Lopped ear on young English Angora rabbit

When faced with a baby such as the one in the picture, you immediately think the worst. This will never make a show quality rabbit, it is in its genes, therefore useless for breeding. 


Well, don’t panic, this is not the case. Usually it is the result of too big a litter all jostling one another for space, and damaging the cartilage of the ear, excessive heat when the babies are young causing the ears to get longer and encouraging them to fall over.

The solution that usually works is to put a small amount of powdered gelatine on the food as soon as you notice it. Continue with this until the baby is about 12 weeks old. Massage the base of the ear regularly.

If you just want the rabbit for breeding, clipping will help as a lot of energy goes into growing the coat. However, by the time they are 16 weeks old the ear should be up in its normal position. You could add some calcium to the water for a week.