Category Archives: Ramblings

by | December 29, 2009 · 3:51 pm

#1 2010 Resolution Under The Microscope

2009 brought about a great wave in terms of interest in Holland Lops. Like mushrooms sprouting throughout the nation, every lop ear rabbit is labeled as a HOLLAND LOP. Let me just share with you a photo I took at a famous pet shop on the eve of Christmas eve.

Left To DIE!

Who to blame? I say you and I, WE have a role in the death of this poor bunny. We all know the simple facts of business – demand & supply. In the midst of fulfilling demands, edges are cut to earn a little more. DISPOSABLE is what rabbits are today! Just like a novelty toy, a rabbit is so disposable because it is cheap. It is alright to have them die because there are many more available out there! At the front of this renown pet shop, it is WRITTEN big and clear – WE CARE. And it also has something seemed to be the 10 commandments of the advantages of having PETS and “teaches children responsibility” is one of them. They won’t be any responsibility lesson if the poor pet keeps on dying on the poor child!

Yes, my friends. all our hands are tainted with blood because of this LUST for MONEY. It is a vicious cycle.

2009 again saw a year of great demand for Netherland Dwarfs, Dwarf Hotots and Holland Lops. Did we fail in our execution in marketing and awareness? Is there an imbalance between education and money making? Did we not get the message across clearer than before?

Between year 2007 & 2008, we covered the basics in the local forums. We were shouting for HAY and brands like OXBOW. So we have them today.

Today, a few days before 2009 ends, I cannot help but to feel that the road ahead is much more treacherous than before. Indeed, we need to find a balance to the force. Breeder wannabes are labeling their lop ear rabbits as Holland Lop just like how once someone did that and have caught so many unaware. Ill informed men and women who are blinded by mere “cuteness”. How are we to deal with this?

You see, like the earth, we need to find balance. I have raise this point many times and I am writing it again. We are about to overpopulate our country with rabbits. What QUALITY of rabbits do we want to see in our future? Do we settle merely for what we call “PET” quality or do we strive to do better?

Many local rabbit weblogs stated very clearly that “Animals are creation of God, and we govern over them”. Yes, we govern over them and we must decide what GOOD we make of them! Even the cow has got good use for its meat! Do we allow our beloved pets to live in filth to be bred in horrendous conditions?

For the past 2 days, after a long time not wanting to visit some depressing local rabbit weblogs, I browse through a few of them and I couldn’t help but to feel really disappointed that we are indeed back at square one. We all hope that these wannabes do the RIGHT thing.

My wife puts it in very simple perspective. Everyone can afford to stay in any hotel but not everyone can afford staying in a BOUTIQUE hotel. Applying that to the world of rabbits, it would mean that everyone can own a Holland Lop but not everyone can own exclusive purebred Holland Lops!

I am indeed glad Tru-Luv Rabbitry has not bred many rabbits in year 2009 but for each bred and raised here, they are at least of decent quality. QUALITY NOT quantity my friends. Whether you like it or not, I love to brag because in bragging, someone else will find it hard to accept and in that, I hope they improve! Tolong jangan DENGKI & JEALOUS!

Stop believing hearsay about what rabbit should look like. Go get a copy of the Standard of Perfection from the organization of your CHOICE and compare that with your stocks. If they aren’t close enough, you should just stop whatever you are doing! That’s if you are working with purebred. But then again, there isn’t any in betweens because in my books, a breeder’s 1st objective is defined with only 1 word, IMPROVEMENT. Ask yourself what is there to improve in your breeding program and that will spark off the first notion of awareness. Move on to seek clarification and embrace CHANGE!

I love each and everyone of my rabbits whether they are with me or those that I have shared out with fellow enthusiasts. I look at them and my troubles go away and in my heart, I could tell the wannabes, YOU WILL NEVER BE ME!

Here’s Balian and Sibylla, bidding everyone Happy New Year 2010!

Tru-Luv Balian

At least we have bone now...

Tru-Luv Sibylla

THICK!

My dear friends, the #1 2010 Resolution for me is indeed to again EDUCATE the general public how it is like to find a responsible breeder and to avoid BACKYARD BREEDERS.

