By Lauren Gough – 4H Press Reporter
The Ridgetown 4H Rabbit Agility Club, the Bunny Brats, is well underway.
Club members and their rabbits are training for the upcoming 4H Achievement Day on June 21 at Ridgetown Events Center at 10 am.
It isn’t as easy as you think to train a rabbit for agility. We are finding out as with any animal some love to jump and go through obstacles while others would prefer to stay in their cage Club members are learning about caring for rabbits as well as how to train and motivate them.
We have many different breeds of rabbits participating in rabbit agility. Some are better suited for agility than others. Pregnant rabbits are not allowed to participate in jumping until their babies are born. Some rabbits like the English Lop, with long droopy ears, may accidentally step on them. Angora or long haired rabbits tend to pick up dirt, sticks and other things on the ground and end up in its fur. Giant breed rabbits have bigger bones and over time may cause injuries if not monitored. However, with good care and judgement by the owner these rabbits can participate safely.
Club members are learning different methods of training and motivation with their rabbits. One method is with positive reinforcement such as petting them, picking them up, and talking with them. Other members have used food to motivate their rabbits to perform. When teaching the rabbit an obstacle such as a jump, it is attempted at a low setting before a higher one. If the rabbit is refusing to go over the jump, members are learning that they can try it again or they can lower the jump further until the rabbit is confident.
Just like human athletes training for an event, rabbits need frequent breaks too.They can lose focus, fall asleep, or sit there wiggling their nose. I don’t think any of our members will break the current world record of 39” for the highest rabbit jump but we will continue to learn by doing and have fun.
If you are between 9-21 years old and interested in joining Chatham-Kent 4H, find us on Facebook or talk to us at any of the upcoming Achievement Days or local fairs.
