Monthly Archives: August 2008

I am really sadden by the news that my all time favorite rabbit breeder and someone that I look up to as mentor has decided to get out of rabbits. I am not going to mention names because I do not know if that person will like it not coming from her own mouth.

This person has written great articles and I have always referred to whenever I am in doubt with my rabbits. I have learned a lot of valuable lessons from her.

Nonetheless, I wish her all the best in all the other commitments that made her give up this wonderful hobby which I am sure was a super duper difficult decision for her.

Her rabbitry will always be a legacy and I will not give up until I reach her standard of perfection.

A fellow rabbit blogger Susie of Wooly World Rabbitry left a comment on my previous post regarding rabbits with longer ears in warmer condition. I really appreciate her leaving that note for me. I soon found myself discussing about this issue with SB and she mentioned the term “Natural Selection”.

I googled the term and walla! It was a theory about how living creatures survives in different environment. Nature is all about survival of the fittest and therefore to survive is to adapt.

We know that the ears is where a rabbit releases heat. If your rabbit is about to get heatstroke, normally it is advised to place an icepack on its ear to cool it down. I have personally used this method when my local rabbits were kept outdoors many years ago.

So, the theory of local rabbits having long ears whether the lop breed or normal breed does make sense. That is because they need larger surface on the ears to release heat in a faster speed.

The conclusion that I can make up is that, through time, if the first batch of important rabbits were indeed bred, over a period of 10 years it could be possible that an evolution has taken place.

The reason for local lop breed to have longer ears and narrower bodies may well be caused by the climate here in Malaysia. But my next question is, how many generations would it take for the Theory of Natural Selection to manifest?

For example, Skor and BlueBerry can be considered the first generation of imported rabbits. Will their offspring have longer ears right away or I have to see for another few generations down the road?

Can Natural Selection happen so quickly? My observation with locally bred Netherland Dwarfs and of those in neighboring Singapore also has got longer ears. So now, do we call these longer ears Netherland Dwarfs pet quality then when they are meant to be Show Quality? If we ever have shows in Malaysia, must we then change the breed standard to accommodate this evolution?

And we are just talking about ear lengths…

On some occassions I have asked myself the origin of lop rabbits in Malaysia. Approximately 10 years ago, I came across some decent rabbits in this shop hidden somewhere in the corner of an infamous shopping complex. The owner, a lady alleged that her rabbits are all imported and by the looks of it, I am convinced. The prices for her rabbits were outrageous of course and being a high school student at that time, it was impossible for me to start off this expensive hobby.

Two years back before embarking on this Holland Lop quest, I did gave the lady mentioned above a call to inquire if she has anymore rabbits with her. I last saw her approximately 5 years ago selling what she claimed to be Netherland Dwarfs in a famous Flea Market at an upscale location. So the phone calls did not went too well because I felt that she was really dodgy.

She mentioned that she has got rabbits with her and she will be able to meet up. The catch is, I have to pay for her transportation and also, I must take the rabbit – no questions asked. I told myself to forget about this lady forever. God knows where she get some last minute stocks and tries to push them to me.

Every bunny for her is purebred. That’s the scariest part of all.

Now, that brings me to the title of my post today. I am very convinced that the first batch of rabbits I saw from this lady was indeed of imported quality because I have not seen such nice specimens. She has got a few breeds and I did not notice if there were any purebred Holland Lops. I am sure amongst those cages, there were one or 2 lop ear rabbits.

I am now wondering if Holland Lop has indeed landed in Malaysia 10 years ago and all the lop ears are indeed descended from that batch of rabbits. It would be really interesting if someone could trace the lineage back to those rabbits that I have seen.

Another question that lingers around my mind is that, could a well built and stocky Holland Lop evolved into a narrow and elongated Holland Lop?

Could the climate affect the physical appearance of a Holland Lop? And through the generation being bred locally, could there be a possibility of changes in the overall physical appearance?

And again, I could care less about dogs but based on past experience researching about dogs, I did notice some SIBERIAN HUSKIES transforming into overgrown SPITZ. The most obvious changes I notice with these dogs were the fur texture. They have lost all thickness and through time, they became smaller compared to their counterparts in the country of origin. Just like how Asians are compared to Caucasians. Those from the western countries are bigger in built compared to us tiny winny Asians.

I am indeed doing this observation with my rabbits. I am breeding them locally and I am giving myself some time to do a good observation. The only differences for them would be the climate as I am feeding them imported pellets and hays.

I hope that their physical appearance does not change overtime but of course I do expect their fur texture to change because the temperature is warmer at this end. If their physical appearance changes in the sense whereby body type starts to change through the generations, then it would mean that my effort to breed them locally is in vain.

Unless, if I can simulate 4 seasons within the comfort of my own home.

Quite an expensive and impossible feat to go through in the name of Holland Lops. I will DEFINITELY NOT go there!

LOL…ROFL…

I just want to take one day off blogging just to spend the little more time with my lovely daughter on her 1st birthday. This post is dedicated to her.

Here’s a photo taken of her and Skor a few months back. Courtesy of SB:

May God blesses all babies and children in this world especially those stricken by poverty, suppression, the unborn, aborted and orphaned. May the Lord bless them and keep them safe in eternity. We live everyday for them so that they will have a brighter future in a better world we so hope to create today. Our today is their tomorrow.

I do not know about other bunny enthusiasts but as for me, I find myself going through the same rabbit information and materials over and over again. The funny thing is, I just cannot retain all these information for a long period of time.

For example, over the weekend I realized that the kits are at their 4th week now. Time really flies. Due to that reason, I still have the impression that they were about 3 weeks old. I was a little surprised that they started nibbling on Alfafa and pellets and thought it was a little too early. So here I go again, surfing the net for such basic information. That got me counting the days and weeks. And I got the confirmation that they are indeed 4 weeks old. ROFL.

I just cannot imagine me having a 100 odd holes rabbitry since I cannot even remember with just 1 litter. LOL. I really do need a memory upgrade. If only our brain have a slot for a memory chip, it would be nice to have a 160GB micro hard disk slotted in.

That’s also one of the reasons why I started this blog. Apart from sharing my experiences, it serve as a storage medium for me. I do not think Post-It would help because they may fall off when a strong wind blows. I need something more permanent than that.

Well, I must make do with whatever God gave me since not everyone is born equal. Need to just improve on the long term memory cause it should be easier to remember things that you have passion for.

I am starting to countdown to the day Noobie kindles. She will be due on the 10th of August. This is the most anticipated litter and I do hope my premonition is right that she is indeed pregnant.

My wife has anticipated the outcome of Skor & Noobie. Although she is not as crazy over the bunnies compared to me, she has been looking forward for this litter and has given me strict instructions to allow her to pick out a kit for our daughter. LOL…

Can you imagine we are going through this kinda talks even before the kits are born?

I am just keeping my fingers crossed so that the “highly” anticipated litter will be a healthy one.

Do send those good vibes and prayers over here alright? Thanks in advance!