Housing
Many people have asked me about what type of cage and how large it would need to be for a French Lop so I have put this here to help you. I house my rabbits in three stacked cages. They are solid units with pull out trays that you may get from your local rabbit accessories supplier. The dimensions that I keep mine in are 30x36x18 and they have 1 in. wire on the bottom. I like these because they are large enough for the rabbit to move and build up some muscle quality and also they can stretch out fully. I personally like the dura trays because to me they are easier to clean and you just slide them out, dump them, put shavings in them, and slide them back in. It is also helpful if you have a board or resting mat in there because they are such large animals they may sometimes get sore hocks. Sore hocks are the sores on the bottoms of their feet often caused by the constant wear on their feet from the poor disperse of their hefty weight. The boards or resting mats give them an area wear they can sit and take a break from the pressure on their feet.
Breeding
Some people say it is hard to breed French Lops but I haven't really had a problem yet. One major problem people have been having though is that their does aren't 'taking'. Now I have recently learned that sometimes with larger rabbits they can be overfed, fed too many treats, or just not have enough room or stimulants, like toys, to move around and actually burn a little of that fat and gain some muscle. This causes the fat to build up around the does ovaries causing her to not take. But anyway, it is quite simple to breed them by just putting them together on a table or other carpeted area or you may cage breed by bringing the doe to the bucks cage. NEVER bring the buck to the doe's cage because does are territorial and your buck may be injured by her. What I do is my own type of breeding method. I'm not saying you have to do this! I will just explain the way I do it incase you would like to try it. What I do is first place the doe on the table and stretch her out slightly. Then with one hand I reach under her belly and kind of prop her hind end up slightly like she would do if she were 'lifting' for the buck. Then with my other hand I'd pat her hind end to test if she will lift at all and then pin her tail back so it doesn't get in the way. Then I have a friend or someone place the buck on the table and let him sniff around. Then when he mounts I may instruct my friend to lower him slightly if she doesn't lift or show signs of contact. When they are done I cradle the doe upside down for about 2 min. and then place them back in their cages. Then I wait about 15 min. before repeating the process. Now I wait 30 min. before I repeat the process and then I wait 1 hour before once again repeating the process. It may take a bit longer than anything else but I've loved this process because they get 4 'connections'. That is 3 extra chances your buck has at hitting his target well and 3 more chances for your doe to be more receptive. But once again, if you have any questions feel free to email me at doubletroublerabbitry@yahoo.com.