Look through my eyes, there is LIFE within me

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by | November 23, 2009 · 9:14 pm

Pet People vs Show Breeder

I was once very much a pet person. Highly compassionate and passionate about my pets that I was almost as fanatic as people in the organization that has a name that sounds like “PITA” bread. We now live in a very opinionated era where everyone has their own opinions and views. The followings are my view about pet people as observed throughout my 3 years of raising Holland Lops through the perspective of a show breeder:

1. Pet People are hard to educate

Pet people lack the knowledge and experience as compared to breeders of large scale. I have to admit that I still have much to learn as compared to my counterparts in US. Theirs are barns with 100 holes or more. They are so well versed with every single problem with the breed that it makes my biggest problem seemed petty. Coming back to this heading, I found that it is extremely hard to educate pet people not because the are stupid but most often than not, they rather believe hearsay and rumors. They fail to understand the facts most of the time.

2. Pet People do not know Holland Lops

Pet people go for cuteness first, quality 2nd. Somehow they have a weird taste or perhaps I should say, unshaped opinions. Up to today, many still do not know that a baby Holland Lop is cute, but CUTER as an adult. Many still do not know that some lines of Holland Lops take up to 24 months (2 years) to mature physically (overall outlook). All they know is the basic that rabbits mature at 6 months but little do they know that it is sexual maturity (and size) at 6 months! Give me a rabbit at 6 weeks and another at 2 years (and above), I’ll go for the latter!

3. Pet people will give up at first try

The trick to Holland Lops is to never give up! There are too much challenges with this breed that many rather be spared from all the troubles. Good thing never come easy and if you can laugh at the face of adversities, then Holland Lops are your cup of tea!

4. Pet people wants everything in pairs

Pet people think of breeding first, basic care later. I normally laugh my head off now when people ask me for a pair of Holland Lops (and on discounted price!). It is so difficult to even get just 1 and they are asking for a pair. I used to be like that too and I could remember vividly how I was “grilled” & flamed for harassment! Now I truly understand why I was treated that way.

5. Pet people have no commitments

The same people that shout for animal rights and being all compassionate about their pets are the same people that will abandon their pets in the face of adversities and circumstances that they will eventually find excuses to justify. More often than not, pets in their hands will not last their lifetime. Sad but true.

6. Pet people are too good hearted

Between life and death, pet people will of course choose life. “Oh, it was so pitiful living in that condition, I thought it would be good I provide a good home for it” sounds all too familiar. Pet people are nice to the point of patronizing the exact establishments that they should not. Buying out of pity is far worst as buying on impulse! If you really understand the psychology between a seller & buyer, many irresponsible breeders will be out of business and thus, less animals have to suffer. Sellers at times thrive on pity. If you can’t take the sight of seeing a poor little animal suffer, don’t go to the pet shops! Just get your supplies from the shelves and go home. Many pet shops can survive without selling livestocks.

There you go, 6 golden pointers to not be a PET PERSON but a pet person with a better perspective. Take the initiatives to befriend GOOGLE. You’ll be surprise how much you’ll learn through that search engine. Don’t believe anything that I say. Go find out yourself! It is fun for you to prove me wrong.

 

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by | November 17, 2009 · 10:14 pm

Meadow Haven = Area 51

Holland Lops – the most difficult breed to raise. I must agree and I am not ashamed to say that I have seen it all. In the span of just a few months, I have seen the worsts of Holland Lops in terms of breeding. I do not enjoy the deaths involved but I definitely enjoy the challenges that comes along with this breed. I just couldn’t believe that I am given the honor to experience it all.

Good news is, the rabbits are starting to produce again. Like a car engine, it is normally harder to start after a long and cold night. So as starters, I got 2 kits from Haley x Clark. These weren’t ordinary kits. Haley’s pregnancy lasted for 33 days (today) and I was glad she expelled the kits.

What I got was 1 fetal giant (yes, 7 inches long from tip to tail!) and I got a little cute MAX FACTOR (thanks Susie for pointing out that it is not a peanut). What a JACKPOT combination it is (that reminds me, I need to go check my lottery now – LOL).

With all these difficulties, I realized that I am only now starting to work with the purest of Holland Lops. Indeed and in case you didn’t know, Holland Lops are also known as the freak of nature. They are nothing but natural. Developed through selective breeding, these are but a few traits that has been built into the breed.

If you think that it is easy to get Holland Lops, think again. It isn’t that easy and count your blessings if you have one of those cute little droopy ear critters!

The following pictures are very explicit. These are photos that no breeders will share. This world isn’t a perfect world so in sharing these photos, I hope they will serve as reality check for all of us.

Comparing a Great Dane to a Chihuahua

Bloated little fellow

Isn't it cute? The only problem is, it's DEAD!

These are but a few problems that Holland Lop breeders face on a regular basis. If any Holland Lop breeder tells you that he/she do not get problems like these, it is as good as he/she proclaiming that his/her mother is a virgin!

