french lop ears not lopping

Question
I have purchased a 4 month old french lop doe with no pedigree papers but the lady said she is purebred, just not registered. Her ears are straight & the lady told me that if the rabbit is young when it starts to get cold outside the ears won't lop until the weather warms up again. Is this true or have a been taken for a fool? Either way she is a beautiful rabbit & great pet. Thanks for your assistance. Delaine

Answer
Dear Delaine,

That breeder was being dishonest with you.  Weather has nothing to do with gene expression of this treat.  A lop's ears should start to fall at the age of perhaps 11-12 weeks.  If they're not lopping by now, they might not at all.  

But to tell the truth, that might be a blessing.  Lopped ears predispose the bunny to an array of health problems.  That morphology is just not normal, even though it's "cute."  But lopped ears get infections, mites, and the bunny actually can't hear as well as an up-earred bunny because of some degree of "pinching shut" of the ear canal when the ears are lopped down.

So I'd say you got a bargain:  A beautiful bunny who looks like a French Lop but with up ears!  :)

If you ever decide to let your bunny choose a pal (once she's spayed; and for her safety, please do:  unspayed females have a very high risk of uterine cancer), be sure to let her choose a rescue from your local rabbit rescuer:

www.rabbit.org/chapters

And for all the best information on the care of your new pal, please see:

www.rabbit.org/

Good luck!

Dana