Their faces tell it all. And I just attempted to ascertain their genders:
Little SHY One (Girl)
Little BOLD One (Girl)
Little PURE One (Boy)
Little COOL One (Girl)
Monthly Archives: July 2008
Tails From Meadow Haven: Introduction
Tails From Meadow Haven is my latest attempt to write a series of short stories based on the lives of my rabbits. It will evolve around the lives of the main casts – Skor, Noobie, BlueBerry, Latara & Holly Hope.
The fun part is to get my readers guessing who’s who in the dialogues. And I find it very interesting to include some humor by describing the way our domesticated pets live as compared to their wild ancestors.
Hope you enjoy my articulate descriptions on what’s life being behind those wires!
Filed under Tails From Meadow Haven
Tails From Meadow Haven: Chapter 1
“Hush, I heard something!”
“Come on BlueBerry, you’re at it again!”
“No seriously, I thought I heard something. You know I am quite paranoid especially with these kits around. They are just so precious and I cannot possibly loose any of them”
“Don’t you worry, we’ll be looking out for any intruder coming your way. Just stay alert and hear out for the stomp”
“Thanks guys. By the way, how do you guys look like? I could only remember before the Season of Great Thunder, I was placed with this handsome black buck. Can’t remember his name but we had a lot of fun together. Then the Season of Great Thunder came and I could feel that I was floating quite high up. It lasted for quite sometime”
“Was it you that was beside me on the other compartment?”
“I guess so, I was not really in the mood of chatting because I was trying very hard to stay comfortable with kits inside me”
“I was doing the same too”
“The Great Thunder went away for a while and I could see people walking all around being real busy. For a short period of time before the Great Thunder returned, I could hear people talking in foreign language. It wasn’t like the language Christina and our master speak. Somehow different”
“If I remember correctly, the Great Thunder brought us to a place called Japan”
“Oh yeah, that was what I heard too”
“I kindled not too long after the Season of Great Thunder. I had 6 kits and only 1 survived”
“Oh dear. I had 4 and only one survived for a short while. But I met this really handsome black & white buck last month and these kits I am having now is his”
“Hmmm, black & white? That sounds like me”
“I met this black & white buck over a week ago and he was great. We got the job done in just a little below 5 minutes”
“Hey gals, I think you’re talking about me. I met this beautiful blue doe a month or there about. And recently this broken chocolate chick was so good. Geez, that black & white buck is ME! I am the super alpha buck, RoarrRrrrrgggHHhh. I guess not anymore since I just can’t get this fur coat out of me. I am feeling rather warm and master kept on combing me lately. I hate fur getting stuck between my teeth. Thank God for master, he helps me out a little”
“I like that chocolate buck more actually. I really do miss him sometimes. He gave me Holly Hope, that’s what master calls her. I can still hear her sometimes”
“Mummy, I am here!”
“Holly Hope, is that really you? Oh dear, I am hearing things again”
“No mummy, I am here. Up here!”
“Goodness, I thought I’ll never hear from you again. Where did master take you”
“I can hear you too mummy. Master took me to this higher place. It is really cool up here. The breeze is amazing and scenery is fantastic”
“Ouch! Watch it! If you kits are not careful mummy may get mastitis. Go easy suckling alright?”
“I am bored”
“Who’s that?”
“I miss my mummy”
“Come on grow up will ya, Latara”
“Master says I spray a lot when we first came here. So he placed me way down here with no view. All I could see are these walls”
“This is the prestigious Meadow Haven! A lot of our kind could only dream to be here. Count your blessings alright?”
“I heard that our ancestors have fields to run and land to burrow. What prestige is there here?”
“Don’t you believe in those mother goose tales. They are just make beliefs. We are so comfortable here. I do not know about you but I have tasty Western Timothy Hay every single day!”
“And I have got this colorful teething toy dangling from the top of my quarters”
“Me too!”
“Master took mine away. I was chewing the rope away and the colorful parts just fell off”
“Hush! Someone’s coming”
STOMP STOMP STOMP
Filed under Tails From Meadow Haven
Heart Bunny?
If you keep multiple rabbits, I am sure you would agree with me that there sure to be one super favorite among the herd. My all time favorite is still Skor but he is molting at the moment so I am not giving him too much cuddles (I will die inhaling those fur). I can only spend time combing those loose fur out. Collected a bucketful today.
BlueBerry’s too pre-occupied with her kits at the moment so I am leaving her alone.
Noobie is busy being pregnant but she gets some pats from me everyday. She is as sweet as ever!
I must admit, Latara is the most neglected bunny at the moment. LOL! No physical abuse or anything just that she dun really like me touching her. That’s her behavior since young. She is high strung and does not like cuddles. I guess she has got more testosterones than progesterones (since she is the only doe that sprays). She is a little Tom Boyish. She does get her free run in the kitchen like the rest.
So I turned my attention to Holly Hope. I wanted to make her a full house bunny without the spaying but it is quite difficult to have fur and bunny poop around the house when you have a toddler around picking up every little thing that is in her path. There goes my intention of having a house bunny! LOL. Nonetheless when everyone’s in bed, I brought her into he living room and guess what!? She loves exploring the entire place!
