Help me not be lame.....

[savingdogs]

about the county fair.

I'd like to enter my rabbits at our county fair, but I don't understand how it works. As a hearing impaired person it is kind of hard to get information besides what you have online about entering, etc.

How do these county fairs work? At ours, the barns are full of animals there, many without a person nearby. I think they are there for a duration of time. Do you go back to feed them daily? Should I ask if you can buy some sort of pass? Do they just stay the day you are entered in a show? Do you have to have some sort of vaccines or health certificates or anything like that to show rabbits (or goats or chickens)?

My rabbits are a rare breed and I don't see any breeds of rabbit listed on their forms at all. But they say they "encourage unusual exhibits" so I think they would like to have my Cremes there. I think they would probably be the only ones. But would my rabbits be exposed to disease? I would be interested in promoting sales of baby buns down the road by making people interested in my breed would be my goal.

Can anyone out there help me not be lame?

 

[Wannabefree]

The rabbits WOULD be exposed to disease. Some require vaccs, some don't. If they didn't, mine wouldn't be there. I don't know much about showing, as I have never done it, but I have picked up bits and pieces of knowledge here and there...and well...that about sums it up Hope someone with actual experience can help you.

 

[Denim Deb]

Don't know how it works for other animals, but when we showed the goats and horses, they had to have certain vaccines and a health cert from the vet. The horses had to have been tested for equine infectious anemia, and have proof that that came back negative.

 

[TanksHill]

Can you contact your local 4H? My sister in law does 4h they camp at the fair grounds all week. This way the kids can tend their animals. The were given badge passes. As well as food discounts.

Maybe a good place to start.

G

 

[Kala]

about the county fair.

I'd like to enter my rabbits at our county fair, but I don't understand how it works. As a hearing impaired person it is kind of hard to get information besides what you have online about entering, etc.

How do these county fairs work? At ours, the barns are full of animals there, many without a person nearby. I think they are there for a duration of time. Do you go back to feed them daily? Should I ask if you can buy some sort of pass? Do they just stay the day you are entered in a show? Do you have to have some sort of vaccines or health certificates or anything like that to show rabbits (or goats or chickens)?

My rabbits are a rare breed and I don't see any breeds of rabbit listed on their forms at all. But they say they "encourage unusual exhibits" so I think they would like to have my Cremes there. I think they would probably be the only ones. But would my rabbits be exposed to disease? I would be interested in promoting sales of baby buns down the road by making people interested in my breed would be my goal.

Can anyone out there help me not be lame?

All of my county fair experience was through a local 4H organization. So some of it might be different for an adult entering an animal. At our fair only 18 and under could enter through either an FFA or 4H group.

If you do any kind of market animal there is a weigh in day you have to attend, its usually done at check in time with your animals or shortly there after. If you're doing a breeding animal (i.e. just to show with no livestock sale afterwards) the extension office should give you a check in time (like 9-11 am on Sunday before the fair actually begins) in which you bring your animal to the barn it will be staying in for the week. There will be attendants there that will make sure what you signed up for is what you have.

Most fairs I've been a part of make you keep your animal there the whole week of the fair, even after your shows are done. Part of the attraction for fair-goers. Then it is your responsibility to clean the cages or stalls daily and bring in fresh food and water. Most places have extension agents or 4-H advisors etc that will go around and check the barns for cleanliness by a certain time each day. You can get in trouble if they notice your animals aren't being cared for properly. Not sure how much of this they actually did vs. it being a scare tactic for responsiblity that week. Most kids just wanted to go off and ride the rides and forget their critters. Most people keep "show boxes" in the barn with food and show clothes in them...or to sleep on.

We were given a fair pass to enter for free as exhibitors. And most fairs require some kind of proof of some sort of vaccination record, just depending on the animal.

Hope that all makes sense. And now after thinking about all of that I really miss my 4H days...so many good memories! I loved the fair!

ETA: You might want to find out where your county extension office is (usually pretty close to the fairgrounds themselves) and go there. They usually have good printouts with all of the procedures you need to go through. Plus they're just such a good resource in general.

 

[Beekissed]

Your rabbits would be listed as exhibit rabbits and would be judged as such. Market rabbits are usually just for 4-Hers and you will be able to tell the difference as theirs will be in pens of three. I don't know about bigger fairs but at ours, rabbits do not need vaccines of any kind. One year someone brought a very lice infested pair of exhibit rabbits and we really, really had to complain to the fair office to get them removed.