If the little MAX FACTOR kit reminds me of anything at all, it would be…

Gimli the DWARF!!!

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by | October 14, 2009 · 1:07 pm

A Future Without Love?

First of all, please note that this blog post is not an intention to diss anyone especially the Asthmatics. I really do wish that there is no such thing as Asthma in this world and this post will tell you why. Before I forget in the midst of my ramblings, I just wanted to highlight that a friend of mine needs help in getting 7 rabbits adopted in Penang. Please feel free to get more information over at her blog http://thefluffies.wordpress.com.  It must be a very tough decision for Nico and I hope good people will come forward to help provide these beautiful bunnies a good home.

I had a good chat with my GP this morning regarding the condition called Asthma. Prior to this, I understand that most Asthma attacks are forms of allergy reaction. In order to get allergy reactions, one must be exposed to the allergens, that are agents that causes allergies. The Dr. told me that there is a book containing a list of allergens and it is approximately 400 pages thick. But the top 3 allergens that atopic individuals are reactive to are:

1) Dustmites

2) Dust

3) Fur

So what do you do halfway having a pet at home and found out that you are allergic to it? The Dr. instructs to get rid of the pet. In my heart I cried, “Holy CRAP! HELL NoooOOOOOOooooOOoooo!”. That is not the worst part of it. The worst part of it is that, Asthma is a highly hereditary condition. If one of the spouses has got this condition, 100% their children will inherit it. DOUBLE LOAD OF CRAP! Do we cull humans for Asthma? You wish!

So far, I am glad that I am 100% allergy to Dust & Guinea Pigs. And I hope that I do not develop allergy to Rabbits. For now, what I needed to do is that, I need to consume a tablet of antihistamine and cover my nose/mouth with damp cloth whenever I need to expose myself to dust. That is why you will always catch me looking like a terrorist while cleaning my house.

Now, coming back to the title of this post and the sad fact that Asthma is 100% hereditary, it breaks my heart to also know that more and more children are born inheriting this condition from their parents and the percentage/statistics are staggering and unbelievable. It really saddens me to know that a great number of children will never have pets in their entire life. The irony is that, everything around us could be an allergen and every person may have different reactions to certain allergen.

Studies are being done right now in such a way that high dosages of allergens are introduced to atopic individuals in hope that their bodies would build natural antibodies against them but sadly, these studies has proven futile. There is no strong evidences that the condition is reversible. In this world that has already lost all LOVE, I do not think it is fair that our future generations will never ever have the chance to keep little critters in their lives.

So off I went home to clean up that little bunny run that has been filled with wood shavings. While cleaning, I realize how I can’t live without these little critters and I hope all of us will be able to enjoy what we truly love in life.

I wish all of you well and hope that your allergies are not pet related.

Here are some photos taken of the clean bunny run (sorry for the quality, I can’t find my camera!).

Thunder & Carmel with lots of toys!

Thunder & Carmel with lots of toys!

Eagle's eye view

Eagle's eye view

Thunder's fur is growing back slowly. Eventhough bald, he is still very thick!

Thunder's fur is growing back slowly. Eventhough bald, he is still very thick!

Carmel with boxes & hay

Carmel with boxes & hay

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by | October 6, 2009 · 12:51 pm

The Ideal Future

Correct me if I am wrong. A dog’s average life expectancy is approximately 7 to 8 years. Based on first hand experience and experiences shared by friends, a rabbit’s average life expectancy is also approximately 7 to 8 years.

Today, the average price of a pedigreed puppy sold in pet stores is $1500. I wonder based on what criteria and reason that rabbits are still considered highly disposable and insignificant pets. Please do not get me wrong. I am not promoting or encouraging pedigreed rabbits to be sold at ridiculous prices. Contrary, I am questioning as to why the rabbit market cannot be elevated higher in terms of quality of both owners’ knowledge and pets at a faster pace.

What frustrates me more is that there are many “parasites” in the market. They are always waiting for someone else to do it and expect to get winning quality stocks for rock bottom prices without giving much thought to the effort, time and money placed into it.

The ideal future for me is that people will be more willing to be proactive and especially to put in much more effort into working with the best. I really hope that one day, Malaysia will have all the rabbit breeds – all 47 listed and recognized by ARBA & 58 listed and recognized by BRC.

And for that to happen, someone must take up the challenge to work with a particular breed. Before that happens, I believe that there should be an interest for these beautiful creatures.

Let’s do some maths shall we? Let’s just say that it takes 1 years to create an interest for a particular breed. If we are talking about BRC’s 58 rabbit breeds, it will take 58 years for all breeds to arrive in our shores. Can you imagine!? I do not think I’ll live till then to see all breeds in Malaysia. What a sad fact.

