# Rabbit breeds



## GoatCrazy01 (Feb 14, 2016)

Hi. I'm considering Netherland Dwarfs, Dutches, and Mini Lops, but having a very hard time choosing. I currently have Lionheads, and a few other rabbits but none of them are really show quality. I'm sort of the person that just takes in rabbits that nobody wants or that aren't taken care of. I tried breeding Lionheads, but it is soooo hard to get their mane and skirt just right, and it being a new breed there are a lot of 'kinks' and people that don't know what they have or that are dishonest. I have decided to raise a different breed. Just a lot of hoops trying to get started with them. I guess I like that Netherlands don't eat much, but some people say they are grouchy. Some say they are very friendly. Just wanting opinions before I decide. Not in a rush to get any, just want to take a lot of time and really decide what breed I want and study that breed so I know how to tell if a rabbit is show quality or not. If you have had experience with any of these breeds or know about them I would really appreciate any advice, tips, or the breed you would go with. Thanks so much in advance!


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## Jessica84 (Oct 27, 2011)

I had a mini lop when I was little and those sucker were so sweet but also very out going. My son actually wants to go into breeding mini lops lol. Dutches the only one I had, well my son had was a royal B! She would attack us every time we put her hand in her pen so I don't like them at all! Dwarfs I've never had but the lady my daughter bought her English lips from also raises them and we played with all her rabbits and they were all very sweet. I don't know if you were to ask me I would say either the dwarf or the minis. People like small and cute and they also like the floppy ears......I'm really anti Dutch lol and I have to say my favorite breed of all is the English lops lol they are the sweetest rabbits I have ever been around and so lazy and easy going......but they do eat A LOT!


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## GoatCrazy01 (Feb 14, 2016)

Thank you! I think I am going to go with the Dwarfs just because they are small and eat so much less than the bigger breeds.


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## Jessica84 (Oct 27, 2011)

I think they are cute! I wanted my son to go for them but he's hooked on lops lol I have a thing for big ears too but the dwarfs I played with were just so sweet and cute I just fell in love........but I'm a rabbit killer so I have to enjoy whatever my kids pick lol


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## GoatCrazy01 (Feb 14, 2016)

Yes lol! That's why I have a hard time choosing.. cute lil dwarf breed or big sweet lop? Lol. Going to do a bit more research before I decide. Again, thanks for taking the time to reply


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## Karen (Jun 22, 2010)

GoatCrazy01 said:


> Yes lol! That's why I have a hard time choosing.. cute lil dwarf breed or big sweet lop? Lol. Going to do a bit more research before I decide. Again, thanks for taking the time to reply


Well, maybe the Mini Lops would be the best of both worlds?


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## Jessica84 (Oct 27, 2011)

Honestly I don't think you could go wrong with either one. The dwarfs are tiny and cute and the lops are lops lol they are smaller then standard rabbits so that's cute too but the dwarfs are cute! If you like both of them maybe do a craigslist search of both breeds I your area and go with the one with less competition to sell


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## Cedar Point Kikos (Oct 16, 2013)

Netherland Dwarfs are temperamental. Especially show quality ones. Grouchy, will lash out. Scratch a lot. The odd one is friendly but in general they're not very nice.

Used to breed them. Super cute (babies are ADORABLE!) but sold them because of their temperaments.

Dutch is a pretty nice breed, haven't bred them but friends of mine did.

I WILL recommend Holland Lops  Favorite breed ever! And you can't beat a 4 week old Holland Lop for the cuteness factor  
There is a lot of diversity in the breed for colors and temperaments. You can get nasty ones and super friendly ones. I selected for friendly and man, did it ever pay off! All my homebred does/bucks are so friendly.


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## Jessica84 (Oct 27, 2011)

That lady that I got my daughters rabbits from her dwarfs were totally sweet. We didn't play with all 30+ lol but everyone the kids pointed to and asked if they could hold them were super sweet. 
My first rabbit I ever had was a holland lop and she was sweet and that was one breed we looked into when my son said he wanted to raise rabbits too and it was said they are hard to breed. The English are hard too and we have had them for over a year and couldn't get them to breed because of their shape so I said no on the Hollands


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## goatnutty (Oct 9, 2007)

I personally had the best experience with our lops as well. They were sweet and filled with personality. We had a couple dutch rabbits over the course of our rabbit years as well. Our male was exceptionally friendly, came running and wanted affection all the time. The female was friendly enough, but not a fan of being held.


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## GoatCrazy01 (Feb 14, 2016)

Thank you all for your answers  I already have one Holland Lop and I have done much research on the breed, and talked to a couple of people who have owned HLs and many other breeds. The one I own has many many health issues and has caused some extra vet bills, and other people I know have said that in their experience, HLs have many health issues also. Keeping weight on, mine always gets ear mites, body mites, and has testicle issues. I probably just got one that wasn't good lines- but either way, several people have said Hollands have issues. Also I've read a lot that they have kind of a lot of peanut babies. I understand that NDs are also a dwarf breed, but I don't seem to hear of that many peanuts. I'm in no rush to get a rabbit, so I will continue taking my time researching the breeds and getting opinions.


