TLR Welcomes Mini Plush Lops and French Lops!

It is time to sit down, in a world of uncertainty, and update those of you who are interested in all things "bunny" around here.

2020 has been an amazing year in so many ways. Our world is in varying degrees of chaos, it all makes my head spin a little. It is times like now that I am incredibly thankful that our little world at home here hasn't changed a whole lot. We are grateful for our acreage which allows us all plenty to do, explore and work on. The rabbits keep me very busy. Right now we are in the midst of kindling and litters, the ups and downs of that are many. Today Ariel had 6 babies, but THREE were peanuts - so half will survive. Some things are simply out of our control. I am thankful for healthy, bouncing babies no matter what.

In November 2019 we became proud owners of a breeding pair of MINI PLUSH LOPS (MPL). If you have not heard of them or want to know more, check out my Mini Plush Lop page and have a quick read. Be warned: You may fall in love with them.

Snow White (owned by my daughter, Jayda, purchased with her own money!), our MPL doe, and Waffles, our MPL black tort buck are welcome additions at Top Lop. They have welcomed their 7 new additions this week as well. I foresee expanding our MPL herd in the future, but I am happy to keep what we have for now. The wait list is growing and those with allergies are very interested in the mini plush right now.

Mini Plush Lops are quite amazing. It took me awhile to love the looks of their pointy-r faces (I still love the flat-faced, chubby hollands), but have since appreciated this breed SO much! The more we get to know them, the more we are convinced they are more like dogs than rabbits. They are extremely social, love people and interaction. It is almost a shame to keep them in a pen, no matter how huge it is, because they really want to roam and play and be loved.

The MPL are a new breed to Canada and I was honored to be approached and asked to be an Alberta breeder of MPL in cooperation with a breeder from BC.

My awesome builder-husband, revamped my rabbitry last fall/winter so I now have raised pens and HEAT (!!). What a welcome comfort to have heat and not have to bang out frozen water dishes all winter long. The babies are very thankful to be born above 0 degrees (vs below) as well.

In February 2020 we went to our first (only?) rabbit show of 2020. We could only make 1 out of the 2 days because we were leaving for Mexico a few days after the show.

Jayda won 1st place in the Youth Show with her mini plush lop doe, Snow White.

TLR's Rupert (jr buck) took Best of Breed and Best of Variety under Judge Alan Rafferty.

TLR's Maisie took Best of Variety and Best Opposite of breed under Judge Alan Rafferty.

TLR's Maisie Day took Best Opposite of Variety under judge Jill Schmidtt.

To end our show day, we took home our second, new lop breed. We introduced Beth and Oscar, our French Lop pair, to Top Lop Rabbitry. They have been a large :) addition, but novel and beautiful. It has always been a secret dream to have a frenchie (or 2) hopping around here. I have never had (or welcomed) dilute colors with my hollands so our blue and broken blue frenchies are a pretty fun addition!

This month Beth and Oscar welcomed 10 (!) babies into the world. Beth, being a first time mama, not realizing that babies NEED TO EAT, lost 5 of her babies, but the 5 remaining are a healthy, adorable bunch.

As we quarantine with all our fur babies, we are enjoying their growing up. I find myself spending a lot more time in the rabbitry working and playing than I ever could before. It is a great place to hang out and enjoy new life. Jayda is my usual side-kick and Britt comes in a lot too. We laugh at the babies and make voices for them because they really are hilarious sometimes. Sometimes I think I am crazy to have so many rabbits that suck up so much time and energy, but then I realize how much enjoyment they bring and...I know it's all worth it.

Waffles - Mini Plush Lop buck