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We are continuing to add to this page and one day it will (hopefully) be coherent
Judging the Holland Lop
Where are the Points?
If you haven't shown rabbits before, you just need to know that each aspect of the animal is assigned a point value based on how important that feature is to the breed. Every breed gets 100 points that get divided up for the different features.
The breakdown of points for Holland Lops is as follows;
Body: 32 Points
Head: 24 Points
Ears: 10 Points
Crown: 8 Points
Bone, Feet and Legs: 10 points
Fur: 7 Points
Color and Markings: 4 Points
Condition: 5 Points
There is note in the Holland Lop standard that talks about proper evaluation on the first page of their standard. It is absolutely worth reading that to understand the best way to pose your Holland Lop as they can be an "excitable" breed. It specifically states here that the ears should be evaluated when the animal is relaxed. (pg. 149)
ABOUT THIS PAGE:
It is important to have an ARBA Standard Of Perfection book if you show or plan to show your rabbits. If you do not have one, it can be purchased here:
Standard of Perfection 2021-2025 – ARBA
That being said, one of the things that frustrates me is that since there is so much information found outside of the actual breed standard, I can never find what I am looking for. I have made references to each page where this info can be found in order for it to be read in the words it was originally printed in. This page is dedicated to teaching others how I evaluate my rabbits, but it is very important to also read the standard as it was written so I urge you to purchase the SOP because it is very worth it to find your own interpretation of the wording.
ARBA General Faults for All Breeds
ARBA General Faults for All Breeds
-Molt/not in condition
-Hutch stains
-Stray white hairs in color
-Poor;
-tail carriage
-ear carriage
-eye color
-Flabby/fat
-Thin/very poor flesh
(pg. 35)
ARBA Disqualifications from Competition for All Breeds
The following is the first step I take when assessing my rabbits. These are disqualifications for any rabbit shown at an ARBA show;
Abnormalities: This includes deformities and signs of ill health. (pg 35)
Genitalia: this means checking for split penis and both testicles on adult males. you cannot show neutered animals. (pg 36)
Weight: Holland Lops should be between 2-4 lbs whether jr or senior classes. If your Holland Lop is under 2 lbs or over 4 lbs it cannot be shown. (pg 36, 149)
Ear Tattoo: If the judge cannot read your tattoo because it is sloppy or faded, it is a DQ. Total absence of a tattoo in the LEFT ear is also a DQ. Check your tattoos before each show. Your tattoo can contain only letters or numbers. Keep it appropriate because dirty words/profanity will get your rabbit DQ'd also. (pg 36)
Gender, Breed, Group or Variety: Make sure your buck is a buck and enter him as one. Same for breed, group and variety. (pg 36)
*** If you have never shown your holland lop it is important to know that there are 4 classes/groups and 2 varieties in this breed. your rabbit can be entered in one of the following;
SSB: Solid senior buck class is for bucks who are over 6 months old with a solid coat pattern.
SSD: Solid senior doe class is for does who are over 6 months old with a solid coat pattern.
SJB: Solid junior buck class is for bucks who are under 6 months old with a solid coat pattern.
SJD: Solid junior doe class is for does who are under 6 months old with a solid coat pattern.
BSB: Broken senior buck class is for bucks who are over 6 months old with a broken coat pattern.
BSD: Broken senior doe class is for does who are over 6 months old with a broken coat pattern.
BJB: Broken junior buck class is for bucks who are under 6 months old with a broken coat pattern.
BJD: Broken junior doe class is for does who are under 6 months old with a broken coat pattern.
Appearance Altering is also a DQ:
any attempt to deceive judges by "faking";
-dying
-plucking
-trimming
-clipping
-coloring toenails
-powdering
-indiscriminate use of grooming products (pg 10, 35)
Be ethical. Showing your rabbits is a way to understand their faults and strengths. If you alter your rabbit to get a win, it doesn't change that it could still pass on those traits to its offspring. You will only be cheating yourself.
Disqualifying Ailments for All Breeds
All of the following signs of ill-health are disqualifications from competition;
- Abnormal Eye Discharge
- Colds
- Conjunctivitis
- Ear canker
- Slobbers
- Vent disease
- Abscesses
- Mangy condition (flakes resembling dandruff/scaley skin
- Infestation by mites, fleas or lice.
