# Holland lop crossed with Flemish giant



## KST Goat Farm (Jul 29, 2019)

I am thinking about getting a Flemish giant male and a Holland lop female. I will have 2 huches. What I am wondering is if it would be a bad idea to breed them? The female would be the smaller one. Some things I have read say that the kits are all the same size when they are born so it is not a problem. Does anyone have any experience? Thanks.


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## ksalvagno (Oct 6, 2009)

Absolutely it would be bad. The female should always be the larger one.


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## Cedarwinds Farm (Dec 2, 2019)

Can you just reverse it? Flemish giant female and Holland lop male? I'd love to have a Flemish giant some day! The idea of a rabbit the size of a dog sounds of fun!


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## KST Goat Farm (Jul 29, 2019)

Caileigh Jane Smith said:


> Can you just reverse it? Flemish giant female and Holland lop male? I'd love to have a Flemish giant some day! The idea of a rabbit the size of a dog sounds of fun!





Caileigh Jane Smith said:


> Can you just reverse it? Flemish giant female and Holland lop male? I'd love to have a Flemish giant some day! The idea of a rabbit the size of a dog sounds of fun!


The Flemish giant that I want to get is a male. The Holland lop I can get a male or a female. What I am thinking now is i will get two males a Flemish and a Holland and keep them in separate hutches. Eventually I might get a couple females of their own breeds, to breed with them.


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## KST Goat Farm (Jul 29, 2019)

Would a California female and the Flemish giant male still be bad?


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## happybleats (Sep 12, 2010)

I wonder if the milk demand for a giant would be greater than a smaller breed.


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## ksalvagno (Oct 6, 2009)

Why would you want to create a mix? What are your plans for selling rabbits? Do you plan to eat them? Don't just get rabbits because you can get something now. Be honest with yourself on what you want to do with rabbits. What happens if you can't sell any of the babies? Flemish Giant don't make a good meat rabbit so breeding to a Californian will reduce meat.


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## Lindan (Aug 19, 2018)

I have a flemish giant male and two French lop females. 
We breed them for meat, they give good meat and their fur will hopefully be great when I have had time to actually have it processed. 
I don't know what a Holland lop is sizewise compared to a French lop, but my Frenchies are pretty close in size to my giant, at 5kg(~10lbs) to his 6kg(~12lbs).
We don't sell our rabbits, we only breed for food, and only in amounts we can guarantee are comfortable while alive.


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## Sfgwife (Feb 18, 2018)

KST Goat Farm said:


> Would a California female and the Flemish giant male still be bad?


The meat to bone ratio of a flemish is crummy. They are big and big boned and the meat is about the same amount you get from calis and nz. Plus you will feed more to the flemish to get it to grow out. We looked at those when we wanted meat rabbits. We went with cali and new zealands. We do grow ours out a bit longer than most people do. But i can feed us two meals from one rabbit most times too.


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## KST Goat Farm (Jul 29, 2019)

ksalvagno said:


> Why would you want to create a mix? What are your plans for selling rabbits? Do you plan to eat them? Don't just get rabbits because you can get something now. Be honest with yourself on what you want to do with rabbits. What happens if you can't sell any of the babies? Flemish Giant don't make a good meat rabbit so breeding to a Californian will reduce meat.


I understand what you are saying. The main plan is just pets for my little sister. She wants a Holland lop but my brother wants a Flemish giant. I found some people close by who have some for sale. 
My idea was to breed them and sell the little ones. Also I would not be opposed to eating them. I am not sure what the demand for rabbits is like around here. The demand seems to be pretty high if you go by the prices people around here want to sell them for.


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## KST Goat Farm (Jul 29, 2019)

I am trying to decide if I want to neuter both of them of keep them both intact in case I want to get some females later.


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## Sfgwife (Feb 18, 2018)

KST Goat Farm said:


> I understand what you are saying. The main plan is just pets for my little sister. She wants a Holland lop but my brother wants a Flemish giant. I found some people close by who have some for sale.
> My idea was to breed them and sell the little ones. Also I would not be opposed to eating them. I am not sure what the demand for rabbits is like around here. The demand seems to be pretty high if you go by the prices people around here want to sell them for.


If they are pedigreed then they can really go up in dollars. But even just for breeding for meat they can be pricey. For good breeding stock that is pretty normal. It take a lot of food and care to get a bean to maturity just like it does a goat. We sell ours for $25-$30 each weaned. Whether they are for pets, eating or breeding. Because to buy a processed rabbit in a store it is not cheap. So we are going to get almost what one would cost to buy processed no matter what a buyer does with them. We spend a fair amount on good breeding stock and then you have costs in all the other that goes along with it. So while you may think it is a steep price for "jist a rabbit" try to think of it in terms like you would when buying and selling a goat.


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## 21goaties (Mar 13, 2018)

KST Goat Farm said:


> What I am wondering is if it would be a bad idea to breed them?


Yes it would be a bad idea. Never breed a large male to a small female. Holland Lops are tiny and the babies would be huge.



KST Goat Farm said:


> The main plan is just pets for my little sister


Then I would say to make sure they are spayed/neutered.


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## KST Goat Farm (Jul 29, 2019)

Is it possible to keep 2 bucks in the same hutch?


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## 21goaties (Mar 13, 2018)

I wouldn't do that unless they were both neutered and a bonded pair. 
If they aren't fixed/bonded they can fight and severely injure each other.


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## KST Goat Farm (Jul 29, 2019)

21goaties said:


> I wouldn't do that unless they were both neutered and a bonded pair.
> If they aren't fixed/bonded they can fight and severely injure each other.


If I get 2 bucks from two different owners, can I bond them?


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## 21goaties (Mar 13, 2018)

You might be able to, if they were both neutered first. Most bonded pairs are male/female (both fixed)

This powerpoint has tons of info on bonding: https://rabbit.org/articles/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/Bonding-Bunnies-PPforrabbit.org_.pdf


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## ksalvagno (Oct 6, 2009)

They both have to be neutered. You have to spend time with the bonding. House Rabbit Society has some great articles on bonding rabbits.


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## KST Goat Farm (Jul 29, 2019)

Can I put them in 2 separate hutches so that they can see each other but not get two each other? 
I don't think I want to neuter both of them because I think eventually I want to get some females of their own breeds. I think at this point building another hutch is going to be a lot cheaper than neutering them.


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