Holland Lop Domestic Rabbit Breed for sale
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Holland Lop
Holland Lop is a breed of domestic rabbit that was recognized by the American Rabbit Breeders Association (ARBA) in 1979 and by the Netherlands' Governing Rabbit Council in 1984. The Holland Lop, with a maximum weight of 4 lb (1.8 kg) (as stipulated by ARBA), is one of the smallest lop-eared breeds.[1]
Holland Lops are one of the most popular rabbit breeds in the United States and the United Kingdom. They were first bred by Adrian de Cock, as a hybrid of the French Lop and the Netherland Dwarf. [2][3][4] Holland Lops are miniature rabbits that only weigh from about 2 to 4 pounds.[5] They are muscular, relative to their compact stature, and have a wide variety of coat colours. Their lopped ears are one of their most distinctive features
History
The history of Holland Lops began with Dutch breeder Adrian de Cock from Tilburg, Netherlands. Holland Lops, or the "Netherlandse Hangoor Dwerg",[2] are acknowledged by American Rabbit Breed Association (ARBA) in 1979 and made known to the public in 1980.[4]
When Adrian de Cock realized that French Lops were over-sized and Netherland Dwarfs were under-sized in 1949, he decided to breed the two with each other in hopes that their off-springs will inherit the optimal size. French Lops weigh anywhere from 10 pounds (4.5 kilograms) to 15 pounds (6.8 kilograms) while Netherland Dwarfs only weigh around 1.1 pound (0.5 kilogram) to 2.5 pounds (1.13 kilogram). Unfortunately, the results were nothing like what de Cock expected. Their off-springs were way too big and died as a result. The mother (female Netherland Dwarf) also died from the breeding process. In 1951, de Cock decided to try the breeding process again. Instead of using a Netherlands Dwarf doe, he used a male Netherland Dwarf buck. He did not think that this was possible at first, because the French Lop was much bigger than the Netherland Dwarf buck. The results exceeded de Cock's expectations. All of the offspring were normal-sized and had standard ear positions. In 1952, de Cock wanted the rabbits' ears to be lopped (hanging limply), so he let a French Lop's and a Netherland Dwarf buck's off-spring breed with the Sooty Fawn, an English Lop with visibly lopped ears. The results were one with lopped ears, 2 with normal ears, and one with semi-lopped ears. At the end of the breeding process in 1955, a Holland Lop weighing less than 6.6 pounds (2.7 kilograms) was born. 11 years after this significant event, de Cock announced Holland Lops weighing less than 4.4 pounds (2 kilograms). Another goal at the time was to publicize Holland Lops. In 1964, these rabbits were finally recognized by Dutch breeders and authorities, which led to the introduction of Holland Lops across many countries in Europe.[2][4]
Sometime in 1965-1975, these rabbits made their first appearance in the United Kingdom thanks to George Scott, an English rabbit breeder from Yorkshire county who found these Holland Lops. At this time, the average weight of this breed was only about 3.3 pounds (1.5 kilogram).[4][3] The history of the well-known Mini Lop is also related to the history of the Holland Lop. When Scott found these Holland Lops, he sought to make them even smaller, so he let the lightest Holland Lop off-springs breed with each other. The result of this breeding process was the Mini Lop, which was acknowledged by the British Rabbit Council in 1994.[3] In 1976, Holland Lops made their way to the United States, where they were acknowledged by the American Rabbit Breeders Association 3 years later.[4][7] Over the years, Holland Lops have traveled across the globe and their breeders' accepted maximum weight has changed insignificantly with the actual weight of these rabbits.[2] Holland Lops are now one of the most well-known rabbit breeds in the United States and the United Kingdom
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holland_Lop