Is this a Holland Lop?
- Thread starter Cindy Lou
- Start date
Bunnylady
Herd Master
Looks like it could be a Holland Lop to me - how old is it? How much does it weigh?
Not every rabbit is going to be show quality; even for a top breeder, a lot of them won't be. The Holland Lop is one of the breeds that require the dwarfing gene to get you that compact animal described in the breed standard. The dwarfing gene is dominant, meaning that if a rabbit inherits it, you will see the results. With the dwarfing gene, you get shorter ears, a shorter, rounder head, shorter legs, and a shorter body. Without the dwarfing gene, all of those body parts will be proportionately a little bit longer, and the rabbit typically will mature to be about 1/2 lb. or so over the top weight for the breed standard. The problem with the dwarfing gene is that it is a lethal gene, meaning that any rabbit that gets two copies of it will die within a couple days of birth (we call such babies "peanuts.") Every properly proportioned Holland Lop has only one copy of the dwarfing gene, and one copy of the normal growth gene. Breed even two of the best Holland Lops together, and some of their babies will get the normal growth gene from both parents. These babies will wind up oversized, with slightly longer body parts. We call does like that "brood does." Brood does aren't showable, but they can be useful in a breeding program because they have slightly larger litters, seldom have problems kindling, and never have "peanuts/"
Not every rabbit is going to be show quality; even for a top breeder, a lot of them won't be. The Holland Lop is one of the breeds that require the dwarfing gene to get you that compact animal described in the breed standard. The dwarfing gene is dominant, meaning that if a rabbit inherits it, you will see the results. With the dwarfing gene, you get shorter ears, a shorter, rounder head, shorter legs, and a shorter body. Without the dwarfing gene, all of those body parts will be proportionately a little bit longer, and the rabbit typically will mature to be about 1/2 lb. or so over the top weight for the breed standard. The problem with the dwarfing gene is that it is a lethal gene, meaning that any rabbit that gets two copies of it will die within a couple days of birth (we call such babies "peanuts.") Every properly proportioned Holland Lop has only one copy of the dwarfing gene, and one copy of the normal growth gene. Breed even two of the best Holland Lops together, and some of their babies will get the normal growth gene from both parents. These babies will wind up oversized, with slightly longer body parts. We call does like that "brood does." Brood does aren't showable, but they can be useful in a breeding program because they have slightly larger litters, seldom have problems kindling, and never have "peanuts/"
- Thread starter
- #3
Cindy Lou
Just born
Thanks for replying to me. He is 8 weeks old now and weighs no more than 1 to 2 pounds (though I haven't weighed him). I know about the dwarfing gene and have read a lot about it. He is my first one of this kind of rabbit. I tried to get one from a quality breeder like the ones listed on the ARBA website but they wouldn't answer my emails. I would have waited to get one from them to have some for sale too. I have been looking for one for quite a while when I found this one.
