Category Archives: Bucks

In The Studio We Go…

“Make sure you evaluate carefully before passing on your rabbits”

That’s what the production crew member told me before I left for home. Regrets, I have none. Tru-Luv Chiko went to the right family and I am happy that he is well taken care of. He has grown into a very handsome 4 months old!

So I received an email last week. A favour request from a media production house to loan one of Tru-Luv’s rabbits. As I always enjoy spending time in the studio environment, it was difficult to decline. But the problem really wasn’t with whether I can make it for the photo shoot but the problem was that they wanted a black rabbit in particular. My thoughts went to Chiko straight away and I was glad the his owner agreed to join me at the studio for a couple of hours.

I was given strict instructions not to share photographs that I have taken of the artiste until the launching so therefore, I am just sharing photos of Tru-Luv Chiko. He was a natural and I am so very proud of him! He is the best example of a rabbit that is used to handling and very well taken care of.  My heart is joyful.

Tru-Luv Chiko a CPG Pro Optimum boy, his fur shines!

Chiko above and Carmel his great grandmother is next to Haley underneath him

Chiko @ 4 months!

Anxiously waiting for action while photographers set up

Are we ready for Lights, Camera & Action?

 

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Filed under Bucks, Bunny Business, On Publications, Tru-Luv On The Media

Howdy, What’s Up?

I have been observing this little fellow for a while now to ascertain if the behavior he was exhibiting consistent everyday. And it turns out this little fellow Pixie Blu love to greet me every evening!

Good evening!

Bonjour!

Some head rubs please...

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Filed under Bucks, Juniors

Where do we go from here?

Cleaning time for the past few days has been a little awkward. The feeling of something missing – Thunder. I clean each bunny quarter in order and somehow Thunder is always the last and I do spend some time with the little fellow. And since he left, I did stop for a moment at his empty cage and wonder where did our little friend go. Thunder has been the “face” of Tru-Luv Rabbitry for the past 2 years and it is really hard not seeing him around.

There are many reasons and motivations behind this hobby. My motivation from the start is to share this wonderful hobby with a fellow enthusiast that is serious in developing the breed and most importantly to prove that ethical breeding is possible in the smallest of pets.

Thunder came to Tru-Luv Rabbitry in the 1st quarter of 2009 and with just one litter, he has improved the quality of my herd tremendously. Having Thunder really sets a high standard for the herd as each of his offspring tends to be compared against his overall disposition. His traits are mostly inherited by his descendants and you can recognize Thunder in Trudi, Trudle, Fred and Barney just to name a few.

Talking about quality, I can remember very clearly that approximately 5 years back, we were discussing and arguing about whether or not rabbits without pedigree purchased from the pet stores are pure breeds. We even argue whether or not they are of show quality. Fast forward today, we no longer argue about whether they are pedigree or not. We are able to distinguish almost immediately whether a rabbit is imported or bred locally. We discuss about breed standards. We no longer talk about Hay being the staple food of rabbits. The general public is so well informed now.

 I believe very strongly that many factors has contributed to this improvement and competition has been the key factor. Be it competition in sales or even competition in quality itself. The better informed the public is, the more demanding they are in choosing their rabbits. Lately I have been getting quite a number of inquiries for “Show Quality” rabbits. I seldom receive inquiries about pet rabbits. Many is learning the right lingo so to speak, which is a good thing.

Today I no longer feel lonely in this hobby as I have local bunny buddies to have rabbit chats with. I even get some reminders and opinions on my own rabbits. In short, we have grown tremendously in this hobby. I now not only admire my own rabbits but I am able to drop by a bunny friend’s place to admire theirs as well. I can now share a bunny or two with a fellow enthusiast to help improved his/her herd. And likewise, I am able to get a rabbit to improve my herd too!

I believe many enthusiasts have worked hard over the years that contributed to the improvement of the Show rabbit circuit here in Malaysia. Most have spent a fortune for this wonderful hobby. Some may not spend as much but has also made progress through their own limited resources. The bunny world seemed to be doing really well as far as my human eyes can perceive.

And as for Thunder, my momma always say, “Love Isn’t Love Until You Give It Away“…

Continue the bunny lovin’ peeps!

"We make them everyday?"

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Filed under Bucks, Bunny Business

Thunderous Farewell

Today we say goodbye to 2 long time residents here in Meadow Haven. We say farewell to Thunder and Holly Hope. They are going to their retirement homes. It was a difficult decision but was made easy knowing that both of them will be loved. They will not be too far away and I can visit.

Thunder is going to where Barney, his son is. I am sure he will enjoy the rest of his retirement there in a huge bunny mansion fit for the King & Queen Buns! He will also be bonded to 2 other beautiful bunnies and perhaps get to meet 2 goofy “little” French Lops! I feel a little tickled by the fact that I am responsible for increasing the size of the rabbit herd at this family’s home from 2 bunnies to now 6 bunnies – LOL!

