Mini Lop
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The Mini Lop is a very popular rabbit breed that is featured in numerous rabbit shows throughout the United States. In the USA, it is the third smallest Lop overall, the Holland lop and American fuzzy lops are smaller, as well as the smallest non-dwarfed lop. It is a different breed from the Holland Lop, which is the smallest (and only dwarf lop) of lop breeds in the USA. Its equivalent in the UK is the Dwarf Lop; however there is a breed called the Miniature Lop in that area, which is the equivalent of the Holland Lop in the United States.
History
Bob Herschbach discovered the Mini Lop breed at a German National Rabbit Show in Essen, Germany in 1972, where it was known as a Klein Widder. These first Mini Lops were originated from the German Big Lop and the small Chinchilla. These two breeds came originally in Agouti and white colors.
German lops were about 8 lb (3.6 kg), slender and large with thick ears. Herschbach, a Mini Lop promoter, achieved the first procreation of Mini Lops in the United States, mainly through breeding an agouti lop pair and a white female lop in 1972. Their first baby lops were solid colors. A second generation came with broken colors. As a result of the breeding process, they began to obtain a high standard of qualities Mini Lop.
In 1974, when Herschbach's Mini Lop rabbits made their debut in an American Rabbit Breeders' Association (ARBA) convention held in Ventura, California. The outcome was that the breed needed to be downsized to a more compact, attractive size. In order to achieve this, Herschbach enlisted the assistance of other breeders by letting them breed more of his Mini Lops. One final touch resulted in changing the breed name from Klein Widders to "Mini Lop" to make it more appealing to the public.
In 1977 the Mini Lop breed was under new sponsorship; Herb Dyke was the person in charge of this task.
In 1978, Herschbach and Dyke created a correspondence club for the Mini Lops. Within a year, they had over 500 members who had contacted the ARBA with support for the Mini Lop rabbit. In 1980, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin at the National Rabbit Convention, this breed marked its success when it was recognized as an official rabbit breed sanctioned by ARBA.
Shortly after, the Mini Lop Club of America was founded to promote it.
Personality
Like any animal, Mini Lops come in a variety of personalities but, most often than not, they are fairly friendly and extremely playful. They are also very intelligent in that they can be trained a variety of tricks and commands and can be litter boxed trained.
However, unspayed females may get territorial of their cage space and unneutered males may spray, hump other animals or toys and/or play a mating ritual around your feet when you enter the room. A Mini Lop that isn't handled much and neglected may take on unattractive behavior such as biting or stomping of their back feet. They love to be with their family and will show their disapproval if neglected.
Care
Like all rabbits, the Mini Lop needs to have its nails trimmed monthly and a weekly brushing will keep shedding down. Providing plenty of chew toys will also keep their teeth from overgrowing.
A diet should only consist of pellets with 15-17% protein and as much fiber as possible. Unlimited Timothy hay should be provided at all times as it is vital to keeping a rabbit's intestines cleaned for rabbits over 6 months. Under the age of 6 months, it is recommended alfalfa hay be used. Rabbits can not vomit and like cats they lick to clean themselves. The hay will keep them flushed so that they don't get any blockage. Mini Lops do not need frequent bathing unless they get extremely filthy.
It is recommended that fruits be used sparingly as a treat. Vegetables should also be incorporated in the rabbit's daily diet. Not all fruits and vegetables are acceptable foods for a rabbit, and proper research should be done prior to feeding. Fruits and vegetables should be introduced slowly into a rabbit's diet. This is observe potential digestive problems that rabbits may have in result to new foods, such as diarrhea. If such problems result, removal of the new fruit or vegetable should be immediate from the rabbit's diet.
Mini Lops should have a cage of at least 24" × 109" and it should be cleaned monthly.
Showing Mini-Lops
The ideal Mini Lop is described as being a "basketball with a head". Judges like to see a nice rounded body with thick depth, long thick ears, a wide head and thick bone.
ARBA Accepted Colors
When showing Mini Lops the colors are broken down into two categories; Solids and Brokens. There are a lot of colors available in the breed however only certain colors are accepted. Some of these colors are:
Solids: Chinchilla, Chestnut Agouti, Lynx, Opal, Black, White, REW, BEW, Blue, Chocolate, Lilac, Orange
Broken: Black, Chinchilla, Chestnut Agouti, Lynx, Opal, Black, White, Tri Color
Non-Recognized Colors
Black/Blue/Chocolate/Lilac Otter, Black/Blue/Chocolate Silver Marten, Tort, Harlequin, Magpie
Mini Lop Standard of Perfection
Schedule of points according to the ARBA Standard of Perfection:
General Type 80
- Body 43
- Head 20
- Ears and crown 12
- Feet, Legs & Bone 5
Fur 10 Color & Markings 5 Condition 5
Weight Limits and showroom classes according to ARBA's Standard of Perfection:
- Senior Bucks- 6 months of age and older, weight 4½ lbs to 6½ lbs
- Senior Does- 6 months of age and older, weight 3 lbs to 6 lbs
- Junior Bucks and Does- Under 6 months, weight 3 lbs to 6 lbs