Most rabbit people are very in tuned with their pet rabbit’s toilet habits because empty litter pan normally spells trouble. I realized today that I am not only intuned with their toilet habits but I am also very familiar with how my rabbits use their toilets. Or should I say that looking at rabbit litter pans I am able to recognize the owners? LOL!
What I can conclude is that most of my rabbits are very good with their aims except for one. Let’s walkthrough each litter pan shall we?
You can see that the stain spreads further. Skor's very good with his potty...
Haley is also very good with her toilet habits. Judging from the stain, she's very prim and proper...
Clark has got 2 targets as illustrated by the stains. That's what you get being a playboy too, you have more than 1 choice - LOL!
There is only 1 target for Thunder. He is spot on as you can see
Notice all the names were written at the bottom of the photos except for this one? I will elaborate further...
Holly Hope is the funniest when it comes to toilet habits. She goes into her litter pan nonetheless but…her butt always faces outward. And due to that reason, half of her pee will be spilling out from the sides of the litter pan while the other half is what makes up the stains. Not sure if a bigger litter pan would correct this problem. I need to give that a try. LOL!
My wife told me that she likes kits at this age because they are small and cute. The 2 kits are exactly 5 weeks today and they are 1/4 the size of mommy.
Can’t believe that in another 3 weeks they will be weaned off mommy. Here are some photos taken of them today.
Mooruku's side profile
Mooruku either having a tight crown or short ears. Either way I'm keeping her for the breeding program!
Papadoom's side profile
I hope this buck and replace Skor. Right now the ears are a little long in my opinion.
On the other hand, besides from their sizes, what I like most about kits at this age is the size of their poops! They are also 1/4 the size of adult bunny poop. Don’t believe me? Check this out…
There is more than one definition for the word cull. I will talk about them here.
Euthanasia as a form of culling…
I live in the United States where euthanasia as a form of culling is not considered a bad thing, especially when you have a sick rabbit or one with bad teeth. If you are raising show rabbits, you want to have the strongest and healthiest rabbits that you possibly can. If you treat a sick rabbit and are successful and breed that rabbit, you are passing along unhealthy genes or at least the propensity to have offspring that are more susceptible to getting sick. I personally would rather euthanize a sick rabbit than to spend the time and money to get it well. People who continually give antibiotics for things such as pasturella are only masking the symptoms, the disease is still there! It has been proven that pasturella in rabbits is not curable! If you have a rabbit that is sneezing and it has white or yellowish discharge coming from it’s nose, it does not necessarily mean it is pasturella. Only a culture will tell you if it is or is not. But I will cull any rabbit from my barn that has those symptoms. Fortunately, I have not had this happen very much.
Sickly babies… I do not do any heroics in trying to save them. I have done that in the past and 99% of the time, they die anyway. I know it sounds cruel but I will put that baby down. It’s going to die anyway so why let it suffer until it does. Rabbits do not make any sound when in pain, but look into that rabbits eyes, feel it’s body, you know it is in pain. The humane thing to do is to euthanize it. The same thing goes with peanuts…if you see a peanut in the litter as soon as it is born, do not let it suffer. A peanut cannot eat. It has no way of digesting food. It suffers miserably until it dies. The most humane way to deal with a peanut is to take it immediately from the litter, put it in a small baggie, pull the air out of the baggie and put it in the freezer. It will die immediately.
Rabbits with bad teeth… If there is a simple butting of teeth I may let it grow up a bit to see if the teeth straighten out. But if the teeth have malocclusion and you have to continually clips its teeth to keep the teeth from growing into the jaw or the nasal passage, euthanize. I mean, come on, what kind of life is that for a rabbit, continually having the stress of you prying open their mouth so you can clip their teeth?
Taking rabbits to a raptor rescue or snake farm as a form of culling…
As a breeder of show rabbits, I cannot keep every single rabbit that is born in my barn. I keep only the ones that are show quality. I try to pet out as many as I can (will talk about that later) but there are so many people selling pet bunnies, it’s not possible to sell all your non-show quality rabbits as pets. Luckily we have a place here that actually raises snakes, all kinds and sizes from the tiniest ones to the huge Boa Constrictors! We raise rabbits, they raise snakes! The larger snakes can eat a very large rabbit! We take our rabbits that we don’t want to keep and can’t sell as pets to this place. We get paid for them! I don’t know how they feed the snakes and I don’t want to know, but I know that every living thing on earth has to eat, including snakes! We are able to provide that!
There are also places here in the United States called raptor rescues and wild animal rescues. These places are always in need of food for their animals. A lot of the zoos here also will take rabbits as food for their animals. What you have to remember is that rabbits are not predators anywhere whether in the wild or in captivity. They are prey and as such, make good food for places that I have described here.
