Middle Tennessee Rabbitry

HOLLAND   LOP

Holland Lop Rabbits are the smallest breed of the lop rabbit family.  This little rabbit is very popular because of  its compact size and cuddly appearance.  It is noted for having a bulky, stocky body.  The  ideal weight for an adult (6 months or older) Holland Lop is 3 pounds although some may reach a maximum of 4 pounds.

HISTORY

A man named  De Cock gave the Holland Lop its start when he sought to combine the best qualities from two different rabbit breeds, the French Lop (known for having floppy ears and weighing over 10 pounds) and the Netherland Dwarf.  He wanted to produce a petite French Lop with the body of a Netherland Dwarf.  In 1949 and 1950 De Cock bred a white Netherland Dwarf doe to a French Lop buck which produced undesired dwarf  lop rabbits.  He then decided to swap genders in the breeds.  He bred a French Lop doe to a Netherland Dwarf buck and got 6 miniature lops.  He also bred an English Lop buck and a Netherland Dwarf doe.  From this he obtained 5 lop eared rabbits, 2 with upright ears and the others had half lopped ears.  After more unsuccessful pairings he bred a half lopped doe to a buck from the initial six rabbits.  The result was what we know today as the Holland Lop.

The picture shown above was found in google images