The French lop rabbit breed is the giant of the lop rabbit breeds and defiantly in the top 5 largest rabbit breeds when it comes to weight and mass.
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I am pretty sure I have a thing for large breeds in general because I have a saint Barnard and tend to go for the largest breed of anything else I raise. Maybe because I am 5’11” and they are easier to reach…Who knows.
While french lops are not the only breed I have raised they defiantly have my heart and are all I raise at this point in time.
When rabbit conventions are close by I love to go look at all the different breeds and just watch.
See how the different rabbit breeds behave and if there might be another one I would want to try. But somehow I always end up back with the french lops. After raising only them since 2009 I guess it is safe to say they have me hooked.
This big guy below is defiantly one of my favorites.
How Big Are French Lops
So let’s start with the obvious. The size.
Rabbit owners are like dog owners in the sense that they like to exaggerate juuuust a touch on how much their rabbit weighs.
The bigger the better when it comes to french lops. BUT don’t mistake size for good body confirmation.
ARBA Standard Weight
The ARBA breed standard for the french lop is that it only weighs more than 11lbs for bucks (male) and 11.5 lbs for a doe (female) with no max weight. WHich is why you will see a wide range of wights for these guys.
With that said you will see on average 12-13 pounds for the breed occasionally up to 15lbs. If you hear someone say their rabbit weighs more than that I would be skeptical and only believe it if you weighed them yourself.
Weight is hard to “eyeball” with rabbits and when you are raising them it is really important that you know what they weigh.
If you are looking for a scale that will work well for all rabbit size I think the baby scale is the best way to go. I have a traditional rabbit scale and it’s ok but needs to be calibrated often. This scale below even has a “wiggly baby” feature so if your animal is not happy about staying on the sale it will average the weights it is picking up.
pssttt.. this little guy below is about 6 weeks old. Stinking adorable if you ask me.
Why French Lops Might Not Be Right For You
French lops are very forgiving when it comes to learning how to handle them and not acting out if they don’t like what you are doing. However, they are big and need to feel secure when you are holding them. So you do need to have a strong grip and be big enough to hold handle them. They do make good pets for young children but it would be best if a parent was there to help move them around.
Also, on the whole, the breed tends to prefer to sit on the ground and be petted. They don’t love for you to be standing and holding them.
So if you feel intimidated by the size then maybe you should look for something smaller.
Issues They Have
There is not much that I have to complain about with this breed except they do struggle with weepy eye. While a little is normal the breed can have it get pretty bad. They eyelashes can rub on the eye and you might have to keep them trimmed and there are some cases where eyelids (mainly in bucks) can roll in towards the eye.
Unfortunalty this does not tend to show up until they are about 10 months to a year old. There are some breeders that will keep a rabbit that had great body type but has really bad eye issues. Making it hard for those who want to cut that out of their herd.
That is the only issue that I would say is common in the breed.
Don’t want to forget this information? Save it to your favorite Pinterest board with the image below so you can find it later.
French Lop Personality
They are VERY laid back and I think because of the size not much scares them so they rarely are stressed out. I have been bitten MAYBE 3 times in my whole career raising french lops. And the times I can think of I had it coming.
They are a very lazy breed once they mature and that is about 12 months old or even 14 months depending on the lines they come from.
They are super sweet animals, even the does (female rabbit) should have a good temperament. The only time I give a little leeway is if she needs to be bred. But that is normal for any breed.
This is my girl Evelyn and she is an exception to the rule. Even when she is ready for babies she is not grouchy at all. But there are a few who just want to be left alone or jump back and grumble when you go into pet them. In that case, I give them their space and pet them when they want it.
Bunny Crack – French lops and their bad habit with treats
This goes for any breed but french lops are THE WORST about treats. DO NOT make a habit of giving them treats to where they can predict when and or how often or they will go on strike only wanting to eat treats.
Keep it very few and far between and only give them healthy treats. Not those silly yogurt dips or funky things that are clearly made for the buyer not the rabbit.
Cages And Supplies That Fit A French Lop
If you are doing hanging cages outside then here is a nice cage on amazon that will fit a french lop. I would recommend putting a support board or chain link fence pole across the bottom to help with the strain that the weight will put on the cage.
Finding a hutch that is big enough and the right width is really hard. Most cages are under 20 inches wide and 25 to 30 inches wide is ideal. The cage below is ok, however, the extra stuff they have inside is pointless. So I would get rid of the table and ramp that are in this cage.
Bowls For French Lops
I LOVE these water bowls and I wish I had started using them sooner. They are perfect for the large breeds to have enough water during the summer months and they are flexible enough to be able to pop the ice out of them in the winter without breaking the bowl.
You can also fit a baby or two in it!🤣
Bottles are fine as well but honestly I think they are a waste of money because of how badly they can leak. In the summer heat with a large rabbit you DO NOT want to run out of water.
For the rest of my favorite grooming and care supplies read this post.
Nest Box Size For French Lops
I have to make my nest boxes because I make mine way bigger then most people might think. While they might seem over the top for some it has helped significantly with losing babies due to the mom steping on the kits.
I like to have them big enough that 2 moms could sit next to each other in the box. Another thing you have to take into consideration is the size of the cages you have. If the nexting box is so big the mom can’t turn around that is also a problem.
Ideal Measurement For A French Lop Nest Box Is 22x18x12
DO NOT SKIMP on the hight. After you put the straw in the box that takes a way a few inches and the babies can get out at too early. Causing them to get stuck somewhere and injure themselves or even die.
You can rearing the inches for the sides if you need to in order to get the box to fit in the cage.
Also french lops do not need that V or U shape cut out of the box. You run into the issue of the kits getting out to early and momma rarely uses it anyway so the risk vs reward is not worth the effort to add the cut out.
Here are two other posts that might help you out.
- Nesting Box Tips For Rabbits, Why They Need Them
- What To Do When Your Rabbit Had Babies Outside The Nesting Box
If you have any more questions about the breed leave them here in the comments.
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