One look at this doe you would know that there is something very special about her. I am writing this as a tribute to her. So far, what I can say about her is that, this doe can really really pose. She is ever ready to pose for you and I hope that passes down to her offspring. Carmel has been listed as Top Lop #7 for 2007 (Fall 2008 issue of Hollander).
I believe Carmel was the BJD (Broken Junior Doe) in this 2007 HLRSC Nationals Results page.
Filed under Does
Here’s a video of Thunder roaming around the house this evening. It was his day out today. Not only does he look like a little mini bulldog, he acts like a dog as well.
Here’s a video of Beth playing with Woody Pet pellets rather than bunnies with Ladee running mad around the house. LOL!
Synchronized posing…
And I also received a few photos from Alicia of Pet Epicure. Luna is enjoying her life with Monty. Just look at how the children love and are loved by the pets. Great parenting skills!
Filed under Bucks, In The Nestbox
I didn’t realize that TLR got listed until Mr. Darma posted these on the local forum. Thanks Darma!!!
http://arba.net/Rabbitries.htm
Filed under Bunny Business
From day 1, I have always believed in the power of knowledge and sharing them. I remembered very clearly when I started off raising Holland Lops in Sept 2006. It was rough. We did not have anything close to what we have today. During my 2 years of research on breeding show quality rabbits, I always come across sentences like “start off with the best you can afford” and “get a good herd buck”. What I can say today is that, these sentences are not enough to help a new breeder start off with their hobby. Here I would like to be more specific and I hope those reading are made aware of things to look out for in their quest for perfection.
Many of us are so attracted to the animals we see and we are always caught off guard when we deal with their difficult owners/breeders. The fact is, in order to get the pets we want, we first need to get their owners/breeders to agree. I am very grateful for my past experiences because I get to learn from them all the time be it good or bad experiences. The bad experiences are even better because they leave very deep imprints on my mind. I am a person that forgives easily but I do not necessarily forgets all that easily. I remember every scar that my rabbits give me but not with vengeance of course. And so, I have decided to write this post to save aspiring breeders/importers from having the need to journey through the less desirable road which is treacherous and do not benefit the community at large.
I wrote about the different categories of breeders yesterday and today I would like to zoom in more on the micro level. I want to write about my opinion how to identify an unethical breeder it comes to selling their rabbits. I am not going to touch on ethical breeding as I have done that many times.
First on the list, I would like to urge anyone who is doing research on getting rabbits to avoid breeders that are EAGER FOR MONEY. Money is the root of all evils they say and this is very true. In fact many other undesirable traits of breeders sprout from this one trait. I know very well how you cannot profit from selling pet rabbits let alone be a millionaire trading them. This is in my opinion only applicable to show rabbits. Meat rabbits can earn you millions so you might want to consider that if that is your intention. You can almost identify these sort of breeder by how advance their approaches are in getting the rabbits sold. They talk about MONEY all the time.
Secondly, take time to talk to the breeders that you know and from there, you can judge if they are sincere and willing to give good advice even though you have no intention of buying from them. Avoid those “YOU DON’T ASK, I WON’T TELL” breeders at all cost. These breeders only tell you what you are interested in and do not care to elaborate further. The reason may be they have something to hide and do not feel comfortable sharing certain things like the faults in their rabbits fearing you won’t buy. Some may not know as much as they think they know and that in itself is a good indication for you. Some of these “YOU DON’T ASK, I WON’T TELL” breeders go to the extend of having you book their rabbits and adding on charges like daily feed charges and etc. But they do not disclose this up-front. It is when you have made room for the rabbits in your heart that they start to nip at you one piece at a time. Yes, there are such breeders alive in this face of the earth. Total SCUMS!
There are breeders that are known to swap rabbits last minute and get them sent to you. They are breeders that send you photos of a well posed rabbit (photos of rabbits are known to lie-LOL) or photos with less than perfect poses with loads of crappy excuses to go along such as “she was was grumpy probably because I took her litter away!”. While it is valid to take litters away but it is sure not a good reason why the rabbit is not posing.
There are breeders that do not bother about their rabbits the moment they are sent off. The only time they get in touch is to get you to help them do something benefiting to only them. I really hate these and I normally try to keep in touch with people for updates as regular possible. Likewise, if you have acquire rabbits from someone, take the effort to update the breeders/owners. They really appreciate it. Personally for me, nothing is more satisfied than to have buyers emailing me letting me know how their pets are doing.
There are breeders that gives you inaccurate pedigrees or should I say culls to go along with pedigrees.