Always the cutest and chunkiest buck for me. I like to call him the "Stumps"

Stumps for front feet!

Gonna miss those cheeks!

And as a token of appreciation for Thunder, I receive a little gift in the form of a pair of chopstick rests by Royal Selangor. I have always love the pewter by Royal Selangor and I absolutely love this gift! Thank you very much to the Sun family.

Gorgeous!

Holly Hope will be a familiar face at XOXO Pets Store. She shall be the ambassador of XOXO’s Rabbit Boarding service – LOL! 🙂

Time to enjoy retirement...

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Filed under Bucks, Does, For Adoption, Friends Of Tru-Luv

I just can’t thank all of you enough!

I really was contemplating hard whether or not to enter the show and like the usual, I seek advice from the wise and learned. And somewhere along the lines, came “… sure didn’t send them over to just sit and look pretty…” It seemed to be the most unlikely motivational line in the hobby but it did gave me the nudge I needed to persevere. As you have read in my previous posts of all that has happened, I really started to refocus on building a beautiful herd and was really reluctant to show them. But I am really glad that I did because at the end of the day it really is fun to spend a day with friends in the same hobby. It was a day when we who are weird by all “normal” standards, seemed to understand each other. We spoke the bunny language.

That being said, I feel that this is long overdue and I did not really elaborate my gratitude as I suppose to before the show. Now that the show is over, I would like to take some time to thank a few people who have share with me not only the best but have also put so much trust and faith in me. That I will be able to use these rabbits for the betterment of the breed here in Malaysia.

First of all, I would like to thank Harley & Sydney Butler of Butler Boot Camp Rabbitry from the bottom of my heart. For sending me 3 beautiful rabbits. Out of the three, there are 2 juniors – Roscoe a little buck with a kick ass hindquarters and Izzie a little solid tort doe. Roscoe is developing into a very handsome buck. Izzie took 2nd in Show A and was picked as #1 SJD in Show B.

BBC's Roscoe really is my replacement for Clark. Out of Harley's favorite doe OMG! I truly appreciate having him.

BBC's Izzie, a stunning little doe. She has super bones!

BBC's Izzie really is very pretty if she feels like posing

The 3rd rabbit is BBC’s Aurora. A brood according to Sydney but for me, Aurora can be really competitive as a show bunny here.

If Aurora's a brood, I can't imagine what a show rabbit looks like

I must thank both Karen and Dale Bailey of Lop Til You Drop (LTD) Rabbitry for sending me LTD’s Dimsdale. If it wasn’t for Dimsdale that impregnated Tru-Luv Symphony, Laymon’s Kindness wouldn’t have been entered into the show and won BOSB! I am just kidding there! But really, it could have been an overkill to show Dimsdale because he is such an amazing buck and I did not want to take any risk of losing my herd buck, so I didn’t enter Dimsdale for the show. Dimsdale is the son of LTD’s MasterChief – a very special buck that Karen and Dale lost a while back and a painting of him can be seen on the right hand side navigation bar on this website. It really is a great pleasure to have Dimsdale here with me and I truly appreciate the trust given to me by both Karen & Dale. Thank you very much!

LTD's Dimsdale. He's gonna bring Tru-Luv Rabbitry to higher level!

A big thank you goes out to Shari & Sam Albrecht for sending a beautiful buck in Rabbit Hole’s Bosco. I always wanted to name a pet Bosco because I like the “bossy” sound of it. The moment I saw the photo Shari sent me of him, I knew that I had to use this special name. We didn’t put Bosco in for the show because he was still having a major molt.

Photo courtesy of Shari Albrecht

Last but not least, I must thank the person I love to call Momma Cheri (Dove Hill Rabbitry). She has imparted so much knowledge and shared so many life lessons with me that has helped me in so many ways in this hobby. She has always helped me keep my feet firmly rooted on the ground. Momma Cheri sent a beautiful broken Sable Point doe out of The Nature Trail lines (a dream come true for me). I named the doe Ivory Joy or IJ for short. Her coat is so dense that it feels like a nice carpet to touch.

Dove Hill's Ivory Joy aka IJ

Together with IJ, a solid tort doe came along. Momma Cheri wanted her as a surprise and I was not shown any picture of her until I met her in person. But Momma Cheri did ask me if I would like to name her and like Kindness, I chose the name Faith. It was not just because the amount of faith Momma Cheri have in me but I realize how much more I should believe in my passion and work towards the goals I have set out to do in this hobby. Faith was in fact the best little junior Momma Cheri have in her barn at the time this little project was in plan. I hope that she will get more Faith in her barn. The moment I saw Faith, I knew she was an amazing little doe and true enough, Best Opposite Sex Of Variety in both Show A and B!

