Holland Lop Rabbit breeder?

[ndo4000]

Hi All,

I am thinking of getting a Holland lop for my daughter. She is 13 and autistic and I think having an animal would benefit her emotional needs. (I am very aware that it will be me doing the cleaning out, etc.)

I want to make sure I get a rabbit from a reputable breeder. Does anyone know where I start to find one?

Thank you!

Avoid breeders and go for a rescue.

First of all baby rabbits don’t make good pets. They don’t get sweet and snuggly until the crazy baby stage is over with so your daughter probably won’t get what she is looking for in a baby.

Secondly they absolutely must be in pairs, they suffer depression and can get aggressive and withdrawn when alone. 2 babies are difficult to bond as they have a baby bond which can break at any time. They need to be neutered to keep their bond and this is expensive and can be risky.

There is a huge rabbit crisis currently with rescues absolutely full to the brim. By going for a rescue you not only help them but you get rabbits that are adults and their personalities are easier to see so you can get who works best you your family. Particularly with your daughter being autistic. Plus they will be already bonded and neutered.

I highly recommend RWAF for rabbit care advice. They are more complex than most people realise and sadly they are the UK’s most neglected pet as so many people don’t understand their needs and stick them in a tiny hutch in the garden.

One of mine sits on my knee and watches TV with me. They are very sociable and have fab personalities when you do it correctly so it’s worth doing your research.

Everything that @Madwife123 has said. I volunteer in an animal rescue and our rabbit department is constantly full, leaving heartbreaking decisions to be made over which rabbits are taken and which aren't. 😪 Breeders and pet shops just make this problem worse. Please rescue 🙏 Rabbits must come in pairs and the rescue will have bonded pairs and give you full support and advice.

Rabbits are exotic pets, their vet care can run into thousands. They do not belong in hutches and have complex needs. They can live 10 years plus. Please consider if they are the right pet for you.

If you're in the London or South East area, try ARC (Animal Rescue and Care)

https://animalrescueandcare.org.uk/adopt-a-rabbit/

Please don't get just one. Rabbits are social animals and need each other.

Everything they said.

Also just for context mine are 11 and 10 years old. They're not a temporary thing.

Thank you all so much! I have started looking on rescue sites instead of breeders. Very happy to have 2 so that they are happy and bonded.

I totally understand they are a big commitment. I have owned rabbits before and part of wanting one is because our very loved dog died at the start of the year and my daughter's mental health has gone downhill since. But we aren't in the position to have another dog.

I really appreciate your advice. Any more is also very welcome!!!

Thank you @SilentHedges I have just registered with ARC.

That's wonderful news 🙂 There are some highly experienced Rabbit volunteers there who will assess your situation and needs, and will suggest the most suitable matches for you. Most have full time jobs, so do bear with them if you don't get an immediate response.

😊

Is it your plan to have them (so happy to hear you'll get 2) as house rabbits, or will they be in the garden? If outdoors I cannot recommend an insulated shed with attached bunny run highly enough. That's where my gorgeous pair used to live. We had it hooked up with electricity so there could be a heater/fan/light, which made mucking out much cosier. It was a lovely space with a washable rug on the floor and a chair to sit and have bunny cuddles in (only with out of them, rabbits are often unhappy about being held and can get quite feisty! I had some impressive scratches when they were young!) A shed also means they'll be fitter and much happier from having al the extra space to hop around in.

So glad to hear you have chosen to go with a rescue. They will be able to get you neutered bonded rabbits. I have been though the most ridiculous amount of stress getting my rabbits fixed and bonded - literally nothing went to plan and it cost a fortune, so it's wonderful that you will have had an expert sort that difficult stage for you. If I could start out in rabbits again I would definitely be adopting a neutered bonded pair!

Good luck I hope you love them! My daughter is suspected ND/asd and she really benefits from our rabbits. They hate being picked up as they're prey animals so I've taught her to sit on the floor and let them come to her xx

Sorry to hijack with a. Hit of a morbid question but what do you do when one of the bonded pair dies? Do you have to get another one and so on forever or are they sort of bonded for life so once their friend dies they just carry on alone until they die themselves?

