The American Fuzzy Lop

Today I will be going over the breed American fuzzy lop. I will be including, personalities, characteristics, common medical problems, and more.

Their History:

The American fuzzy lops originated from Holland lops. American fuzzy lops were originally bred so that lops could have broken colors, or fur without one solid color. The whole point was to get a woolly fur on a rabbit that still has a broken color.

Since the woolly gene is recessive, a pair of Holland rabbits will produce about 1 woolly baby if there would be 4 babies overall. In 1985, the American fuzzy rabbit was officially presented as a separate breed.

Personalities:

• Playful
• Curious
• Active
• Aware
• Affectionate

Characteristics:

American fuzzy rabbits have a very thick and woolly coat of fur. The American fuzzy rabbit has a very stocky body and very broad shoulders. They come in many “broken” colors since they were bred to have a woolly fur and different colors.

Size/Weight:

Weight: The average weight of an American fuzzy lop is from 3 1/2 lbs. to 4 lbs.

Size: Due to a very short and stocky stature, the American fuzzy rabbit is considered a dwarf.

Coloring:

• Agouti: Combination of white and one of the following colors:
  • Chestnut
  • Chinchilla
  • Lynx
  • Opal
  • Squirrel
• Pointed White Group: Pure White
• Nose markings, eye circles, tinted ears different color for the “broken look”.

Common Medical Problems:

Since these rabbits care so fluffy, when they lick them self, the fur can cause clogging in the intestines, which could possibly cause GI stasis. It’s very similar to cats, but rabbits can’t regurgitate, they have to pass it through their digestive track, which could end up blocked by the extra buildup of fur if their is some.

This rabbit will die if they aren’t properly groomed because if fur is clogged in their stomach, their body will tell them that they are full, but in reality, they are starving from the lack of nutrition because their body is trying to live off of their fur.

Extra Care:

Cutting out mats near the rabbit’s tail is very important to the rabbit’s well being to avoid extra tangling that could mess up the usual systems of the following:

• Digestive system could be clogged with fur and trick the body into starvation
  • Could also clog up bottom while trying to pass any fur

*I would like to note that the 3rd picture on this website shows an American fuzzy lop on a wire bottom cage that is obviously way to small for this rabbit. With the description that was given, they made it sound like this rabbits is extremely active and in my opinion, should be free roamed. Think of how bad of a situation this rabbit would be in if the wool of the rabbits was caught on the wire.

Thank you for coming back once again for another post. My next post in two days will be describing different forage and where to find it, if you are interested, make sure to come back then, but for now, continue to spread proper rabbit care and I will talk to you soon, bye.

My Sources:

Thumbnail Picture

https://www.petguide.com/breeds/rabbit/american-fuzzy-lop/