Holland lop is one of the famous breeds in the United States and the United Kingdom. They are dwarf rabbits weighing about 2 to 4 lbs. once fully grown. Holland lops are a domesticated breed that has diverse color variety. They have a muscular body and a friendly temperament. They are very active partners that need only basic grooming. Their crown characteristic is their looped ears and short rounded noses that differentiates them from other breeds.

History of Holland Lop

Mr. Adriann de Cock, of Dutch, was crowned for the creation of Holland lop. He started breeding French Lop and a Netherland Dwarf Rabbit in 1959. He wanted to compile their qualities in one breed but failed in all six litters. The resulting litter had erect ears without having any looping effect found in today’s Holland lop.

In 1952, he took the doe from that litter and bred her with an English lop buck as a result of 1 looped ear, 2 normal ears, and 1 semi looped ear offspring developed. The struggle carried on and later in 1955, a Holland lop weighing 6.6 was born.

Decock, didn’t stop here he worked for eleven more years and achieved a 4.4 weighing Holland lop with floppy ears. The Netherlands Governing Rabbit Council recognized the breed in 1964. The breed made its way to the United States and got recognized by ARBA in 1976.

Physical Characteristics of Holland Lop

Weight and Height

The Holland lop is characterized as a dwarf rabbit breed. This compact body dwarf rabbit weighs approximately 2 to 4 lbs. once they are fully grown.

Life Span

The average life span of the cutest Holland lop breed is 7 to 14 years.

Physical Appearance

Body Features

Holland lop has a wide and short body that makes him compact body shaped. His head is broad and has a prominent crown at the back of the head. The wide and thick crown is made of the puff of fur or cartilage.

The stocky body is covered with glossy fur making him elegant to its extremes. They have short and stubby legs and a small, sturdy, straight tail. The eye color of Holland lop is usually black. They should have broad shoulders and deep hindquarters. The short rounded noses differentiate them from mini lops.

Ears

Holland Lop’s large floppy ears covered with the glossy fur makes them popular across the world. The ‘spoon’ shaped, well furred, and thick ears fall on either side of their face making them more adorable to the viewers. These almond-shaped ears are about 4.7 inches. The ears are one of the most distinctive features of Holland lop.

Coat

Holland lop has an adorable dense coat with medium hairs and a rollback trait. His glossy and smooth fur adds charm to him. Moreover, this shiny coat does not need much grooming and maintenance.

They only need weekly or bi-weekly brushing as a part of grooming. Brushing makes their coat tangle-free and lustrous. To make the coat dirt-free, just clean it with a moistened cotton ball.

Color Variety

The Holland lop has a wide range of colors. According to colors, they can be classified into two groups

• Solid colors

• Broken

The rabbits having one definite color can be characterized as solids and the ones which contain patches of one or two colors are considered broken.

Some of the available colors are chestnut agouti, chinchilla, chocolate, and opal in the “Agouti” Shaded group covers; tortoise, seal, smoke pearl, and sable while Wide Band covers cream, fawn, frosty, orange, tricolor, and red. The Holland lop has an ultimate beauty regardless of colors.

Personality and Temperament of Holland Lop

Holland lops are good-natured sweet temperament bunnies. They are very active and energetic. They are not aggressive at all. They are friendly and thrive on attention. Although indoors, but need some time to get out of their cages will help them to cheer up. It will also allow them to stretch their legs and have fresh air and sunshine too.

You need to play with them and have a walk with them to bloom their personality and cope with their energy level. Chewable toys and mental pet toys are important to entertain them.

Health Issues of the Holland Lop

The Holland lop is a healthy breed with having no hereditary diseases. However, they need to be checked for parasites and overgrown teeth. Holland lop is an active breed so they need physical stimulation and playtime for mental health and also to avoid boredom.

Overgrown teeth would be very painful for your bunny so always have a check upon them. To relieve this painful condition, a diet composed mostly of the hay is important for them.

Another common issue to all breeds of rabbits is parasites, specifically cheyletiella mites that cause itching and hair loss. Anti-mite injections or a spot-on treatment can easily cure this problem. The matters of spaying and neutering also decrease the chance of reproductive system-related diseases such as uterine cancer in does.

Many Rabbits are also susceptible to Parasites attack that suffers them a lot. Cheyletiella mites can cause hair loss and itching but this parasitic attack can be treated through anti-mite injections.

Hollywood lop should be checked for enteritis along with guy stasis and bloat when they are eight weeks old. An infection like otitis can be caused in their ears due to their length and curves of ears. Uterine cancer is also common in rabbits but this can be prevented through spaying and neutering.

Nutrition of Holland Lop

As. for as the diet is concerned the rabbits, they are herbivores. Their diet should consist of 70% of high-quality hay. It can be timothy hay to wear down the overgrown teeth. If you notice overgrown teeth more than normal increase the amount to 80%.  Moreover, rabbits need a balanced diet including fruits, fresh vegetables, pellets, and leafy greens.

According to individual taste, they can prefer one type of fruit to another. You can use his love for the specific fruit as a reward in his training.

Care Instructions of Holland Lop

Brushing in molting season is very important otherwise your bunny will ingest his hairs due to self-grooming instinct and cause intestinal blockage. Their nails should be trimmed to avoid breakage. Never bath your hooper or you will lose him.

The cage should be a big place for them to play around and be happy. Their cage should be made of strong wire so that the rabbit doesn’t chew its walls. The floor of the cage should not be made up of wire because it will hurt your little companion. soft bedding made of hay is important to make him comfortable. The bedding should be changed every week to get rid of feces.

Hollywood lop is popular for their high energy level so they should have some time out of the cage to release their energy. These indoor pets should be observed because they can chew different things like wires and other unsafe things if allowed to roam freely in the house.

Final Words

Holland lop gains its popularity in the United States and the United Kingdom as soon as it is accepted by the American Rabbit Breeder Association. It has a small size compact body and beautiful looped ears that fall each side of his face making his looks very innocent. They are very active and sweet lovable partners.