# When do Lops ears drop?



## Plymothian_Sophie

I have a mini lop who is 16 weeks old today, and her ears don't seem to have lopped fully, they're not as floppy as other lops I've seen. Will they ever drop or will I have an airplane bunny forever lol (not that it matters, just wanted to know if they'll ever fully drop as at the moment they're at an angle lol) I have added a pic so you can see her ears


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## Plymothian_Sophie

Here's another


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## Sindri27

I have not owned a lop before but I have heard that it can take time to fully lop or they may never totally lop due to having some ear control. I wouldn't worry about it too much. Maybe someone else will be able to answer your question better than me. Your rabbit is extremely cute btw!


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## Plymothian_Sophie

Sindri27 said:


> I have not owned a lop before but I have heard that it can take time to fully lop or they may never totally lop due to having some ear control. I wouldn't worry about it too much. Maybe someone else will be able to answer your question better than me. Your rabbit is extremely cute btw!



I have heard that too, but not sure how long it normally takes, not sure if I should just accept I have an airplane bunny 
Haha thanks, she is a cutie  (well I think so anyway )


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## Apebull

Airplane ears are the best LOL. She is tooo cute.


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## Aubrisita

Unfortunately, I am not able to answer your question. However I do know that your bun is absolutely adorable.


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## zombiesue

Where's Rabbitgirl101!?!?!?!!?!?!

Perhaps I can summon her lol


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## WillowRabbitry

I think since she is still young she has a chance that they will drop more. She is super cute!


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## Watermelons

Whether they drop or not has a fair bit to do with the rabbits genetics. If the rabbit has a narrow crown, they may never lop at all. You will probably have to wait and see how the head develops, but they may airplane forever.


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## OakRidgeRabbits

All lop breeds, with the exception of the English Lop, have a ridge of cartilage on the top of the head. This area is commonly referred to as the crown. The development of the crown is what determines ear carriage.

Ideally, the crown will be wide in two directions - from side to side and from front to back. If those proportions are achieved, the ears lop well and the rabbit loses ear control.

Sometimes those proportions are thrown off, and one or both directions are narrow or undeveloped. When this happens, rabbits will have varying levels of ear control. Some ears stand almost vertical, others and halfway ("airplane ears") and others will carry one up and one down.

Age also determines ear carriage. Young lops often go through growth spurts where the proportions of the crown are askew. Obviously during those times, the ears can get kind of wild. Every genetic line develops at different rates, so rabbits go through these stages at different times.

Based on your rabbit's age and current ear carriage, I suspect she will always have a bit of ear control. However, she may surprise you. In my experience, crowns seem to continue to develop until the rabbit is 2-3 years old. Usually by 6 months old, you have a pretty good idea of how severe their carriage may be, and by 1 year old, the ears start settling into their final position.

Some rabbits develop much earlier and drop their ears within the first couple months. It just depends.


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## honeybunnies

Hi, 

I breed my mini lops from time to time & their ears seem to drop nicely by around age 6 weeks. I give them a little massage on the muscle at the top of their ears, at a downward angle at that stage, to help them along, maybe just a couple of times, so that they drop as much as they are going to. 

As their ears get larger & heavier they drop a little more once again, by themselves from the gravity.

I will include a photo of a couple of my little ones for you to see, as an example.

They may stay the way they are, depending on her genes, but one suggestion I could make, is for you to gently but firmly, massage the muscle at the top of her ears, in a downward motion, which should encourage her ears to drop a little more hopefully.

It's worth giving it a try, maybe a couple of times a day, over a short period of time & it shouldn't hurt her. You will know if it does, by her reaction.

Hope this helps!


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## Plymothian_Sophie

Hi guys! Thanks everyone for your replies and your compliments on how cute she is! I think she's cute too xD 
Her genetic line is good, I got her from a breeder who shows her rabbits, both of her parents have won best in show in various rabbit shows the past 3 years. Both her parents have floppy ears, and because I was hoping to show her in the summer I was hoping hers would drop too  
But if they don't I'll just have to have an airplane bunny


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## Plymothian_Sophie

Aubrisita said:


> Unfortunately, I am not able to answer your question. However I do know that your bun is absolutely adorable.



