Holland Lop Color Help Please ~ New to the Bunny World

[Hens and Roos]

very cute bunch of rabbits you have!

 

[DuckyLou]

Thank you Bunnylady! And thank you Hens and Roos! Here is another picture of Louisa from the side. I just got them a few days ago and the guy I got them from had them inside a dark shed, so I don't think she is sunbleached, but maybe? I felt bad for them inside that dark place. Anyway, thank you for your help on the colors!
So if the black one constantly molts what does that mean? Is there anything I can do to help her out with molting? Thank you again for helping me and answering my questions!

 

[promiseacres]

Louisa looks broken blue tort from the 2nd photo. Cute bunnies.

 

[Bunnylady]

Yeah, the others were right - that's a Broken Blue Tort. The orangey color on the body is clear from this picture.

 

[TAH]

We have a Netherland Dwarf that constantly shedded and i just combed him every day.

 

[promiseacres]

My buns get a tsp of BOSS (black oil sunflower seeds) everyday . Helps with their coats.

 

[DuckyLou]

I think they have been on a pellet only diet all of their lives, I have had them on Timothy hay and I have been giving them a tsp of Boss everyday since I've had them (which has only been about a week), hopefully that will help. They seem much happier already! They get outside playtime in the grass everyday as well, something they had never seen! I will try brushing Butterscotch (black one) out really good and see if that will help her coat. Thanks again for all of your help!

 

[Bunnylady]

Show rabbits are often kept indoors, because they get marked down for coats that aren't in top condition, and as I said, sunlight fades a lot of coat colors badly.

A lot of things can cause a rabbit to molt - changes in light levels, changes in temperature, changes in season; those are normal and often unavoidable. Some hair is lost all the time, but a molt is supposed to be a complete change of coat, starting at the nose and working back down the animal all the way to the tail. Some rabbits never seem to complete a molt, or do repeated partial molts; there seems to be some genetic component to that. If the animal is a pet, that doesn't really matter, of course. This becomes a problem in a show herd, as a rabbit with patches of faded, dull, off-color hair is going to get marked down on the show table. People who breed for show learn to avoid animals like that, to avoid the possibility of having that tendency passed on to the offspring.

 

[DuckyLou]

Great information! Thank you so much! I will be interested to see what happens with her. All of them are shedding really bad right now, but being so new to rabbits I have not witnessed a molt yet. The place that these were kept in was like a tiny shed and the ammonia smell could knock you flat down

 

[TAH]

That is sad. Glad you are able to give them a good home. A while back we rescued a Plush Lop buck. His cage was half full with mold and manure It was horrible. When we got him he was half starved and dehydrated. I had to find him a new home but he did go to a good home. Here are pics of him.