breeding a mini-lop doe to californian buck

by Scott

I am thinking of breeding a mini-lop doe to a californian buck. Has anyone tried this? Were there any problems?


***Moderator Comment***
The world has 180+ different breeds of domestic rabbits because others had bright ideas of crossing various breeds...fun! We heard of an attempt involving a Netherland doe to a Flemish Giant buck, but I think they had problems with the logistics and couldn't get the two to actually mate...lol!

Mini-Lops aren't all that small...I'd think you shouldn't have much problem, but please don't hold me to any promises. We'd sure love to know how it turns out, in case others have the same question(s).

Good luck!

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Dec 09, 2015
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starstarstarstarstar 		Mini lop x champagne d' argent buck
by: Anonymous

That is what I thought too about the all black offspring. My only thought was that because the champagne buck produced agouti offspring, he must carry it. I don't have the papers for the mini lop but I know she came from a litter with a broken agouti buck sibling. I just thought that one broken parent theoretically meant 1/2 would be broken? Hopefully they will have some color and/or patterns to them!

***** Karen Sez *****
Champagnes are technically black with a silvering gene (not agouti). If the champagne buck produced agoutis, then the 'A' agouti gene must have come from the dam, because black is a result of the recessive 'aa.'

And yes, one broken parent should result in 1/2 of the offspring being broken, more or less.

I hope you'll let us all know how the litter turns out. :-))
Nov 30, 2015
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starstarstarstarstar 		Broken blue mini lop doe X champagne d'argent buck
by: Anonymous

I had an accidental breeding with these two. Both escaped the cage same day. Future crosses with champagnes produced black and agouti offspring. Mix was with a Florida white. Would the offspring from the mini lop be 1/2 broken blue 1/2 broken black??

***** Karen Sez *****
It depends. True, you should have one-half brokens, but as to color, it depends on whether the champagne is homozygous for black or whether it also carries a recessive dilute allele ('d'). You are probably likely to see all black offspring (if the buck carries 'DD,' no dilute gene), but every one of them will have received a recessive 'd' dilute gene from the dam, meaning that they could possibly sire blue offspring if the mate is blue or carries a dilute 'd' gene.

See Rabbit Coat Color Genetics for more details.
Jun 28, 2012
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starstarstarstarstar 		Californian - Holland Lop Cross?
by: Maria

I'm thinking of breeding my Californian doe with a Holland Lop buck, and was wondering what the offspring would look like? Are there any pics/links?

***** Karen Sez *****
Has anyone done this cross and taken pics of the bunnies?

I'm guessing you'll get offspring that weigh roughly 6-7 pounds with fairly lazy ears that can't decide whether to stand up or fall down. They'd likely have coloration that matches the buck's side of the family, unless the buck carries one or more genes which are more recessive than the doe's Californian coloration genes, which is certainly possible.
Jan 22, 2012
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starstarstarstarstar 		Did just that
by: Anonymous

I bred a Cali buck to a Sable mini lop doe.
She had 7 healthy kits. They are nice and stocky.
they are just 2 days old. I can tell that 3 are white and 4 are blue. Can't wait to watch them grow.
Nov 23, 2011
Rating
starstarstarstarstar 		Minilop and lionhead
by: Ginger

My lionhead and mini lop bred and had beautiful kits, they all turned out to look like their momma, the mini lop. They're lively and healthy.
Oct 19, 2011
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starstarstarstarstar 		Just wondering.....
by: Ciqala

I have a similar-ish situation. See, I would really like to get a Netherland Dwarf because I think they are SO cute. My friend has a male mini lop and I was wondering if you know what the babies could be expected to turn out like. Would they still look like Netherland Dwarfs? Or would it come out a weird combination of floppy ears and tiny bodies? It would be really fun to be able to breed our rabbits together, but I don't really want a Mini Lop because they get big and aren't as cute (in my opinion) as Netherland Dwarfs....Help!

****Moderator Comment****
Here's my guess -- size-wise the bunnies would probably be a lot more than 2 1/2 pounds, and a bit less than 6 pounds, perhaps in the 4-5 pound range (think Holland Lop size). But it is the ears that concern me... they'll likely be anything from lopped to erect, to helicopter ears sticking straight out. Your best bet is to purchase TWO Netherland Dwarfs, one male and one female, if the cuteness factor is important to you.
Jun 27, 2011
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starstarstarstarstar 		RE breeding a mini-lop doe to californian buck
by: Silver Desert Rabbitry

Crossing a lop eared breed to a standard erect eared breed might cause problems and defects to the offspring, especially in the ears, neck and upper spine. So be very careful. I had a friend who crossed a French Lop to a New Zealand and what they got were scores of problems with the babies, having to put 10 babies out of their misery. Only one lived because it had no problems, but they sold it to someone else for a pet. So like I said, be careful. The safest crosses are lop to lop and standard ear to standard ear.

***Moderator Comment***
Thanks, Silver.
This is a 'case study' involving a single breeding. Do any others have experiences that could inform all of us?

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