Just my little contribution to society in educating so that we can all make an informed decision when considering a pet rabbit.
Thank you MAG & AFO Radio for the opportunity to share.
Here’s wishing everyone a prosperous new year and may we all be abundantly blessed!
Filed under General Care, Greetings, Random Topics, Thoughts, Tru-Luv On The Media
I am not sure about you but some of us grew up with stories like “the tortoise and the hare” and know very well the moral values that it instills in us. A story that teaches us to be humble and never underestimate others we perceive as weaker than ourselves. “Slow and steady wins the race” is in fact the essence of this famous story.
Back then we can imagine a huge green tortoise and a hare with very long pointy ears.
A 19th-century illustration of La Fontaine’s Fables by Jean Grandville (via wikipedia.org)
After so many years of selective breeding, who would have thought how different that image will be today.
If the story of the tortoise and the hare is rewritten today, how will the two animals look like?
Check out that disgruntled and disapproving look on that tortoise’s face
So which have outrun the other, the tortoise or the hare?
Filed under Bucks, Random Topics, Thoughts
It sure has been a long while since we last greeted each other. How is every bun and everyone doing out there in the great big world?
Hope all of you are having a jolly good time!
Filed under Greetings, Random Topics, Thoughts
Howdy! How are ya’ll doing?
It really has been a long long time since I last posted something worth reading on here. I guess life’s been quite hectic for the past couple of years and it still is. But today, something made me think about what I used to enjoy doing over the weekends. Taking photos of my bunnies, of course! And that’s exactly what I did for the past couple of hours. I kind of miss bunny blogging as it turned out.
While taking photos of my bunnies, I thought about what caused most of the problems I had in the rabbitry. One of the reasons we pet owners and breeders tend to overlook is fussing over the rabbits.
I must admit, through the years fussing over the rabbits have caused more harm than good. I am not sure why but perhaps for two reasons. One, when we fuss over a certain rabbit too much, we tend to take notice of the tiniest of details. So much so, we become paranoid and in turn, causes stress on us as well as the poor rabbit. Two, I have reasons to believe that some bunnies are attention whores and tend to get way too manipulative. In fact, we trained them that way – fussing over them and each time they act up, we give them all the attention just like a wailing baby. Doing that often sort of makes it habitual and the bad cycle repeats itself.
In all honesty, my longest living rabbit is one I fuss over the least.
Hope ya’ll having a good weekend!
Filed under Bucks, Everyday Life, Photos, Random Topics, Thoughts
There are many different versions of goodbyes but I do not wish to say it in the conventional way.
I like how they put it in the Matrix movie and to quote Santosh Kalwar:
I must say that I am bidding my readers farewell on a high note. It has been 8 long and hard years since I started this wonderful journey raising Holland Lops in Malaysia. My best and worst experiences was obtained through this hobby. I can now look back and cherish all the beautiful irreplaceable moments from the many wonderful births to the friendships that will last for a lifetime.
Perhaps, I will one day look back and sing to the tunes and words of Adele’s “When We Were Young”. But really, I will be proud to say that “I have been there and done that”. No regrets at all…
I like to think that I have been touched by the many gorgeous rabbits that graced my rabbitry. I also hope that those who have been touched and found wonder and love in a Tru-Luv rabbit have had their lives changed forever. Indeed, every single rabbit I have raised and responsible for bringing into this world have left an imprint in my heart.
Just because it is selfish to keep holding on even when it means nothing is the only reason for me to bid farewell. In the words of Don McLean when he sung the song “Vincent”, I can only say that “this side of the world was never meant for one as beautiful as you – The Holland Lop”.
So it has been the tradition for me to capture and share the Christmas spirit through photos of my rabbits in the Christmas theme, the photo above will indeed mark the Last Christmas for Tru-Luv Rabbitry.
I want to take this opportunity to thank all my readers and friends for your amazing support throughout the years. It has been a pleasure writing and sharing all these years. I hope you have enjoyed (and continue to enjoy) this blog as much as I have.
Here wishing everyone a joyful and warm Christmas wherever you are!
God bless all of you…
Filed under Thoughts
In light of the multiple terrorist attacks around the world, my thoughts and prayers are with everyone affected by these heinous and outrageous crimes. Though quite impossible, I hope that those responsible for these horrendous acts come to their senses. It really does not make sense and cowardice to take the lives of innocent civilians.
That said, hatred does not only exist in the hearts and minds of terrorists. It exists in all facets of life be it at work, in social groups, or in hobbies such as the rabbit raising hobby. In almost 9 years of working with the Holland Lop, I have experienced and had to deal with the best and worst of human behaviors. It can be especially intense when competition is involved. If drama don’t happen to you, it could well be someone that you know. It happens so often, you can almost say “same shit, different day”.
With so much happening throughout the internet, on can safely say that “you should not believe everything you read on the internet”. In recent years, I have seen how the internet especially the social medias can be misused and abused. Information flow too fast and false news can be circulated within seconds. Nowadays, it is a norm for me to verify and filter through news before sharing them with my peers. A recent example was the kidnap case whereby certain social media users claimed that the child has been found even though he was not. Such updates can pose great danger to the child if the effort to locate him ceases half-way.
What I am trying say is that, with social medias, information can be circulated too fast and can reach extremely huge audiences – accurate or otherwise. It really can be a two edged sword – used to the advantage or disadvantage of an establishment. Consumers today have the power to make or break a business. The reputation of an establishment can easily be tarnished with a nasty review by a customer.
In terms of the rabbit hobby, there are no exceptions.
“The breeder sold me a rabbit with bad teeth”, “The rabbit died and the breeder refused replacement”, and the list of complains goes on.
