Thursday, August 13, 2009

No New Posting Yet...

I've been quite busy lately. For the time being, there's not much to share with you all. At present, still doing the usual chores....cleaning the cages, feeding & caring for the bunnies. I'm trying to workout on something relating to my rabbitry project. Unfortunately, still having some difficulties a long the way... here & there. Hopefully Ariel will be able to brighten up our lives again, if she gives birth to some litters by end of this month. Will she gives birth on 31st August 2009 Merdeka Day? I guess that we will just have to wait and see then.
Honestly...right now, I need all the luck in the world......
Ya Allah, The Most Forgiving & The Most Merciful, I beg of YOU, please help me with this test that has been bestowed upon me. For I shall be so very greatfull of THEE, Ya Allah.

~ Amin ~

Friday, August 7, 2009

Snowy Is On The Moon Now

It is a sad day today... a very sad day.

In the morning while I was about to do the routine chores attending to the bunnies.... I found out that Snowy was lying quietly. As I picked him up, I noticed that he had lost some weight overnight and became skinny! Snowy was chubbiest of the three sibblings. That's weird. The worst thing was that his two hind legs have somehow become useless and he's unable to stand properly in the normal rabbit's way. I was really shocked. As for the other two litters, they are doing O.K.

Straight away I asked my daughter Fika to help me with cleaning the cages, feeding the others and also in collecting the manure as fast as we could. I told Fika to get shower quickly as I wanted her to accompany me to the Vet.

We drove to the the Vet as soon as possible but the traffic was like S**T! I can sense something bad is going to happen... Finally, when we got to the Vet, Snowy was pronounced dead. It was a tragic day for us.

When we reached home, me & Fika went straight to the rabbitry to check on the other two litters, luckily there's nothing wrong with them. Suddenly while inspecting the litters, Fika burst into tears..... She told me that when looking at the other two, reminded her of Snowy. Thats the reason why she cried. Fika had become fond of Snowy since he came into our lives. I was also touched by her love for Snowy. As for me personally, I'm really sadden by the incident. I really do felt the lost of Snowy like losing another family member.

Tonite, I'm gonna gather my kids to take a few minutes to gaze at the moon in memory of Snowy..... Innalillah..

May You Rest In Peace Snowy, We all loves You.

I dedicate this song "Stairways To Heaven" to our dearest Snowy.

Arnab di Bulan (Diadaptasikan dari cerita2 tauladan China Kuno)

