Star Time with Alexis Pharis
By Jeri Lynn White
Alexis Pharis was the first person in her family to want to show an animal. It just so happened that her grandfather raised rabbits. It was a perfect match and so began Alexis’s rabbit showing career.
Alexis is the daughter of Ann Garza and Paul Pharis. To support her rabbit project, her father began raising rabbits as well. Alexis plays an important role in raising the rabbits. She is quite knowledgeable about her project. During her interview she explained to me that they begin breeding their rabbits depending on the show dates. It takes around 25 days for the baby rabbits to be born. She was quick to point out that baby rabbits are not the cute fluffy creatures you might have in mind. “In fact,” she said, “they are ugly and are born with no hair. Their eyes are closed, too.” Alexis explained that soon after the rabbits are born, she and her dad check their gender and then tattoo their ears. The bucks, or boys, are given a tattoo that begins with a “j” and a number. The girls or does are tattooed with the letter “p” and a number. These tattoos are used to identify the rabbits at the shows. The letters stand for Alexis’s middle name and her last name.
Since Alexis lives in town, rabbits are a great 4-H project. She keeps her rabbits in the backyard and in the garage. To care for the rabbits, Alexis and her dad build pens for the rabbits, feed and check their water daily, and walk around with the rabbits so they get used to being held and become gentler. She explained, “To carry a rabbit, you tuck them under your arm and hold their ears. This way it is harder for them to scratch you.” I asked if she gets scratched often. She showed me a recent injury on her arm but assured me it did not hurt too bad and that it was just part of the job.
Alexis shows two different rabbit breeds: New Zealand Reds and Californians. The New Zealand Red is red in color and has straight ears. The Californian rabbits are all white except for their black ears, nose and tail. They also have straight ears.
Alexis explained that showing rabbits is not too hard. At most shows there are tables lined with separate cages. When it is your turn to show, you place the rabbits in the cages and then step back to wait for the judge. The judge is on the other side of the table and can assess and remove the rabbits as needed for judging. Depending on whether the rabbits are meat rabbits or rabbits being judged on their appearance, determines what the judge is looking for in the animal. Meat pens are judged on how much meat would be produced when the animal is slaughtered. Rabbits judged on appearance are evaluated based on the different traits of a particular breed such as body type, fur quality, color descriptions, markings and more. Also considered are the ideal weights for each breed. There are also faults that will cause disqualifications. Alexis explained that her rabbits might be disqualified because of missing teeth or a broken tail.
Alexis said her favorite part of her 4-H rabbit project is taking them to the competitions. She participates in different rabbit shows such as the Parmer County Livestock Show as well as shows in Lovington, Belton, Muleshoe, Littlefield, and Plainview. The most success she experienced this year was at the rabbit show at the San Angelo Stock Show and Rodeo. She took 10 pens of 3 meat rabbits each and placed 3rd, 4th, and 6th as well as being awarded the Grand and Reserve Grand Champion in the pens of three contest.
Alexis displays her Grand Champion and Reserve Grand Champion belt buckles
