Category Archives: Rabbit Show

by | April 23, 2011 · 11:46 pm

Lotsa Fun!

I am not sure about others but I really had a blast at our Rabbit Fun Show & Gathering event. The best part for me is being able to reach out to real people after so long of blogging. The people are simply amazing. I was a little worried in the beginning because we only had 1 guest arrived at 4.30pm and the event was scheduled to start at 5pm. We had about 26 guests in total and 10 rabbits competing for the top 5 spot.

The number of people in the crowd was just nice and we all fit snugly into XOXO Pets Store. The refreshment/dinner was superb. I just like how the entire small event went. The crowd really made all the preparation worth it! We even have live facebook updates!

Thank you so much to everyone who attending. We shall have more of these gathering soon!

Beautiful Doorgift

Show Table and Prizes

Food!

More food!

Nice Crowd

Talking while Symphony distracted attention!

Giving tips on making cage comfortable for rabbits

Really nice crowd to share the knowledge

Getting on the floor to show how to trance a rabbit so that a simple health check can be done

Sharing is caring

Nice bunny....

The game called "Judge The Bunny" where the guests and everyone present be the judge.

Nice Lionhead

Tabulating the score

This is 60% of the team. There's only 5 of us organizing this event. 1 day of planning, 5 days of work & promoting, 26 guests in total, 10 rabbits and 5 happy winners.

Winners and their rabbits

Everyone gets a certification of participation!

With some of the guests

Happy and tired at the same time

There were of course some glitches and we shall improvise on them later. I really enjoyed myself organizing this event and even happier to work with a small but efficient team. Great job to everyone involved!

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by | April 15, 2011 · 5:17 pm

SHOW CANCELLATION

With a heavy heart, we have decided to cancel the rabbit show.

For a full explanation please read – http://mroc.wordpress.com/2011/04/15/show-cancellation/

And I would like to thank my Show Committee for all their support, trust and most of all for putting up with my “perfectionist” nature. My heartfelt thanks goes out especially to Brandon & Grace of Golden Pines Rabbitry, Cikgu Syah of Reko Rabbitry and Xazaquan of ZR Rabbitry. They have been a great bunch of people to work with. We really have fun and learned a lot although it wasn’t a successful one.

We are not yet ready for a ARBA Show as the number of entries so far did not meet our expectations. Perhaps we’re moving too fast. So we find it inappropriate to invite our honourable judges all the way from USA just to judge a handful of rabbits. Nonetheless, I truly hope that the hobby will grow and perhaps in the future, we can all come together to organize a show again.

Keep the SPIRIT of the RABBIT FEVER ALIVE!

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by | April 2, 2011 · 5:07 pm

Pets first, all else later…

Today, I would like to ask all of you to just take a good look at your rabbit(s) and ask yourselves one question – What do you see?

As I go on a bunny website hopping morning, I cannot help but to admire breeders who are constantly working on their herd but never once lament not winning anything. For them the rabbits are truly their pets and they love them as they are not as how many ribbons/medals that come with them. These breeders are in fact enjoying their hobby. No worries at all whether or not they are winning. Even if they win, it’s not a big deal to them. It takes a lot not to be sucked into the competition and I really take my hats off these breeders. And you know what? Their rabbits are really beautiful too.

What do you really see? Do you feel guilty for putting so much weight on its shoulders? Those little tiny shoulders. Yes, your human hope + aspiration + ambition + expectation, all in one is placed on this little tiny creature we all call rabbit.

Can you live with that?

I just can’t. They are my pets first, all else doesn’t matter so they come later…

Have a nice weekend everyone!

Their Destiny, Your Decision...

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by | April 2, 2011 · 2:47 pm

Do It For All The Right Reasons

Looking at the frequency of my blog update, you can guess how busy I am. Yes, I am really tied up at the moment with many things on hand. But nonetheless, even during my busy schedule, I do observe happenings in the rabbit world (in Malaysia) that causes a little disappointment (that’s if I really care that much).