Selling rabbits as pets as a form of culling… For a healthy rabbit, but one that is not the quality that you want for your show herd, you can sell that rabbit as a pet! We have pet stores everywhere here that will possibly take your rabbits to sell in their store. You can advertise in your local newspaper or online. But if you are wanting to keep the best quality possible in your herd then you have to cull hard! That means that even though that bunny is cute, it does not mean that it is going to show well. If the rabbit is healthy and has good teeth, then someone may want to give it a good home. I have sold lots of rabbits as pets. I have always had a good response from people who have purchased a pet from me. I even got a Christmas card one year with a picture of the rabbit I sold on it with a Santa hat on it’s head…so cute!!
In reading Timothy’s blog “Moving Along” dated 11/11/09, I see that he has finally figured out that he needs to cull (sell to a pet home) a rabbit that is not the quality he wants in his show herd! Yes, Skor is cute! Yes, Skor is lovable! But is Skor show quality? No. Will he pass on those genes of being long in body and having fine bone? Yes! So kudos to Timothy for making this decision to not use Skor in his breeding program! I applaud you, Timothy!
I welcome any questions or comments anyone might want to have for me! Thank you Timothy, for allowing me to be a guest blogger!
I was watching the tribute speech Madonna gave during the recent 2009 MTV Video Music Award. Very touching it was. For those that have missed the speech, here is the video.
I was especially touched when she said something to the effect that we take others for granted when they are around. If we look at Michael Jackson, most of us have many things in common with him especially in the events that has unfolded towards the end of his life. We are being JUDGED most of the time! Not only that, we are subjected to being BULLIED.
When I watched the video, I wondered if the music industry is as competitive one and I wonder if musicians are subjected to bickering. I believe that competition is what makes us improve. But out of the competitiveness, some may subject to backstabbing, cheating & even ganging up to bully & abuse whoever that seemed weak on the outside.
In my opinion, we cannot govern how we want others to treat us thus, it is best to stay close together with friends who appreciates us and with that, draw strength from each other and face all the adversity together.
Why am I writing all these and what does Michael Jackson has got to do with rabbits?
Please allow me to share and speak my mind.
Thousands of rabbits are gathering in San Diego as we speak. I am in no position to comment much on it since I do not have first hand experience. It would be a dream come true if I am able to attend such a prestigious rabbit event. A lot of efforts is needed to organize such a grand event. The only word that I know to sum up everything is COMPETITION.
There will even be a documentary entitled “RABBIT FEVER” highlighting what goes on behind this huge production and especially the degree of competitiveness.
I do wonder what is the motivations behind all breeders swarming into this Mother of all Nationals. Thousands taking a shot at the possibility of garnering the one Best In Show?
I am sure that there are more to it than winning. To many, it is for the friendships and to be in a common place where everyone speaks just 1 language – BUNNY LANGUAGE!
In the midst of all the competitiveness, some are also caught up in the web of bickering. Competition sometimes do breed people problems. When one takes competition too seriously, he or she may get caught up in slandering another. Isn’t that a common human trait? How we sometimes alleviate ourselves through putting others down. People act nasty when they are too caught up in the game.
Now let’s bring it all together. Have we ever stop to ponder if we are the only ones in the game, would it be or feel the same?
What I am trying to say is that we do take for granted most of the time. Just like how we take Michael Jackson for granted when he was around. Just like how we judge him when he was alive.
If I am lucky enough to be in the game, I will go for friendship anytime. Winning will be a bonus. I do hope everyone compete on level grounds without the bickerings. Besides, it is not us that win at the end of the day. It is the rabbits that win at the end of the day.
There are many breeders out there that deserves very much to win with their stocks and there are many more unethical ones that in my opinion should just get out of rabbits. All these are just my personal opinion because of how I have been wronged in the past.
We then ask ourselves, why are we breeding to hard if it is not for the win. We all breed for many reasons. And many reasons keep us doing what we do. I do not know what motivates other breeders to do what they do. I do not know why people drive 72 hours to get to convention.
But I do know, I do it for this…
The Future of Holland Lops
They are worth much more than all the bickerings in this world. Let’s bicker for all the right reasons. Let’s not bicker because someone else have something better than us. Let’s bicker because we want to get bad apples out of the basket. Let’s bicker to put those unethical ones out of business.
Let’s bicker for the good of all our beloved rabbits. Let’s bicker to ensure we safeguard the future of our rabbits!
I am not sure if I have written about this issue but I suddenly felt the urge to write about it. It can be seen as an issue but some may not agree. As we all know, there are tons of rabbit breeders in this entire world. And most of the time we are caught up with “who is the best”. That is what rabbit shows or any other animal conformation shows do to most of us. If someone’s winning tons, that is definitely a sign of top crop/stock. But bear in mind that each breeder produces rabbits that are closest to the breed standard and also some go the extra mile to develop their own distinctive look – a trademark so to speak. If you think about it, if everyone interprets the SOP the same way, there wouldn’t be any variety. The SOP even call for varieties and especially in colors. Therefore, some breeders go for the extras e.g. bigger heads.
So as a new person coming into the hobby, how do you choose which breeder to obtain foundation stocks from?
