by Rhys Rosser

Created on: July 04, 2008

I am a very novice breeder of dwarf lops and have had three litters, two successful, one not so successful. The first litter there were 3 babies all the same as the father, and the second litter there were 8 babies one like the father and two like the mother.

The reason that I chose the dwarf lop is because they are a fancy breed and there was a well recognised breeder near our home, I liked their little ears also. I got two rabbits one black, and one black and white butterfly. The Black one, Tina, died in March but was 5 and a half. Jess had his sixth birthday at the end om may and is still going strong. When Tina died Jess was pining a great deal, so he got a new companion a black otter doe by the name of Tarka who was unwanted by her owner. They have since settled in well and this is partly because of a gradual introduction first only on mutual ground and then in the bucks run.

Choosing a rabbit

Where from?
Rabbits are readily available from Pet Shops, Breeders or Farms. Your best bet is the rabbit breeder as they will know their stuff. I bought mine from a rabbit breeder and had excellent aftercare. Always make sure if you are buying a new rabbit for company that you can take the rabbit back if it fails to settle in. The problem with pet shops is that the rabbits can be very timid as they will have been in poor conditionds and never really run around.

Buck or Doe?
You should buy your rabbit between 12 to 16 weeks old as they can be identified by Sex and are less likely to fall ill as they are well developed. Bucks are more easily trained and are cheaper to neuter, Does can be aggresive and will often thump their back feet if they feel threatended.

What breed?

New Zealand
These come in red, white and black. Strangely anough this is an american breed and the red is the oldest. They sholud weigh about 3.5 kg or 8 pounds.

Rex
This is a french rabbit and is extremely popular and comes in all colours and more recently the otter variety. The modern british rex rabbit is very hardy and free from most deformities. The rex is especially famous for the density and silkiness of the coat and is much sought after by american breeders.

Dutch
This is the most popular rabbit and is well recognised by its saddle and traingular marking below the nose. It comes in a large variety of colours including blue and smoke, the dutch should wigh about 5lb.

English
This is a very old variety and is popular with a distinct spotted fur coat. They are usually white with the spots in either black,

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