I did write about the influx in Show Rabbit importation a few months back before the avalanche of the show fever hit Malaysia. 4th June 2011, is a date to look forward to by many enthusiasts. The show entries has been increasing slowly and steadily.

I just wanted to share my personal thoughts on importation of Show Quality animals. Recalling back to the first time I imported a rabbit, my #1 reason to do so was to start off a good herd of rabbits. I have no intention to show or whatsoever as there isn’t any rabbit show in Malaysia at that time. If there were, I would participate just for the fun of it and see where I stand with my stocks and continue working with them (all in the name of hobby).

Fast forward today, I see rabbit selling by the number of legs. Doesn’t make sense to me at all. Who are we cheating here? OURSELVES. How can this hobby be sustainable, I have mentioned many times before, it needs to be fuelled by passion. Passion for what? Passion for Winning, Passion for Money or Passion for Fame? HELL NO!

Passion for developing the “PERFECT” rabbit “NEAREST” to the “STANDARD OF PERFECTION”. Is the standard of perfection a mere illusion of our imagination? It saddens me today that new hobbyists are oblivious to the SOP which has been written down so clearly and completely. They also depend on others to judge the soundness of their rabbits instead of having their own opinion and judgment. SOP is one and interpretation of it is another. Each human being have a unique mind of its own and thus, may have different interpretation of the standard.

“I am special and so are you!”

I am not questioning the creditability and honour given to judges to officially state their opinions on rabbits that they judge. I am really saying that at the end of the day, all human beings have the right to have their opinions, preferences and idea how a perfect rabbit should be. I am also not denying the fact that the more GC legs a rabbit has, the nearer it is to the standard. But it must not end just here, what is this rabbit used for is utmost important.

That being said and coming back to my point, I do not deny the fact that winning at a show may earn you some points but what’s next? Here are some questions I ask myself constantly while working with my herd of rabbits:

1. If Grand Champs guarantees grand champ offspring(babies), why are top winning breeders not topping the charts every single year?

2. Why winners are different under different judges?

3. Why are breeders still breeding to win?

4. Why are some breeders out of the chart altogether after placing average in a certain show year?

I would like to answer this one before I forget. You see, for some, the reason for winning is to gain a fast reputation to pull off a quick sale. Normally breeder like these would churn out as much rabbits regardless of quality and sell them off using their short-lived winnings. Truth be told, they last as much as the money can sustain them. They will reappear when the money silo is low.

5. The questions get simpler. I always ask myself why can’t I make copies of my best rabbits in my herd.

What I am trying to say is that, winning and losing will never last. Winners will never win forever and losers will never lose forever. Every dog has its day so they say…

With all due respect, buying off Grand Champions to continue the winning streak is like cheating in an examination – cheating of oneself that is. I know many breeders will hate me for that statement or at least most will disagree with me. A rabbit really only have 4 legs, mind you but many will also disagree with me on this (:P).

There is a craze to collect rabbits with many legs. THIS IS SO WRONG! All a rabbit needs to be a Grand Champion is only obtaining 3 GC legs. The extra legs are just icing on top of the cake. How many Grand Champion (GC) Certificate do you think a rabbit can obtain? 21 GC Legs DO NOT EQUATE to 7 certificates!

WRONG! WRONG! WRONG! SALAH! SALAH! SALAH!

What is the real deal here? Why are we in this hobby then?

You must not be a collector of Rabbits with GC legs BUT, a breeder that produces Rabbits that collect GC legs. Please read that statement many times over as it is even confused to myself – LOL.

In my humble opinion, below are just what a real breeder’s objectives should be (far reaching ones too):

1) Building a winning  herd that has at least 8 generations of rabbits holding the rabbitry’s prefix – one’s own rabbit lineage

2) Taking pride in “Granding” home grown rabbits

But alas, as long we are humans with different and unique thinking and opinion, these will never materialize. And most importantly, we shall all have fun admiring all rabbits 50 legs, 100 legs or even 1000 legs.

