As the name suggests, the German Lop rabbit is a domestic rabbit breed originated from Germany. It was developed by the rabbit fanciers in Germany in the 1960s. The German Lop rabbit is a medium sized breed weighing between 6 and 8.5 pounds. They are very cobby, massive and muscular. Their head is strongly developed with a distinct width between eyes. They are well rounded and have a cute and cuddly appearance and a striking Roman nose. Their coat is of a moderate length, thick, dense and very soft and has a very healthy undercoat with thick guard hairs.
There are many color varieties of the German Lop rabbit. And all recognized colors are accepted as well as the butterfly pattern (but not the broken pattern). The recognized color groups are; Self (black, blue, blue eyed white, chocolate, lilac, ruby eyed white), Shaded (sable, smoke or frosted pearl, tortoise, sable point, seal), Agouti (chestnut agouti, chinchilla and opal), Ticked (silver fox, sable or smoke pearl steel, gold tripped) and Wide band (cream, fawn, orange and red).
During the 1960′s, the German rabbit breed enthusiasts decided to develop a medium sized lop eared rabbit breed that would compliment the Dwarf, French and English varieties. So they started to breed Netherlands Dwarves and French Lopstogether. Some other breeds were introduced at a later stage in order to increase vitality, and that gave the German Lop rabbit it’s distinctive long Roman nose. The German Lop rabbit breed was officially recognized in Germany in 1970 and given the title Deutsch Klein Widder. By 1972 the breed had made it’s way into Holland, and was recognized in 1976. German Lop rabbit was recognized by the British Rabbit Council in the year of 1990.
The German Lop rabbit has a very likeable personality. They are very calm and docile in temperament. These qualities have made them great as pets, show animal or both. German Lops are pretty long lived rabbit breed. The average lifespan of a properly cared German Lop rabbit is up to 12 years.