(Guest post by Keith Sinders of White Mountains Rabbitry)
Posing is something that frustrates a lot of people. I somewhat understand their frustrations. Some rabbits just don’t seem to want to pose no matter hard you try.
This post explains how to properly pose a commercial breed rabbit.
Here’s a key to raising top quality rabbits…
1. You have to be able to consistently pick the right/best rabbits to keep.
2. You can’t pick the best rabbits if you don’t consistently pose them correctly.
Here’s the big take away on posing. Don’t try to “fix” a rabbit by how you pose it. If you try to fix it, you’ll pose one rabbit one way… another rabbit different to fix a different issue… so on and so on. And then the way you pose isn’t consistent. Pose the rabbit properly and take the rabbit for what it is. If it looks like junk posed up properly, then it probably is junk.
So how do you pose commercial rabbit breeds?
1. Align the front feet with the eyes… most people get this part right.
2. Align the front of the back feet with the STIFLE JOINT. This is basically the knee or the front of the hip. This is where most breeders mess up. They push the rabbit up too far and the back toes end up in front of the hip. Most of the time they do this trying to “fix” some issue. Maybe the rabbit is too long. Or maybe the high point is forward. Maybe the shoulders are weak. Or maybe the rabbit is not deep enough. With all of these issues the tendency is to shove them up enough that the problem goes away… It doesn’t. If you look closely, you can see the flaw still there just laughing at ya.
See over-posed and under-posed rabbit photos here: ARBA Proper Posing and Evaluation
3. The hind feet should be set squarely. Put your fingers at/under the hind feet and grab the flesh at the bottom of the hindquarters with your thumb to make sure the hind feet are set parallel/square. This also helps to ensure the rabbit is not over tucked. (I tried to explain this one the best I can. It’s easier to show than explain.)
4. Make sure the elbows of the front feet rest on the table surface. If the elbows are up off the table, the rabbit could be hunching their shoulders, moving that high point forward. This tends to happen with jittery rabbits where you get the ski slope look (high point right behind the shoulders then slopes down to the tail).
5. Make sure the tail is pulled up. I know it’s minor, but if you get in the habit of doing that you are more likely to notice if the tail is missing, broken, short/ bobbed or screws to one side.
Commercial rabbit posing tips…
Here’s something I sometimes do to get a rabbit posed. Form one hand into a claw and push right above the tail with the clawed hand formation. This can sometimes get them to straighten up without pushing the back feet forward.
Also, if they don’t want to pose up after a minute or so… put them back. There is no use struggling with it. They’ll just keep posing worse and worse as they get tired of getting posed. It’s good to know when to throw in the towel for the immediate time being.
The younger you start posing rabbits and get them used to it, the more it helps.
Keep in mind that the weather can affect how they pose. Sometimes they might look way better a day later and sometimes after you put them back in their pen they might look better even 5 minutes later.
It is not all about the breeder. It is also about the rabbit working with the breeder. This is why I pick a rabbit out over several times of looking at it. I rarely to never cull a rabbit from just one time of getting the rabbit out. Culling based upon one look is a good way to send really good rabbits to get culled. I also evaluate multiple times because rabbits change as they grow.
More info on judging quality meat rabbits:
Selecting Meat Rabbit Breeding Stock
Commercial Meat Rabbit Growth Rates
About the Author:
Keith Sinders has been raising rabbits for almost 40 years. He grew up in Indiana and now resides in the Northeast. Years ago in 4-H, he won King at the Indiana State Fair rabbit royalty showmanship contest, beating two registrars and the King of the ARBA Rabbit Royalty competition. Keith began raising New Zealand Whites in 1990. He has won numerous best in shows and currently competes at the national level in New Zealand’s. Keith owns White Mountain Rabbitry and is a moderator on the 6 Class type improvement Facebook group.
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Do you have any tips on posing commercial meat rabbits? Please share below…
This is great information Keith! I would also add that I select rabbits to keep that are easy to pose. If the rabbit constantly pushes against your hand and fights you, it is not worth the hassle. Calm, laid back rabbits are so much easier to work with.
Yes, so true. You want to breed for ones that pose well. Also, if they refuse to put their head down, they may have breathing issues when their head is down during posing. If so, you don’t want to breed such traits into your rabbits and it wise to move such rabbits on.