Many students attend Michigan State University football games and never take note of other events going on around campus; however, Campbell found his hobby when he wasn’t looking for it after one game.
“I was at a Michigan State football game and saw there was a rabbit show on campus,” Campbell said. “I thought the show was interesting and I chose to start raising them. I’ve had around 115 rabbits in the past four years.”
So he would not be lost when he started out, Campbell sought out help with some of the active participants.
“A few breeders helped me get started,” Campbell said. “One of them was an older lady who was just getting out of it. There is also a younger guy named Drew that I still work with now.”
From an outside perspective, a rabbit show may be something difficult to judge. Everything from proper nutrition to posing and grooming is scored. Certain breeds are even posed in specific ways.
“The shows are interesting and hard to explain,” Campbell said. “We show the rabbits and try to find the “best one,” compared to standard. I’ve been in rabbit raising and competing for eight years.”
Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end. During the summer, Campbell will be selling the large majority of his rabbits before he goes off to college.
“I plan on selling most of them by the summer before I go off to school,” Campbell said. “It was a good hobby, but it is time to get out of it. I will need to focus on my studies.”
Taking care of rabbits teaches one to have a good eye and to know what to look for. Keeping the cage space available to store all of them is also important. Campbell reccomends people come to a show and check out what a rabbit show entails.
“Raising rabbits teaches that it is a lot of hard work to take care of them,” Campbell said. “Also, people should come a show to learn what it is all about.”