I may not win or place at all in the show, but at least I LOSE the RIGHT WAY…

Happy showing everyone and everybun, please remember to submit your show entries today!

Useful links:

1) Show Entry FAQ

2) Show Catalog & Entry Forms

3) The Show Explained

4) Mode of Payment

5) Please also get in touch with us to show your interest in the – Rabbit Talk

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by | March 24, 2011 · 3:45 pm

Diversity

“To Each His Own”

Everything I express on this blog entry is solely my opinion and I do not represent any club or person in the contents that I am about to write.

I often see some people giving very brute opinions about someone else’ rabbits. Often times, these are comments that are uncalled for – opinions not asked, that is. Everything is so subjective in the rabbit world. We are obligated to comment if asked and if we have nothing good to say about a particular rabbit, it is best we keep our mouth shut unless we are asked to give our most honest opinion.

You see, whatever it is, each breeder have in any point of time paid his/her dues in the hobby. Most importantly, each breeder have his/her preferences and style in the herd that he/she is developing. Whatever the preferences and styles, as long as the Standard Of Perfection is adhere to, it is totally up to the breeder in question. Thus, TO EACH HIS OWN.

Let’s take a little moment just to imagine. Let us imagine that all judges in the rabbit world interprets the Standard Of Perfection the same way. This will never happen but let’s just say what if it happens. Well, not a good thing I must say. Just imagine a rabbit winning under all judges at different shows. How boring it can get right?

What I am trying to say is that, if everyone have the same preferences, opinions and styles, wouldn’t it be a very boring world? Cloning would be a hit among rabbit breeders because everyone is racing ahead to produce the same rabbit winning all the time.

So you see, life is never boring because of diversity. If you let winning get the best of you, the hobby will not be fun any more. Let us all remind ourselves, why do we keep rabbits in the first place. A favourite past time should remain as, a favourite past time – hobby. What’s with all the excitement and fuss when our little bunnies are just lying down on their sides enjoying a cool breezy day?

Sometimes like what the radio says, “We need to ask ourselves, who is the animal?”. How can we humans get nastier than our docile rabbits? It just doesn’t make sense. If we can’t control our emotions, let’s blame it on the hormones and if that’s the case, neutering is the best option.

As for the show, let it be a place where all rabbit lovers gather and if one of us wins, we binky together. There is so many variables that contributes to a rabbit winning and losing in a show i.e. molt, losing condition and etc.

Winning isn’t everything, but wanting to win is. – Lombardi, Vince

As my momma loves to say, “At any given day, any given judge, any given rabbit and any given breeder…”

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by | March 6, 2011 · 10:28 pm

What Winning Means To Me?

I suddenly felt the urge to write a long post today. I hope this post would serve as a reminder for all of us what it means to have a hobby.

Let’s begin with a few questions:

1. What is the price to pay for winning?

2. What are the reasons for winning?

3. Why is winning so important?

As you all may know, I am currently taking the lead to get the ARBA Sanctioned Rabbit Shows up and running come 4th June 2011. It is not an easy task but I am really looking forward to it.

Also on the other hand, many people approached me and said to me, “Now with so much hype and publicity surrounding you, how would you feel or what will you do if you do not win?”. My answer is pretty simple, the hype and publicity is not about me, but my rabbits. All the newspaper articles was really featuring my rabbits, not me! I am but an instrument to bring forth the realization of the general public of this hobby and the Holland Lop breed.

Do allow me to answer the above questions one at a time:

1. What is the price to pay for winning?

I believe the 3 questions above are very much related. We have to first ask ourselves, why do we want to win so badly?

There are many rabbit breeders in this world with different intentions. My main intention is to build a community of rabbit lovers (I repeat, rabbit lovers) that emphasize on the well being of the rabbits regardless of breeds. For breeders, I hope it is a platform to build a community of ethical and responsible breeders working hard towards improving the breeds of their interest.