Luckily we only have another 45 years to go if we want to see all ARBA breeds in Malaysia as we already have 2 on our shores. And that’s if we’ll have a new breed introduced every year which I doubt it for having many people with mere interest and without action.

I guess owning a rabbit is a luxury and people can basically live without rabbits – be it pet or food. I mean, who needs a rabbit when we have CHICKENS in all senses.

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by | October 3, 2009 · 9:22 pm

Earthquake, Tsunami & Holland Lops

I am not too sure how far is this true and whether the last Earthquake in Padang, Indonesia has any effect on the TLR rabbits. There were evidences that animals are able to “detect” Earthquakes or any other natural disasters way before they happen. The reason I am writing this post is because I noticed that Holly Hope has not been eating well and naturally has not been pooping much since yesterday. Other than that, she is showing no signs of pain.

I also hope that her loss of appetite has nothing to do with the stress I am going through at the moment. It could also be that she is misses me not being at home for the passed few days. If this is the case, it is definitely a major disadvantage for breeders to keep their rabbits close to them because they are able to pick up the bad vibes almost immediately.

The other rabbits at TLR are also acting rather unusual for the past 2 days. I really hope they are all alright.

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by | September 18, 2009 · 1:51 am

Postpartum Psychosis (Bunny Owner)

Some women have depression after giving birth. They have a sudden onset of inadequacy and feeling of hopelessness. This do not happen to rabbits fortunately but it just happened to me. That was the reason for the previous post.

I guess it suddenly dawned on me that I must be the unluckiest Holland Lop breeder in the entire planet. They are breeding in Japan, they are breeding in Thailand and loads are produced in US. Why am I not getting any viable kits that thrive?

2009 is definitely not a good year for me in terms of breeding. I only had 2 litters so far – one by Holly Hope producing Truffles and another litter by Noobie producing Seychel, Milkyway & Camior. I just can’t believe my misfortune.

Many friends came forward and I really appreciate them for being so concern. Thank you very much, you know who you are especially those that posted comments on my last post.

It is really hard being the pioneer of raising Holland Lops in Malaysia. It is definitely a game of numbers and numbers are just what I do not have enough.

Would like to wish all friends who are traveling this festive season a safe journey!

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by | September 17, 2009 · 11:47 am

Fed Up & Burnt Out

This is something Holland Lop breeders go through occassionally. It is a type of depression most Holland Lop breeders go through once in a while. I just can’t believe it but basically this is what Holland Lops can do to a perfectly sane person over time.

I woke up this morning wanting to get rid of all my rabbits. I figured that I could make better use of the space where they are kept and it saves me tons of trouble, heartaches and everything in between.

Right now, my exact thoughts are that I am quite far from where I have started off but the future is too far ahead. I just can’t see the light at the end of the tunnel. I believe if I quit now, at least I could have some damage control in place instead of continuing the journey that eats me up slowly but surely.

This may just be a phase but I am not too sure about it. Afterall, this is my blog and I share whatever that goes through my head at this very moment. Anyone interested in rabbits, email me and offer me your best price. Let’s see how much my rabbits are worth to you.

Oh no, I could imagine the number of hits to this blog will skyrocket right about now….

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by | September 3, 2009 · 4:56 pm

I laugh at WANNABES!

When I was in high school, I love listening to POETIC AMMO – a local hip hop group. I especially enjoy songs that was about copycats and wannabes. Although this group has since defunct, I still listen to one of their individual efforts. Maybe in certain songs, wannabes or copycats are still rapped about. We can’t help it, basically this world is filled with scums that will copy whatever you do. Some countries are especially famous for being counterfeits. It takes an entire nation to collectively act that way. It is just sad how some people do not have brains of their own to think. I am alright with people being copycats but for crying out loud, please be discreet about it! When I see people posting in a manner that seemed to copy someone else’ blog, the hair on the back of my neck stands up like the ASTRO antenna!

I came across some that shouts from the top of their BLOGs the following:

1) We keep our numbers low to ensure QUALITY (very textbook – PARROTING)

2) We have purebreds (another PARROT phrase)

3) Let’s improve the quality of rabbits in Malaysia (yet another PARROT phrase)

4) We imported rabbit from … (all can import but it depends more on who’s sending)

5) We’re not doing it all for the MONAY (it is written all over your face!)