There are generally 3 guidelines that we can follow:
1) Our preference
You may have a rough idea of what traits you like in a Holland Lop. If that is the case, search out for breeders breeding these particular traits and continue working on it. As much as you like to have a distinctive look in your rabbits, please do not overlook conformity to the SOP.
2) Lineages
This is always a controversial. Honestly, I have been fooled previously into believing that lineage is everything. Boy was I wrong. Some breeders tend to mislead newbies by flaunting and bragging about the lineages filled with GCs. Many breeders have shared with me about their failures in out crossing even in stocks with generations of GCs. I have came to believe that lineages should not be taken as the sole determining factor in choosing a rabbit. On the other hand, I must stress that some lineages work well with others and have been proven to produce good stock. Let me share with you my personal opinion about how lineages can be used as a PLUS point. GOOD breeders normally cull very hard and only retain the best of the best. Ethically speaking, they will never ever pass on something that they do not want to keep for themselves to a fellow show breeder. You just have to sort these honest breeders out and I must say that the quality of their stocks are always consistent. In every venture that we embark, it is definite that we will encounter dishonest people that are only in the trade to get quick bucks. Honesty or not is basically a variable and factor that we cannot control. Therefore, do not be fooled when someone tells you that this rabbit is the offspring of a Grand Champion or it has got 14 Grand Champions in its lineage. It does not really justify as it is not guaranteed that a GC will 100% produce a GC. It only increases the chances through selective breeding. Also, don’t go hunting for a GC and expect that every kit that it produces will in turn be a GC. Most often than not, you will be disappointed.
Simply put, only trustworthy breeders can be trusted when they talk about lineages.
3) The rabbit itself
This is the best determining factor in my opinion. If you are familiar with the acronym WYSIWYG, then you will know what I am talking about. What you see right in front of you is what you will get when you try to reproduce. Therefore, breeders normally chooses traits in 2 rabbits to complement each other.
There you have it. Some tips in choosing the right breeders to work with and hopefully no one gets rip off at the end of the day.
Most of the time I post very technical and serious photos of my rabbits posing. During every photo session, there were times when the rabbits just go berserk and just wanted to be themselves. Photos in this post were taken off the album captured by a very dear friend and fellow bunny blogger SB of furrybutts.wordpress.com. She captured their less serious antics off pose. These were taken a while back.
And so coincidentally, I have chosen 13 photos to go with the date today – LOL!
Thunder chilling between shots
He sometimes shy away from the camera covering his face with his "hands"?
Praying to hold a good pose?
Haley being her fiesty self
Haley up to mischieves
Scheming an escape strategy?
What's up there?
Clark says, "Don't get any closer or else I'll charge!"
"You want a piece of me, Sir?"
Here's Carmel, as sweet as caramel
An ear plugged in taps into a world of bunny information super corridor
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.
Seven little rabbits share my little heart at the moment. I have my favorite moments with each and everyone of them. It is almost like a certain entertainment channel that features certain artiste at certain time. Instead of having the “artiste of the month”, I have “Bunny of the Month” at Meadow Haven.
My current favorite is Miller’s Clark. In between other chores in the rabbitry, I took him out for grooming today and I really like this little guy just like all the rest of my rabbits – LOL! And since Thunder is now bald, this guy has got no competition. He is a real cutie!
Just look at these pictures and tell me what do you think.
I have never ever imagined how this hobby can bring so many people close together when I first started off having Holland Lops. I am really talking about friends that you will probably not meet in real life but always there to lend a helping hand.
I am very please, proud and extremely happy to chat with at least two or three bunny friends a day over the internet. That means either I am being a “night owl” or my friend is staying up late for a particular reason. 90% of my bunny friends are from the US and boy am I proud to say the finest in the hobby too. Somehow I just get so attracted to all of them and the number of Holland Lop breeder friends kept on growing and growing. It is a true honor to know each and everyone of them. All of them are winners in their own rights.
Whenever I am down, they will always give me a little nudge to get my spirit up. I guess we’re like a big herd of rabbits looking out for each other. We share joy and sorrow together.
I really hope that MROC will be a platform for all bunny owners to stay closely knitted together. It feels really good to be hanging out with people of the same passion. I so wish that I could be there in person to give a hug to all my bunny friends in US. I love all of them very much and it will not be enough room to fill all of their names on a single post. I will introduce them one by one on separate posts in future.
My heartfelt condolences goes out to 2 young ladies and their families especially. My prayers and thoughts are with Heather & the Washburn family and also Lauren Nicholas & her family. Both have lost someone very dear to them in the past weeks. God bless all of you.
I thank God for each and everyone of my bunny friends all around the world. They are so very generous to me in words and deeds that I do not think I will ever have the time in this world to repay their kindness.
It is never about getting on the show table and feeling good beating someone else, it is like what Keat told me in his comments on one of my posts – “it is the JOURNEY that we should enjoy”. The dynamics of a rabbit herd will always be positive with nice people in it. And I know how competitive it gets on the show tables but I do hope we be ever closer being of good sportsmanship.
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Tru-Luv Rabbitry: Quality Holland Lops in Malaysia 