Import a rabbit herd from a spreadsheet
Save your herd sheet as CSV with one row per animal (ear number, name, sex, variety, birth date, sire, dam), then open Import in your herd and match each column to a field.
The Import tab is in your herd; check the report before you import. Sires and dams named in a row are linked by ear number first and then by name, and any not in the file can be added as ancestors.
Getting the spreadsheet into shape
- One row per animal, one header row at the top. Blank rows are skipped.
- Put the sire and the dam in their own columns, written as the ear number (best) or the name.
- Write sex as B, D, buck, doe, boar, sow, M or F. Anything else imports as unknown.
- Keep dates in one format throughout. You tell the importer whether they are month first, day first or year first.
- If the file mixes species, add a Species column with rabbit, cavy or cat.
CSV is plain text. A field with a comma, a quote or a line break inside it is wrapped in double quotes, and a quote inside such a field is doubled; every spreadsheet does this for you when it saves as CSV. Semicolon separated files from European spreadsheets are read too.
Coming from another program
Most herd programs can export or print a list of animals that pastes into a spreadsheet. The Evans rabbit program says it imports and exports pedigrees, but its page does not document a file format, so there is no special Evans import here: export or copy your animal list into a spreadsheet, save it as CSV, and use the column matcher. If a program only exports pedigrees as web pages, copy the animal list rather than the pedigrees.
What the importer does
- Reads the file inside your browser. Nothing is uploaded.
- Guesses what each column holds from its header (Ear #, Tattoo, Color, DOB, Sire and so on). You can change any guess.
- Skips rows with neither a name nor an ear number, and rows whose ear number is already in the herd if you ask it to.
- Links each sire and dam to an animal in the file or already in the herd, by ear number and then by name, within the same species.
- Refuses any link that would make an animal its own ancestor or name a doe as a sire, and tells you the row.
Worked example: four rows, three missing parents
| Ear # | Name | Sex | Color | DOB | Sire | Dam |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MR10 | Oakley | B | Castor | 3/15/2021 | (blank) | (blank) |
| MR27 | Hazel | D | Castor | 5/30/2022 | MR10 | Tansy |
| MR41 | Juniper | D | Black | 4/6/2024 | MR29 | MR27 |
| MR52 | Clover | D | Castor | 6/14/2026 | Bramble | Juniper |
The importer matched the headers as: Ear # to Ear number, tag or microchip; Name to Name; Sex to Sex; Color to Variety or colour; DOB to Date of birth; Sire to Sire (ear number or name); Dam to Dam (ear number or name). Run on an empty herd it added 4 animals, created 3 ancestors that were named but had no row of their own (Tansy, MR29, Bramble), and made 6 sire and dam links. Clover's pedigree then showed Juniper as her dam and Hazel and Oakley behind her, straight away in the pedigree maker.
Common mistakes
- Putting the sire's name in one column and its ear number in another. Use one column per parent, ear number preferred.
- Mixing month first and day first dates in the same file. Pick one and tell the importer.
- Importing the same file twice. Leave Skip rows whose ear number is already in the herd switched on.
- Leaving two animals with the same ear number in one species. Links follow the first match, so fix duplicates first.
Make the pedigree now
Type one pedigree by hand and print it, or explore the demo herd to see ancestors fill themselves in. Your herd stays in this browser; nothing is uploaded and there is no account.
Frequently asked questions
Can I import rabbits from Excel?
Yes. In Excel, save the sheet as CSV and choose that file on the Import tab. The same works from Google Sheets, Numbers or LibreOffice.
Is there an Evans import?
Not a dedicated one, because the Evans file format is not publicly documented. Copy or export your animal list into a spreadsheet, save it as CSV, and match the columns.
What happens to a sire that is not in my spreadsheet?
If you leave Add sires and dams that are not in the file switched on, it is added as an ancestor only record with the ear number or name you wrote. Otherwise the link is left unknown and the report lists the row.
Sources
Last reviewed 27 September 2026 against:
- Common Format and MIME Type for Comma-Separated Values (CSV) Files (RFC 4180), Internet Engineering Task Force, October 2005, read 27 September 2026. Used for: How quoted fields, commas inside fields and header rows are written in a CSV file.
- Rabbit Software, Evans Software Services, version 15 page, last modified 22 July 2022, read 27 September 2026. Used for: That the program imports and exports pedigrees; the page does not document a file format.
- Official Show Rules, American Rabbit Breeders Association, effective 10 December 2025, read 27 September 2026. Used for: The permanent ear mark in the left ear for rabbits, ear marks or ear tags for cavies, and grand champion legs.
This guide is our own summary, not a registry's rule book. If it disagrees with the current documents, the documents win. Hutchline is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or connected to the American Rabbit Breeders Association, the American Cavy Breeders Association, The International Cat Association, the Cat Fanciers' Association or any other registry or breed club.