First of all, I must mention that for me personally, selling rabbit is not something I like doing. The reason being, people in general tend to forget that we are dealing with a series of VARIABLES and we know that VARIABLES may change for whatever reason. More so for a variable call LIFE.
A living thing can be the most unpredictable of all the variables in life and one that no human have control over. Even as humans, we ourselves have no control over our condition. The best we can do to minimize the possibility of being ill is through prevention – vaccination and supplements.
Now, if you purchase a rabbit from a breeder and when the rabbit dies in your care, the breeder should not be blamed. I would like to think that no breeder is going to put his/her reputation on the line (and with benefit of doubt) by selling you a sick rabbit. In this case, no one should be blamed because we are really dealing with a variable here. But, do know that a compassionate breeder can offer a replacement and that really depends on the breeder’s part. The buyer should not expect it but can politely suggest or ask. As a buyer, we have up to the point of being presented the purchased rabbit to reject or reverse the transaction if there are discrepancies or the rabbit seemed to not be in satisfactory condition. Make sure you read the breeder’s sales policy and only proceed to deal with him or her if you agree with the policy.
As of late, buyers have resorted to using social media platform to raise their grievances. Again, it can be a two edged sword but the proper procedure is to approach the said breeder (directly) first to work things out if the argument is valid – the rabbit has been swapped and etc. A rabbit that came home and died is normally not a valid argument for the same reason mentioned above.
Raising the issue and attempt to tarnish the reputation of the breeder on social media should be left as the last resort only if the dispute was not dealt with professionally, politely, and in good faith.
Bear in mind that other reputable breeders are also observing such social media platforms and may refuse your inquiries in future if they find you being a nasty buyer.
Social media – the two edges sword….
Welcome to the Rabbit Dramaville!
Filed under Bunny Business, Thoughts
There are probably thousands of hobbies in this world catered for the millions of people spread across the multitudes of cultures. Some are one-time off hobbies while others are collecting in nature. Collecting comes in many varieties such as coins, toys, bank notes, postal stamps, and etc.
Ever wonder how should the hobby of breeding show animals be categorized?
I believe to a certain extend, breeding show rabbits can be seen as a form of collecting hobby. We collect the most beautiful animal closest to the standards that is.
How does one actually evaluates the value of his or her collectibles?
I believe firstly, the hobby must have quite a decent following in terms of the numbers of like minded hobbyists that know how to appreciate the specific collectibles.
Let’s just say that if you are a toy collector and wants to convince a hardcore rabbit breeder to buy your toy at an exorbitant price, I am sure that will not make any sense to the rabbit breeder. That is because he or she will not see the value in a piece of beautifully molded plastic.
Not everyone knows who is Ultra Magnus.
Likewise, not many people you know will appreciate the beauty of a Betta Splendens or more fondly known as the Siamese fighting fish.
Betta Splendens
So just how do you go about defining the value of your hobby?
You just have to be around like minded people – those who have the same interests as you.
It is based on such principle that people capitalize on as business opportunity. This is true when you see people getting into a hobby with huge following and try to turn it into a business. When it comes to pet animals, we really have to be careful in weeding out the wolves in lamb skin. These are the people that see it as an opportunity to make a quick fortune with the pretense of an animal lover when he or she really have no care for the animals’ wellbeing.
For the rest of us who truly cares, I guess we all understand the effort that goes into raising these little beautiful and adorable creatures. And at the end of the day, the value we gain is clearly UNDEFINED…
Filed under Random Topics, Thoughts
Looking at photos of rabbits spending their time sleeping in their quarters made me ponder how they actually feel in terms of relativity. I wonder how long is an hour to them and if they are able to keep time. Most of us spend our time away from home and our pets tend to have very long waiting time. Measuring in human hours, I would be bored to death doing nothing but waiting. As humans, we are able to find things to occupy ourselves especially now that we have the internet on our palm most of the time.
How does it actually feel as a rabbit, a dog, or a cat staying home all day long waiting for our owner to be back home?
Taking the definition of hobby, I guess that’s how it is – only in our free time. It seemed that we’ll only have time for our pets whenever we have extra time to spare unless we ensure that we make time for them daily.
Out of the twenty four hours a day, I am sure we will be able to find at least an hour or two to spend with our pets. Then again, we will never be able to feel and know if animals have a sense of relativity – space and time that is….
I have always been drawn to the relationships between children and their pets. While growing up as a child, I have always been drawn to animals and my weekends are mostly spent visiting the neighborhood pet stores. I guess the bond is established easily because children and animals have less expectations compared to us adults. Their innocence and trusting characteristics in my opinion are the forces that bring them together.
Today’s post is inspired by Owen and Haatchi. Watch the video below and you will be in touched too:
Filed under Thoughts
Cuteness is a double edge sword – it is either a blessing or a curse. For the Holland Lop rabbit, it is a curse when the breed falls into the hands of greedy people. By greedy I mean people who only have money on their minds. They think they can capitalize on the cuteness and make a quick buck. That is the reason that there has been a long hiatus in updating this blog. On one hand, I felt sorry for so many rabbits being used as commodities while on the other, I jump for joy because the assumption of it being a lucrative business has since made a few idiots lost a lot of money. Yippie Dee Dee Doo DaaaAaa…..
You see, after all said and done, it is a fact that it is very challenging to even produce one decent Holland Lop that is comparatively similar in quality of those in better climate compared to ours. I have wrote about this a few times over the years since 2007 and no one seemed to pay attention or perhaps they just do not understand English all that well. We are dealing with highly adaptable prey animals that are right at the bottom of the food chain. How do you think rats survive in the most hostile environment?
Whatever it is, I am happy that the hype is finally dying down and more rabbits will be spared from suffering in the hands of these “make-shift” and “trading” breeders.
Tru-Luv Rabbitry: Quality Holland Lops in Malaysia 