Floppa Lops

[punk-a-doodle]

Thanks to a very sweet husband, we now have English lops in the house. <3 Working on one of those home-made modular cube cages, so they are in a temporary pen right now.

The buck playing on the bed. Mad, mad little man:

Cuddling time (the buck is the black tort, the doe is the larger blue tort...she is thought to be blind in her cloudy left eye):

The blue tort doe

Black tort buck

The buck is a real snuggler and we were told he is about 4 months old. I hope that he can become a therapy rabbit as he ages. The doe is about six months and is a good girl...but needs to be spayed pronto. The clinic that does rabbits is taking their time getting back to me. I'm a bit concerned, as she drinks a ton of water. All my female rats who developed mammary tumors would do that, as do many sick or pregnant animals.

Right now they are on Mana Pro pellet wise. I hear that is better for meat rabbits/rabbits living short-term lives, and that pellets meant for pets, like Oxbow Rabbit pellets, are better for rabbits you want to keep around for a while. Opinions?

 

[Alicia G]

I found that whether it be a 5kg bag of 'gourmet' feed, or a 30kg bag of pellets, they work the same to me. But saying that, I find buying the smaller, high quality feed is good for pets, as it gives them a bit more condition to the coat. Now the big question I have, is the boy intact? If he is, then he and the gal are both mature enough to breed. If they spend even a small amount of time together, your gal is probably pregnant

A male becomes more 'aware' round four months and I have seen the gals go into heat round three/four months of age. I would think it best to have both of them fixed to limit the female from going into heat and the male from spraying.
Good luck with them, they look darling!

 

[punk-a-doodle]

I am definitely wondering if they have mated at their ages, especially as they were bought as a pair with breeding in mind. She was humping him and having some hormonal swings when we picked them up from the previous owners. Not sure he has ever reciprocated, as he just balled up in a scared looking lump when she went at him, poor guy. Definitely want them both fixed, but really, really want her spayed especially because of her typical doe mood swings! She's actually the first doe I've owned as I tend to like the more mellow bucks better for pets.

Thanks so much for the pellet input!

 

[PintoPasoFino]

I love the English lops! I have many! I have found them to be very docile and gentle. I used mine too when I worked at a therapy barn and also would being him to do Animal Assisted Therapy to the elderly in nursing homes.

Larger breed rabbits mature a bit later than smaller breeds. Plus, English lops can be difficult to breed. Chances are your doe is not pregnant. The mounting behavior is also seen sometimes with establishing dominance.

Enjoy the bunnies!