But unknowingly, what’s written on their blogs slaps back harder on their faces as it clearly shows the following:

1) Continue breeding mixed breeds (labeled as pets – CHEATING which is also Forbidden/HARAM)

2) Copying every single thing others do (like PARROTS)

3) Imported inferior stocks (God have mercy!)

4) Tagging pet quality as show quality (another Forbidden/HARAM action)

5) Totally ignorant about the inaccurate facts that they write and proclaim (maybe due to PARROTING too much)

6) Tagging rabbits bred by other with their rabbitry name (don’t they know the basic rules?)

That is just so sad because the local rabbit quality will go no where with all these hypocrites and self proclaimed expert PARROTS! They just mimic every single thing that you do and go on pretending they are bunny GODs! CRAP! BAH!

They are just nothing but some BACKYARD BREEDERS trying to con and rip someone as ignorant as them (or worst) off! Maybe they don’t know what backyard breeders are. Well, allow me to digress. Backyard breeders are individuals that breeds inferior stocks at the front porches or the backyards of their houses. Most of the time their breeding operates at the back of their dodgy backyards, thus the term backyard breeders. They do not invest in superior stocks, they do not feed their animals superior food, and their customers are normally not superior either. That is the market that they target. These breeders will never give a second thought where their pets will end up and most of the time, their inferior stocks reaches the hands of those just like them or worst. I have seen too much of such breeders and had enough.

The best part is, another breeder have passed them their “not so good” stocks to start off their little ventures. They are slowly turning totally into what they professed and proclaimed not to be. Losing my respect for them altogether. I guess at the end of the day, money talks and the mouth walks…..

I don’t know the source but the quote for today is “Everyone is born an original, but most die COPIES“…

Don’t you just love that?

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by | August 25, 2009 · 9:40 pm

Bureaucracy Kills!

If you type in “define: bureaucracy” on your google search bar, the first best definition goes “any organization in which action is obstructed by insistence on unnecessary procedures and red tape“.

I am sure in your lifetime you have at least heard of a certain recording artist being treated nasty, being put through all the red tapes and still not given a recording deal. Ultimately, he or she went on to be one of the greatest recording artist of all time. I am sure situations like these are quite familiar to everyone of us.

This sort of crap happens everywhere and it is just not in the entertainment world. Sometimes it really makes me wonder what good all these bureaucracies will do to a certain industry and most of the time it is only practiced by certain individuals who are usually very incompetent but yet absolute decision making and discretion powers and privileges.

I have always been in the shoes of a consumer and boy do I know very well what “customer is always right” means! I really enjoy being on the consumer side because I have the “power” to bargain. But I occassionally think about how being at the other end of the spectrum feel and operate.

A certain major pet store (or so it seemed) in my opinion have very good customer service. To make a sale, they will go all out and even go the extra miles. In their retail stores, there is a very clear path to where the CASHIER counters are. No bureaucracy or whatsoever. That’s how desperate they want your money.

So being that little curious cat that I am, I randomly made a call to this “major” pet store and pretended that I wanted to “supply” something. Trust me, it really gave me a major heart attack. To get to the person in charge is like a series of CAT and MOUSE games. When the person I was looking for was finally available, she was basically “screened” by the person who picked up the phone. You can imagine a scene out of the medieval war times where the archers are protected by a line of  pawns. It is absolutely stupid.

I am definitely not sure what are all the procedures and protocols are for these stuck up pet stores, but I found it really really unnecessary! Downright outrageous!

The first question they throw you is, “You’re Mr. So & So from?”. The “FROM” is so freaking important that it acts like a freaking password into the ears of the person who you are looking for. If you are unable to answer that question, you’re not allowed access to his/her ears.

I could even hear the person telling this person I was speaking to exactly what to answer me. Isn’t the previous statement super confusing? That’s exactly what it is. Poor thing the messenger! At the end of it, she told me very crudely, her colleague is not interested in speaking to me! HOW RUDE!

The person also told me that it is normal procedure for potential suppliers to submit a proposal. Well, I say to hell with the proposal and all the procedures and protocols. Absolutely time wasting!

The way I look at it, this pet store really has got no vision to expand and it goes to show how much the economic situation is taking a toll on them. So much so that their staff are not even bothered to look into new business development and opportunities. The best part is, they have not even hear me out on what I have to offer!

I really wonder how these businesses are going to grow and thrive when it is filled with so much bureaucracy and red tapes. The best thing is, most of the time this pet store go on consignment! What a freaking joke. I believe they will still remain as a complacent pet store being how it is for another millennium or so.

Lucky thing for me, I am still at the consumer end and well, after that blood puking conversation, I have pledged to myself to give them HELL from now onwards!

What goes around comes around!

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