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Tag Archives: rabbits
Charmed Kinda Life
Not to mention name, a friend of mine recently gave up rabbit breeding. Like many former breeders I know, she expressed her sadness of “losing” fellow friends in the hobby. I believe that when other priorities catch up with life, we tend to give up some less important things just to strike a balance. We only have 24 hours and spending 2 hours a day just to do bunny chores can be a little overwhelming and meaningless. That is usually the problem when keeping large quantity of rabbits while holding a day job and at the same time juggling with many other things in life.
In all honesty, you will find yourself surrounded by like-minded people whenever and in whatever hobby you immersed yourself in. Your circle of friends are usually found through discussions of the same interest and while seeking help with the problems you face in the hobby.
Being social animals ourselves, we are constantly seeking for affirmation and a sense of belonging. To a certain extent, your life becomes “charmed” and because you are so hooked on the sense of belonging, the thought of giving up a hobby can be quite daunting. To give up a hobby is fine but the fact that you will drift away from the friendships you have established will usually be the reason for reconsideration.
Someone I hold dear and close to my heart once told me, “You do not need rabbits to belong” and rightly so makes me feel that I belong in a circle of great people with or without rabbits. It is totally up to me to decide whether I should drift away or not. In whatever you do, you tend to find very sincere friends and people who are there for you without the expectation of anything in return. They push the boundaries of mutual benefit especially now when the world needs love more than ever.
Somehow we are so geared towards scepticism and are always on the guard so not to be taken advantage of. Due to all the negativity in the world today, we have no faith in one another and are suspicious of each other’s agenda so to speak.
I have met many people in this hobby and more often than not, have found myself being taken advantage of. Out of the many, I have also found many gems along the way.
Whenever a gem appears, I get charmed all over again and that makes the hobby worthwhile…
Baby Charm
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Filed under In The Nestbox
His Legacy Lives On…
Just received a very sad news that Truffles has since passed on. The last time we had Truffles over here was almost a year ago and he was still a very determined little guy even though stricken by an unexplainable nerve disorder. Although the nerve impairment has caused him to be mobility challenged, he still has a lot of character. I really have his human daddy & mommy to thank for giving him such a wonderful life. My heartfelt condolences goes out to the “Chestnuts”. I am truly sorry for your loss.
Binky free my lovely boy…
Filed under Obituary
Animal Rights Activists Need To Rethink
There is a little “activist” in each animal lover. We all tend to get angry and feel compelled to react to any incident of animal abuse. But at the same time, we tend to forget that we might have helped or contributed directly or indirectly to the cause of these abuses.
For example, we all get excited whenever there is an pet expo/fair. I have friends who totally boycott such events because live stock are sold openly and most of the time there are no regulations as to how the animals are caged. Since I have always like and intrigued by animals, I used to visit these expos and fairs until recently due to my busy schedule.
With better clarity of the situation now, I can safely conclude that there are many sources and causes to animal welfare problems. Abuses, neglect, abandonment and many other problems take root from overpopulation and animals being treated as commodity.
And up until today, I am still trying to figure out how to strike a balance and whether or not I am indirectly or directly causing and supporting people that are causing the same problems we are trying to avoid.
What if I told you that the event that you are promoting is organized by the same people who are causing the problems you are trying so hard to render your assistance? You may be spending most of your time volunteering to re-home abandoned dogs but at the same time you are encouraging people buying from unscrupulous sources.
I do not know about hardcore animal activists. I do not think they own any pets but if they do, I wonder where they get their pets in the first place.
By you re-homing abandon animals, do you think that your action may encourage unethical breeders to breed even more since there are demands?
I do not know about you but I am very careful what I promote these days be it on this weblog or on my facebook account as I do not want to waste my resources “helping” someone else create more problems.
Filed under Thoughts
A Highly Sustainable Hobby
Major spring cleaning is a yearly affair at Tru-Luv Rabbitry. Today was such a productive day as I spent a few hours not only cleaning the rabbitry but also perform minor maintenance work on the cages. Then the thought of cost came into mind. Not that I am particular in spending on my beloved rabbits but I was thinking how I can help fellow rabbit owners out there to save some monies while enjoying this wonderful hobby.
Recently, PetFinder.com published a very good article entitled 10 Reasons Rescued Rabbits Rules. I have to concur that rabbits are one of the easiest animals anyone can have as pets.
However, with the rising cost of living, a rabbit can be wise choice for those seeking to own a pet without missing out on most of the benefits other common pets like cats or dogs have to offer. Throughout the years, my observation is that there is a direct correlation between rising cost and number of abandoned pet animals. I feel that if we are prudent in our spendings and with good financial planning and prioritizing, we do not have to make the awful choice of giving up our pets.
In hope that we do not see a rise in abandoned rabbits here in Malaysia, I am going to share some tips how to keep expenses low for fellow rabbit owners.
