I bought my first rabbit when I was 12 years old. Her name was Elsa, but we have always called her Elsie (among her many other nicknames).

She turned 6 less than 2 weeks ago. 

​Today she left this world, and she is now in a better place. 

Here is every blog I ever wrote about her: 
http://hollyshollands.weebly.com/blog/she-started-it-all
http://hollyshollands.weebly.com/blog/training-hollands
​http://hollyshollands.weebly.com/blog/another-year-older
http://hollyshollands.weebly.com/blog/what-a-scare

Elsie has always been my most spastic, crazy, and attention-hogging rabbit. When she was younger, she always had one ear up and one ear down. The last year or so both lopped, but for most of her life, they were either both up or half lopped. 

She always  lived in my room. She hated the grass and going outside. 

She drove me crazy. She ate EVERYTHING (rubber and foam were her favorites). 

In her last year, she always slept like she was dead. 

In her last year, she went blind in one eye and didn't play in my room anymore, and preferred her cage. However, she never let that get in her way. It didn't change who she was at all. 

To the very end, she was loving and spunky. She passed away while I was at school. I knew it was coming. She was old, and she had lost weight and condition (due to age). She was ready. But I will always wish I had more time with her. 

Rest in peace, beautiful. You started it all, and you'll be forever missed. 

Please take a few minutes to look through the slideshow below. I took lots of pictures of her. They are in no particular order. When she had the small cage, she was outside of it in my room almost all day. She got a way bigger cage when she didn't want to play in my room anymore. 

I love using these diagrams to help me evaluate my Hollands. I can't wait until I have a shed to hang these up so I can see them on a daily basis. Mostly I am posting this blog so I can use it and find it easily for future reference. If you would like to download these diagrams for yourself, make sure you do so on Laura's website by clicking HERE. DO NOT download the diagrams from this blog post. 

Proper Holland Lop type from the side and the front. 

How depth and length effect the curvature of the topline. 

Holland Lop depth over the HQ. This diagram is really helpful to me because I have trouble visualizing HQ depth. 

Holland Lop head mount. 

How to pose a Holland Lop

Holland Lop HQ - I've heard this can be evaluated as young as 4 weeks old. 

Elsie, who is 4 now, was my first Holland Lop, and my first rabbit. When I first wanted a rabbit, I wasn't sure which breed I loved. I knew I needed a small breed, since I was only 10 or 11 at the time, and I was in love with the lops. 
I searched online for rabbit breeders who were nearby. I found a breeder's website that I fell in love with - Dragonfly Hollands. You can visit Kristen's site at www.dfmicropigs.com (her site has been updated and changed since I bought Elsie).  
Her Hollands were adorable. I knew instantly that was the breed I wanted to raise. 
After finding her webpage, I did daily googling to other pages to find out everything I possibly could on Holland Lops. 
Once I got Elsie, and became interested in breeding rabbits, I knew I couldn't have another breed. I needed more Hollands. 
Since I got Elsie, I have purchased Gracie and Jet from Kristen. We've become great friends and she has taught me so much about rabbits and continually helps my herd with additions like Jet.

Another reason I chose Holland Lops. How can you not fall deeply in love with that FACE?!?! I swear baby Hollands are the CUTEST EVER. I can't wait until I have some Jet babies in the nestbox! 

My babies have just left. I loved those boys so much, but their new homes will love them just as much or even more. 

At least, Cinnamon is due in a week! That means that, hopefully, I'll have more baby bunnies soon to care for and love.
You may wonder if I ever miss the babies I sell. I spend every day with them, love them, nurture them, keep them healthy and alive. Then I let them go. Of course I miss them! 

Yet that is why I do what I do. All my babies would make amazing pets. No doubt about that. I'm working towards producing better quality, learning, and winning at shows. But first and foremost, my rabbits are my babies. Ever baby born, I love. But I know I won't be able to keep them forever.

On average, I think about every baby I have ever sold daily. That's about...oh, 9 babies. I still love them all, and it warms my heart to see your updates, let me know how they are doing, or send an occasional picture. 

Every sale is bittersweet. I know I will most likely never see that baby again, yet his or her place in my heart is quickly filled with another precious, God-sent little angel. 

My dad was telling me, as I was commenting on how wonderful a job he did helping me with my new rabbitry setup, that I am living the dream (don't I beleive it!!). What teenage girl doesn't want baby animals? Doesn't want to breed? Doesn't think rabbits are the cutest animal on the planet? He told me I rank right up there with girls that get to have ponies. LOL!! I totally believe him. Sometimes I feel like the luckiest girl in the world. 

