Artificial Lopping

[melissact]

I’m the new mommy of a 13 week old holland lop that we purchased from a breeder at a specialty rabbit breeders association convention two weeks ago.  Ernie is our first bun.  When we purchased him, both of his ears were lopped, which I found a little surprising–having researched bunnies obsessively before we went out and found one, I had read that it can take a rabbit up to six months or more to have his ears lop.  But I figured that Ernie was just an early bloomer.

A week and a half after the convention, we noticed that his right ear had raised up, and was staying up all the time.  I would push it down gently with my finger, and then he would lift it right back up.  I was concerned that he had ear mites, so I checked out his ears–there were some tiny crusty spots, but they were on the *outside* of his ear.  Everything I read on the subject said that ear mite cankers grow on the inside of the ear.

We took Ernie to a specialized rabbit vet today, who was great.  She checked him for mites, and said he looked to be clear of them.  She also said that she suspected that the breeder from whom we purchased Ernie might have done something to make his ears stay down for the convention–artificial lopping, if you will.  Sure enough, when we looked at his ear closely, we found the three little scabs on the outside lined up perfectly–it looks like the breeder might have folded the ear over and tied it down.

I find this very upsetting.  We fell in love with Ernie at first sight, and would have purchased him whether his ears had lopped or not.  We are of course going to keep him, and let his left ear lop or not, whatever it wants to do.  But has anyone heard of this artificial lopping process before?  Does it hurt the bunny?

[Kokaneeandkahlua]

I’ve *never* heard of this but it sounds dreadful…I’m going to look right now!!

[JK]

Oh that’s awful! Ernie is such a cutie. Never heard about that but I would also like to know. I know there are good breeders out there but some are just so cruel. Oh and welcome to this site! There are so many great and knowledgeable people here you are sure to get an answer.

[MimzMum]

Oh that is just WRONG on so many levels! >.< Some people! (steams)
My bunny was abandoned and when I first saw him (besides mistaking his gender) he looked like he had ‘uppy’ ears. Now his drop so low they almost touch his little feet in front! ^^ I thought he was adorable either way.
Whatever the case with your little bun, I can see he has a wonderful bunny mom who is going to give him lots of love! ^^ Welcome to BinkyBunny.com and I hope you enjoy your stay here!

[melissact]

Thanks for all the replies! In my opinion, Ernie is a perfect bunny, just the way he is. My friend has suggested that we consider it not a failure of his ear to lop, but just his general jaunty demeanor.

I’m glad nobody has heard about this practice before–it’s frankly horrifying. At least it’s not widespread. I’m also surprised because the breeder who sold us Ernie is actually fairly well-known in the breeding world–she has been recommended by other reputable breeders on their websites.

[MooBunnay]

Hello Melissact! Welcome to BinkyBunny!

I’m so sorry to hear your little bun had such a terrible thing done to him thats just awful. He’s so lucky to have a nice caring home now. Is this your first bunny? If you have any questions let us know!

[KatnipCrzy]

Oh my gosh- I had never heard of that before.  Of course I do not kow much about rabbit breeding.  I assumed lops were born with floppy ears that fall when they are long enough and enough weigh enough.  How horrible.

Maybe she sells to other breeders and this is something they do at a young age to promote lop ears which would be a required quality for show?  (Not that it makes it any better).

His picture in your avatar looks absolutely adorable!  How were you ever able to choose just one bunny?  LOL.

Julie

[Scarlet_Rose]

Poor Ernie! I have actually heard of this and this was a gentler case than others (I’ll spare the details). It is not much unlike German Shepards, their ears are naturally floppy and they put these ridiculous cones over them to make them pointy or even those who place a rubber band around a tail to make it die and fall off so they have a bob-tailed animal. That’s why we really like to see people adopt from shelters instead of supporting this kind of treatment that breeders have no qualms about. Sorry, they just really tick me off. You can bet that it does hurt the animal, the blood vessels get pinched off, like you said there were also scabs, it affects the hearing and my word…I better stop before my blood boils more.

[Kokaneeandkahlua]

I just don’t understand how people, anyone could…I just don’t get it….I know I get labled a “crazy animal lover’ sometimes but seriously how could you???

[kimberleyanddarren]

i dont see the point really because my bunny is meant to be a lop but his ears are up.. and it wouldnt have bothered me if they where up down or sideways!

[melissact]

I don’t get it, either. I mean, for one thing, these bunnies were for sale at a specialty rabbit breeders association convention and show–other breeders would know that a holland lop’s ears can take up to six months to lop. So why tie the ear down, except to maybe fool people who are otherwise unfamiliar with holland lops? And if the buyer is otherwise unfamiliar with holland lops, why would they care that one ear wasn’t yet lopped? It’s all very confusing. Ernie seems much happier now–he’s really come out of his shell. Frankly, I wasn’t terribly happy about how the breeder was handling him–she picked him up by the scruff of his neck, and when she was showing him to us, she was handling him sort of roughly.

[babybunsmum]

i have never understoood the practice of making ‘cosmetic’ changes to animals.  its really absurd and cruel in my opinion.  its not like the animal can have a say in the matter.  and for what?  to show them off?  ridiculously cruel.  some one mentioned to me that i should’ve had my dogs ears perked up.  he’s a collie mix with very german sheppard coloring.  his floppy ears are one of the cutest things about his adoreable face!  just as they are.  my first bun was a lop who had one ear up & one down when i adopted him.  the other ear eventually flopped too, but i thought it was the cutest thing ever whenit was ‘lop-sided’

i’m glad ernie has a loving home   welcome!

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