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## GoatCrazy01 (Feb 14, 2016)

I do love how cute and small Hollands are, and every one I have met except 1, has been super super friendly. Don't get me wrong- I love them, just want a breed that doesn't have as many issues.


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## BoulderOaks (Sep 24, 2014)

All dwarf breeds will give approximately the same amount of peanuts. 25% of all dwarf rabbits born are lethal peanuts, so long as you are breeding 2 show quality true dwarfs together. If you breed a false dwarf brood doe to a true dwarf buck, you of course eliminate the possibility of peanuts, but you get 50% false dwarfs, instead of the 25% false dwarfs you get from breeding two true dwarf parents. With either cross though, you still get the same 50% potentially showable true dwarf, but the brood doe dam will generally provide larger litters.

The other problem with Netherland Dwarfs is that in addition to peanuts, you tend to get Max Factors and Hippos, which are also born dead, die shortly after birth, or have reduced lifespans and lower quality of life. Keep in mind that Netherland Dwarf does also have more dystocia issues than Dutch and Mini Lops do.

Adorable little rabbits though, and you can find them in very large numbers in almost every area of the country, so you are bound to get a leg if you win the class almost anywhere. Again though, larger numbers means tougher competition most of the time, so make sure you start with the absolute best that you can possibly afford. 

Dutch being a marked breed means you generally only get a couple showable kits out of each litter, if you're lucky. So make sure you have an outlet for all the poorly marked culls. Most tend to have large litters, are good mothers, and have a surprisingly muscular and meaty carcass. 

Mini Lops also tend to have large litters, and they aren't quite as popular in most areas as Netherland Dwarfs and Dutch, so the competition isn't quite as fierce. I haven't heard of or had experience with very many birth defects or genetic issues with them either. Not quite as good with the feed conversion as Dutch seem to be though.

All 3 have their pros and cons depending on what you are looking for and how much space you have, etc. Whichever way you go, I wish you luck! It can be an addicting hobby.


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## Cedar Point Kikos (Oct 16, 2013)

I bred a lot of health problems out of my HL's. Rarely have healthy problems with them now, it's great!


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## GoatCrazy01 (Feb 14, 2016)

Thank you for your answers!! 

I realize that there are completely healthy HLs out there, I just know that some can be tricky to breed.  That's why I was considering Mini Lops, because they don't have the dwarf gene but are still a relatively small lop breed.


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## GoatCrazy01 (Feb 14, 2016)

Thank you for your answers!! 

I realize that there are completely healthy HLs out there, I just know that some can be tricky to breed.  That's why I was considering Mini Lops, because they don't have the dwarf gene but are still a relatively small lop breed.


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## GoatCrazy01 (Feb 14, 2016)

Been doing a bit of research lately and now I'm also thinking about an English Angora, Dwarf Hotot, and maybe Polish. Anyone have experience or know anything about any of these breeds?


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## Karen (Jun 22, 2010)

GoatCrazy01 said:


> Been doing a bit of research lately and now I'm also thinking about an English Angora, Dwarf Hotot, and maybe Polish. Anyone have experience or know anything about any of these breeds?


Angora - be prepared for lots of fluff. If not plucked or combed, it can matt and get uncomfortable for the bunny. NOT a good novice bunny owner candidate.

The Polish and the Dwarf Hotot would be better, Hotots are generally fairly friendly and make good pets.


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## goathiker (Apr 14, 2011)

I had an English Angora... Sweetest rabbit ever. Her fur wasn't hard to care for. She needed brushed out every other day and you can't bed them on chips or hay. She produced nice litters of around 6 kits each time.


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## GoatCrazy01 (Feb 14, 2016)

My aunt has English Angoras, so I know all about their fluff  I've looked at more pictures of Polish and they really don't appeal to me near as much as any of the other breeds. One thing I read said that most babies in a Dwarf Hotot's litter won't be show quality. (So that's why nobody has them..). Iv'e decided no for the Dutch for the same reason because they have so many babies and I wouldn't want to deal with trying to sell the pet quality ones for pets, and knowing myself I wouldn't be able to bring myself to sell them for butcher. I think my final decision is a Mini Lop, but still going to keep an eye out for some Netherland Dwarfs just in case one catches my eye  At a festival today I found some Mini Lop bunnies- going to look at them sometime soon. I'll let you know when I get one and what I end up getting  Thank you all SO much for taking the time to reply! It means a lot and personal experience is much better than Wikipedia and the like.


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