OUR RABBITRY AND HOW WE DO THE "PAPERWORK"

In the rabbitry, how you keep records is one of the most important things to do. It doesn't take much time and you won't regret doing it. You can't remember everything: breedings, dates, number of litters, litter size, etc.
We have the Evans Software and I really like to use that but that's on the computer in the house, not in the rabbitry. I usually update that every so often.Mainly it's used for pedigrees and the breeding record of every animal.  I will admit, we are not huge fans of technology. Quite frankly, I don't trust it. I know, I know, "don't be silly. Technology saves you a lot of time." Since we are not tech savy, we do things more "old school". That's why we do our records the way we do.

When we breed, we make out an individual card for that doe. On it, we will enter the following dates: when bred, palp date, date for the box to go in, when she's due, date she actually kindles, number of babies, when the litter is 6 weeks old, litter at 8 weeks old and the number weaned.

Individual Breed Card

On the back side of this same card, we will keep notes such as: litter weights, if one stands out from the rest, if we keep any from the litter, etc. Whatever we want to remember about that particular litter.

Bred/Box in Board

When we have the card started, we also write information on a board that hangs next to the calendar. That board lists by date: bred, doe/buck, box in date. I can just glance at the board and know if a box goes in and when and who it goes in for.

We keep a metal box in the rabbitry that we keep the breeding cards in. We also keep an individual laminated card for each rabbit. On those cards, will be the ear #, buck or doe, date of birth for the animal, name of animal, cage # it's in, and the parents. If we're in the rabbitry, we can quickly look up a rabbit and know everything about it. On the back of this card we will make notes about the rabbit. For example, when we weigh Changing Winds CR48, we will record that date on the back of  the card. We can compare that to what he weighed the last time he was weighed. We know how old he is, and that his parents were Huck and CB.

The Individual Animal Card

I have actually thought about getting a little "techy" and getting a tablet or something to make things easier, but to tell you the truth, I like to do the cards and I like the way things work. If it ain't broke, don't fix it!