With ARBA's recent Recommendations for the Care of Rabbits and Cavies, came the suggestion to create our own SOP for our rabbit herds. So what is an SOP? Well, it can mean many things to many people and I decided to do a little research about this. Being a former soldier, I was very familiar with Army SOPs. The military revolves around these things, which are usually called Standing Operating Procedures. They end up meaning almost the same thing...a written guide to what you're supposed to do and how you're supposed to do it.
Although I did not have an official herd management SOP, I have always kept a Rabbit Log where I jotted down notes about each
rabbit as I went through my daily chores. This comes from my days as an
animal care technician. We had SOPs at the animal lab, too. They were huge books that spelled out how to do everything from clean a cage to emergency evacuations...so scientific animal laboratories were where I went to find my SOP models.
After checking out quite a few complex standards, I found a simpler SOP that fit my needs. I was not trying to write War and Peace. I don't have time for that. I was just trying to find a short document that filled my needs and hit on major herd care points. The nice thing was that I could write my SOP to meet my particular herd needs. I can make revisions later, too...if what I originally documented does not work or my herd's needs change.
I have a copy of my draft SOP here. You are welcome to use it to adapt for your own rabbit herd management. Since we all keep rabbits in our own way, please adopt for your own circumstances and practices. Also, if I left out something important, please let me know. It's a work in progress.
Thanks to my source for a simple SOP - the Frederick National Lab for Cancer Research at Fort Detrick, Maryland.
Inside the latest issue of Domestic Rabbit is an informative article about judging English Angora rabbits written by Betty Chu. 
Technology is wonderful! I'm so excited about being able to communicate with folks around our state (and beyond). I really enjoyed our first webinar and, to be honest, I wasn't sure how everything would go off. I knew we were working hard, but sometimes you just don't know if things will pan out the way you envisioned. 
We had 9 attendees from all over Texas and Louisiana who were engaged, asking questions, and learning. Sasha put on an excellent presentation with help from her bunny models, Candy and FooFoo. There was time to discuss things that we never get a chance to discuss at a show, or even when just visitng. The whole thing went without any major glitches and I'm sure that everyone got something out of it (including me). Our attendees asked excellent questions and even gave some good, supportive advice too. I have to say that our first webinar was a success!
My youngest daughter has a new friend; thanks to our wonderful friend Lara! He is a beautiful black tortoiseshell Satin Angora rabbit. He was sheared when we came to us. His beautiful satiny coat had the appearance of French Toast...so, Louie became French Toast Louie. 
Oh yes, it's hot outside, but the boys (and the one little girl) keep growing their wool inside our cooler bunny room. The kits have changed so much. They are now 11 weeks old. I really like how they are developing, but as with everything else rabbit. ..it's always a work in progress. 
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