New Holland Lop owner

Hey guys,
My family is about to the proud new parents of a baby holland lop. We had a dog for 16 years and have been considering a replacement pet for a while. Our kids have been wanting a bunny for six months. Our daughter (7) has a bunny in her classroom so maybe that’s what started it. Anyway we got on a breeder list about a month ago and made our selection this week. In two weeks we can bring our little eight week old bun home. I’ll see if I can post a picture. We are very excited. We have her cage and supplies ordered and they’ll be ready for her. I’ll try to post a picture if I can figure out how to do it. Lots of good information on this forums.

 

Alright buddies trying to post some pictures of our sweet new baby

ABC96836-2180-447C-8E1C-8D617DA5054E by Steve Rollin posted Apr 11, 2019 at 8:59 PM

873D3B0F-8E1A-4E18-9DE7-F3B899F09BCA by Steve Rollin posted Apr 11, 2019 at 8:59 PM

 

She's pretty
To post a picture on thread you click on 'Upload a file' button next to 'Post reply', you can choose there to post full image or thumbnails.
I have two lop girls myself, one in my avatar is also holland lop about 4,5 months now, her name is Smokey, and Bernie is the other one she's 10 months old and I am not too sure which lop she is, she'd be too small for french lop but comparing with Smokey she's a bit bigger and her head is larger and she's a very calm rabbit complete opposite to Smokey who is very fast and looking more like a springer spaniel to me same temperament

This is Bernie





and this is Smokey

 

So cute. Thanks for the reply. How do your bunnies get along?

The woman we got her from takes her breeding pretty seriously and she has such great bunnies. Our Gertie looks exactly like her dad. He is small, under two pounds, and apparently was a four time grand champion. My wife and I have been joking that we are going to hit the bunny show circuit with Gertie. I am only half joking. Might be a fun career change.

We hope Gertie likes sitting in our laps and being handled. She seemed the most chill of the whole litter. But probably impossible to tell at her age.

 

I hope you are the one going to be in charge of most of her care. Most kids your daughter's age and even older, I've seen it happen too many times before, it's like them getting a new toy and after a month they don't even look at it anymore. Or the pet store walk around Easter, " Mommy or Daddy I want the bunny" and then two weeks later they end up in a shelter or abandoned in the woods. I'm not saying you are going to do this, but you need to know there is a lot when it comes to care of a rabbit. Their diet needs to consist of 80% hay 10% veggies and 5% pellets and 5% treats. But when they are under 12 weeks they don't need any veggies yet, unless mom has been fed them and they have had a few nibbles. If you are going to keep her inside then you are probably going to want to litter train her, and you need to be deciding if you want her to be a pet or you want to show her. If you decide to just keep her as a pet then you need to spay her female rabbits have an 80% chance of getting uterine cancer after 4 years old. If you want to show her then litter training is going to be a lot more work. Yes, you can still show her if you spay her but only in the pet shows, she can't show in the ARBA shows. Rabbits need lots of space, they can't live in the small store bought cages unless a larger area a run of some sort or she has free range of the house. If you have any more questions feel free to ask me or make a new post.

 

Yep my wife and I are under no illusion that our kids will take care of her. They can barely wipe themselves lol much less clean a rabbit cage. We have a nice cage ordered. Big and great reviews. She will have the run of a big room. This breeder litter boxes all her bunnies and we will too. Like I said we had a pug for 16 years so we are responsible pet owners. We are getting her spayed. I am aware of the health related issues. We also have a huge fenced yard. But yep appreciate all the advice. The show thing was mainly a joke but I do think it would be hilarious to show rabbits.

 

Well you guys sound like you're all prepared for your new bun! She's so cute! You will have a great time with her, keep us updated when she goes home!

 

very cute! i don't think she will stay under 2lb though, i don't think that is s healthy weight for a holland lop... i could be wrong tho!

mine have both grown so much in the last 1.5 months it is crazy!

do you and your wife work? sometimes bunnies get lonely if home alone all day, they require lots of attention and love!! i would suggest seeing if the breeder has a sister to send you home with as well 2 buns is always better then 1!

 

Hey beobei cool bunnies. Your lop looks kind of like ours. Broken tort huh?

No neither of us work. We are around the house a lot. I suspect she will get lots of attention but will keep your advice in mind.

We just received and assembled the Midwest ferret nation double cage. Holy cow this thing is huge! But very well built I’d say. Thank god it’s on castors because it feels like it weighs 100 pounds.

Question for those of you with pools. I know it’s not safe for bunnies to swim or get wet. How savvy are they around water and ledges? Are they wary of jumping down into water to where they will avoid?

 

So adorable!

