what makes a good show FG?
Flemish giants are a semi-arch breed rabbit, often referred to as "mandolin-shaped". An ideal flemish giant show rabbit has a side and top profile that will look like a ukulele. Note: this is also called "type"--short for body type.
Body type is incredibly important when posing rabbits, because not all rabbits will have this "mandolin shape". Consider the belgian hare, or the himalayan rabbit. Body type is one of the most important characteristics for the flemish giant.
I will be talking about the flemish giant standard of perfection (SOF), which is the flemish giant breed standard that sets what a "perfect" flemish giant should look like. I highly recommend that all rabbit fanciers acquire a SOF! It has all of the information for EVERY rabbit breed and variety recognized by ARBA. You can buy it here.
Body type is incredibly important when posing rabbits, because not all rabbits will have this "mandolin shape". Consider the belgian hare, or the himalayan rabbit. Body type is one of the most important characteristics for the flemish giant.
I will be talking about the flemish giant standard of perfection (SOF), which is the flemish giant breed standard that sets what a "perfect" flemish giant should look like. I highly recommend that all rabbit fanciers acquire a SOF! It has all of the information for EVERY rabbit breed and variety recognized by ARBA. You can buy it here.
the FG is a six-class breed
This means that show classes are broken up by gender and by age. Rabbits must meet all class requirements in order to show. This is how it's broken up:
- Junior Bucks (Under 6 months, minimum weight 6.5 lbs)
- Junior Does (Under 6 months, minimum weight 6.5 lbs)
- Intermediate Bucks (Between 6-8 months of age, greater or equal to 14 lbs)
- Intermediate Does (Between 6-8 months of age, greater or equal to 14 lbs)
- Senior Bucks (8+ months, greater or equal to 13 lbs)
- Senior Does ( 8+ months, greater or equal to 14 lbs)
correct position
A correctly posed flemish giant will have the hind toes in line with the knee and hip, and the front toes directly underneath the eye. This photo below also highlights the much-needed "mandolin shape".
scoring
In other words, this is what a judge is looking for in regards to specific parts of the body. Parts with higher numbers mean that it is a more important characteristic. Remember that all of these aspects in a balance is the recipe for the "perfect" flemish giant.
General Type... 55
Color...20
Condition...10
TOTAL: 100
General Type... 55
- Body.....35
- Head.....7
- Ears.....4
- Eyes.....2
- Feet/Legs.....6
- Tail.....1
Color...20
Condition...10
TOTAL: 100
what do I look for?
Ultimately, you want a rabbit that is very wide, (across the rabbit), has good depth (top of the rabbit-the table), and is BALANCED. That means that the rabbit's qualities are of equal proportion to one another. For example, you don't want a rabbit with insane depth, but is very short in length. Or a rabbit that has a tiny head with a very long body. That's just silly looking!
I'm going to be talking a lot about width and depth in relation to type, so make sure you have a general understanding of what those terms mean. Again, it's best to look for overall type, balance, and big bone. Those are the priority characteristics. Let's take a closer look from head-rump. |
EMC's EM104-- "Mary Hoppins"
Left image: Example of depth. Look at the top of the hip to the bottom of the table. Right image: Example of width. Look across the body of the rabbit. |
head
According to the SOF, a flemish giant's head should be big. You want something wide and "in proportion to the body". We don't want a big head with a tiny body!
Flemish giants need to be able to carry those big wonderful ears, and they need a big head to do this. Sometimes rabbit's ears are too big for their head, giving them a topsy-turvy look. Sometimes you'll hear the term "racey" which means snipey, narrow, or rat-like. This is a heavy fault! Avoid rabbits with a rat-like appearance. Thick skulls here are favored! |
ears
Flemish giant ears need to be massive. They should have some substance to them, meaning they should not look/feel super thin, and the ear carriage (the base of the ear) should be firm and thick.
Ears should also be open, meaning the ends of the ear are further apart. |
bone
BONE, BONE, BONE!!! Flemish giants need bone in order to be successful on the show table. Bone must be thick. A great indicator of bone is looking at the front legs of the rabbit. They should be like tree stumps!
Make sure that the legs are also set wide on the chest and the hindquarters. Checking here will allow you to see if the rabbit is narrow in the shoulder or hindquarters. This rabbit in the photo on the right has okay bone, it's more on the medium/fine bone side. Strive for heavy bone! |
shoulder and rise
Flemish giants need to have a wide shoulder which will ultimately make the front of the rabbit look wide. When looking at the shoulder, you want it to be deep in relation to it's body, and you want it to blend into the midsection, which should be full and wide.
You want the shoulder to be full and massive, and the rise should begin right behind the shoulder. A late rise will begin after the shoulder. No rise is when virtually no shoulder visible. Some rises are slow, and long, others are short and steep! In the first photo to the right, it's very easy to tell that this rabbit lacks depth in the shoulder. The rise starts on time, however it is very slow over the midsection and the top of his hindquarter, resulting in a flatter arch. The rabbit also lacks depth in the hindquarters. We won't be keeping him on the show team. The rabbit in the second photo is from the same litter as the first rabbit! Your first thought might be "Well, he doesn't have any rise at all!" You're quite right, at this moment he does not, but age is a very big factor when evaluating rabbits. Some juniors will look as if they do not have a rise when they are posed, but this is simply because they haven't grown into it yet! You can see that this rabbit has a nice, full shoulder, which covers up whatever rise there is at this time. Notice how this rabbit also has much better depth across the midsection and hindquarter, resulting in a smooth arch. Also, some lines are slower to develop than others. It's important to know if you have a fast-growing line, or a slow-growing line. |
the arch/hindquarters
The rise should sweep up into a wonderful arch that is to peak over the top of the hip! Make sure the rabbit does not seem to peak early or late.
The arch also needs to drop down to the bottom of the table. Make sure the arch does not seem to slant or catch anywhere on the rabbit's back. The hindquarters need to be wide. Avoid narrow or pinched hindquarters. Feel along the back of the rabbit over the hip and the arch to feel for sharp bones, as the back should be smooth. An indicator of a wide hindquarter is the hips. Make sure the hips are wide-set, and the feet are parallel on the table. Cow-hocked rabbits are a result of pinched hindquarters. Flip the rabbit over to make sure it's feet are parallel. |
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