But I don't feel like that always. Rabbits come with urine and poop, and cages/trays need to be cleaned. Rabbits get sick and/or die, babies leave me, things don't always go my way. But that's okay. Because that's not the majority. 

And I am living the dream. 

I am a rabbit breeder. When people hear that, they think I play with baby bunnies all day, holding them, kissing them, loving them. 
I do that. I love it too, it's my favorite part. But I would say that that is a SMALL portion of what I do with the bunnies. 1-3 times a week I clean cages, groom, ect. 

Yesterday I spent over 2 hours cleaning all the cages, washing bunny dishes, tidying the rabbitry, giving health checks, grooming and nail clipping to some of the bunnies. On Wednesday I'll clip the rest of the bunnies' nails, as well as give health checks and groom.

Do I enjoy doing all of this? Not really. But it is so rewarding to see all my hard work pay off. Live litters of babies couldn't occur without clean conditions. Growing, healthy rabbits couldn't be without a clean environment. What's the point of breeding rabbits, having/raising rabbits, if they aren't happy? 

Today I spent about half an hour cleaning this one hutch stacker. I took the pans out and rinsed them off. Replaced them with clean newspaper and CareFresh litter to soak up urine.
I took out the bottom wire (it's removeable like the pan), and hosed that off. Now the bunnies are comfy in their clean cage....until Wednesday, 3 days from now. Oh well. 
How we slave over these guys....but they are so worth it!
How often do you clean your bunnies' cages? What do you use in the bottom tray?

Almost 3 and a half years ago, when I was 11, I desperately wanted a rabbit. I had one pet, a Bearded Dragon, that I got when I was 10 (he was my first pet), but I wanted something cuddly and furry as a pet. A dog was out of the question, and my mom is terribly allergic to cats (I don't like them anyways). One day, I was searching the internet for a rabbit breeder in WA. I didn't know what kind of rabbit I wanted, all I knew was that I wanted it to be small, and a girl.
I found the Dragonfly Hollands website. Site is here if you want to look at it. Kristen Heines, the breeder, breeds and sells Holland Lops. I looked at her site almost every day, waiting for the moment when we would be ready for a bunny and I could bring one home. 

For my 12th birthday, my parents bought me an indoor rabbit cage, litter box, feed dishes and a water bottle for the bunny. We didn't know when we would get one; only that it would be soon.

One day, at the beginning of December, I was perusing Kristen's page and looking at the cute bunnies. Then I saw her. On the "For Sale" page. A tiny black tort baby girl. Her name was Elsa. Below her were her two siblings, who were both black. But I wanted her. It was love at first sight. She had crazy ears that didn't even lop, but I knew she was my baby girl. 

Two weeks later we brought Elsie Amanda home. She's always been so feisty and crazy. I love her with all my heart, even though her ears are STILL uncontrollable! Ever since I got her I knew I wanted more. And there was no other breed I would even consider. I had fallen in love with the Holland Lop. 

We were going to wait until I was 16 to start my rabbitry. But when we found a free hutch by the side of the road in 2012, it seemed like fate to start it as soon as possible. So I brought home Gracie in spring of last year, and the rest is history! 

That's how many breeders start out. They buy one or two rabbits as pets for themselves as a child, adult, or for their child, and get hooked. Maybe they show or breed that rabbit, but in the end they get more. Elsie (below), will never be shown or bred - she'll just be a pet and almost "mascot" of it all. She started it! 

At the end of the summer my parents are going to help me build a shed. At this point, I'm going to try to max out to 6 adults and buy 8 all-wire cages for growing out young bucks/does. Whenever I keep a baby to add to and benefit the growing Holly's herd, I will need to sell either its parent or another rabbit that is of lesser quality. I want to bring in 1-2 new does to get some better bone and width into my herd. 
Holly's Hollands is NOT a pet rabbitry. My goal is to not sell pets and make a lot of money. It's to inform everyone about the Holland Lop breed, promote it, and produce award-winning, show-stopping beauties that describe the Holland Lop Standard of Perfection. However, that will take time, just like everything in life. I think I may have to sell 1-2 more litters to make it through the summer and get that shed. Once I have that, I'll have a lot more freedom to grow out more babies and really advancing my herd. This does not mean that I will NOT sell pets. I WILL. I enjoy selling pets to new owners that will spoil and enjoy the rabbit it's whole lifetime.
Just a crazy little rant of my mosh-posh of ideas. Thought you might be interested in reading the kinds of stuff I think about all day long...once I get that shed. Everything will be easier! Cleaning, weaning, even spending time with them will be better, funner, easier. I can't wait! Thanks for reading.