I believe most rabbit owners use the 6304 Cage that measures 24 in. x 18in. x 20 in. This cage is by far the best rabbit cage in terms of cost and effectiveness. It truly serve its purpose way better than any other fancy rabbit cages. It is easy to clean, a good size for a dwarf breed rabbit and with minimum modification, provide a very comfortable home for its inhabitant. The only drawback one will find in this cage is that the gaps between the wire at the bottom of the cage seemed to be a little too far apart. There is a very good solution that I use to solve this issue – by enforcing the bottom of the tray with “coated” wire mesh purchased from the hardware shop.
Every year during spring cleaning, I sanitize the cages especially the bottom and clear it from all calcium build up and residue and at the same time, change the wire mesh. To change the wire mesh for 4 cages today, I only needed to purchase 4 feet of wire mesh from the hardware store that cost RM14 (RM3.50 per feet). I also bought a bag of cable tie at RM5. It could be cheaper but RM19 a year for 4 cages is very reasonable in my opinion.
Yearly Cage Maintenance
I first cut out a wire mesh measuring 22 in x 16 in. Removed the old wire mesh and clean out the cage. Then I place the new wire mesh into the cage and secure it with cable ties.
The Most Cost Effective Pee Guard
In the past I have used pee guards made of metal plates which can be a hazard to bunnies that like to chew – there has been incidents of bunnies injuring their lips. The metal plate pee guards that are placed inside the cage (instead of outside) reduces the size of the cages making the cages too small for the rabbits.
On the other hand, this DIY Pee Guard is less invasive as well as cost effective. For the past three (3) years, I have been using this wonderful idea made possible by just chloroplast board and cable ties. All you have to do is buy a piece of chloroplast board that is larger than the bottom of cage (24 in. x 18 in.). Fold the sides and secure them using cable ties.
This my friends, is the most cost effective pee guard
This particular DIY Pee Guard was made 3 years ago and it is still in good condition. It is very easy to clean and highly reusable. If you are wondering where to get chloroplast boards, one of the places you can find them is Popular Bookstore. And the good thing about chloroplast boards is that they come in different colours and you will most probably find a colour that you like. 🙂
I hope this post has been informative and useful for you.
Time for me to take a nap….
ZZzzZZZzzzZZzzz…..
Thank You
I want to take some time to thank some of you that have written to me on the matter of adoption. Unfortunately, most of your inquiries were replied with a disappointing “no”. I found it quite ironic because there were times when I have a huge number of rabbits available for adoption without any takers. These were young and healthy stocks mind you but apparently people seemed to be conditioned to believe that “there is no free lunch”. In that sense, I found it quite funny.
I appreciate all the inquiries so far and I try my level best to accommodate them.
For those of you who have rabbit(s) available for adoption, please feel free to email me your contact – truluvrabbitry@gmail.com. Perhaps I can start off an adoption drive on this weblog. My terms would be that the rabbit(s) should be for free, healthy and free from diseases. I will only act as the mediator between adopter and the person seeking adopter for his/her rabbit(s). I will share contacts between the two and you will have to make all the necessary arrangements yourself. I will not be responsible for any disputes that may happen thereafter. I am extending my invitation for you to utilize this weblog as a channel to find a pet rabbit as well as offering a pet rabbit to someone else.
Filed under Greetings
Shot Saturday
Felt like it was ages since the last time we had a photo session here. I blame the short weekend for the limited time I have to enjoy myself. Somehow Saturdays and Sundays have less hours than the weekdays.
Today I managed to “steal” an hour to groom the bunnies (a little) and took mugshots of them. I must say that they were very cooperative today as I almost need not spend too much time “posing” them.
It is pretty mundane here at the moment except that we have ROB’s Beauty here on an “exchange program”. I always find that it is very challenging to take photos of black objects especially black rabbits. I am glad that today’s attempt on Beauty turned out pretty well. What do you think?
Filed under Photos
Perspective!
I love to draw when I am absolutely free and today I tried drawing in 3D. I really like those 3D art that talented artists draw on the side walks. Here is my first attempt:
Filed under Random Topics
Obituaries
I know at first glance at the title of this post, many will be wondering what happened to my rabbits. Rest assured that this post has nothing to do with rabbit related deaths.
There are a few things that I dislike whenever I am doing bunny chores.
I do not know about you but I use a lot of newspapers in my rabbitry. Newspapers are used to line litter and cage trays to keep them clean and less effort needed to clean the next time. To a certain extent, newspapers can help mask odour (just a little).
The one thing that I dislike most is discovering that the stack of newspapers I am about to line the trays with are made up of the Obituaries centrefold. This situation usually catches me off guard and for a while, it usually makes me wonder whether I should pause a moment to say a prayer for the deceased or apologize that my bunny will urinate or/and defecate on his/her face.
What would you do?
Filed under Thoughts
Tru-Luv Rabbitry: Quality Holland Lops in Malaysia 