American Fuzzy Lop Rabbit 101: Part 1
Channel: Pets Life
Date: 17/02/2021

The American fuzzy lop is a breed of rabbit that’s recognized by the American Rabbit Breeders Association or ARBA.

It looks similar to the Holland lop, but the wool coming from this rabbit is comparable with the Angora rabbit breeds. The American fuzzy lop has shorter wools than the commercial Angora rabbit. Adult American fuzzy lops can weigh up to 4 pounds, and this is the ideal weight for a specimen to qualify for the show.  

History of the Breed.

The American fuzzy lop’s history is intertwined with the history of the famed Holland lop. When the Holland lop rabbit breed was first introduced, this was available in solid colors only, and some breeders wanted a broken pattern to the gene pool. What the breeders did was to breed Holland lops to a breed called the English spots. The breeders were able to develop a rabbit with broken colors, but they were not able to keep the rollback fur that the Holland lop was famous for. The babies that resulted from the breeding program had flyback fur that they inherited from their English spot parent.

The breeders again experimented by breeding the Holland lop with French angoras which are a breed with a gentle rollback fur. The babies had the wool gene that they wanted, and this was introduced to the Holland lop gene pool, and a lop with long wool was found in the lop litters.

The very first American fuzzy lop breeders included Patty Greene-Karl and Gary Fellers from the East Coast and West Coast breeders Kim Landry and Margaret Miller. Greene-Karl has credited for the discovery that the fuzzy gene was a recessive gene; therefore, breeding two Holland lops that have the gene will result in offspring with 25% wooly fur. She decided to develop this as a new breed and called it American fuzzy lops. 

Greene-Karl developed the American fuzzy lop and presented it to the ARBA for the first time in 19 85 in a convention in Houston, Texas. The ARBA had three standards for wooled lops. The American fuzzy lop was again presented to an ARBA convention in 19 86 in Columbus, Ohio, and again, the breed passed. But for the third time in Portland, Oregon, the ARBA did not approve of the breed, stating that it lacked uniformity. The standard was revised, and it described a wooly Holland that had a maximum weight of 4 pounds and an ideal weight of just 3.5 pounds.


Coat and colors.

The American fuzzy lop has a wool coat and can be harvested and spun into yarn despite growing only 2 inches in length. This rabbit has coarse wool, which is similar to an Angora rabbit.  The coat is not prone to tangling or matting, but the coat around the tail area is prone to matting because of sitting.  The colors of the American fuzzy lop are agouti, which is a combination of chestnut, chinchilla, lynx, squirrel, and opal, and pointed white, which has a pure white body. All American fuzzy lops have a distinct mark around their eyes, ears, and nose.


Supplies and Cages.

The enclosure for captive American Fuzzy Lops must be made of wire with a strong metal or wooden frame. The bottom must be removable because this is where the rabbit’s droppings will fall. This pan makes it easier to clean the cage. The floor of the enclosure should have soft bedding so that it is comfortable for your rabbit and his companions. 

Place a rabbit hay feeder on the side of the enclosure and fill this with hay so your rabbit can eat when it feels hungry. For the lining and bedding, you must only use hay, wooden pellets, or pelleted bedding. Never use newspapers, paper towels, or brown paper bags because these can tear up and won’t be good cage bedding for a rabbit cage.

To maintain a rabbit cage, first, remove your pets and place these inside a safe and clean container, box, or enclosure. Use only a safe cleaner or natural product such as baking soda, white vinegar, or lemon juice. Do not use household cleaners because these may contain toxic ingredients that can negatively affect your pet’s health.

Consider a separate or extra cage if you plan to breed baby American Fuzzy Lops. These are born naked, deaf, and blind; therefore, these need a warm enclosure to keep their bodies at the right temperature. A smaller cage with a cage lamp or lighting is a suitable place to incubate young rabbits. 



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