Help in knowing what breed my bunnies are????

I am new to having bunnies, and learning so much every day. When I initially went to buy/adopt them I went to get what I thought was Netherland Dwarfs, but when I got there I fell in love with these 2, but have never known what breed they are. They grey one has changed so much from when they were 12 weeks and he was dark grey, now he is very pale grey.

I would say some kinda lop bunny... :?
I bet other RU's will be able to tell you exactly though!
& good luck with the bunz. :thumb:

Hello :wave:

They look like my Poppet, so my guess would be Dwarf (French) Lops.

Thanks for that.

I was told when I got them at 8 weeks old they wouldnt grow much bigger, but one of them has probably trebled in size and the fawn one doubled lol

I am really enjoying them, spend hours watching them playing out in their run, one chasing the other for ages, with everything in the way getting knocked out of the way.

In my experience, dwarf lops are loving, cuddly and very friendly. My Poppet luuurves nose rubs and pamper-time (grooming/brushing). I think you'll love having them around.

Beau Belle said:

Hello :wave:

They look like my Poppet, so my guess would be Dwarf (French) Lops.

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Dwarf lops and French lops aren't the same breed, Dwarfs are the second smallest type of lop and Frenchies are the biggest (classed as giant)

I'd say there were pet bred Dwarf Lops, probably heavier and less compact than ones bred for show, the thing about dwarf lops is they don't actually carry the dwarf gene, so they tend to grow much bigger than people imagine

I would say Dwarf Lops or DL crosses. They are very beautiful!

Thanks for that, its all quite interesting to know.

They are quite fussy and will let me stroke them and fuss them, brush them, etc. but really hate being picked up. I have handled them every day from the day I got them, but as they got older, they disliked it more and more to the point I would end up getting quite badly scratched and cut. I now use a cat box to move them from the hutch to the run which they quite happily jump in both ways. If I actually sit in the run with them, they will climb over me and fuss me until I try and pick them up, then they are off!!!

DemiS said:

Dwarf lops and French lops aren't the same breed, Dwarfs are the second smallest type of lop and Frenchies are the biggest (classed as giant)

I'd say there were pet bred Dwarf Lops, probably heavier and less compact than ones bred for show, the thing about dwarf lops is they don't actually carry the dwarf gene, so they tend to grow much bigger than people imagine

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My understanding was that French lops are the ones with shorter ears, as English lops have very long ears?

If you click on to Rabbit Rehome, link in green at the bottom of the page, you will find a useful guide about breeds- characteristics and average weights which should be usefel.

Many buns are xbreeds so will vary individually.


Your buns are very cute!

Beau Belle said:

My understanding was that French lops are the ones with shorter ears, as English lops have very long ears?

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Mini lops are very small with small ears
Mini lion lops are the same as mini's but with a mane
Mini cashmere lops are the same as mini's but with a longer coat
Dwarf lops are small - medium sized with proportional ears
Cashmere lops are about the same as dwarfs but with a longer coat
German lops are medium - large sized with proportional ears
Meissner lops are about the same size as frenchies, proportional ears but not as cobby and have 'ticking'
French lops are large/giant with proportional ears
English lops are large with the enourmous ears

so yes frenchies have proportional ears and english have the very long ones but they're both individual breeds

DemiS said:

Mini lops are very small with small ears
Mini lion lops are the same as mini's but with a mane
Mini cashmere lops are the same as mini's but with a longer coat
Dwarf lops are small - medium sized with proportional ears
Cashmere lops are about the same as dwarfs but with a longer coat
German lops are medium - large sized with proportional ears
Meissner lops are about the same size as frenchies, proportional ears but not as cobby and have 'ticking'
French lops are large/giant with proportional ears
English lops are large with the enourmous ears

so yes frenchies have proportional ears and english have the very long ones but they're both individual breeds

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Hmmm... Interesting. I wonder if I can take the breeder I bought Poppet-The-(French)-Dwarf-Lop to Trading Standards? She claimed Poppet is pure bred too... :roll: Not that it matters, we love her whatever breed she is!

Tay said:

Thanks for that, its all quite interesting to know.

They are quite fussy and will let me stroke them and fuss them, brush them, etc. but really hate being picked up. I have handled them every day from the day I got them, but as they got older, they disliked it more and more to the point I would end up getting quite badly scratched and cut. I now use a cat box to move them from the hutch to the run which they quite happily jump in both ways. If I actually sit in the run with them, they will climb over me and fuss me until I try and pick them up, then they are off!!!

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I had this confusion with my boys which look very similar to yours.. I know they are cross breeds, but don't know whether they are dwarf lops or mini lops. I thought dwarf but they are not as big as some I know who got theirs from pets at home as dwarf lops. I think they have finished growing now as almost a year old.

Mine also REALLY hate being picked up!! As you said this got worse the older they got as I did the same as you and tried to handle them lots at first. Then after reading how much they hated being picked up I started to use a cat carry cage too. They still absolutely hate being pcked up and will run a mile if they knwo that's what I'm trying to do!! But once I do catch them they're usually better to hold now... only to put them away or something, not for cuddles!! I was getting lots of scratches too and some little nibbles, makes me sad as I think they hate me .... One of the vets I see is able to pick them up so easily without them even moving! But others terrify them, one vet scared Pebbles so much he ran up the back of my cardigan and hid under it on my back!!!! Which meant it was impossible for me to get him down, but then very awkward as the vet had to try and get him. Never going back there again, it was horrible!!!!

Oops, ranted! But basically mine look the same as yours pretty much and sounds like they behaviour very similarly too!

Just had the smaller one in the house for 10 mins or so as they were going mad in the hutch. Not sure if they are playing their usual tag, or just not getting on, so i bought one in and he did sit on my knee quite good, although I think he was still very scared. They are usually out in their run most of the day but only had an hour out there today due to the weather.

I see at least 4 different bunnies in your photos, which ones are the 2 new ones? They look like dwarf lop size to me, but may be a crossbreed of some sort.

Tay said:

Just had the smaller one in the house for 10 mins or so as they were going mad in the hutch. Not sure if they are playing their usual tag, or just not getting on, so i bought one in and he did sit on my knee quite good, although I think he was still very scared. They are usually out in their run most of the day but only had an hour out there today due to the weather.

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How old are they? Both boys? Have you had them neutered yet? They will start to have scuffles most likely if they aren't neutered when they hit puberty (about 4 months old ish - it varies)

Bavarian Bunny said:

I see at least 4 different bunnies in your photos, which ones are the 2 new ones? They look like dwarf lop size to me, but may be a crossbreed of some sort.

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LOL There is only 2 bunnies, In the 1st picture, they are 12 weeks old, in the 2nd and 3rd pictures they are about 6 months old!!!! The grey one has grown tremendously, and changed colour so much.

They are now nearly 9 months old. They are both boys and havent been neutered. I was going to have them done in August due to them constantly trying to mate each other, but then that suddenly stopped and they have been fine since.

Just had them in the house for a couple of hours, creating havoc lol