Speaking of culls, I just remembered words that I wanted to use for this post. Culls or inferior quality rabbits can work wonders for (again!) breeders that could only see $$$ in their minds. Some breeders are known to send their CULLS to other countries.
YES! This is the gist of my post today. Watch out for these breeders. They are full of DRAMA. They could sell how good their rabbits are in a trance like manner and it is very easy to fall for the bait. These are the breeders that I have learned to hate.
These are the type that thinks other countries or people deserve less than what they have. They think they have the full rights to contaminate other countries with inferior stocks! They failed to realize that what goes around comes around and bad things sure back fire big time. This is the type that I intended to write about. If you ever decide to be a breeder NEVER PASS ON SOMETHING THAT YOU WILL NOT WANT TO KEEP YOURSELF! This is the reason why I support the idea of culling. So that people will not get less than desirable pets. And this is exactly how some irresponsible breeder can make big bucks from selling rabbits. They send you rabbits with hidden hereditary/genetic problems.
They not only sell you junks but they sell you junks at Top prices. YES! There are these idiotic fools and devils in certain breeders.
They not only hurt the ones they ripped off but if we take a step back and look at the bigger picture, they are hurting communities at large. For instance, if a breeder is given inferior stocks, they go on breeding and passing on. It will soon develop into a network of inferior quality rabbits. And the country at large will never have good stuff to be enjoyed. These scums should be banished from the face of the earth forever. But then again, some may already have a network of fans that supports their wickedness. What I can attest to that is birds of the same feather flock together!
With that said, we must be responsible for ourselves in this world filled with crooks. Some may not be intentional but have fell victim to such scams. I am writing this for the good of all. I want breeders everywhere to know that people have awoken from their slumber and they are aware that they are such shady breeders lurking at every corner. I want potential bait takers to be aware so that the bait will turn into gold when the make good decisions instead. I truly sympathizes with those who have also been victimized. I have been victimized and I do not wish the same for you, my friends.
The irony of it all is that there is nothing anyone could do about it once you are victimized except to feel sorry and frustrated about how careless you were. And that is exactly how the good for nothing breeder has taken advantage of you because unconsciously the power has been transferred over to him/her in the midst of your unawareness. Therefore, KNOWLEDGE is really POWER here.
Lastly, the above is the reason why I am forever grateful and I thank God every single day for sending me angels in Scott Rodriguez, Kay Miller, Stephen & Teri Reymann and many more (I just can’t fit them all here) abroad and local whom are so very generous, honest and trustworthy in their opinions and actions. The world needs more people like them to start functioning well again. I am known as a person who truly appreciates good deeds and I ensure people are given due credit for their efforts. I will cherish all the nice people that I have known in this hobby for the rest of my life. I really appreciate how much they respected me as a fellow individual and their actions truly reflect how a country practices equal rights in the sense that no other human being is above another.
I hope your angels find you too!
Filed under Random Topics
Hi Everyone,
Things are getting really exciting. I am proud to announce that we’re officially a dot com with immediate effect. For easier reference, you can now access the blog using http://truluvrabbitry.com.
I am loving every bit of it. Don’t you love it too?
Bunnyman Tim
Filed under Random Topics
I have posted a similar post on a local forum earlier but somehow felt I also need to pen it down here with some modifications. As most of you who have been following my blog knows that I have kept pets throughout my life so far since I was 7 years old. And being an animal lover I have always been keeping abreast with the on goings of certain sectors in the local pet industry. Or at least being informed in areas of interest for me.
Throughout the years of observation, I could conclude that there are generally 4 categories of breeders in Malaysia. We all know breeders are needed to meet the demands of those who fancy a certain species or breed. I normally categorize a breeder before deciding to acquire the pet that I desire. Here are the categories:
1) Backyard Breeder(BYB)
Any breeders operating from the comfort of their home that does not give a damn about QUALITY is a backyard breeder. POCKET MONEY is normally the main source of motivation behind the BYB. They always think that they could earn a little out of their little venture. Normally, these are also people that want their rabbits to experience motherhood/fatherhood and all the hoods in the world not knowing that they could get out of control when it comes to Great Great Great Great Great Great Great Great Great GRAND PARENTHOOD (you get the point). How do we identify them? Their breeding stocks are always their pets with inferior quality. The number of breeding animals vary from just a pair to probably less than 30 (I have seen a house with 20 poodles kept in cages, you would not like to see this sort of puppy mills). Some may come with pedigree but mostly do not as their foundation stocks do not have them to begin with.