Haha thanks  she's like my child, I have trained her to do lots of things which makes her even cuter too xD


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## lovelops

Plymothian_Sophie said:


> I have a mini lop who is 16 weeks old today, and her ears don't seem to have lopped fully, they're not as floppy as other lops I've seen. Will they ever drop or will I have an airplane bunny forever lol (not that it matters, just wanted to know if they'll ever fully drop as at the moment they're at an angle lol) I have added a pic so you can see her ears




First off, what a cutie!!! 

Second, I just got a Holland Lop and she is 9 months old this month and her ears have fully dropped I think it will range from 4-6 months depending on her growth, etc... but have no fear.. it will happen... 

here is a pic of Lady, the Holland Lop..

Vanessa


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## Plymothian_Sophie

lovelops said:


> First off, what a cutie!!!
> 
> Second, I just got a Holland Lop and she is 9 months old this month and her ears have fully dropped I think it will range from 4-6 months depending on her growth, etc... but have no fear.. it will happen...
> 
> here is a pic of Lady, the Holland Lop..
> 
> Vanessa



Awww she is so cute! I wanted a Holland Lop, but saw my Truffles and fell in love with her instantly and had to get her! 
I really hope her ears do drop, I really want to show her as she's beautiful and meets the breed standards (apart from her ears). If they don't then ah well, doesn't make her any different, just means I can't show her


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## lovelops

Plymothian_Sophie said:


> Awww she is so cute! I wanted a Holland Lop, but saw my Truffles and fell in love with her instantly and had to get her!
> I really hope her ears do drop, I really want to show her as she's beautiful and meets the breed standards (apart from her ears). If they don't then ah well, doesn't make her any different, just means I can't show her



Thank you, we both have some really cute rabbits don't we! 

Truffles is soooo adorable... I would have picked her as well!

Just give her ears a bit more time... she is still sooo young.. and she is beautiful. I think you would be able to show her in a bit... just wait and
do the massage thing with her ears if you want that the other individuals posted earlier in this thread. If her ears don't drop, she will at least love the attention and massage!! :brat:

Vanessa


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## thisisfliss

Such cute buns! 

Alfie is about 17 weeks and his ears were dropped when I got him at 10 weeks. He's started to move them a bit- he sticks one behind him listening when he's eating sometimes it's really cute!


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## Plymothian_Sophie

lovelops said:


> Thank you, we both have some really cute rabbits don't we!
> 
> Truffles is soooo adorable... I would have picked her as well!
> 
> Just give her ears a bit more time... she is still sooo young.. and she is beautiful. I think you would be able to show her in a bit... just wait and
> do the massage thing with her ears if you want that the other individuals posted earlier in this thread. If her ears don't drop, she will at least love the attention and massage!! :brat:
> 
> Vanessa




We do have cute rabbits 
I give her massages currently as at the zoo I volunteer at I was taught that making circular massages up an animals spine, calms an animal and apparently makes them trust you more due to them being able to be in a relaxed state with you or something? (not sure if it's true but I do this to all animals now)
Will defo try to massage her ears! Hopefully it'll work as I reckon I have a champion 
The breeder I got her from has encouraged me to take her to shows, infact she's taking me with her to a show she's doing next month to see if I enjoy it, if so she said she'll pay for my BRC membership as she really wants Me to show Truffles!


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## honeybunnies

Truffles & Lady are 2 cuties :big kiss: I love the Lops!

I'd be surprised if Truffles ears don't improve for you, especially since she has come from people that breed & show rabbits 

:mrsthumper:


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## Plymothian_Sophie

honeybunnies said:


> Truffles & Lady are 2 cuties :big kiss: I love the Lops!
> 
> I'd be surprised if Truffles ears don't improve for you, especially since she has come from people that breed & show rabbits
> 
> :mrsthumper:



I really hope they do! I reckon she'll be quite the little show rabbit! Her head has a perfect roundness to it and her coloring is where and what it should be! (According to the woman I got her from) she said she wishes she kept Truffles instead of the one she kept as the other one isn't as shapely lol. Besides floppy little ears melt my heart which is one reason I wanted a lop!


