Terms Used by Rabbit Breeders and at Rabbit Shows
Buck - A male rabbit
Doe - A female rabbit
Junior - A rabbit under 6 months of age
Senior - A rabbit over 6 months of age
Intermediate or 6/8 - A rabbit between 6-8 months of age. Most common in larger breeds. Jersey Woolies don't use this category.
ARBA - American Rabbit Breeders Association
Cavy / Cavies - These are not rabbits. They are shown sometimes at rabbit shows. They are basically guinea pigs. In 4-H, many projects include cavies in the rabbit project group.
Class - Age group of the rabbit. Either Junior, Intermediate or Senior
Cull - A breeder goes through a litter selecting ones he/she wishes to keep. The rest are sold (or eaten, if they're a meat breed.)
Colors:
Agouti - A type of color that has bands and ticking. Most common colors are Chestnut and Chinchilla
Broken - A color in conjunction with white. With either a blanket or spotted pattern of the color on the body.
Shaded - Refers to colors like Siamese Sable. These colors have darker colors on the nose, ears, and other parts of the body. While the whole of the body is one solid lighter color.
Solid or Self - A color of a rabbit that is covering the entire body.
Ear Number / Tattoo - A series of numbers and/or letters tattooed into the rabbits left ear. Usually no more then 5 are in the ear. A circled R may be tattooed in the left ear if the rabbit has been registered.
Finish - A coat of a rabbit that either lacks finish (poor condition, molting, etc) or has a good finish (well groomed, not molting) could mean the difference between winning and losing.
Flesh condition - Just like it sounds. If a rabbit is "rough" in flesh it means the skin over the backbone is very loose and thin. Bones are easily felt. Most common in rabbits suffering from some illness, not being fed enough, or does coming off weaning litters.
Kindling - Term used to mean giving birth to baby rabbits.
Kits - Term describing baby rabbits.
Leg - A leg is earned by winning in an ARBA-sanctioned show as long as there are three exhibitors and five rabbits competing for the win. For example, first place in a class of five or more bunnies showed by three or more different exhibitors would earn a leg. For classes without enough exhibitors and/or bunnies, it may be possible to earn a leg by winning BOSG (if there are sufficient numbers of the related sex in the color group), BOG (if there are sufficient numbers in the entire color group), BOS (if there are sufficient number in the related sex of the breed) or BOB (if there are sufficient numbers in the entire breed). A rabbit may only earn one leg per judged show.
BOB - Best of Breed - winner of all color groups of a particular breed.
BOSB - Best Opposite Sex of Breed (ie. If the BOB rabbit is a buck, BOSB winner must be a doe. Which is why it's called Opposite Sex
BOG - Best of Group. Groups are based on color groups.
BOSG - Best Opposite Sex of Group (ie. If the BOG rabbit is a buck, BOSG winner must be a doe. Which is why it's called Opposite Sex
BOG and BOSG winners go on to compete for BOB and BIS.
BIS - Best in Show (this is big. To win it, your rabbit must get BOB. At the end of the show, all of the breeds who had a BOB winner compete to see who is the best of the best.)
1st Runner Up / Reserve to BIS - This is the 2nd place rabbit to who won BIS
2nd Runner Up - This is the 3rd place rabbit to who won BIS
DQ - Disqualification. A rabbit can be disqualified for many reasons. Most common is over the weight limit, bad teeth, or illness present.
Molt - A coat that is shedding and out of condition.
Pedigree - A piece of paper charting at least 3 generations of the rabbit with ancestry history.
Registration - A piece of paper also charting 3 generations of the rabbit with ancestory history. This paper however states (for the rabbit it is issued to) that it has free of disqualifications and has been deemed an acceptable representation of said breed. The rabbit also receives a registration number unique to that rabbit.
Open Show - Usually refers to an all "adult show." Which means anyone of any age is allowed to enter, but it is usually adults competing with other adults. They will usually add the letters: A, B and C to the end of "Open Show" if they are having multiple shows.
Variety - Color of a rabbit (in Jersey Woolies, they use the term "Group")
Youth Show - An all youth only show. Only those 18 and under are allowed to enter these shows. Youth breeders must put their own rabbits on the judging table.