Dove Hill's Faith and that's us all right behind cheering her on while she strike her winning pose!

I must emphasize once again, it is never an individual effort. The credit goes to all the breeders who has put so much effort in raising and producing the right Holland Lops. I have learn in this hobby that credits are due to those who have helped us move forward in the hobby.

I have many more to thank and the list is endless. My gratitude goes out to all those who have supported me in many ways especially for all the advice and guidance – you know who you are!

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Filed under Bucks, Does

Good Show!

We all had so much fun. That’s one of the things that I can say about the 1st and 2nd ARBA Open All Breed Rabbit Show that was held in conjunction with the Pet World Malaysia 2011 event. Kudos to the group of breeders and enthusiasts collectively known as Malaysia Rabbit Club for making this event such a success. And it was a pleasure having Mr. Randy and Mr. Allen to judge for us. Congratulations to all winners!

I am glad to have participated together with a group of friends and we are so happy to meet new friends both locally and also from overseas.

The BIS for both shows went to an awesome Holland Lop!

There were 128 rabbits in total and here’s the breakdown:

Netherland Dwarfs – 33

Holland Lops – 57

Dwarf Hotot – 4

Mini Rex – 6

Jersey Woolly – 3

Non-pedigree Local Breed – 25

I am glad that my Holland Lops did pretty well and I am really contented with all the placing my rabbits obtained. Let’s look at some photos shall we?

The break down of each Holland Lop Class is:

Solid:

1. Solid Senior Buck – 18 rabbits

2. Solid Senior Doe – 7 rabbits

3. Solid Junior Buck – 4 rabbits

4. Solid Junior Doe – 3 rabbits

5. Broken Senior Buck – 8

6. Broken Senior Doe – 8

7. Broken Junior Buck – 4

8. Broken Junior Doe – 5

Kindness. What a pleasant surprise from her. I decided on a last minute switch for her to replace Symphony proved to be a good move. Picked Best of Variety and moved on to be Best Opposite Sex of Breed for Show A under Randy Shumaker. There were 7 rabbit in the Broken Senior Doe variety. In Show B, she took 2nd of her class out of 8 rabbits.

Faith was picked for BOSV for both shows. She took #1 out of 9 rabbits in her class.

Izzie entered into the Solid Junior Doe variety and got #2 out of 3 rabbits in Show A and #1 SJD in Show B.

Roscoe took 3/4 for Show A and 2/4 for Show B

Carmel took 4/7 in Show A and 5/8 on Show B.

Haley was 5/7 in Show A and 3/8 in Show B.

Puffin was 3/3 in Show A and 2/3 in Show B.

I can't remember how Trudle did but it was a good placing for a home grown competing with all the imports.

Balian was 9/18 for Show A and 7/13 for Show B.

Thunder got 5/18 for Show A and 4/13 for Show B.

Besides from meeting and hanging out with local bunny friends, I also had the opportunity to meet our friends from Indonesia. Such honour to have them attend rabbit shows held here in Malaysia. Here are some of the memorable photos that I have taken throughout the show.

Ribbons up for grabs!

Friends from Gembala Kelinci, Jakarta!

Faith

Randy picking Kindness for BOSB

The Moment

Another one of Faith

Randy judging Thunder

Randy Shumaker the judge for Show A

Together with Kindness and Randy

A ribbon for BOSB!

Allen Mesick the judge for Show B

Allen judging Carmel

Best In Show judging...

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Filed under Bucks, Does, Rabbit Show

Me Cry A River…

It is hard and I mean extremely hard to hold back tears, tears of joy. Tonight 8 new Holland Lops join the Tru-Luv Rabbitry herd from very competitive breeders. I just cannot thank my wonderful Holland Lop family enough for being so gracious and generous in sharing their absolutely AMAZING and AWESOME rabbits with me.

I was also being entrusted to help import a new breed into Malaysia – The French Lop!

Doubles the size of the heaviest Holland Lop at 5 months!

A Broken Chestnut buck French Lop at 8 lbs

I wish I could write about all of my generous breeder friends at one go and please note that the order of mention has got no significance here. I hold each and every one of my dearest friends extremely close to my heart.

The first person I want to thank from the bottom of my heart is Momma Cheri. Momma sent the best in her barn to me. A junior doe I named Faith and a senior doe I named Joy (Dovehill’s Ivory). They are my precious (Momma’s gifts are very special – YEP, YEP, YEP, YEP, YEP – borrowed from Land Before Time)! What’s more special about Ivory Joy is that, she is out of The Nature Trail’s line. Never ever have I imagine having a rabbit of TNT lines. My dream finally came true to own one. Momma sent the best junior she had in her barn. I don’t know how to thank you enough! In case you didn’t know, Dovehill Rabbitry is Momma Cheri’s rabbitry name and she won BOS at the 2005 HLRSC Nationals with a Solid Junior Doe. Thank you so much for always keeping me grounded in this hobby momma – Love you tons!