With that said, I really do not mind who takes home the largest trophy of the day because we all should be proud that we have really good rabbits that will be given due recognition for their close adherence to the Standard Of Perfection.

But I must say that most of the time, winning is a pride thing.

Some want it for all the wrong reasons. Winnings can bring a windfall to rabbit sales, that we cannot deny because everyone wants a piece of the winning cake. But this reason for winning may get the best of us. There are many things one can do for the sake of getting to the top.

Honestly, if I really want to win the following are some of the things that I might have done or will do and I do not mean to question the integrity of the judges:

1. Engage someone who have sold me some rabbits to judge and make sure I win. With the win, I can boast to the world and mark up the prices of my rabbits.

2. Import all the Grand Champions of the world to stay a Grand Champion in the circuit.

But hell no, the first thing that came to my mind when we decided to organize a show is to do some homework and find out which judge/judges has not send anything over here. We want everyone to compete on the same level. And to be very honest, I really hope that a Malaysian homegrown rabbit would win BIS.  Which means a rabbit that has been bred from imported lines and possesses/retained the good traits fit to compete with the imports. That is utmost important. Of course that would be ideal but not realistic at this juncture as many has only just started importing.

2. What are the reasons for winning?

When we seek to improve, competition gives us the platform to do just that. Firstly, we will not know what we are lacking without an examination. A conformation show is nothing but an examination of our rabbits against the standards laid down. Winning will only tell us how far or near we are to being perfect. Nothing is perfect of course.

At the end of the day and as I have mentioned countless times, this is but a hobby for me. But to some, hobby may be turned into business. The main reason for winning sometimes may be the recognition needed to boost business. Making it a business while still holding steadfast to the major principle for breeding (improvement of breed) would be acceptable (I guess). The problem arise when we abandon the quality for quantity that can be translated in to riches.

3. Why is winning so important?

Perhaps this question is related to the preceding one. But really, we must ask ourselves why is it so important to win. Winning is a prideful thing. It gives us affirmation that we are the best. Now you should have noticed that I use – WE and I. Who are WE and I? Yes, we humans desires the win. Do you really think that the rabbit knows? Perhaps some would know as some pets are known to yearn of affirmation and praises.

The hobby turns ugly when winning becomes important. The attention shifts from the rabbits to their owners instead. “My rabbit wins BIS”, “I am the best breeder in Malaysia” and the I continues to be amplified.

Lastly, I would like to use the 3 words my dear Momma Cheri uses all the time:

Fellowship

Without the fellowship, Frodo can’t get to his destination. Whether you are the organizers or not, let’s look out for each other, laugh and cry with each other, enjoy the moments with each other and surround ourselves with people who understand our craziness over the rabbits. This is the place where we all speak the same bunny language (there will be a lot of humans doing binkies when winners are announced).

Friendship

Let’s ask ourselves this question, “What is the average lifespan of a rabbit against the average lifespan of a human being?”

Yes, we must build this community of PEOPLE with the SAME HOBBY. Rabbits come and go whether or not they are Best In Show winners. Even reputation last longer than rabbits. Without the human, there will not be a rabbit hobby. It is the hobby that sustains the friendship.

Fun

Not forgetting to take things less seriously and have fun. Congratulate a winner, laugh hard at all the shortcomings (not without landing a hand of course) and savor the joyful moments.

In competition there will always be winners and losers. And as Momma Cheri always say….

At any given day, any given judge and given rabbits…

A show that everyone enjoys to the fullest and to crown (as winners) the most beautiful rabbit among all the beautiful rabbits present is WHAT WINNING MEANS TO ME…

P.S.: HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOMMA CHERI! We love you tons and millions. One of my biggest pillars of strength in this hobby. This post is also inspired by Rev. Fr. S L. Inspiring sermon today. Yes, we are called to be gatherers!