2) Hobbyist/Enthusiast
Sometimes referred to as Show Breeders. Operated in the comfort of their own homes (with barns attached) but with a major difference as appose to a BYB in that all they could think about is the QUALITY. Profit is the last thing on a hobbyist mind and he/she is very much aware that he/she can hardly break even. And the quantity is normally kept in the minimal since QUALITY is what matters. The only agenda a Hobbyist breeder have is the obsession of producing rabbits closest possible to the STANDARDS OF PERFECTION laid down by ARBA. The main objective of a Hobbyist breeder is to lower the numbers of PET QUALITY he/she produces. The number of breeding animals kept would probably be less than 20 heads (yes, less than a Backyard Breeder sometimes!). But in the US, show breeders have more than 100 holes. Will give you endless support and guidance. All rabbits should come with 3 generations pedigrees.
3) Pet Farm
This is quite a gray area because some pet farms have inferior stocks and some do have decent stocks. The typical Pet Farm is to churn out supplies for pet purposes. Comparing a Pet Farm to the extreme, it is somewhere I’ll go (if I have no other choices) for a decent pet and if I find a SHOW QUALITY there, it is a bonus but I won’t bank in too much expectations. It depends very much on how the proprietor runs the show. The number of rabbits start from 50 heads to unlimited. Some comes with pedigree and most do not.
4) Meat Farm
In Malaysia, I believe rabbit meat farmers also supplies rabbits to pet shops. The rabbits are mainly for the meat trade and therefore, anything with meat would do. Since I am very particular in striving for the best quality (based on Standards of Perfection), I will avoid meat farm at all cost unless I develop a fancy for rabbit meat. LOL!!! Yes, only good for the stomach and nothing more for me. Their rabbits do make good pets and in fact some are even used in petting zoos/areas. If you’re not too particular in quality and want to give keeping rabbit as pet a try, you might want to consider this option. But in my opinion, meat farm rabbits should not cross over into the pet industry unless they are of standard. Do not expect to get pedigree as meat comes first.
What I can make out of these 4 categories is that, rabbits can easily cross over from Meat Farm to Backyard Breeders. But I believe that rabbits will never and should never cross over from Hobbyist to any of the Farm groups & Backyard Breeders. Hobbyists are especially particular that their rabbits do not fall into the hands of Backyard Breeders.
These are just my 2 cents.
Filed under Random Topics
I am so thrilled to have heard from Ms. Kay Miller. It was a short note from her but it really got my heart pouncing. LOL! Thanks Kay!
Here are some updates on the kits. In the midst of being excited for the new quad, please know that I have not forgotten the little ones. Although I set very high standards for kits born in the rabbitry, please do know that I do love each and everyone of them no matter how they grow up to be. It is too early to judge the kits at the moment and I would want to give them the opportunity to grow up before I pass any judgment on their conformity. But if you really have to know, I think it is rather obvious they all do look pet quality. But please bear in mind that they are in their UGLIES stage right now. I still think that they are not too bad for starters.
I can see that Truffles is a greater improvement from Noobie’s litter. I believe it is mainly because Holly Hope is a better looking Holland Lop.
Holly Hope’s looking better after raising Truffles. Not sure if she’ll make the cut for the show in July. Don’t you love her color?
Let’s pray that those ears will stop growing soon and the head will POP later. Long ears are sign of the Normal gene.
I have to admit that Thunder happens to be my heart bunny. LOL! But I am not bias. I love all of them but somehow Thunder gives me a different feeling. He is such a sweet boy. Ever eagerly waiting for me at the door for pats.
Clark happens to be my heart bunny as well. LOL!!! :P…Look at him! He’s a cutie. And today he shower me with his LUV! I was sprayed big time by him. You must think I am crazy being so happy being sprayed at by a buck. Ask any rabbit breeder and I am sure they can relate to this very easily. One of the signs that you have been made a slave by your rabbits.
And another heart bunny of mine. Carmel is a natural poser. She poses all the time and I believe she knows the camera quite well. She’ll strike a pose whenever I am holding the camera up. Very cute.
You guessed it! Haley’s my heart bunny too. Actually all my rabbits are my heart bunnies!!! LOL!
Haley’s a little fiesty at the moment. She is very good at using her fists. Reminds me of the chinese block buster movie IP MAN when Bruce Lee’s master make the finishing move using both fists hitting the opponent non-stop. LOL!!!
And this is every bunny’s HEART BABY! Seen here adored by Thunder.
Beth adores them as well but I am a little worried that the bucks may spray at her. And to be at her height, she will be an easy target to be drenched by the golden showers. Thank God nothing happened! I guess Clark only wanted me. LOL!