Pernah tak anda merenung ke langit dan melihat bulan yang mengambang penuh? Kalau pernah, bayangan apa yang dapat dilihat di permukaan bulan? Kalau belum lagi...bila tiba malam, pergilah perhatikan.....
Sementara tu, ceritanya macam ni.......
"Al-kisah tersebutlah kisah..." "Tayib....!"
"Sang Kancil pergi mengadap Sultan Firaun..." "Tayib....!"
"Eh..! Firaun mana pakai Sultan........"
Hehehehe..... sorry sorry!! Gurau jap.... Bukan apa, rasa macam terpaksa lepaskan jugak...
Okay la.... Seriously, this is how the story goes...
Pada satu ketika di zaman dahulu kala, di dalam sebuah hutan, ada terdapat tiga ekor haiwan yang berkawan baik walaupun tiga sahabat ini dari jenis haiwan yang berbeza. Tiga sahabat baik ini ialah seekor kera, seekor musang dan seekor arnab. Kemana-mana mereka akan selalu bersama.... bermain bersama, cari makan bersama berehat bersama. Tengoklah haiwan yang dari spesis berbeza pun boleh baik. Inikan kita manusia.
Sambung dengan cerita tadi..... Apa yang berlaku seterusnya ialah, rupa-rupanya tanpa disedari.... Tindak-tanduk tiga sahabat ini telah menjadi perhatian seorang Dewa Kayangan. Dewa Kayangan tersebut begitu asyik mengikuti pergaulan dan persahabatan si Kera, si Musang dan juga si Arnab tadi. Hinggakan pada satu hari timbul di dalam fikirannya untuk menguji ketiga-tiga haiwan itu untuk mngetahui yang mana satu di antara tiga sahabat itu mempunyai hati yang paling suci dan bersih dalam bersahabat.
Dewa kayangan itu pun telah turun ke bumi (ke hutan di mana adanya ketiga-tiga sahabat itu)dan menyamarkan diri sebagai seorang musafir miskin yang sangat daif dan dalam kebuluran. 'Musafir' itu telah bertemu dengan ketiga-tiga sahabat itu dan memohon pertolongan dari mereka untuk mencarikannya makanan atas alasan yang dia telah tidak dapat makan selama beberapa hari. Ketiga sahabat baik itu telah berbincang dan akhirnya bersetuju untuk mencarikan makanan buat si 'Musafir' tadi.
Maka si Kera, si Musang dan si Arnab bergegaslah berlari kemana-mana untuk mendapatkan makanan bagi 'Musafir' itu. Setelah beberapa ketika, si Musang telah kembali dan membawakan beberapa biji telur ayam yang telah "diambilnya" dari kampung yang berdekatan. Di dalam hati 'Musafir' itu terasa amat gembira dengan usaha si Musang. Tidak lama selepas itu, pulanglah si Kera dengan beberapa biji buah-buahan hutan yang telah dipetiknya untuk santapan 'Musafir' itu. Sekali lagi di dalam hatinya tersirat perasaan gembira dan bangga di atas rancangannya itu.
Walaupun begitu, si Kera dan si Musang masih ternanti-nanti kepulangan sahabat mereka si Arnab. Hari semakin gelap tapi si Arnab tidak pulang-pulang. Rupa-rupanya si Arnab menghadapi kesukaran untuk mendapatkan makanan bagi 'Musafir' itu walaupun dia telah mencuba sedaya upaya mencari makanan. Si Arnab dalam keadaan yang amat sedih terpaksa juga pulang. Setibanya Arnab ketempat itu, dia telah ditegur oleh kawan-kawannya....; "Arnab, kenapa engkau lambat sampai dan mana makanan untuk manusia ini?" tanya si Musang. Arnab dengan nada suara yang sedih telah menjawab; "Puas aku cari makanan sehingga aku sendiri kelaparan dan kepenatan....". Arnab pun terus menoleh kearah 'Musafir' dan berkata; "Begini sajalah, aku telah sedaya upaya untuk mendapatkan engkau makanan, tapi tidak berhasil dan aku merasa amat kesal dengan apa yang telah terjadi. Oleh yang demikian, sekiranya engkau masih juga lapar.... aku dengan rela hati mengorbankan diri ku untuk menjadi santapan mu wahai musafir. Engkau makanlah aku supaya engkau dapat hidup dan meneruskan perjalanan mu."
Mendengarkan penjelasan dari arnab yang penuh penyesalan dan ikhlas itu, 'musafir' terus bangun dan mendedahkan dirinya yang sebenar. Ketiga-tiga sahabat itu terkejut kerana mereka mengenali siapa yang berdiri dihadapan mereka itu. Dewa Kayangan itu pun berkata; "Aku tahu kamu kenal kepada ku dan aku merasa kagum dengan kerajinan dan semangat kamu untuk menolong orang yang dalam kesusahan. Kamu semua memang baik." Dalam masa yang sama arnab semakin sedih setelah mengetahui bahawa orang yang sepatutnya mereka tolong bukanlah manusia biasa tetapi Dewa Kayangan.
Dewa itu telah memandang ke arah arnab dan berkata lagi....; "Wahai arnab, kawan-kawan mu telah berjaya membawakan makanan untuk ku, tapi engkau telah memberikan aku sesuatu yang lebih berharga dari itu semua dan aku amat berbangga dengan engkau kerana mempunyai hati yang suci sehingga sanggup mengorbankan dirimu demi orang lain." Dewa Kayangan itu tersenyum melihat arnab dan berkata lagi; "Wahai arnab, janganlah engkau memberi terlalu banyak sehingga boleh membahayakan diri mu." Dewa Kayangan pun menoleh ke arah si Kera dan si Musang tadi dan berkata; "Terimakasih kerana menjadi haiwan dan kawan yang baik, sekarang aku amat bimbang akan keselamatan kawan mu si arnab. Maka dengan itu aku akan membawa arnab untuk tinggal bersamaku di bulan. Dan jika kamu berdua rindukan arnab..kamu pandanglah ke arah bulan mengambang dan kamu akan dapat melihatnya."
Selepas saja Dewa Kayangan itu berkata demikian, dengan serta merta Dewa itu hilang dari pandangan dan membawa arnab bersama-samanya............... Itulah kesahnya!
Jadi jangan lupa melihat bulan...!!!

Tuesday, August 4, 2009

Attempt To Compost

Its 8.45am Tuesday, just came back from sending Ira to kindergarten. As usual, have to do some cleaning on the bunny cages, clearing up & collecting the manure, feeding the bunnies too. All this has become routine for me & Fiqa now. Its already been a week since we started the chores. Fiqa still learning on how to take care of our new family members.