The amazing things about Holly Hope is that, she is somehow very attached to me. I believe it was because I handled her so much since the day she was born, so much so that she sort of recognize me and is not afraid of me.
As for the title of this post, after reading through everything I have wrote so far, you must be thinking that Holly Hope is thus far my favorite?
You are wrong! I love all my bunnies the same! LOL!
And I am just so happy that I actually have more time to spend with them now as compared to previously when I only had the time to clean the cages.
Filed under Everyday Life, Random Topics
Day 17: 80% Sleeping
Kits usually spend most of their time taking naps. Therefore, most of the time you will see them in this position:
Filed under In The Nestbox
Day 16: Three Butts & A Head
Caught some moments of the kits having their afternoon nap. They are just so adorable at this stage. I have taken out their nest box because they do not go in there anymore. They have found their freedom since the day they saw the world.
A video to go with this post:
Filed under In The Nestbox
Day 15: They finally turn bluish
Now I can see that they are turning blue. LOL!
And for once, I am able to recognize young kits! Prior to this, I realize it took me quite long to get into my mind the differences between kits from my previous litters. This time I have no problem remember each and everyone of them because of their patterns!
Here’s the darling of the litter. It’s the smallest compared to the other 3. How I recognize this one? The full colored ears.
This the little one which is darker than the rest. The color remained darker than the rest so I can spot this one right away.
The other two is almost similar. Their white ears make them look so super cute. One of them have more white on its face.
Very cute little fellows. I just cannot resist not taking any photos of them. They look so different every single day!
Filed under In The Nestbox
Raising the Quality of PET QUALITY rabbits
The terms Pet, Brood and Show Quality has been exploited beyond recognition.
Just because these are the terms given to categorize the quality of their rabbits by Show Breeders, local breeders has figured out how to make use of them just to push their “stocks” to ill-informed buyers. I realized that buyers are always impressed with bombastic terms. And anything that they hear which are unfamiliar to them would be EXCLUSIVE stuff.
If you are one of these buyers, then I must call you STUPID! Excuse me for my arrogance, because I am dead tired of some “pet agents” trying to mislead the public by labeling their rabbits 100% pure bred Holland Lop and do not even know exactly what breed they are. Again, exploitation of TERMS!
It is just so amazing these dumbos can make profit out of their dumber customers. And the best thing is that, the public seemed to condone this! They love being cheated!
Like many other things that is happening in Malaysia, that seemed to be the culture we are heading to.
Now, with all these complaints, what is the solution that I have in mind? Firstly, I would like to inform the public that a 100% pure bred Holland Lop will come together with a PEDIGREE. In case you do not know the meaning of this “bombastic” word PEDIGREE, it is a BIRTH CERTIFICATE (plainly put) with of course the date of birth, and information of at least 3 generations of the rabbit’s LINEAGE. Another “bombastic” word, LINEAGE. Go look that up in the dictionary. I am sharing my knowledge and not giving ENGLISH classes!
Alright, the real solution is, shall we all increase the quality of PET QUALITY? Yes, that is exactly what I want to do to put all these CHEATERS out of business. I shall add this objective as part of my rabbitry’s resolution and goal. I want to raise the quality of PET Quality in Malaysia so that everyone will know what is a real Holland Lop!
I really do pity the rabbits produced which are sub standard. It creates a really bad chain reaction in a long run.
We only have one earth, please populate it with the best HOLLAND LOPS. That’s for our future! Imagine your great grandchildren holding up a Holland Lop which looks like an English Lop. That will be a shame on you because that is what you produce today that will affect tomorrow!
Alright, I know it is pointless to be fretting over something and not give real good concrete solutions or maybe I am making it seem as if I am the only worthy person to get a bunny from. To be frank, there are very few reputable breeders around so here is how to recognize one from a thousand yards away (the traits of a good breeder):
1. A good breeder shares whatever information he/she knows
2. A good breeder care a whole lot where his/her rabbits go
3. A good breeder will tell you the faults of his/her rabbits
4. A good breeder will have an objective on how he/she wants to achieve with his/her herd of rabbits
5. A good breeder spends considerable amount of time/money to work on his rabbitry for all the good reasons and not making profit
6. A good breeder spends time with each and everyone of his/her rabbits
7. A good breeder breeds knowing well enough there will never be profit in the hobby
8. A good breeder ensures that good genes are not wasted through unnecessary cross breeding
9. A good breeder will never jeopardize the quality of care given to his/her rabbits in the name of profiteering
10. A good breeder always plan out his breeding program and gives proper resting period for all brood does
Filed under Random Topics
Day 14
I woke up this morning to find all the kits out of the nest box cuddling up together. They look super cute and I had to put them back into the nest box before I turn on the fan for the day.
When I came home later in the evening, I found that 3 of them had their eyes open wide and the smallest one still has its eyes shut. Since it is already day 14, I had no choice but to give this little one a helping hand. After wiping the eyes with a damp cotton, I slowly apply pressure to split the eyes open. Open Sesame! The little one got hyped up immediately. It was great fun watching this little fellow.
Filed under In The Nestbox
Tru-Luv Rabbitry: Quality Holland Lops in Malaysia 