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by | February 19, 2011 · 5:11 pm

We need to sing the same song

I do not know what inspired me with this blog title but it came to my mind this morning while I was driving. Right now I can’t really recall what I want to write about it but as I go along typing perhaps I will remember.

I believe it was about this entire rabbit thingy again (what else could it be?). I am losing my memory power pretty quick these days so for those who might be interested in dealing with me, please forgive me if I have forgotten anything at all or will be forgetting.

Yesterday while I was doing my usual rabbit blog hopping, I read a very interesting article about REPUTABLE BREEDERS. I think right now with all the Show Rabbit Breeders “mushrooming” in Malaysia, it is very relevant for us. I wish that everyone will start off on the right footing. Please visit one of my favorite blogs of all time (and also a blog by a family I hold close to my heart) – Three Little Ladies Rabbitry Blog post entitled WHAT IS A REPUTABLE RABBIT BREEDER?.

As you can see, I am still very far off from being a Reputable Breeder considering that I do adhere to most of the “protocols” of running a little rabbitry. I guess not many people know how much work is put into it except for those who have deal with me personally before. As the article suggests, a reputable breeder is one that never praises himself but rather have someone else recommending him/her as a reputable breeder. In short, a reputable breeder is a title given by others.

So here’s my request for my buyers/adopters/customers. I hope you can spend some time commenting on this blog post about your experience dealing with me and if you feel that I have been a reputable breeder. In short, do I meet or exceed your expectations? Do I impart good knowledge? Please write anything that you feel is proper and relevant.

And coming back to the title of this post today, indeed we really need to Sing the same song in this rabbit hobby. We must sing the same song called “REPUTABLE BREEDER”.

I hope with the upcoming MROC ARBA Sanctioned Rabbit Shows this coming June 4th 2011, everyone will get an idea what rabbit shows should be. Please also bear in mind that this is our first time organizing such a show at this capacity and we ask for forgiveness for all the shortcomings and glitches that will happen.  Please know that we are all doing our best so that all rabbit owners will have fun on this day. Win or lose, we must be proud of ourselves as Malaysians for having some of the nicest rabbits and taking the first step in joining the ranks of those in other parts of the world to hold ARBA Sanctioned Rabbit Shows. Please give us your fullest support and be kind to the same people who is spending their precious time making this event a success. It is not the effort of a single individual but a collective effort by a group of people who love to share. Let’s have fun!

Before I end my long winded post today, I would like to share a few photos of Tru-Luv Balian. Balian is back in Meadow Haven for a while and I am really proud of this little buck. Also not forgetting his wonderful/amazing family especially little Meg (she’s 3 years old this year if I remember correctly). I really want to thank them for taking such good care of Balian. I cannot stop seeing Clark in Balian.

Look who's back?

And he's always in a molt when he comes back - LOL!

Not perfect but good enough for me...

Happy Weekend everyone! Please drop me a little testimonial if you have any. Thank you in advanced!

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by | November 19, 2010 · 12:05 pm

The Reason Behind The Tattoo

Identification.

That is the only word to describe the reason why rabbit breeders tattoo their rabbits. There are 2 ways used for identification in rabbits. Firstly is the tattoo on the left ear and secondly, an identification ring on one of the legs. The identification rings are mainly used in the European countries and British Rabbit Council (BRC) breeders. I personally feel that the rings are less permanent as they can be removed easily.

As for tatoo, ARBA breeders usually tattoo their rabbits on the LEFT ear. The Registrar normally tattoo the right ear. Therefore, if you see a rabbit with both ears tattooed, then you are holding a rabbit that has been registered with ARBA. What is the difference between a rabbit registered with ARBA? Only rabbits registered with ARBA can obtain a GC Certificate and thus, you can only grand a rabbit if it is registered.

If a rabbit is not registered with ARBA, it still can be shown and obtain GC legs. As a senior, if a rabbit obtain 3 GC legs under different judges, then the rabbit can be granded if it has been registered.