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## Plymothian_Sophie

She wishes she kept Truffles in a showing way, not because she doesn't like the other one. Thought I'd clear that up!


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## Plymothian_Sophie

thisisfliss said:


> Such cute buns!
> 
> Alfie is about 17 weeks and his ears were dropped when I got him at 10 weeks. He's started to move them a bit- he sticks one behind him listening when he's eating sometimes it's really cute! View attachment 6995
> View attachment 6996



Aww Alfie is a cutie! Truffles does that, she hears something and her ear moves a little, not a lot, but a little lol. She has a twitchy ear :') 
I loved her twitchy ear so much I trained her to come to me when I whistle, she comes running and has an ear twitch going, it's adorable lol


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## lovelops

honeybunnies said:


> Truffles & Lady are 2 cuties :big kiss: I love the Lops!
> 
> I'd be surprised if Truffles ears don't improve for you, especially since she has come from people that breed & show rabbits
> 
> :mrsthumper:




Thanks! And everyone's buns on this list are CUTE! If I had not taken Lady she would have been put to sleep so I'm glad I got her... she's a little bit of work but everything worth having is!!


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## honeybunnies

Lady is gorgeous! I wish they had shelters here in Tasmania, with lops like her in them. I'd choose her too :highfive:


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## OakRidgeRabbits

honeybunnies said:


> I'd be surprised if Truffles ears don't improve for you, especially since she has come from people that breed & show rabbits



I breed and show rabbits, but can tell you the crown is one of the hardest parts!  Slipped crowns (placed too far back on the head) are very common with Holland Lops, like the rabbit pictured. Tight crowns are too. In Hollands, you're working toward a very wide, massive head. So it can be difficult to balance that with the appropriate width of crown. Even those of us involved in breeding/show have to keep an eye on correct ear carriage.

American Fuzzy Lops seem to be the same way, but the larger lops (Mini Lops, French Lops) have less trouble. I guess since their ears are inherently heavier and longer, faults to the crown would have to be more extreme to see much ear control.


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## aj82

My loppy eared rabbit had helicopter ears until recently but over the last two weeks they have flopped. He is about 3.5 months old


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## lovelops

Thanks!!! My husband fell in love with her. I was about to have a fit because she is a bit *ahem* high strung and an attention hog but I think it came from the original owners not doing anything with her or spending any time with her just putting her in a cage 24 hours a day and thinking that was ok... 

I was going to make a joke about the slipped crown... If Lady thought her crown had slipped she was have a fit! HE HE HE..


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## lovelops

OakRidgeRabbits said:


> I breed and show rabbits, but can tell you the crown is one of the hardest parts!  Slipped crowns (placed too far back on the head) are very common with Holland Lops, like the rabbit pictured. Tight crowns are too. In Hollands, you're working toward a very wide, massive head. So it can be difficult to balance that with the appropriate width of crown. Even those of us involved in breeding/show have to keep an eye on correct ear carriage.
> 
> American Fuzzy Lops seem to be the same way, but the larger lops (Mini Lops, French Lops) have less trouble. I guess since their ears are inherently heavier and longer, faults to the crown would have to be more extreme to see much ear control.



Now you had to bring up crowns.. Next Lady is going to be asking me where her crown is and how big! HE HE HE... Sorry I just could not resist that one! :bunnieskiss:great::imsorry:

Vanessa


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## lovelops

honeybunnies said:


> Lady is gorgeous! I wish they had shelters here in Tasmania, with lops like her in them. I'd choose her too :highfive:




Thanks!!! My husband fell in love with her. I was about to have a fit because she is a bit *ahem* high strung and an attention hog but I think it came from the original owners not doing anything with her or spending any time with her just putting her in a cage 24 hours a day and thinking that was ok... 

I was going to make a joke about the slipped crown... If Lady thought her crown had slipped she was have a fit! HE HE HE..


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## Plymothian_Sophie

Finally! Her ears seem to be dropping! Still a bit helicopter ish but they are starting to fall against her face more, now she looks more adorable than she was before! So glad! It will mean that I may possibly take her to a rabbit show coming in 2 months time! So excited and I'm sure she will be too


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