Dovehill's Ivory Joy. Broken Sable Point Doe. The Nature Trail's Rio Grand daughter

Dovehill's Faith. Simply gorgeous!

My big THANK YOU goes to Harley & Sydney Butler of Butler Boot Camp Rabbitry. I believe we have been talking about a trio from BBC to TLR since 2009 and finally it has materialized. I just cannot thank Harley and Sydney enough for being so generous in helping me improve the quality of my herd. Izzie, Aurora and Roscoe are just FANTASTIC! THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!

BBC's Izzie. Extremely cute little junior doe.

BBC's Roscoe. This little buck is gonna burn the tables.

BBC's Aurora. Just look at the width of the chest!

Huge THANK YOU from the bottom of my heart to Josh and Robin Laymon of Laymon’s Rabbitry. One of the most competitive couple in the game in their area and winning consistently. Thank you so much for sending Kindness. I am forever in debt. And you both surprised me with 2 G.C. Legs in the document folder obtained by Kindness! That is super awesome!

Laymon's Kindness. 2 GC Legs! Such an amazing doe!

I must also thank Shari & Sam Albrecht who made this possible. I must thank them for the handsome buck I named Bosco. Such a little hunk and chunk.

Rabbit Hole's Bosco. The bossman!

Last but not least, my love and gratitude to Karen and Dale Bailey of Lop Til You Drop. Never have I imagined or in my wildest dream, I will be owning a LTD bunny. Highly competitive breeder and in the last HLRSC Nationals in Columbus, Ohio, a LTD bunny won Best of Variety – Solid!

LTD's Dimsdale. Coming out of a molt right now. Photo do not do him justice. The feel on this buck is phenomenal!

As you can see, I just do not have the right words to express my feelings right now. I just want to soak myself in happy tears and admire these magnificent creatures called Holland Lops. Each time I think about how it all begin, I cannot believe that I have came so far. Tru-Luv Rabbitry is going to be 5 years old soon. Thus far, I dare say that every year there is improvements thanks to all the support and love by my rabbit family both here in Malaysia and overseas. The encouragement and support has been very overwhelming. Thank you all!

Need I say more? HOLLAND RULESSSSSsssSSSSSssSSSssssssssSSSsss!

I think I am in love with Frenchies!

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Filed under Bucks, Does, Friends Of Tru-Luv, Juniors

Stay Tuned…

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Filed under Bucks, Does, Travels

Back To Enjoying The Hobby

With the show and all the unnecessary stress behind me, I finally regain back my normal life and back to blogging about life with my beloved bunnies. I have learned many precious lessons trying to organize the show. The part I enjoyed most was being able to work with a few nice people which I hope to work with again in future. It was a smooth sailing start and we only experienced a few hiccups but in the end there was a huge hiccup. The number of entries happens to be one of the major roadblock. We will have to sit down and do a post mortem on the cause of this problem.

We have informed all parties the best we can through all possible channels and means. I would like to apologize on behalf of the Show Committee especially to all major dailies that has mentioned this event in their publishing.

Another precious lesson I learned and have matured out of is the fact that everything happens for a reason. We never stop learning from the moment we are born and it is never a life and death situation if things do not happen as we want them to.

So with the past behind me, what’s ahead?

I believe getting the club up and running first would be a good option to move forward. We shall take it from there. Some gatherings would do good for all hobbyists and rabbit owners too.

I finally had a breather to pick up my camera to take photos of my rabbits again. So here are some of my favourites that was to make their debut at the show.

Tru-Luv Puffin. A nice junior that turns senior in June. I love her thick ears and also a nice crown coming up. She just done her major molt.

Tru-Luv Symphony. A young senior doe right now. Just love how smooth she is.

Tru-Luv Trudle. This little buck tells me that I have some bone going on.

More upcoming cuties!

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Filed under Bucks, Does, Everyday Life

Trio For Starters

*UPDATE: So far, both the does has been booked and I no longer have a trio available and therefore Fred is staying.

In lieu to the 1st item on my 2011 new year’s resolution, I am offering a trio to someone new trying to start up in the hobby. Please email truluvrabbitry@gmail.com for more information. Genuine inquiries only.

Tru-Luv Fred. Buck. 1 year 1 month. Chocolate carrier

Tru-Luv Beetlejuice. 8 weeks old. Broken Black. Doe.

Tru-Luv Pepako. 10 weeks old. Black. Doe

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Filed under Bucks, Does, For Sale