Thought I'd feedback on the response I've had from the rescue centres. It feels like they want to keep the rabbits! I understand that they need to ensure that the rabbits will be cared for and have appropriate living conditions, but they sent a very long list of rules and stipulations and one centre even suggested I just get a cat!!!

I really want to get our bunnies from a rescue Centre, but it feels like it's no surprise that they are bursting at the seams if that's the response they are giving people.

I didn't get a friend for my remaining bun and I still feel bad about it. He got very lonely. I brought him in and kept him as a house rabbit and spent as much time as I could on the floor with him and spoiled him rotten with treats, but of course it wasn't the same. The trouble is his brother died at 7 and I didn't think he'd keep going more than a year or 2, but he actually lived until 13. If I'd had a crystal ball I'd have got him a friend.

What was the list of stipulations?

Many people underestimate how much space rabbits need and how complex they are and so think rescues are being difficult but in fact the vast majority of pet rabbits in the U.K. are kept in unsuitable conditions.

I totally get that rabbits should have space. I was hoping to have them in a 5ft double story hutch, with a separate run for supervised daily garden use and they would also be brought inside daily. We live in a town and I would be concerned about them being in a run unsupervised in case of foxes (even during the day). I'm going to call them tomorrow and talk to them more.

That's just not considered 'ok' any more, in the same way people no longer (for teh most part) keep a dog chained to a kennel in the UK. Times have changed and people are much more aware of the importance of quality of life for small animals than they were even 20 years ago. Watch videos of happy rabbits 'binkying' and you'll see what lively little critters they are. If rabbits are kept cooped in a hutch you'll never know their true personalities.

Unfortunately that’s nowhere near enough space. If you look at RWAF website it explains how much space they need and this needs to be 24/7 as rabbits don’t sleep when we do. Not having enough space means they become more territorial and can fight. Plus they need to move around to keep their digestive system functioning or they can go into stasis which can be fatal.

There is a reason why these rules are in place. You can easily get fox proof runs to attach to the main housing. A shed attached to a run is much more suitable than a hutch however. Double story doesn’t count as the space needs to be on one level for them to hop.

Once you’ve seen how rabbits run around and play in space you soon realise why being shut in a 5 foot space is not adequate.

If that's ARCs response (the rescue I volunteer for) I'm not surprised, as they won't rehome into hutches. Rabbits need far more space, either as house free roaming rabbits or large aviary style enclosures with garden access. It really is about finding the right pet for you and your circumstances, to get the best from each other, so please never take it personally. Either look into getting the housing options the rescues recommend or see what space you could offer another type of pet. It's great that you're asking for opinions and advice here before taking the plunge, I wish more people did.

Rescues will help you bond with another single. My experienced rabbit friend, who volunteers with a rescue, generally has her dining room full of rabbits in bonding cages.

Sadly a 5ft hutch really is just too small for rabbits. Only one in 20 applications a rabbit rescue receives has appropriate housing ready for rabbits, so you have to understand they receive these unsuitable housing options very often. Unfortunately in rescue you see the results of being kept in unsuitable housing - rabbits who are cage aggressive, morbidly obese and have mobility problems. I know my girl would be horrendously aggressive if I tried to shut her in a hutch. It was probably why she was found straying before I adopted her.

My pair have a 6x4ft custom made rabbit shed (it has larger windows than an average shed with mesh and shutters, plus a ramp and balcony inside), which is attached 24/7 to a 5ftx10ft covered aviary on paving slabs. It's only just over the minimum space they need. They also get supervised garden time. None of the set up was cheap, but it's all on to it's second pair of rabbits now, most store bought flat pack would never last that long outdoors.

There's advice here on the space they need:
https://rabbitwelfare.co.uk/space-recommendations/

@bunnygeek Your advice is great and regardless of whether the OP gets the right housing and adopts rabbits, or gets an entirely different pet, there's lots of valuable info being shared more widely here.

I rehome Gerbils for my rescue, and my stats are for every 5 adoption enquiries, only one will either have the right accomodation (never found in pet shops) or be willing to buy the right set up and take on board advice. Rehoming would be easy if we accepted sub standard depressing set ups, but its not about that, it's about educating, promoting up upholding better welfare standards.