 

Sorry, but I'd have to heartily disagree. It is not advised to get two baby bunnies at the same time. Not if the intention is to have them bond. It is the riskiest way to hope for a bond. Once hormones kick in, they may begin to fight and may even refuse to bond (siblings or not).

If one is going to start with a baby, best to get just one. After their girl is spayed, they can decide at that point whether or not to get a 2nd. If so, bunny dating other fixed rabbits holds the best chance for a successful bond.

Indoor rabbits tend to do just fine during the day if no one is home. That is typically their chill and nap time anyway.

 

Building one of those is no small feat! (We have the Double Critter Nation - but not for the rabbits.) Had I known that was the cage you ordered, I would have discouraged it. It really is not suited well for rabbits. The ramps shouldn't be used unless covered. The footprint is only 6 square feet- so in actuality it is small for an adult rabbit. And it is raised off the ground.

If you want to make it work anyway, there are steps you can take. (If I had just built that, I know the last thing I'd want to do is dismantle and return it.) First is that bunny will need about 5-6 hours daily outside of that cage since it is so small. Even though there are multiple levels, floor space is what counts. No room in there for an adult rabbit to binky or take several hops. Even less once a litter box, food & water bowls, toys are placed in it.

Next, you'll need to arrange some sort of steps or ramp to allow bunny to hop in and out of her cage during exercise time. (Having free access back to their cage during exercise time is important for them to feel "safe.")

The ramps inside the cage, as already mentioned, should be covered to prevent paws or nails from getting stuck.

To get an idea of habitats, have you seen the thread on this forum? We do one each year to show everyone's cage set ups. It may give you some ideas.
https://www.rabbitsonline.net/threads/2019-cages-add-your-photo.93422/

As for pools, most rabbits are pretty cautious when investigating things. The only concern would be if they were to panic or just get too excited/happy running around. In either case, they could accidentally land in the pool if they have access to it.

I took our rabbits out on the hardscape near our pool, but they didn't have direct access to the pool.

 

I also believe you should return the cage. I have a single critter nation that I used for a past hamster, and I found many problems with it. The pan is very easily chewed. I have a Holland Lop also, and I can't imagine him in a critter/ferret nation. Lops also aren't that great of jumpers (correct me if I'm wrong). It was also around $200 and I got it on sale! You'd be better off getting your money back and perhaps building a multi level c & c/ nic cage. Rabbits prefer floor space as opposed to height so they can do their bunny things.

 

Here's an example of an nic cage. There's many tutorials on YouTube.

 

Appreciate all the advice but I think the ferret nation cage is a good enough one. It’s pretty big as far as I’m concerned. But most importantly the box has been trashed so it’s staying. I’m sure there’s something better but life is about compromises. My wife and I actually carried it up the stairs once assembled to hide it from our kids until Gertie arrives. I would not advise that. Let’s just say words were exchanged. We’re still married though.

 

Yes. I understand. That's why I included advice on what to do to make it work. I know how difficult those cages are to put together (or take apart). I can't believe you actually carried it upstairs after getting it put together -- no small feat!!

 

I do like the idea of a ramp to get in and out of on her own.

 

I’m actually a holland lop breeder and I love going to shows! I’d recommend your family go to a show a least once to see what it’s all about. There is an unimaginable amount of buns and unlike a random fair people at ARBA shows know what they’re talking about, lol. As for the dad rabbit’s weight, there is something called true dwarf and false dwarf, it’s a recessive gene. The dad is likely on the small side of true dwarf. The Holland lop weight limit is 2-4lbs and false dwarfs tend to go over in weight (disqualifying them from show) and they don’t have the nice compact body type that trues have.
I’m just starting out my rabbitry so I only have two buns at the moment, Mario (broken black tort) and Kali (solid black tort) black tort is a common colour for Hollands

 

Hi there!
I️ love my ferret nation cage and I️ have 2 Netherlands in mine. Just cover the ramps with the fleece covers and you’re golden. I️ built my scatter trays out of 1” x 4” plywood and built a plywood ramp covered in fake grass for them to get in and out. The double doors are awesome to access the cage. I️ ordered additional bottom wires and elevated them over the plastic pan to ease in cleaning. I️’ll try to attach a picture.

So enjoy your holland, I️ now have 2 of them because I’m over the upkeep of a dog. Rabbits are awesome pets, no noise and smart. ❤️

Christi

 

One more thing I️ want to add is my bunnies all get rotation out of their cages daily. But when my Netherlands go back in their cage they usually rest on the top shelf inside their Timothy huts on the top level. See picture. I️ will attach another picture of my ramp. Very easy to make and they use it all the time to get in and out of their cage.