10/03/2026
100% well said and what I hope I can be as a mentor and will always be learning and trying to improve my herd. Also, why I feel shows are a great learning tool for what you have even if you’re goal is to feed your family the ARBA SOP is written so that a rabbit meeting that provides a great quality carcass.
You wanna know how the Silver Fox recovered from rare breed to common?
They gained popularity as homesteaders sought them out for meat production.
These new breeders typically didn’t care about showing. That is… until maybe a friend introduced them to the idea, and then they were hooked.
…Or at the very least, they began learning how to produce better and better rabbits that followed the ARBA standard, often because a friend who knew what to look for took the time to teach them.
Their knowledge grew and their love for the breed spread like a virus, until one day they looked around at Nationals and Convention and realized the little community they had built wasn’t so small anymore.
And it was all thanks to those backyard breeders that jumped in without knowing a whole lot at first.
Maybe they bred whatever to whoever.
Maybe their rabbits weren’t perfect.
But then a kind friend showed them how the breed could be so much more.
…
This has always been my dream for Creme d’argents as well.
And let me be very clear about this.
We don’t need to save the breed.
We need to save the BREEDERS.
Those backyard homesteaders are breeding rabbits for what rabbits originally intended to do - to provide meat for the family’s dinner.
Yes, maybe some of them are riddled with DQ’s, or maybe they’re crossbreeding, or maybe they’re blah blah blah….
But you know what? They’re still breeding meat rabbits. And a little bit of kindness can go a very way in this community.
Maybe their cremes have slate undercolor. Show them how to look for it! Help them evaluate a litter of juniors to find one that has the cleanest undercoat. Or, if you have the ability, donate a rabbit with a clean undercoat to help them improve their herd.
Maybe their rabbits are underweight. Offer them your largest buck for breeding, or donate a rabbit that could help move their herd in the right direction.
Maybe they have a genetic issue that can’t be solved through a few generations of selective breeding. Help them understand what they are dealing with.
I remember one of my mentors doing exactly that for me years ago. She traded one of my rabbits - a rabbit I knew I needed to cull - for a really nice example of the breed. She charged me $5. That rabbit made all the difference in my rabbitry.
That is what mentorship looks like.
Encouraging people that are new. Being honest with them, but also being helpful. Teaching them what to look for instead of simply telling them what they did wrong. Applauding them for the effort they’re already putting into the breed.
That is how a strong community of breeders is built.
The Silver Fox recovered because backyard homesteads wanted to raise rabbits to feed their families. The floodgates opened. A lot of these new breeders were born in the Covid era. They didn’t know what they were doing. But through kind mentorship…
Some of them eventually became exhibitors.
Some of them are exhibitors I still show with to this day.
Some of them are now breeding nationally competitive animals.
Some became mentors themselves.
None of that would have happened if someone had looked at those first imperfect rabbits and told their owners they didn’t belong.
That’s what I want for Creme d’Argents.
I want the homesteader who buys their first pair because they want meat for their family to feel welcome. I want someone to be willing to look at their rabbits and say “Hey, this is what you’ve got, here’s what you can improve, and here’s how I’m going to help you get there.”
I want those breeders to fall in love with the breed.
I want them to learn.
I want them to improve.
And maybe someday, I want them to look around at Nationals and Convention and realize that the little community they joined isn’t so little anymore.
I will always stand behind educating and encouraging new breeders, because if we want Creme d’Argents to have a future, we shouldn’t just be protecting the rabbits we have today…
We need to be building the breeders who will carry them into tomorrow.
