What a whirlwind of a Spring season! Quarry Ridge Rabbitry's Silver Foxes have been making a big impression all up and down the east coast with Best Opposite of Sex, Best of Breed, Reserve in Show wins and another National Champion!!!!! The Barn is on a roll--can we keep up the momentum?! Funck's Ray of Light -- Reserve in Show winner April 2018 Funck's Endeavor, the 2018 National Silver Fox Show Champion -- Best Senior Buck, Best Senior, Best of Breed, Best Fur, and Best of the Best! Endeavor as a 3 month old--you can already see how great his fur will be and how smooth is hindquarter is. For a baby to have that much muscle--it's a good sign! Funck's Midori -- Reserve in Show Winner May 2018 (because nobody can beat a perfect Dutch! lol)
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The year is almost over, and what a Fall season. Idan finished out last Spring with a BANG by scoring a hard fought Reserve in Show title--we were stunned! Even though he won Best Opposite of Sex and Best Fur at the 2017 National Silver Fox Show, to win RIS was a complete shock! Since things got cooler outside, things around the barn have been heating up. Funck's Idan takes Best Opposite of Sex for us at the Spring 2017 National Silver Fox Show. That's Judge Mike Avesing hiding in the background lol! Last June, Idan shocked us with a Reserve in Show score. He was chosen by the great Eric Stewart! The goal is realized--- Funck's Eton wins BEST IN SHOW!!! Eton on her throne... Midori says, "Hey! I can do that too!" He won a Reserve in Show just two weeks after Eton got her big score!
Since Pierce's triumph at Nationals, he's been having a bit of a rough time. After getting home from the long journey from Wisconsin back to West Virginia, it seems that he never really recovered. Over the summer months, he didn't seem himself--not really interested in food, not his normal spunky self. We don't know if he contracted a virus or just the stress of his show career finally caught up to him, but it's been a rough time getting him back up to snuff. Other than the two litters that he sired BEFORE heading out to Wisconsin, Pierce hasn't become a sire again. Summer is always a hard time to breed rabbits, especially thickly furred rabbits down here by the Mason Dixon line. It's been a very hot summer, so we let the herd take a break from their reproductive duties. We were hoping to see baby Pierce's hopping around the cages of our does this Fall, but thus far it hasn't happened. The GOOD news is, Pierce did have success as a sire last Spring and his kids are all grown up now! Funck's Stanford has been quite a threat on the show tables recently, taking multiple BOB's and BOS's locally. Also, young Sterling and Harper have been making an impression as well. Hopefully, they'll continue to develop well and will carry on Pierce's genes. Stanford at his first exhibition takes BOS! Our good friend Allison takes the BOB :) Stanford all grown up--takes Best Black last month at the NVRBA Show Sterling and Harper, littermates to Stanford, sweep the Richmond Silver Fox Specialty
The luck of the cheeseheads were with us in Wisconsin this weekend as Funck's Pierce swept the Silver Fox National Show. He won his 6/8 Intermediate Class, then gave us all heart attacks when Judge Rusty Westoff pointed at him for Best of Breed! Once all the awards were given out for Youth, Open, and the winners of the Blue and Chocolates were chosen, all of the winners were placed on the table and Pierce took home the ultimate title of "BEST OF THE BEST"! We are immensely proud of our boy!!!! Ma acting as Coach--Behave! Sit up nice and tall! Do your Best! Mom, Kristy, and Me. I was coerced into donning the cheesehat. Christy waiting with us for results, I'm being confident! Post heart attack! The Big Cheese-- Pierce strikes a winning pose!
As the Fall season begins, we've decided that our breeding goal for this year will be to increase the Fur quality in our herd. So far, we can't seem to fit all of the pieces together. We'll get a buck with excellent, long, even colored fur (see Dietz pictured above!) BUT he'll be overly silvered. Or, we'll get a big, well muscled, great type in a doe (Virginia Dare!) but she'll be short in her overall Fur department.
We think we have the right mixture of genes to get the job done--all the Fur traits that we're looking for mixed into one rabbit. With luck and patience, we'll see what we get! What a Spring season we've been having! In addition to Intrigue's accomplishments at Nationals, Virginia Dare stunned us with a 2nd Reserve in Show placing! This is HUGE--Silver Fox have been on such a decline for the past several decades, it's very rare to see them be competitive on a Best in Show table. For Dare to even get a second look is proof that we're doing something right with our breeding program. She is a definite improvement from our previous years--her shoulder is short and higher than our previous generations, and she is much more muscled. Will look forward to breeding some of her offspring with Intrigue's--who knows how much better we can get if we try!
Baby Intrigue is all grown up! This is a baby picture of our little superstar, when she was only two and a half months old. I could already tell that her body type was an improvement on what we had in our breeding stock, and sure enough! At the National Silver Fox Show today she scored big for us--first place in the 6/8 month old doe class and she was chosen to over the first place 6/8 buck to be Best of the 6/8 month Intermediates! While she didn't go on to win Best Opposite of Sex or Best of Breed, this is our first major score at a breed National--we're on our way! Cute Bun's Potential, "Po" for short with me, Ilene! Po is the sire of Funck's Intrigue. I'm so glad I convinced Jo to sell him to me, he's my favorite!
Silver fox babies are invading the barn! All of the does that we bred in early September have successfully kindled--now we get to see what they turn into! Hopefully, we will have a good amount of juniors for sale at the February PaSRBA Convention in Lebanon. Keep a look out!
Hello friends! Just a quick PSA-- Quarry Ridge Rabbitry is now COMPLETELY comprised of SILVER FOX rabbits only! With the recent success that we've had at shows and the growing interest in this rare breed, we've decided to consolidate and focus on a single breed for a change.
PaSRBA Paradise!
Wow!!! I was thrilled to see all of the Silver Fox rabbits and breeders showing at PaSRBA! I think that we had over 50 rabbits in our breed--YEAH! I remember that when I started with them some years ago, Jo Mlad. and I would call each other, just to be sure that we would have 3 breeders attending shows. Plus, I think that we have some of the friendliest rabbit people around in the breed. We always have a fun time. A HUGE thank you to Jo for all of her hard work, especially in promoting the breed and helping the youth. She is truly a super lady! GO SILVER FOX!!!!!! |
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