Monthly Archives: April 2008

Just like dogs, when a breeder goes into a particular breed, he or she would want to own sound specimens from sound lineage. The lineage determines the quality of rabbits as well. Since embarking on this wonderful hobby, I have always seen amazing Holland Lops online. Some specimens are just so remarkable. I have came across many good and bad rabbitries producing both good and bad show specimens.

A few captured my heart and with due respect, some still have a long way to go. I for one must also admit that there are so much to improve on even with my current herd. Many breeders in the US are not willing to ship this way and that itself is a limiting factor for me and those interested in developing Holland Lops or any other breeds further.

The lines that I would love to own are as follows (in no particular order):

1) The Nature Trail’s

2) Pitney’s

3) ELS

4) THF Saynora’s

5) Three Little Ladies’

6) Campo’s

7) Pint Sized Pals

8) Chris Zemny’s

These in my own humble opinion are my favorite Holland Lop lines but I must say that some rabbitries do produce amazing kits that I would die for. I am always looking out for BIG HEADS, BROAD SHOULDERS, SHORT EARS and BODY.

I must also admit that these are just some names that I am exposed to via the internet and there might be unchartered waters as far as good lineage is concern. There may be some great rabbitries that does not have a website but are producing great specimens. I have to give credit to those rabbitries as well and hope they do setup websites so that I could appreciate their hard work.

I joined 2 Holland Lop groups on Yahoo! Groups and get a lot of information on the latest happenings on the breeds. Most of the messages posted include notices of rabbit sales, transportation offers and also those regarding kits with rare colors. Once in a while some members include their website addresses in their postings. Some of these links are really interesting and I cannot help but to include them as one of my Favorite Websites.

If you noticed, my Favorite Websites list is getting longer each day.

Today, I came across ELS Rabbitry. On their main page it was stated “STARTED 1999, SOLD OUT 2008″. After looking through their photos, I felt it is such a waste that this rabbitry had to sell out. I am in awe by how good their kits look in the BABIES page.

I just could not understand why they have to sell out. It has been a while since I last get this mesmerized looking at bunny photos. The last time I felt this way was seeing The Nature Trail’s and Saynora’s herds.

Simply Amazing!

I later learned that Green Barn Farm is having most of the ELS rabbits. Hope to get a couple from them one day.

Anyhow back to the topic of favorite links getting longer. I must say that there are many interesting Holland Lop websites out there in the internet. I wonder how am I going to cope having such a long list on my sidebar.

I am still trying to figure out how I could add advertisements unto my wordpress.com account. My initial attempts showed that I need to upgrade my account in order for me to work with my CSS. I still do not know how this advertisement works but being able to generate some returns through this blog would be nice.

In the US, breeders normally generate income for their rabbitries through a few channels. Selling rabbits would be the main revenue and in order to fetch a high price for their rabbits, breeders are require to attend shows and it would be best to get some wins. Rabbits from good lines can normally fetch quite a decent price. Most breeders sell their rabbits at shows which is very convenient since shows are where all rabbit enthusiasts meet.

I cannot say the same for Malaysia. Pet shops are the first thing that comes to mind for most of the people here in acquiring pet rabbits. We do not have any shows and I do not think there would be any unless someone organizes. Although someone may organize, there are not many breeds to showcase as I am aware that there are only 2 breeders breeding Holland Lops (including myself) and the other Holland Lop breeder also breeds Netherland Dwarfs. How can we have a show when there are only 2 breeds?

So how can hobby breeders like me make revenue out of my rabbits? The answer is simply NO WAY and lucky thing is that I am not out to make a profit. I guess that is the best thing for me because there is no pressure in making a profit. I like it that way because my rabbits are truly appreciated.

At the moment I am just worried that I am unable to get good rabbit pellets for my rabbits in the near future. The stocking up for feeds here in useless. The market wants cheap stuff and if good feeds do not sell, the distributors will soon phase them out for cheaper range.

So, basically there is no way for me to generate revenue either through rabbits or advertising through this blog. I am unable to collect cash through clicks on ads or whatsoever. And setting up my own domain would cost me yearly charges and that itself will dig into my pocket unneccesarily.

Here I am again, writing crap just to fill the calendar up. Thanks for reading and sorry if you do not find this post enjoyable. No wonder my blog statistics shows a sloppy graph going down hill. It is indeed getting a little boring isn’t it?

Maybe I’ll post some pictures later to boost your appetite up again…

I realized that certain breeds are difficult to breed and I felt that it is more of a good thing than bad. Not in a selfish point of view, I believe it is good to have such breeds around so that they do not get exploited by money driven breedings. Every moment, hundreds of pets are churned out and as many go to good homes, many more are not that fortunate. We all know too well what is the conclusion of the story.

For me, Holland Lops are not easy to breed and I hope it stays this way but of course minus all the deaths. I believe to a certain extent, Mother Nature has got its way to say “NO” to certain things.

With the number of local pet rabbits that are available in the market, I came to realize that it is the way it is because they are easy to breed and are tougher in general. People who are in it to make a quick profit will definitely find it very easy to start a business with just 2 rabbits. But I hope with awareness programs and better education people will start to understand this entire chain effect and stop patronizing unethical breeders directly and indirectly.

In my opinion, the Malaysia pet industry is a highly unstable one. Why do I say that? It is because we are so easily affected by the overall economic situation of the country. I believe it would be the same with any other country.

At the moment I am facing problem getting a certain brand of dog food for my pooches. The people at the store told me that there seemed to be a problem with the production in US. Due to that, we may be experiencing up to 2 months of delay in getting the dog food. It is definitely frustrating for this to be happening because I hate to switch brands as I have been feeding this brand since I got my pooches.

That being said, I was wondering how do we rabbit breeders prioritize. Let’s just say that we are faced with a difficult situation and to solve the problem we need to part with our beloved bunnies, what would be the decision be? I am sure most of us are so attached to our rabbits by now that it would definitely be such a difficult decision to make.

Where are your bunnies on your priority list?

As for me, I cannot imagine and refuse to think of such situation. Guess I am tagged for life by these bunnies.