English Lop

[ThatsMySimi]

First of all, I am in no way abouts to get one. I have decided I can't handle anymore pets until my life has calmed down, and god knows how long that could be. I just want to know more about the breed.

For those of you who have an English Lop, do you find they're more "naturaly friendly", meaning they are always intrested in people. I found with my Lionhead, she wasn't "naturaly friendly", I had her from a very young age, and she was alwayds around me, but she never did really warm up to me. However, my Holland Lop, I found, was always intrested in me - even from the first day. I generally lean more towards the "naturaly friendly" rabbits, so I'm wondering about this breed.

How hard is it to care for their ears? Is there something that must be done everyday or just something you'd have to check every few weeks?

How big would one want a cage for an EL?

Would it be possible to bond a Holland Lop and an English Lop, even though there's such a large size difference? *Or would I be better off getting a "Velveteen Lop"?

If I ever get one, which I'm not sure I even will, it would probably be when I still had Ash, andif I could bond them, I could give them a bigger cage. Like I said, I don't know if I'll ever even get an English Lop, but I like to do my research anyway, just because I'm curoius.

Shay & Ash

 

[BlueCamasRabbitry]

I found that English Lops are naturally friendly. My buck will go up to anyone who goes near his cage (seeing if they have food, wanting attention, and then the "Will you let me out, pleaseee? fit) But yes, they are so friendly. Which is what I love. He (Mississippi) is always interested in what someone is doing, like when we clean his cage he has to show us how he wants it - literaly. He checks to make sure we do it right, etc. He just always wants to be with us.

As for the ears, you should check weekly or at least every other week and look for bumps, scratches, cuts, anything that shouldn't be there. I've heard that they are easily to succomb to large amounts of wax, but I dunno, never checked in my buck.

The cage size you'd want to be at least 4 feet by 2 feet, and probably about 3 feet tall, as when they stand up, they're LARGE! My buck's head goes past my knees when he stands up, and I'm 5'2".

You could try bonding a Holland with an EL. I've never bonded my EL because, he's unfixed still and he will hurt the other bunny.

Emily

 

[ThatsMySimi]

Thanks for the info! I had looked online, and found a bit, but I wanted to know from a person who owns one...

If I did ever get one, I'd probably get one as young as possible, so it'd be as small as possible, so it couldn't beat up on Ash too much. I'd probably get a buck... Could I bond a neutered buck with a non-neutered buck?

The "cage"/x-pen is quite large, and I was thinknig that without Ash's cage in it, it would be big enough for 2 rabbits - but lord knows, by the time I'm ready for another rabbit, I may have a bigger set-up for him. My cage is probably three feet tall. It's almost the tallest you can get in dog x-pens (It's not the largest, but the next one down)...

Thank you for replying!

 

[BlueCamasRabbitry]

Getting a young one to bond with Ash is good, but the EL will eventually grow large. Up to 10-11 pounds. I would think that an un-neutered buck would beat up a neutered buck. The un-neutered buck may not know the other buck is altered, so hence, they still may fight.

Your Welcome!

Emily

 

[ThatsMySimi]

Thanks!I don't know, maybe I'd get a doe, maybe I won't get one at all, ever. I sent you a PM though.

 

[BlueCamasRabbitry]

Alright.

Emily

 

[tonyshuman]

Altered bunnies aren't totally nice either. My Tony is altered and he beats up on my bf's altered dwarf Benjamin. Even when Ben wasn't altered, Tony was the one who instigated fights.:?

 

[LadyBug]

EL's are so cute! i just love them!

 

[Revverress]

I don't post here much, but I wanted to share my English Lop views. :biggrin2:

ELops have the most amazing, laid-back temperament of any breed I've ever met. Mine love to just lay in my lap and cuddle, and every time I walk by their cages, they always jump up and try to get my attention. So yes, they are very friendly.

I wouldn't say that their ears are hard to take care of, but you do need to check them a lot more than any other breed. Personally, I check on my ELs' ears every day to make sure there are no scratches or wax build-up. About every 2-3 days, I clean them- I do this by [this is gonna sound nasty, buuut] sticking my finger down and gently scooping all the wax out; it only takes about 20 seconds to do this. This is so that I can get everything out, and I'm able to do it without risking knocking wax down into the ear canal. About once every two weeks, I put a little bit of baby oil on a cotton ball and wipe out the ear. The biggest task is keeping the nails short and blunt so that they don't tear their ears by stepping on them or scratching inside of them. I clip nails every 2 weeks, and I always file the back nails down so that they aren't sharp.

If the general rule of thumb is for the cage to be 4 times the size of the rabbit, then for ELops, the cage should be 6 times the size. This is not just because they're a large breed, but also because a bigger cage space keeps them from standing on their ears. I recomend to the pet homes my babies go to to use a large dog crate as a "den", and then put a larger X-pen around the cage. If you're worried about size difference, then maybe a velveteen lop would be best, although they'd be harder to find [at least, I've never seen one]. However, I know people with several rabbis of all different size that get along fine; then again, they're all spayed/neutered.

English Lops are complete sweeties, and I couldn't imagine living without one.

 

[ThatsMySimi]

Revverress wrote:

I don't post here much, but I wanted to share my English Lop views. :biggrin2:

ELops have the most amazing, laid-back temperament of any breed I've ever met. Mine love to just lay in my lap and cuddle, and every time I walk by their cages, they always jump up and try to get my attention. So yes, they are very friendly.

I wouldn't say that their ears are hard to take care of, but you do need to check them a lot more than any other breed. Personally, I check on my ELs' ears every day to make sure there are no scratches or wax build-up. About every 2-3 days, I clean them- I do this by [this is gonna sound nasty, buuut] sticking my finger down and gently scooping all the wax out; it only takes about 20 seconds to do this. This is so that I can get everything out, and I'm able to do it without risking knocking wax down into the ear canal. About once every two weeks, I put a little bit of baby oil on a cotton ball and wipe out the ear. The biggest task is keeping the nails short and blunt so that they don't tear their ears by stepping on them or scratching inside of them. I clip nails every 2 weeks, and I always file the back nails down so that they aren't sharp.

If the general rule of thumb is for the cage to be 4 times the size of the rabbit, then for ELops, the cage should be 6 times the size. This is not just because they're a large breed, but also because a bigger cage space keeps them from standing on their ears. I recomend to the pet homes my babies go to to use a large dog crate as a "den", and then put a larger X-pen around the cage. If you're worried about size difference, then maybe a velveteen lop would be best, although they'd be harder to find [at least, I've never seen one]. However, I know people with several rabbis of all different size that get along fine; then again, they're all spayed/neutered.

English Lops are complete sweeties, and I couldn't imagine living without one.

Thank you for the info! There is a Vlop breeder in Quebec, that I think would ship rabbits, so then if I decided to get one, and they were still breeding, I could look there, but I think a Vlop would still outsize Ash a lot... I don't know, I'll probably just not get another rabbit. Ashie is fine with his cat friends.