Mini Lop (USA) - look! my new show girl!!

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HollandLopper

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Just got my first rabbit from a breeder who has been breeding show GC lines for 26 years. Here she is! She's 10 weeks; a chestnut agouti. This is my first rabbit and I'm actually a little afraid of the bugger... (neighbors had a nasty rabbit growing up and it bit and scratched -- my only experience with rabbits!)

She's super sweet but I want to make sure we bond. Any tips??? Also, what is the best way to pick her up? She struggled a bit when I tried earlier and I got scratched up a bit. But she loves to be pet!

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Mine aren't fans of being picked up or held, but love to be pet. It's their instinct as prey. I used to scruff b/c that's what the guy I bought my first rabbits from did, but am learning how to handle them a bit more gently. I have found that being confident and committed with your movements helps. If I hesitate, they flip out. I reach over their back legs and under their belly and do a quick scoop into the crook of my arm, making sure the underside and back legs are supported. I try to hold them gently, but firmly. If they are anxious I will cross my arms so they can burrow their face in my other elbow. I did this with a new dutch I was buying and the lady was amazed I was able to handle her - she wasn't able to pick her up at all. She was perfectly content in my arms...

I don't show so I can't comment on color or body type or anything, but she looks pretty to me! I love lop eared rabbits :all-ears:
 
If she struggles while you pick her up, I'd suggest putting one hand under her rump and one under her belly and picking her up so that her head is facing towards you, so that if she were to struggle and jump she'd jump into your body where you can regain control easily. Also, if she is facing towards you she most likely will feel more secure. For long term secure holding take the hand under her rump and pull it towards your body (if its your left hand, pull it right, if its your right hand, pull it left), so the rabbit is between that arm and your chest. The rabbit will then be secure enough that you can remove your hand under the belly and use it to push her head into your armpit (or a bit below that) to cover her vision. That is the football hold, and very few rabbits will struggle when in a football hold. I would not use the scruff technique on a mini lop that you plan to show because it loosens the skin around the neck area, which may ruin a nice topline and make the animal perform worse in shows. If you want her to be just a friendly bunny, just sit and let her hop around you - offer her some food from your hand while you feed, and if she seems unhappy, just leave her alone her a while - you don't want her to associate your interactions with bad feelings. Sadly, many does (and this is often the case in mini lops) become aggressive and sometimes a bit bitey at around 4-6 months when they become sexually mature - often times they get over their adolescent anger and turn back into sweet bunnies, but their personality seems especially malleable at that age, so I would make special concern not to bother them. The 5 month old doe I have now is in that mood - I plan on just letting her be grumpy and leaving her alone for a while until she calms down, so that she doesn't learn to fear me. Once she's a bit older and she gets in angry hormonal moods like that, you might want to think about breeding her. Also, from my experience often the friendliest, bravest rabbits make the worst posers - so if you want to cuddle her and show her, you need to really practice posing often - before you put her up everyday, just keeping trying until you finally get that pose even if its just for a second.

From a show perspective, she looks fine. She has a nice wide crown, even color that isn't washed out or faded (though I can't see the ring definition here), her head still needs to mature a bit before youll have a competitive rabbit, and I can't tell much about her body at this angle but she looks to have very nice bone for this age. Buying any rabbit for show at that young age is risky - the breeder is taking guesses at what this rabbit will mature to be (though if he/she has been breeding for that long, it's probably a very good guess), but there is always a chance that the rabbit will not turn out as expected - in either a good, or (more often) bad way, and your promising 10 week old may turn into a mediocre adult rabbit. For this reason, I recommend that if you get any other show rabbits to get them older, at between 6 months and a year if you want to keep them on the table.
 
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