Terms used by Breeders & at 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
Varierty – Color of a rabbit
Class – Age group of the rabbit. Either Junior, Intermediate or Senior
Broken – A color in conjunction with white. With either a blanket or
spotted pattern of the color on the body.
Solid – A color of a rabbit that is covering the entire body
Agouti – A type of color that has bands and ticking. Most common colors are Chestnut and Chinchilla
Shaded – Refers to colors like Sable Point. 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.
Molt – A coat that is shedding and out of condition.
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.
Pedigree – A piece of paper charting 3 generations of the rabbit with
ancestory 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 deamed an
acceptable representation of said breed. The rabbit also recieves a
registration number unqiue to that rabbit.
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.
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 BOSV (if there are sufficient numbers of the related sex in the variety), BOV (if there are sufficient numbers in the entire variety), 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 judging.
BOB – Best of Breed
BOS – Best Opposite Sex of Breed (ie. If the BOB rabbit is a buck, BOS winner must be a doe. Which is why it’s called Opposite Sex
BOV – Best of Varierty
BOSV – Best Opposite Sex of Varierty (ie. If the BOV rabbit is a buck, BOSV winner must be a doe. Which is why it’s called Opposite Sex
BOV and BOSV winners go on to compete for BOB and BOS
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.
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.
Open – 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.
Youth – 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.
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.)
Kindling – Term used to mean giving birth to baby rabbits.
Kits – Term describing baby rabbits.
Cavy / Cavies – These are not rabbits. They are shown sometimes at rabbit shows. They are basically guinea pigs.
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