Origin

Mini Lops have been bred in this country for nearly thirty years. They were created in Holland in the early 1950s and are known as Holland Lops. A well known judge and exhibitor, Mr de Cock decided that he would like to create a more petite version of the then French Lop. He initially crossed a French Lop doe with a Netherland Buck (this way round for obvious reasons). The resulting offspring had neither lopped ears or smaller bodies and this remained the case for several generations. To add weight to the ear and to cause it to lop he mated the resulting progeny to an English Lop. This resulted in animals with a combination of non-lopped ears, some lopped ears and ultimately all lopped ears. With careful selection the desired shape and weight was achieved after about twelve years.

At this stage, apart from the odd larger animal which still happens today, the Mini Lops were breeding true and they were exhibited by Mr de Cock in the early 1960s. The idea of a small lop eared rabbit soon caught on and other breeders started to create their own versions either adopting Mr de Cock's methods or using other similar breeds.

Standard

All Mini Lops exhibited in the UK have to conform to a specific standard. This is a witten list of features that the rabbit must conform to including weight, colour and shape of body.

8 week old black Mini Lop doe with good ear shape and carriage, broad skull, short cobby body and good colour.

Ring Size K
1) Type & Weight                    30
2) Coat                                  20
3) Head, Crown, Eyes and Ears   30
4) Colour and Pattern                15
5) Condition                              5
Total                                    100

1. TYPE - Bold thickset and firm. The body should be short, broad and well muscled with little visible neck. The well muscled rump ia short and well rounded. The chest is broad and deep with curved sides where it meets the shoulders which are broad and strong. The front legs are thick, short and straight. The hind legs are short, strong, powerful and carried parallel to the body. The tail is straight, strong and well furred. A small dewlap is permissable but not desirable.
2. ADULTWEIGHT Ideal Maximumlbs/oz 3.4 3.8 kg 1.5 1.60
3. COAT - The coat to be dense and of good length, roll-back with an abundance of guard hairs. legs and pads to be well furred.
4. 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.
5. EARS - Should be broad, thick, well furred and rounded at the ends. They should be carried close to the cheeks giving a horse-shoe like outline when viewed from the front. The inside of the ears should not be visible from any angle when carried correctly.
6. COLOUR AND PATTERN - Any colour or pattern which conforms to the colour or pattern of recognised breeds.
7 CONDITION - The exhibit should be in a perfect state of health and bodily condition, free from all soiling, particularly on the feet, ears and genital parts. The coat should reflect the overall good health of the exhibit, which should appear alert and vigorous.

Profile of a sooty fawn Mini Lop buck with excellent ear shape and carriage, good colour and shadings and good width of skull.

FAULTS: Body too long; head not sufficiently characteristic of the breed; pimpled or damaged ears; poor ear carriage; ears folded; crown not developed; fly back coat; large dewlaps in does; rear feet not parallel to the body; light soiling of feet; ears and genital organs; bare pads; fur slightly soiled or matted; long toenails; lack of vitality.
DISQUALIFICATIONS: Maloccluded or mutilated teeth; over weight limit; deformities and mutilations; deformation of the teeth; ears tipped over; feet bowed or bent; crooked tail; any discernible illness or disease; blindness or partial blindness; incorrect eye colour; any parasitic infection; much soiling; matted coat; sore pads (where skin is broken or scabbed); any evidence of irregular preparation for exhibition including trimming and dyeing.


Mini Lops are fastly becoming one of the most popular rabbits not only as pets as they are small, easy to handle and are affectionate but also as a show rabbit. They are now available in almost all known colours with new ones under development at present.

They have lots of personality and in general are friendly, lively creatures with very affectionate somewhat boisterous natures.