Hmm..i have a feeling my buck is a mini lop and my doe is a dwarf.

[Kez-bunniemom]

I generally used to think that dwarfs and mini were basically the same (Having never really seen a mini)
But then i saw a picture of a mini and realised that my buck, bob, has the same 'chubby' face as a mini.
I always did used to wonder why Honey was bigger than him and has a thinner face- she has pedigree papers identifying her as a dwarf.
Could someone tell me the basic differences between a dwarf lop and a mini lop?
I'll post pictures as soon as possible if that helps.

 

[Kez-bunniemom]

Don't quote me on this but i'm pretty sure the international name for Dwarf lop is Holland lop. We just call them dwarfs in GB.

 

[pamnock]

One of the reasons you may note purebred "dwarfs" with longer, narrower faces is due to the way dwarf genetics work.  The desired combination is a gene for normal size and a gene for the dwarf size.  The combination of 2 dwarfing genes in rabbits is lethal (as it also is in humans).

This leaves the possibility of producing rabbits with 2 normal genes that do not carry the dwarfing characteristics of their breed.

More on the UK vs USA lops:

The UK Lop breeds are slightly different and and there are more lop breeds in the UK than in the US:

The British Rabbit Council (BRC) breeds are listed first with our US equivalents listed second:

Cashmere Lop: Wooled breed slightly larger than our American Fuzzy Lop

Mini Cashmere Lop: wooled breed slightly smaller than our American Fuzzy Lop

Dwarf Lop: slightly larger than our Holland Lop

Miniature Lop: similar but slightly smaller than our Holland Lop

German Lop: similar to our Mini Lop

Meissner Lop: Larger than our Mini Lop, but smaller than our French Lop

English Lop: similar to our English Lop

French Lop: similar to our French Lop


The Netherland Dwarf Lop in some countries is similar to our Holland Lop (It is also the old name for our Holland Lop in the US).

There are also Lionhead Lops, Mini Plush Lops and Velveteen Lops.



Pam

 

[Kez-bunniemom]

Ahh.. i think i get what you mean. So my two rabbits may both have different dwarfing genes?
One other thing i've noticed is their kits are different sometimes just like them.
I have their fully grown daughter living with me and she has the 'chubby' face but is slightly bigger and stockier than her father.
I know a woman who took two of my males and i see them quite a lot-they both have thinner more angular faces as they are growing up... it's all quite complicated. I can't say what the rest of the kits have turned out like as i haven't been in touch with their new owners.
Cashmere lops are just so adorable, i really want to branch out into a couple of different breeds as i progress through the years and they would be my second choice, after Lionheads.