Filed under Bucks, Does, In The Nestbox
I still cannot get over the fact that they are here. It was a very defining moment for me and a few bunny friends here. To be honest and not to sound too proud or that I am attempting to brag, this is the first time I see top quality live Holland Lops! I am still in awe and speechless. Again not to sound too proud, I don’t feel any rabbit show at the moment is worthy of judging them. In fact, I don’t need a shoddy rabbit show to judge them. They are WINNERS in their own rights. And with that said, I am seriously considering if I should let them make an appearance in the upcoming show in July.
The only reason I’ll want to put them into the show would only be to show and educate the public what a true typed Holland Lop should look like. Seeing is believing!
What I learned throughout these few days is that when there are things money can buy, the best things are for FREE. I am not saying that the new rabbits are free but through acquiring them I have made so many great friends who are honest, sincere and trustworthy. For me, it is a great joy to have these rabbits but the greater joy comes from getting to know great people that are so willing to share and guide.
There is much more to learn in this hobby. The road is hard and long. The road is treacherous. But nonetheless, nothing will or can stop us if we have all the good intentions in our hearts!
I am quite surprised how a grown up man can shed tears of joy for rabbits. These tears poured out through the heart and I have teared a river. I am still trying to comprehend and accept that everything is good.
I guess this is how victory feels like.
Sorry people for the heartfelt post. I really need to get it out from my chest.
As many people rejoices, some may not share my happiness with what seemed to be a windfall for me. All I ask is that they will look beyond what is projected and know that there is a price to pay for everything. I have endured for more than 2 years and that wait was well worth it. The wait was also what made this so special.
Filed under Random Topics
When I posted “Must Reads for Show Breeders: Chest & Shoulder“, I did not have good photos to show what I wanted to point out. So for today’s post, I am just going to update this post with a photo of GC Miller’s Carmel. Hope my explanation is clear. I will try to highlight parts of the photos to enforce the point as well.
Filed under Rabbit Show
A very dear friend asked me a few days back if I was ashamed and felt awkward blogging about my rabbits. My answer to her was of course not at all. I love sharing my passion and at the same time try not to brag too much. Anyhow, my answer for her would be different at this very moment. That’s because I want to cry for joy more than wanting to write a post. I probably have more tears than words to express my feeling at the moment.
I will try my best nonetheless.
Before 2008 came to an end, as I was going through what to write as my closing post and thinking about how to bring my herd forward, I realized that I need to take a leap of faith. I needed huge improvements and fast. I was not satisfied with any of the litters. Don’t get me wrong. I love all the kits borne but they just did not turn out as how I really wanted them to be. And I convinced myself that there definitely definitely has got to be better rabbitries that I could get my new foundation stocks from. I needed new bloodlines and much better foundation stocks.
I also realized that I need to do “deep sea” searching and that was exactly what I did. Before I mentioned the people that I have met in my search for quality, I must say that I am really thankful to God for bringing them into my life. I attribute their unexpected and totally unplanned existence in my social circle to fate and all of them are gifts God so generously bestow upon me. Thinking back, I am still in awe as how I met them seemed to be sheer coincidences. I love all of them to pieces. Please forgive me if I have not mentioned your names in this post. I also have to mention that I am doing this because it is my passion and please do not be clouded with just the good things that you have seen on my blog. Behind these beautiful events, there are many sacrifices that you could never imagine. But one of the reasons I am doing this is because I do not want to live life and looking back later regretting not having done it. I hate thinking about could and should haves.
The first person I stumbled across was Teri Reymann. I have heard about Teri Reymann in a few occasions in my correspondences with Susie but somehow did not really give much thought about her. Not until I stumbled on her website (sonshinerabbitry.net). The other rabbitry that I stumbled across was DTL Rabbitry. I had earlier express interest in their rabbits and upon inquiry, I was told that they could get help from Teri for the shipment. But somehow something held me back and I continued searching. I must also mention that I have actually settled for some beautiful rabbits in Teri’s herd and to be honest, I backed out on her twice. I really felt bad for this and I still do. Despite me backing out on her twice, Teri has been very forgiving. God bless her big heart!
Just before backing out on Teri for the 2nd time, I stumbled across Reneah Raffay, Jenni Yoder and Mike Dietrich. I believe I didn’t have a good start with Mike mainly for my wrong way of approach. I am truly sorry MIKE! Please forgive me. As for Reneah and Jenni, I must say these 2 are angels! They are one of the most honest people living on the face of the earth. I had the privilege of chatting with Jenni and she gave me tons of great advice. Reneah was also very generous with her advice and opinions. I will cherish them all my life. I expressed my interest in getting a couple of rabbits from both Jenni and Reneah but due to the weather, they could not ship any out at that time. At this point, I was almost giving up my search and had wanted to wait till much later when the weather permits and when there are rabbits available.