As for today I've got other plans beside doing the usual thing. Its time to try something new, making Bunny Compost. After browsing thru the internet on how to produce or manufacture compost from rabbits manure, I finally gonna give it a go! I already made the compost bin yesterday from an unused about 2 feet high container (with lid of course), but the lid is kinda spoiled need to do some repairing. Anyway, drilled some holes at the bottom of the bucket and also some on the lower side of it. Not forgetting the lid too. I also made a small door on the lower side of the bin for easy collection.


I started of with some newspaper shread for the base of the compost then for the 2nd layer, I filled about a quarter of the bin with partly damp soil. Now for the 3rd layer, here comes the main ingredient...the bunny manure. I dont even know how much rabbit's poo I added. On top of it some green wet grass, about a plastic bag full...followed by a few handfull of dried & leaves dried grass. Finally the wet grass again and a bit more of soil to top it all. Sprinkled some water to make the ingredients damp like a sponge. Its done. To cover it all... I used a plastic, tightened it & tie it up with wire. Punched a few holes for the aeration. This is just temporary till I fixed the lid of the bin. The extra space is for me to add in more poo or other things.



Am I doing it right guys? So now, in a week time I'll have to open it up and mixed all the ingredients & also turn the bin upside down for better blending. Hope it works! Wish me luck guys.........!!

Saturday, August 1, 2009

Getting To Know Them

Hmm...its been two days since my last posting. Anything new? Well, I think there is.... A sad thing happened the other day. One of Dolly's litter died, it was the weakest one.... it was so weak & very skinny. Tried to get the litter to milk on Dolly's but it seems like the will is gone. My kids were sad when they heard about the news. As for me, it was a lost, the litter died in my hand while I was holding it. Tragic. Wish that it could've lived a little bit longer though. Anyway, life has to gone on. I've to take good care of the others, they are my precious.
Today, I found out something new about my little precious. Its their personal characters.... Lets take Ariel, what I've noticed about her today is that...well, u can say that she's kinda "manja". Yes, wanna know why? Its because whenever I'm not around, she will eat & finish her food. But when it is refill or added, she doesnt seems to bother. Take the vegetables or the hay... She would prefer to be hand fed rather than doing it on her own. When I leave her for awhile she will continue eating for just a short while then she'll be relaxing waiting for me to come back & feed her. huhu...!! She is one spoiled bunny that's looking for attention.
As for Dolly, being a mummy is making her a bit tired I guess but she eats well. That's a good thing so that she will recover her energy fast enough. The three litters have been given names, the plump active one is called Snowy due to the all white fur (actually all of 'em have all white furs) then there is Winky, due to the fact that the right eye seems to opens a bit smaller than the left. Its like the baby bunny is winking at you...cute!. The third one is called Pochi, named after a character of a baby dragon in one of Japanese Anime series...(but I cant recall the name of the series). The name was given by someone that is very dear to me. By the way, the smallest litter in the bunch (belongs to Ariel, its the only 1 she has after the rest died or being eaten by scavenging cats at the previous owner's house) is also been given a name. The name is Tiny, reason being it is the tiniest one in the house.
Who's next? Ah yes...Lola the 2 months old doe. She's very active & always looks cute with her pretty eye lashes, The name Lola suits her well. Always eager to explore & discover. Each time I approaches her, she'll be ready to greet me...such a sweet girl she is. Likes to run around in her small cell.... Its seems like I've to get their playground ready soon. So they'll be free to run around, jump & roam (or do whatever they wish) in the playground.
Last but not least..LEO the dominant male in the bunch. He's nice, like to be stroked and padded. Leo is my favourite since I dont have a son. He can also be 'a pain in the butt' too sometimes...when he's showing off his temper I think. I caught him flipping the pellet tray a few times....and all the pellets were scattered. You better watch out Leo!
Ah...another thing, I mated Ariel & Leo. I know..... I suppose to do it on Saturday but as the saying goes..."God works in mysterious ways" Maybe there's a good in that...I hope. The 1st attempt was in the morning at around 10.30 am & the 2nd attempt was at 5pm after I came home from work. Hope everything goes well. Started counting the days to due date. Will check on her progress from time to time. All I need to do now is provide her with good nutricious food espcially hay.
My next plan now is to get me or make myself a compost bin so that I'll be able to manufacture quality Rabbit Compost.