I'd bring a continuous feeder hooked on the inside of your cage, same with water bottle and a jug of feed for refilling. We always brought fans to place near our cages and you will see plug-ins nearby for this. If I were you and you don't want your rabbits handled or let loose, I'd place a small luggage lock on your cage or something similar, except for on judging day. Little kids are often unattended by adults and even when they are, some will be allowed or even encouraged to take your rabbit out of the cage...even when the signs say not to do so.

It's always nice to have a breed type, age and sex info card on or near your cage for the fair goers and judges. If you have any you need to sell, you can even place a sign with your phone number and sale price.....great place to sell pet or excess market rabbits.

Fair week is one of the reasons we always kept our cages suspended on chains...easy to unclip and transport straight to the fair and right back again. Easy-peasy! I never placed our rabbits in the existing cages...just never seemed right and the old cages seemed grody.

 

[Kala]

Your rabbits would be listed as exhibit rabbits and would be judged as such. Market rabbits are usually just for 4-Hers and you will be able to tell the difference as theirs will be in pens of three. I don't know about bigger fairs but at ours, rabbits do not need vaccines of any kind. One year someone brought a very lice infested pair of exhibit rabbits and we really, really had to complain to the fair office to get them removed.

I'd bring a continuous feeder hooked on the inside of your cage, same with water bottle and a jug of feed for refilling. We always brought fans to place near our cages and you will see plug-ins nearby for this. If I were you and you don't want your rabbits handled or let loose, I'd place a small luggage lock on your cage or something similar, except for on judging day. Little kids are often unattended by adults and even when they are, some will be allowed or even encouraged to take your rabbit out of the cage...even when the signs say not to do so.

It's always nice to have a breed type, age and sex info card on or near your cage for the fair goers and judges. If you have any you need to sell, you can even place a sign with your phone number and sale price.....great place to sell pet or excess market rabbits.

Fair week is one of the reasons we always kept our cages suspended on chains...easy to unclip and transport straight to the fair and right back again. Easy-peasy! I never placed our rabbits in the existing cages...just never seemed right and the old cages seemed grody.

on all accounts!

Especially on the fans and locks! I always felt so bad for the rabbits that sat there in the heat with no frozen water bottle or fan with all those people in and out and other critters there as an extra stress. People always dumbfounded me, why would you take an animal out of a cage that wasen't yours! Or try and pet it? Crazy crazy people!

Ours fair always provided bedding too. But of course you could bring your own if you wanted.

And on a side note...Beekissed have you ever been to a fair where you only have to have 2 rabbits for a market pen? I was so jealous when I found one! We had to have three, like you said. It was soooo much harder to pair up 3 rabbits that were about the same body size etc. It would have been so much easier with just 2! But I digress, like I said, fairs always bring back so many good memories for me!

 

[danielle82]

For my county fair, I have to buy a pass to get in every day. The cages have to be cleaned out by a certain every morningas well as feeding/watering, and then evening feeding can be done after a certain time. I don't camp there. The animal stays the duration of the fair (at most of the 4 or 5 day county fairs), the longer ones I think they rotate the days.

 

[savingdogs]

Thank you so much for all this imput....I will be much less lame now.

I think I'm not ready for showing this year. I don't have the right size cage or fan or a way to get down their daily. I think I'll attend this year and observe the rabbit barn real closely and see if I can't get someone there to talk with me. I don't have kids young enough for 4H except Trouble, who isn't about to start at 15 (I tried with goats, which he loves). I think I would just be an exhibiter.
I think next year when I have more of these rabbits would be a better time to expose my bunnies to possible disease. At this point I only have two to sell. I wish I could just bring my bunnies one day, the same day I attend the fair, that would have been more do-able, but maybe a little down the road I could pull it together.
At least now when I go to the rabbit barn I won't ask dumb questions.....thanks guys.

 

[Javamama]

I don't know how your county/state works, but here there is a Jr. Fair category - for kids in 4-H and FFA, and then most counties have a Sr. Fair category, also called open class, for everyone else. Only the 4-H animals stay at the fair all week. All other animals have particular days when they are shown, and then you just bring in the animal for the day of the show only.
No vaccines are required for our fair, and at check in time a state vet looks over every animal for signs of illness.
Check with your county fair board - they should have the info you need.

Beyond that, I have no idea. Maybe check with rabbit breeder associations.