Buck - A male rabbit
Doe - A female rabbit
Junior - A rabbit under 6 months of age
Senior - A rabbit over 6 months of age
Intermediate or 6/8 - A rabbit between 6-8 months of age. Most common in larger breeds. Jersey Woolies don't use this category.
ARBA - American Rabbit Breeders Association
Cavy / Cavies - These are not rabbits. They are shown sometimes at rabbit shows. They are basically guinea pigs. In 4-H, many projects include cavies in the rabbit project group.
Class - Age group of the rabbit. Either Junior, Intermediate or Senior
Cull - A breeder goes through a litter selecting ones he/she wishes to keep. The rest are sold (or eaten, if they're a meat breed.)
Colors:
Agouti - A type of color that has bands and ticking. Most common colors are Chestnut and Chinchilla
Broken - A color in conjunction with white. With either a blanket or spotted pattern of the color on the body.
Shaded - Refers to colors like Siamese Sable. These colors have darker colors on the nose, ears, and other parts of the body. While the whole of the body is one solid lighter color.
Solid or Self - A color of a rabbit that is covering the entire body.
Ear Number / Tattoo - A series of numbers and/or letters tattooed into the rabbits left ear. Usually no more then 5 are in the ear. A circled R may be tattooed in the left ear if the rabbit has been registered.
Finish - A coat of a rabbit that either lacks finish (poor condition, molting, etc) or has a good finish (well groomed, not molting) could mean the difference between winning and losing.
Flesh condition - Just like it sounds. If a rabbit is "rough" in flesh it means the skin over the backbone is very loose and thin. Bones are easily felt. Most common in rabbits suffering from some illness, not being fed enough, or does coming off weaning litters.
Kindling - Term used to mean giving birth to baby rabbits.
Kits - Term describing baby rabbits.
Leg - A leg is earned by winning in an ARBA-sanctioned show as long as there are three exhibitors and five rabbits competing for the win. For example, first place in a class of five or more bunnies showed by three or more different exhibitors would earn a leg. For classes without enough exhibitors and/or bunnies, it may be possible to earn a leg by winning BOSG (if there are sufficient numbers of the related sex in the color group), BOG (if there are sufficient numbers in the entire color group), BOS (if there are sufficient number in the related sex of the breed) or BOB (if there are sufficient numbers in the entire breed). A rabbit may only earn one leg per judged show.
BOB - Best of Breed - winner of all color groups of a particular breed.
BOSB - Best Opposite Sex of Breed (ie. If the BOB rabbit is a buck, BOSB winner must be a doe. Which is why it's called Opposite Sex
BOG - Best of Group. Groups are based on color groups.
BOSG - Best Opposite Sex of Group (ie. If the BOG rabbit is a buck, BOSG winner must be a doe. Which is why it's called Opposite Sex
BOG and BOSG winners go on to compete for BOB and BIS.
BIS - Best in Show (this is big. To win it, your rabbit must get BOB. At the end of the show, all of the breeds who had a BOB winner compete to see who is the best of the best.)
1st Runner Up / Reserve to BIS - This is the 2nd place rabbit to who won BIS
2nd Runner Up - This is the 3rd place rabbit to who won BIS
DQ - Disqualification. A rabbit can be disqualified for many reasons. Most common is over the weight limit, bad teeth, or illness present.
Molt - A coat that is shedding and out of condition.
Pedigree - A piece of paper charting at least 3 generations of the rabbit with ancestry history.
Registration - A piece of paper also charting 3 generations of the rabbit with ancestory history. This paper however states (for the rabbit it is issued to) that it has free of disqualifications and has been deemed an acceptable representation of said breed. The rabbit also receives a registration number unique to that rabbit.
Open Show - Usually refers to an all "adult show." Which means anyone of any age is allowed to enter, but it is usually adults competing with other adults. They will usually add the letters: A, B and C to the end of "Open Show" if they are having multiple shows.
Variety - Color of a rabbit (in Jersey Woolies, they use the term "Group")
Youth Show - An all youth only show. Only those 18 and under are allowed to enter these shows. Youth breeders must put their own rabbits on the judging table.