On the faithful night of 14th January 2009, I could remember very clearly that it was a Wednesday. I stayed up late thinking how should I move on from here. And prior to this, I have added Scott Rodriguez (somehow) to my chat list through Laurie Stroupe. I didn’t know much about Scott other than he’s one of the names that appeared on Hollander (HLRSC newsletter). I have visited his website numerous times, love all his rabbits but it didn’t cross my mind that he would actually sell me any. BUT he DID!
Not only did Scott offered me his rabbits, but he sold me 2 of his FINEST! He was so generous to offer me one of his heart bunny Thunder to go along with Haley. As if that was not enough to prove that this guy’s got a big big heart, Scott contacted a dear friend of his to see if she could offer to help me start off. That friend turned out to be the legendary Kay Miller and she offered to send Carmel and Clark. This is the best part that made me shed tears the moment Scott broke the news to me. Carmel is Top Lop 2006 (a Broken Junior Doe then) and had appeared on the cover of Hollander. I just couldn’t believe what I was reading because it dawned on me how much I have gone through for 2 long years in search for my foundation rabbits. Not only they are sending me beautiful rabbits but Grand Champions!
I would like to take some time to write a short tribute to Scott Rodriguez and Kay Miller.
Scott Rodriguez is the past HLRSC Director for Zone 1. He is also an ARBA licensed registrar and is also the chairman for ARBA Constitution Committee. Scott started raising rabbits 27 years ago and in his early ventures, he is well known for his “Ewoks” looking English Angoras. He now works with the Holland Lop exclusively.
Another person that I must mention is someone very low profile in the Holland Lop show ring. She is Ms. Kay Miller. Kay was the first person in Colorado whom imported Holland Lops from Holland. Her foundation rabbits came from Vi Crowder and Jamie Wardlow. That was more than 35 years ago. She continued breeding Holland Lops and remained active in shows up till today. She is in fact one of the top Holland Lop breeders in US. Her rabbitry used to be called Whispering Pines Rabbittrees. I hope to get hold of her mailing address so that I could update her on Carmel and Clark.
Just something on the sidelines, I hope my dear readers understand why I am very particular in passing on my rabbits and why the new sales policy holds great importance. Just reflect on the number of years these Holland Lops has been developed and how vulnerable the gene pool is. It takes only seconds to spoil what has been worked on for over 20 years. Getting a doe from me and breeding it with the local bucks is just wrong and it will never work that way. So I beg of you again, please do not get your vision clouded by all the nice things seen on this blog. There are much more to it than what meets the eyes. Research is key.
With that said, let’s welcome Haley, Carmel, Thunder and Clark to MALAYSIA.
That’s Thunder’s BUTT! LOL!
Say what? “LIVE SHOW RABBITS!”
IVY CRESENT’S THUNDER:
This is NOT fat okie people…This is MASSIVE!!!! and I did not SKEW the photo!
IVY CRESENT’S HALEY:
This image is taken from Scott’s website. Hope you don’t mind Scott, she is not that ready for a photo session.
MILLER’S CARMEL:
By right, I should not be using the GC prefix on her because we have yet to do the transfer. She is a doll! She was on the previous Hollander as Top Lop #7 and TOP LOP #1 in 2006 when she was just a junior.
She’s fiesty!
MILLER’S CLARK:
Clark’s GC is also pending.
I am forever grateful to Scott, Kay & Teri for putting this project together. Love you three loads! Words cannot express how much this means to me. On behalf of all Malaysians who appreciates this HALLMARK breed, I thank you from the bottom of my heart.
Would like to express my gratitude to my adopted mom, Cheri Bushee & adopted aunt, Karen L. Novina for their constant prayers for me and the success of this shipment.
Last but not least, I would like to say that collectively, all the people that I have mentioned in my blog, those added on my friends list (you know who you are) and especially those mentioned on this post are called the Living Saints of Holland Lop world. These are the nicest people that you will ever want to meet on earth. An author once wrote about the 5 people he/she wants to meet in HEAVEN but I can’t keep it within that number. Just like in a rabbitry, rabbits count in hundreds!
Now, let’s pray hard they will THRIVE in TLR!
THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU Scott Rodriguez, Kay Miller, Stephen & Teri Reymann!!!!!!
And guess what comes with this shipment? A TATTOO KIT!!!! YES! To set TLR apart, I am going to tattoo all my rabbits from now on. But there is a glitch. I need 3 more sets of 1-9 digits! Darn!
Filed under Bucks, Does, Friends Of Tru-Luv
Tru-Luv Rabbitry: Quality Holland Lops in Malaysia 