Miniature Lop is a breed of

domestic rabbit The domestic rabbit (''Oryctolagus cuniculus domesticus'') is the domestication, domesticated form of the European rabbit, a member of the lagomorph order. A male rabbit is known as a ''buck,'' a female as a ''doe,'' and a young rabbit as a ''k ...

recognised by the

British Rabbit Council The British Rabbit Council (BRC) is an organisation for rabbit enthusiasts in the United Kingdom. Rabbits are the UK's third most popular pet. History The British Rabbit Council was formed in 1934 when the British Rabbit Society and the National ...

(BRC). Confusion arises because, in the UK, the Miniature Lop is often commonly called (for short) the ''Mini Lop''. It is, however, a different breed from the '' Mini Lop'' that is recognized by the

American Rabbit Breeders Association The American Rabbit Breeders Association (ARBA) is a national club for domestic rabbits and cavy breeders. The ARBA is headquartered in Knox, Pennsylvania, in the United States. Its membership is composed of rabbit and cavy exhibitors, commer ...

(ARBA). The BRC-recognized Miniature Lop is most similar to the ARBA-recognized Holland Lop. The Miniature Lop is also similar to several other small rabbit breeds.

History

The Miniature Lop in Britain is a relatively new rabbit breed, and it is descended from the first dwarf lops that were developed in the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

during the 1970s. These are now called, in the US, the '' Holland Lop'', but in the Netherlands, they are known as the ''Miniature Lop''. A Dutch rabbit breeder, Adriann de Cock, is generally credited with developing in late 1949 the dwarf lop breeds, by crossing the French Lop (one of the largest of the lop breeds) with the tiny Netherland Dwarf. Years of hard work paid off to produce the smallest of the lop breeds, and Holland Lops of approximately were first shown in 1964. In 1970, the Holland Lop breed society, composed of 12 breeders in the Netherlands, was established by Adriann de Cock, with the aim of breeding Holland Lops down to . Ten years later, these smaller Holland Lops were imported to Britain by George Scott of Yorkshire via a Dutch contact. After years of selective breeding among the smallest specimens, a new breed was developed and named the ''Miniature Lop,'' which was recognised by the British Rabbit Council in 1994, with a maximum weight of .

Weight

Females usually grow larger than the male.

Appearance

Coat - The coat to be dense and of good length, rollback with an abundance of guard hairs. Legs and pads to be well furred. Head, Crown and Eyes - The head is bold, broad and well developed. The profile of the head is strongly curved with a good width between the eyes, full cheeks and a broad muzzle. The eyes are bold, bright and large. The basal ridge of the ears should appear prominent across the top of the skull to form the crown. Ears - Should be broad, thick, well furred and rounded at the ends. They should be carried close to the cheeks giving a horseshoe like outline when viewed from the front. The inside of the ears should not be visible from any angle when carried correctly.

Color

Agouti The agouti (, ) or common agouti is any of several rodent species of the genus ''Dasyprocta''. They are native to Central America, northern and central South America, and the southern Lesser Antilles. Some species have also been introduced else ...

, Black, Blue, Brown,

Butterfly Butterflies are winged insects from the lepidopteran superfamily Papilionoidea, characterized by large, often brightly coloured wings that often fold together when at rest, and a conspicuous, fluttering flight. The oldest butterfly fossi ...

Chinchilla Chinchilla refers to either of two species ('' Chinchilla chinchilla'' and '' Chinchilla lanigera'') of crepuscular rodents of the parvorder Caviomorpha, and are native to the Andes mountains in South America. They live in colonies called "her ...

Fawn A deer (: deer) or true deer is a hoofed ruminant ungulate of the family (biology), family Cervidae (informally the deer family). Cervidae is divided into subfamilies Cervinae (which includes, among others, muntjac, elk (wapiti), red deer, a ...

, Fox,

Opal Opal is a hydrated amorphous form of silicon dioxide, silica (SiO2·''n''H2O); its water content may range from 3% to 21% by weight, but is usually between 6% and 10%. Due to the amorphous (chemical) physical structure, it is classified as a ...

, Orange, Sable Marten, Sealpoint, Siamese Sable, Siamese Smoke, Sooty Fawn, Steel, White

Lifespan

The expected lifespan of this rabbit is between 7 and 14 years, but they can live up to 18 years if properly cared for.

Gallery

File:Miniature Lop - Front View.jpg, An orange coloured Miniature Lop - Front View File:Miniature Lop - Side View.jpg, An orange coloured Miniature Lop - Side View File:Miniature Lop-stood up.jpg, An orange coloured Miniature Lop - Stood Up File:Miniature Lop - Grey.jpg, A blue otter colored Miniature Lop - Front view File:Miniature Lop2 - Grey.jpg, A blue otter colored Miniature Lop File:Miniature Lop3 - Grey.jpg, A four-month-old Miniature Lop

References

Citations

Sources

Miniature lop (UK)
bunnyhugga.com. Retrieved July 2011

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External links

The British Rabbit Council

The National Miniature Lop Rabbit Club

House Rabbit Society

Famous Instagram Bunnies
Lop rabbits Rabbit breeds originating in England