I am going off topic for a little while more. In ARBA world, there are 2 roles which are very important.

The Registrar – the person that helps breeders and rabbit owners to get their rabbits registered.

The Judge – the person that is responsible for evaluating your rabbit and award a GC leg whenever deemed fit.

So why do we tattoo? Yes, for identifications. You may have many rabbits both you currently own and those that you have sold. A simple pedigree is not sufficient to link it to a rabbit. Therefore, when you have a 3 generation pedigree, it must also state the tattoo number which is the same as the number on the left ear of the rabbit.

That’s how the tattoo is useful at the breeder’s end. To identify each rabbit if there are more than 1 that may look similar. With the tattoo number, the breeder can go through the records and pull up its pedigree to trace back on the lineage.

As for the Rabbit Shows, the tattoo is very important. The Tattoo acts like our Identification Card (IC). There will be hundreds of rabbits and how do we identify our own rabbits in a place filled with – rabbits? Besides that, during a rabbit show, the judge must not know who the owner of the rabbit he/she is judging to avoid partiality and biasness. Since you cannot possibly tattoo the breeder’s name on the rabbit, most uses the conventional way of number combinations.

There are 2 types of tattoo tools that can be used:
1) Tattoo Clamp with digits
This is like the tool used in ear piercing except it has got individual digits with many small needles that make up a number. Depending on the number of digits required, the tattoo digits are fitted into the clamp and pressed on the rabbit’s ear.

2) Tattoo Pen
This is becoming a widely used tool as it is easier to write and some say is less painful for the rabbits. I personally think that the pain last longer as the numbers are being “etched” into the skin. I hope to try this one out in the near future but for now, I prefer the clamp method.

So as a conclusion, tattoo is a neccessity if you want a good identification method. It is not a luxury item as you can see. I do not charge more because I tatoo my rabbits. I don’t think it is something to be charged extra for. It is not glamorous to have tattoo. A tattoo does not make a non pedigree rabbit a pedigreed rabbit. Everything in the rabbit world right now runs in such a way that it is self regulatory. There is no one body that governs the identification of rabbits vis-a-vis to the likes of the dog world where a club issues microchip and pedigrees.

I personally tattoo my rabbit solely for the reason of identification and it goes hand in hand with the pedigrees I issue to my adopters/buyers.

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by | November 11, 2010 · 5:57 pm

Proud Of My Dad!

Every year at the ARBA Convention, HLRSC will give out an award to someone who has been in the hobby for a number of years and meet certain criteria through nominations. It is the Hall A Fame award. This year the 2010 HLRSC Hall A Fame award goes to Mr. Barry Hustins. And the award is in the form of a painting by my dad!

 

Congratulations Mr. Barry Hustins! Photo courtesy of Randy Blackburn

 

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by | November 10, 2010 · 12:11 pm

ARBA 2010 Open Best In Show goes to…

LATEST NEWS from Minneapolis, Minnesota!!!

If you remember, around this time last year, I posted something similar. Holland Lop of crowned Best In Show for the Youth category in 2009.

This year 2010, the Holland Lop won Best In Show in the Open Category . I share the joy with the breeders of a magnificent Broken Tort Doe named L&R McMolly. She is bred and owned by a wonderful couple that goes by the name of Linda & Ron Jinings. Congratulations once again to Linda & Ron! Over 14,000 rabbits shown, it is quite an amazing feat for a little bunny to pull off to be at the top.

 

The Perfect Holland Lop. Photo courtesy of Colleen

 

I believe that all Holland Lop breeders should be very proud because dubbed as the hardest breed to work with, we have all collectively come this far. A Best In Show!

I would also like to congratulate all winners and those who placed well. It is not easy given the fact that Holland Lops are the 2nd largest breed shown at the ARBA convention.

Always remember….Fellowship, Friendship, Fun!

GooOOoooooOOoo Hollands!

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