ARBA publishes their Standard of Perfection book which may be purchased on the ARBA website or on Amazon. Everyone should at least read the current copy of the SOP for their chosen breed or breeds, since it sets out the standard for your rabbits. If you plan to show, look up which colors are accepted by ARBA and which are not. Know your facts before you even consider buying your first rabbit. Even if you do not plan to show, the Standard of Perfection was designed as a guide to produce the perfect rabbit for its use. So the SOP for meat breeds, therefore, is designed to create the most meat on a carcass. If you plan to sell offspring from your rabbits at any time in the future, then as a breeder yourself it is your responsibility to produce rabbits that meet the Standard of Perfection as completely as you possibly can, whether your rabbits ever set foot on a show table or not. That means that your foundation stock should always be prime examples of their breed so that you will have a good base toward producing litters with good type and quality. It is my opinion that every rabbit breeder should own a current copy of the SOP book.
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