What Rabbits Do You Have? Show Off Your Rabbits Here!

[ChocolateMouse]

They sure look an awful lot like New Zealand Whites to me. No lop there that I see. Lops have droopy ears and wider skulls, these rabbits seem to have some pretty normal upright ears. Could have some rex, but no way to know... Rex is a recessive gene.

 

[MalMom]

I'm familiar with rabbits, we had them growing up. The "lop" does have kind of droopy ears, definitely not like a full lop but there is some in there for sure. I thought they looked like NZWs too. The girls were more excited about telling us who was their favorite, and they were free, so I'm not too picky. We have breeds we want to get, but heck, you can't beat free. They are almost six months old too so they are a lot closer to breeding than an eight week old kit.

 

[Bunnylady]

"Droopy" ears alone do not a lop make. I have had many non-lop breed animals with ears that got wobbly or fell completely during hot weather - breeds that are supposed to have ears carried in a V-shape are particularly prone to it. Fortunately, though it can result in disqualification on a show table, ear carriage has nothing to do with usefulness as a meat rabbit.

 

[MalMom]

I used the term "droopy" in response to ChocolateMouse, as that was the word they used. They had a variety of rabbits there including a couple different kinds of lops. If they say they got it from a lop/Rex litter, I have no reason to doubt them. At the end of the day I got three free rabbits and I'm quite pleased.

 

[Bunnylady]

I thought you said one was supposed to be all lop? I would certainly have doubts about anyone who told me that a rabbit with upright ears was a lop. While poor quality Holland Lops may still have some ear control, you won't see that happening in a large breed - the width of the skull and size of the ears makes it impossible. If there is a lop breed in there, I'm thinking it accounts for a lot less than 50% - which will probably work to your favor, since the lop breeds are not specifically bred for efficient meat production. But as long as they are healthy and fertile, "free" is a great price.

 

[MalMom]

I thought you said one was supposed to be all lop? I would certainly have doubts about anyone who told me that a rabbit with upright ears was a lop. While poor quality Holland Lops may still have some ear control, you won't see that happening in a large breed - the width of the skull and size of the ears makes it impossible. If there is a lop breed in there, I'm thinking it accounts for a lot less than 50% - which will probably work to your favor, since the lop breeds are not specifically bred for efficient meat production. But as long as they are healthy and fertile, "free" is a great price.

Sorry, that is what I said. I have a terrible head cold and I'm all druged up on cold medication. You can't believe anything I say. I don't even know what I'm saying. The lopy one does look lopy. I'll get a better picture tomorrow. I'm goodo with no lop though. We had a lop when I was a kid and I really don't care for their ears.

 

[MalMom]

This is the one that rode home on my lap. We were told they were all does, but this little guy turned out to be a buck.

 

[ChocolateMouse]

Oh, I see. I thought you'd posted pictures of all of them and said they were all lop mixes.

 

[MalMom]

I did post pictures of them all. Two were in the cage, and the one was on my lap.

 

[Bunnylady]

Now, see, if i to guess, I'd call that a Mini Lop mix. His head is awfully narrow (which is why his ears hang diagonally, not down, and why he has some ear control). His muzzle should be a lot fuller, too.