I just got one. I don't have real rabbits but I am thinking about Loading it with a rocky racoon.

MM: Let me be the first to say that adding a live rabbit to your show is a step in the right direction, in my honest opinion.

I am a full time professional magician with over 1000 birthday parties under my belt. I have always stayed busy entertaining children but once I added a live rabbit things went crazy for me. The thinking is that you can't have a magic show without a rabbit.

A rabbit will create extra money in your pocket and sets you apart from others. It's a very very very easy way to sell a mom booking a birthday party. If nothing else you have told her works, when you mention that the birthday child makes the rabbit appear you will close the sale.

The down side is having to care for the animal and transport it to your shows. Once you get the hang of it you will find that you can't do a show without one.

Hope this helps!

P.S. Balloon to Rabbit is a great effect!

I have a custom built Chalet that I used to produce my Umbrella Cockatoo out of in my kids shows, but now that I got rid of him I just use rocky....

I bought a baby lop eared rabbit and it was so cute. You could almost palm this little fluff ball when I first got it. Now it's HUGE! It poops everytime you touch it. It's still cute and really soft, but I cannot bring myself to add it back to a show. It would be really bad to have little rabbit pellets in someone elses home. They clean up easy enough but it just seems unprofessional. I checked Murphys Magic for a rabbit cork but couldn't find one. How do you deal with a live animal in this situation?

BTW, I'm just kidding about the cork! (but it has crossed my mind)

You have the wrong type of rabbit. Lops are cute, but they are poop machines.

I have been using the same rabbit for 3 years and he has never pooped at a client's party, & usually do 3 parties every Saturday.

Here is a photo of my bunny:
http://www.walkermagic.com/fluffy_hug.jpg

I've done balloon to rabbit with a large, white, fluffy, stuffed rabbit that I've used many times (with a Circus Wagon). The rabbit looks almost real and the young kids enjoy petting it even though they know it's not real.

We see magicians regularly blow up a balloon, place it in its place, bang! and there is a rabbit. Two minutes in all. It took us six minutes to blow up the balloon and several more fun filled minutes before the rabbit was produced, even then we had another few minutes of laughter gags. It is like the change bag, we have never seen it used to its best advantage yet, and I'm one show we saw the perfomer use five different change bags, very lazy, so when he organised THE Conga they disappeared into the woods of the hotel and did appearded in front of him again. Eric and Muriel

You producing a rabbit is very interesting, and yes fun, however, having the Birthday Child produce it will last a lifetime in memories and make you shine as an entertainer.

I show the "box" with a spring rabbit, take him out, (Justification for the box) and do some gags. I make a balloon rabbit (White Heart Balloon and red marker) and have some balloon fun (Have spares), then I have the birthday child feed the balloon bunny with a foam carrot (needle on the end) and BAM the dwarf bunny appears.

I place the bunny in a hat and have the child hold the hat. (Kodak Moment...Rabbit from Hat Picture?) The rabbit in the hat allows for safety so the child will not get scratched with the rabbits sharp cat like claws, and allows for easy petting and the rabbit can duck it's head when he has had enough. (A sign to put him back in his cage.)

I use a white rabbit because the contrast from black insides of the box to a white rabbit is eye catching.

It is one of the most powerful effect in a show. I strongly recomment using a real rabbit.

One word of caution, some rabbits can easily out grow your box!

Thanks for the input, and Andy cute rabbit, My only prob is that my wife has an allegy to animals. My idea will follow Dennis's idea where I try and try to make a bunny but only get skunks, dogs etc.. I will tye a balloon dog and try to convince the kids it is a "Bunny" I put it in the box and POP a yellow dog appears in the box..."See it is a bunny....Of course none of the animals are real.

When you pop the yellow dog balloon, a pun that Moms & Dads will get but the kids won't is to say to the "Yeller Dog" ... say good-bye to Old Yeller! sniff sniff!

LOL. Great Idea! ..."best dog gone sog in the west..." My younger brother wore out my parents tape of it when he was young... My favorite part is after the dog get s sick and the kid gets his gun and....

I agree with the others having a rabbit in the show is a good idea and it's much better when it's a real one.

Hello Eric Sharp.
Richard Lyn from Canada.
One of my best rabbit prodution is the crystal box with the ribbon prodution.
I bought this from Eric quite a few years back, and I I've had lots of fun doing it at birthdays.
Richard Lyn.

It's certainly good to see Eric & Muriel Sharp in this forum. Welcome to you both.

I agree totally with Richard Lyn, Eric's Ribbon to Rabbit routine, is by far the best routine I have ever used. A riot of laughter and fun to say the very least.

My only wish is that I could still perform this routine. But having working this solidly for 5 years, my prop eventually fell to pieces and now I would dearly love to find a replacement, but as yet no luck at all.

So if anyone has a version of Ribbons to Rabbit in the back of their shelves, please do get in touch with me.

Regards

Mark Andrews

http://www.markandrews.co.uk

I used to use it, but my rabbit didn't really like the bang so I took it straight out of the act. I think it is important to think about the welfare of the animals.
Matt

Camtryx Magic may soon have a Ribbons to Rabbit prop available.

Matt,

I agree with you. I think the ballon pop has to be nerve-wrecking to an already nerveous creature. Neatherlands are very jittery by nature and I just never thought the sudden loud bang was a good idea.


I would be interested in the Crystal Box Ribbons To Rabbit also.

Hello to Eric and Muriel Sharp. It is great to hear from them and to know they are at The magic Café!

Regan

Quinton

Thanks for the suggestion of Camtryx. But sadly Rabbit to Ribbons isn't amongst their lines, they were one of the companies I'd already tried.

Mark

Mark Andrews,Further to recent reply if you have all and we mean all the of pieces of the Aquarium to Rabbit then it is easy to put together. Muriel reminds me that if the perspex came adrift we used a hot glue gun. also we reinforced the corners with coloured floor marking tape as used in gymnasiums. Stick this carefully on all edges and match the feke up with it. It adds colour and strenthens the who prop. If you still have all the pieces we could re-assemble for you. Eric and Muriel

Hello Eric.
There is a new glue on the market called "The Last Glue". I saw this at the home show last year.
This glue sticks anything together that will never come apart.
Its a bit expensive, but it does the job.
My aquarium to rabbit also came apart quite a few times also your plasticard drawer box
had the same problem.
I used the last glue to fix the problem for good. Even if I try to pull the pieces apart, it wont come undone.
Richard Lyn