So lops

I'm not sure if this should be here or in breed discussions, but hey. So there is a couple that are about to sell two houses they rented on our street. Well they saw my house bunny out with me on her leash while I finished off a hut im working on in my front yard (keeps the noise away from the bunnies, but I was doing quiet work so my bunny wasn't bothered), and they stopped and asked me if I wanted some free rabbits. So I got to asking them questions and they have a bonded pare of pure lops without papers (they told me what kind of lop, but I currently can't remember. They were maybe mini lops?). Well the couple travel a lot and don't feel like their rabbits are getting the attention they deserve, and want to find them somewhere to go and get the attention they deserve. Seeing me with my rabbit they asked me, because so far everyone they talked to were interested for their freezer. I told them that I'm a rabbitry, and that they'd be breeding stock for me. They came back, looked at my set up, and liked what they saw so they will be bringing the rabbits by when they can. They told me the doe is a sweetheart that just had her very first litter, but didn't take care of them and they died, and the buck is a bit of a wild child but they think he has started behaving that way because of how little time they get to spend with them. Now I admit I've never worked with lops. Is there anything other than normal bunny stuff I should worry about, because if their ears? I'll update when I find out what kind of lops they are, and get pictures when I can any lop advise will be helpful

Hi! Biased Mini Lop breeder here!
Be prepared to fall in love with all the babies. If you're anything like me, you'll try to keep everything. :lol:
In all seriousness, however, I was told to keep an eye on their ears in below-zero temperatures, because their ears can freeze. Fortunately I've only heard one horror story, where a fellow 4-Her's French Lop's ears fell off!
Also, Because of the bulldog head and short, flat little noses, I've heard they can get respiratory issues in dusty, drafty surroundings. One more thing; just in case. If you participate in rabbit hopping or agility, Mini Lops are not a good idea for two reasons: most of them are laid back lumps who'd rather eat the run around an obstacle course, and they can shred their ears with their nails when jumping over a hurdle.
Now, I've never encountered any of these issues. I live in Michigan, and if it gets below zero I put my lops in my garage so they don't have ear trouble. I've never had ear infections, respiratory issues, etc. Only issue I've had is selling them. (For some reason, that's a nightmare this year) But that doesn't matter for you, because you're not in West michigan.
Enjoy your lops! ancake:

Fun!! My boys raised Mini Lops for awhile. I found them to be quite hardy, which I love. We never had any issues with their ears or anything. The only problems we every had were getting those does to breed! But that could've just been us. LOL! Cant wait to see some photos :lilbunny: :lilbunny:

Thank you both. I'm quite excited myself. They told me the doe is solid white (maybe she's a REW, but I don't know yet) and the buck is broken black. They told me their names are Fiona and Fu-Fu (because he looks like the panda from Kung Fu panda) since they are a bonded pair I'd like to keep their hutches against each other. What kind of wire mesh would y'all suggest to keep them from breeding through the cage and giving me litters I don't know about until they show up?

i've also got mini lops and may be biased but i pretty much agree with everything here. my lops are very laid-back and sweet for rabbits that were not handled much at their breeder's. my doe is a bit feisty when she's with a buck to breed, but otherwise she's very chill and a great mom. the kits are some of the cutest things i've ever seen in my life, lol. they also seem quite hardy and do fine in our extreme heat despite their ears not standing up. no ear infections or breathing issues for me. sometimes their eyes may water a bit (not all the time,) and my buck's face is so big and squishy (that's him in my icon,) that sometimes i think he may not see too well directly in front of him - which i know they have a blind spot anyway but his may be bigger - but it doesn't slow him down. or well. y'know. they aren't exactly ACTIVE rabbits haha. my younger buck escaped the tractor one day and i just plodded casually behind him while he tried to run away from me. speed demons they are not

They sound like the perfect rabbit for my fiance. He isn't a very active person if he can help it. I'm still trying to figure out how I'm going to set up their hutches since they are a bonded pair. I don't want random litters happen through hutch bars, but I also want them to be able to see/ groom each other since they are bonded. Do y'all think sandwiching a small strip of 1/2 inch wire mesh between the hutches , if placed at the bottom of the rabbits' walking space, would be enough to stop until planned litters, and still let them stay close?

__________ Tue Aug 01, 2017 5:09 pm __________

So I got to see pictures of the rabbits. They were told by the breeder, that was dropping them off at the store the couple bought them from, that they are mini lops. I don't think the breeder told them the whole truth though, they looked like lop mix to me, but I'll put up pictures once they get here (tonight!!!!). The main reason that I'm thinking mixed though is that they are of breeding age, but their ears aren't lopped, only about half lopped. Either way, my two new rabbits are coming tonight!!! <br /><br /> __________ Tue Aug 01, 2017 6:22 pm __________ <br /><br /> They are here!!!! Fiona is the REW, and Fu-Fu is the broken black. How big are mini lops supposed to be, and when are their ears supposed to fully lop down? These two are about the same size as my spots which are medium rabbits, and I'd estimate weight roughly 7-8 pounds. They are also roughly 6 and a half months old. Fu-fu's ears are more lopped than they looked in the picture I saw before they got here, but Fiona's are still only partially down

What a couple of cuties Definitely mixes, though. Not just the ears, but lops, short of English lops, have more smushed faces and blocky heads.

yeah i would be surprised if those had any mini lop in them at all. when i crossed my mini lops to my meat mutts the resulting kits had the same kind of thick square face. the REW really just looks like a new zealand to me. but hey, they're cute! i love the little brokens' black ears :'D

They both do have smushed and boxy faces, I just didn't get really good pictures. I found this morning that Fiona's ears do actually lop, and they were up because she was leaning against the wall. I'll try to get some better pictures with the help of one of the kids I watch

__________ Wed Aug 02, 2017 6:42 am __________

So they both were actually sitting nicely during feeding today. I got MUCH better pictures since I had more time to get good ones. I'll still take some with the kid so that you can see how big they are and tell me if they are even the size they should be for a mini lop

__________ Wed Aug 02, 2017 6:44 am __________

Two more pictures

__________ Wed Aug 02, 2017 9:56 am __________

Here are the other pictures. The kid is in the purple shirt, and I purposely cur out half her face. I'm in the other two pictures. I'm 5'2" tall so you know the size comparison. <br /><br /> __________ Thu Aug 03, 2017 10:39 am __________ <br /><br /> I just realized that the pictures look like completely different rabbits compared to the first set I posted :lol:

Cute..but yeah, no ML in those buns. IF it is, they are many many many generations away and were not fair breed examples. CUTE pets though!

Hey I got them for free so it's not a big deal to me. What would y'all think could be in them? There is lop off some kind