The biggest difference in French Lop vs Holland Lop is size: a French Lop is a giant breed that weighs 10 lbs and up, while a Holland Lop has an ARBA maximum of 4 lbs and an ideal of 3 lbs. The French Lop is also one of the Holland Lop's ancestors, which is why the two share the same lopped ears.
We breed Holland Lops only, but the French Lop comes up constantly because it sits in the Holland Lop's family tree. Seeing them together explains a lot: the Holland Lop is the French Lop's look pressed into a 3 lb package.
| Trait | Holland Lop | French Lop |
|---|---|---|
| Adult weight | Ideal 3 lbs, maximum 4 lbs | 10 lbs and up, commonly 11 to 15 lbs |
| Size class | Dwarf | Giant |
| Body | Short, wide, compact | Massive, thick set, long and heavy boned |
| Ears | Short, thick, close to the cheeks | Long and broad, hanging well below the jaw |
| Origin | Netherlands, 20th century | France, 19th century |
| Minimum pen | 36 by 36 inches plus run time | About 4 by 6 feet plus run time |
| Hay per day | A pile about the size of the rabbit | The same rule, so three to four times as much |
In the late 1940s, Dutch breeder Adriaan de Cock set out to build a small lop. He crossed a French Lop buck with a Netherland Dwarf doe, then bred the offspring back and forth, and around 1951 started getting small lop eared kits. Later he added English Lop to improve the ear carriage. The breed was accepted in the Netherlands in the 1960s, reached American breeders in the 1970s and was recognized by the American Rabbit Breeders Association in 1979.
That history shows in the shape. A Holland Lop has the French Lop's broad crown and thick ears, but the Netherland Dwarf's dwarfing gene shortens everything: body, legs, muzzle. The head stays big relative to the body, which is why Holland Lops look so baby faced.
French Lops have a well earned reputation as gentle giants. They are usually calm, slow moving and tolerant. The catch is logistics. A 13 lb rabbit is hard for most adults to lift correctly, nearly impossible for a child, and needs a carrier sized for a medium dog. Vet costs also scale with weight, since anesthesia and medication are dosed by body mass.
A Holland Lop fits in a standard cat carrier, can be picked up by an older child with supervision, and eats a fraction of the hay. They tend to be livelier than French Lops, especially as juniors. If you want a rabbit that will flop at your feet for an evening, either works. If you live in a small apartment, our honest opinion is that a French Lop is the wrong choice no matter how much you love the look.
Giant breeds generally live shorter lives. French Lops often reach 5 to 7 years, while Holland Lops commonly live 7 to 12. French Lops are more prone to sore hocks from their weight and to arthritis as seniors. Holland Lops have their own weak spot: the short dwarf jaw can lead to malocclusion if a line is not bred carefully. We select our breeding stock for health and correct structure to keep that risk low. See the full picture on our Holland Lop lifespan guide.
The English Lop is the breed people picture when they think of extreme ears. The ARBA standard measures the ears tip to tip, and on a good English Lop they can stretch beyond 21 inches. Adults weigh 9 lbs and up, so this is another large breed. English Lops are often called the "dogs" of the rabbit world for their laid back nature.
The Holland Lop got a dose of English Lop blood during its development, mainly to help the ears drop and hang properly. You will not see the length, though. Holland Lop ears are short and thick by design. Those long English ears also need protection from being stepped on and regular checks for injury, something you never have to think about with a Holland Lop.
There is no ARBA breed called the Dutch Lop. When people search for it, they usually mean the Holland Lop itself, since the breed is Dutch, or they are reading European names. In the Netherlands, the small lop that de Cock developed is known as the Hangoordwerg, which translates roughly to lop eared dwarf. The American Holland Lop grew out of that same line.
Do not confuse the Dutch Lop with the Dutch rabbit, which is a separate upright eared breed with the classic white blaze and saddle pattern. And note that European clubs use different names again: the British Mini Lop is close to the American Holland Lop. Our Mini Lop vs Holland Lop guide sorts out that particular tangle.
This is the closest comparison on the page, because the American Fuzzy Lop came out of Holland Lop lines. In the 1970s, some Holland Lop breeders crossed in French Angora to improve coat and broken patterns. That brought in the recessive long wool gene, and occasional woolly kits started appearing in Holland Lop litters. Breeders who liked them worked them into their own breed, which ARBA recognized in 1988.
| Trait | Holland Lop | American Fuzzy Lop |
|---|---|---|
| Weight | Ideal 3 lbs, maximum 4 lbs | Ideal about 3.5 lbs, maximum 4 lbs |
| Coat | Short, dense, rollback fur | Wool, about 2 inches or more |
| Grooming | Weekly brush, more during molts | Two or three times a week, more during molts |
| ARBA recognition | 1979 | 1988 |
A woolly kit born in a Holland Lop litter is not an American Fuzzy Lop. It is a fuzzy Holland Lop, and it cannot be shown as either breed. We explain that difference, and what grooming a woolly kit involves, in our guide to fuzzy Holland Lops.
The other parent breed is worth a sentence. The Netherland Dwarf weighs 2.5 lbs at most and has upright ears. It contributed the dwarfing gene and the round head. If you like the dwarf size but want lopped ears, the Holland Lop is the breed built for exactly that.
If you have settled on a small lop, see our current Holland Lop bunnies for sale, raised and handled daily in our Texas barn.
The Holland Lop, in almost every case. A 3 lb Holland Lop lives comfortably in a 36 by 36 inch pen with daily run time, while a French Lop of 10 to 15 lbs needs a pen of at least 4 by 6 feet, a large dog sized litter box and far more hay. French Lops are gentle, but they need floor space.
The French Lop is a giant breed of 10 lbs and up with a long, heavy body, while the Holland Lop is a dwarf breed with a 4 lb maximum and a short, compact body. The Holland Lop was created by crossing French Lops with Netherland Dwarfs, so it is essentially a miniaturized version of the French Lop look.
An American Fuzzy Lop is the same size as a Holland Lop, 4 lbs maximum, but has a wool coat instead of normal short fur. The breed was developed from Holland Lop lines carrying the wool gene and recognized by ARBA in 1988. It needs regular grooming, which a Holland Lop does not.
Both make good pets once spayed or neutered. Unaltered does can be territorial about their space and may dig or nest, while unaltered bucks often spray. After surgery, we find bucks tend to be a touch more laid back and does a bit more independent. The individual matters more than the sex.
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