ever heard the phrase "if its not broke, don't
fix it,"
well the same applies to the rabbits, if their fur
condition is
nice then leave it alone, sometimes over brushing will
loosen
the flesh and break up the coat and the rabbit ends up being
worse
off then it was to start with. I usually will groom my lops
that
I decide to take to a show a few days before the show just
to
touch them up and on the day of the show the rabbits that
get
brushed are only the ones that need it. If they look good,
like
my famous Wylie for instance, they don't even get brushed
down
at all. But if you have a lop that is in the later stages of
a
molt then sometimes you need to help them along so they don't
have
hair flying all over the
place.
So these are
they three
important areas of conditioning of French Lops. Ofcaorse
these
are all just my opinions but I feel that they have worked
for
me so maybe they will help someone else
too.