DID YOU KNOW?

The English Lop was developed
in the 19th century in England.
It is believed to be the first
breed of lop rabbit developed
by humans and hence one of the
oldest domesticated rabbit breeds. Through selective breeding, the English Lop became one of the
first fancy breeds of rabbit
developed for the purpose of exhibition.

During a judging, the
English Lop has more
points (33) allocated to
ears than any other breed!

THINK ABOUT IT...

How would you measure a rabbit's ears? Be sure to consider rabbits with very short ears as well as those with very long ears.

 

Besides minimum and maximum ear lengths, what is another major breed characteristic that is different between these two groups?

 

 

 

3. Ear Length
This characteristic has a wide variation in domestic rabbits. Ears range from the ideal length of 2 inches in the Netherland Dwarf to an excess of 26 inches, from tip to tip, in English Lops. Ear length is very important in some breeds.

Various breeds have minimum and maximum ear lengths included in the breed’s standard. When the ears do not comply with these requirements, they cannot compete for awards. These two groups are below:

 

GROUP 1: Breeds that have an ear length maximum are:

1. Dwarf Hotot - eliminated from competition
   for ears over 2 ¾ inches.


2. Jersey Wooly - eliminated from competition
   for ears over 3 inches. Ideal length 2 ½ inches.


3. Netherland Dwarf - eliminated from competition
   for ears longer than 2 ½ inches. Ideal length 2 inches.


4. Polish - eliminated from competition for ears
   longer than 3 inches.

 

GROUP 2: Breeds that have minimum ear lengths are:

1. Checkered Giants - 5 ¾ inches on seniors.


2. Flemish Giants - 5 ¾ inches on seniors.


3. English Lops - 21 inches from tip to tip on
   all age classification.