- Rupture/Hernia
- Sore Hocks (not just bare of fur, must be bleeding or infected)
- Tumor/Abnormal Swelling
(for more info see pg 36)
Structural Disqualifications for All Breeds
All of these is a DQ, but there are several here that should not be bred back into your line. These are things that you should be looking for before you decide to keep or purchase a rabbit for in your breeding program. Marked with an asterisk are things that should never be bred. Teeth and tail issues should not be bred either unless you are absolutely certain it was caused by an injury.
- Crooked Legs*
- Deviated or Hooked Spine*
- Dewlap (for Holland Lops, a small one is permitted in does) (pg 150)
- Ears carried above horizontal or torn so they distract from the appearance of the rabbit
- Cataracts or other visible disease of the eye
- Pigeon Breast*
- Tail to one side, screwtail, bobtail
- Malocclusion or butting of teeth
- Missing, mismatched or incorrectly colored toenails
(for more info see pg 36-37)
Color Disqualifications for All Breeds:
- lack of ring definition in agouti
- brokens who are booted or charlie pattern (definitions for both on pg 8)
- harlequin pattern (except harlequin breed)
- Tan pattern in himilayan, pointed white or californian colors or smut on body
- Tri-Colored that is not; black/orange, blue/fawn, chocolate/orange or lilac/fawn
- lack of shading on shaded variety
- foreign colored spots, white spots on color
- excessive white hairs
- undercolor other than specified in color standard (pg 37-38)
Unworthy of Award
your animal can also be deemed Unworthy of Award and not be placed in a show. In order for this to occur, your rabbit must be one of the following
-deviated from the standard so much so that it is not representative of the breed.
-extremely poor condition
-extremely soiled and dirty (pg 17, 38)
I have personally never seen this so I am assuming it doesn't happen very often but it is important to know that it is possible.
Aggression
Your rabbit can be dismissed from the show table for uncontrollable aggressive behavior. (pg 38)
It is important to handle your rabbits. I am a big advocate for practice posing at home and if you do so and your rabbit is biting you, then a show, being handled by strangers may not be the best place for them to be.
Ears and Crown
What the SOP Says About Ears and Crown
Ears are only worth 10 points out of 100 total points for the rabbit which may not seem like a lot, but when you add in the crown's 8 points, you really have to take your ears seriously. Thats 18% of judgement that falls on ears and their placement essentially.
According to the ARBA SOP;
Ear and Crown evaluation can be found on pg 150 of your SOP
The highlights for ears are;
- how they hang
- thickness
- roundness
- openness
- length
- fur
- position
- length
- balance
Ear Faults:
- thin
- narrow ear openings
- pointed
- folded
- poorly furred
- length doesn't balance with size of head
Crown:
The highlights for crown assessment are;
- definition
- placement
- side to side width
- front to back width
Crown Faults:
- lack of definition
- not positioned just behind the eye
- narrow side to side
- narrow front to back
- SEVERE FAULT: ear control
When Not To Assess Ears
Baloo is a great example of how dramatically a rabbit can change its appearance when stressed. He is not a happy boy on the table and being a DQ color, he has not had the opportunity to learn to relax while posing. From this picture it would be easy to write him off as having a slipped crown but...
Assessing Relaxed Ears
This is Baloo relaxing on the table after a breeding session. There is no space between the eye and the ear and that is ideal. I like that his ears are well-furred, rounded and open (though I would prefer them to be more open at the base). They are also very thick and substantial which is great but not something a picture can fully convey. It is amazing the difference in the ears of a relaxed rabbit! The best time for you to assess ears at home is before you handle your rabbit. Just stand back and take a look before they even know you are around.
From the Front
This is Baloo from the front with relaxed ear. Baloo has a lot of front to back ear control, but cannot pull them up so they rest very nicely against the side of his face. This is ideal. You can kind of see the thickness of his ears in this image.
Airplane Ears and Narrow Side to Side Crown
This is not my rabbit, she is just doing a layover here between transports as a favor for a friend, but she is a great example of not-so-great ears. This girl's ear do not touch the side of her face in this picture, which is the absolute most relaxed I have seen her since she has been here. This is a SEVERE fault when your rabbit is relaxed.
I want to also note here that this is an example of a narrow side to side crown. A narrow s/s crown leads to ear control that doesn't allow the rabbit to fully relax ears to rest on the side of the face. The crown from the front should end behind the eyes and not above them.
Disqualifying Airplane Ears
This is the same girl in her cage annoyed at me for reaching in to fill her food dish and trade her hay ball. If your Holland Lop has ears like this and they do not relax below 90 degrees ('horizontal plane") this is a DQ (pg 36). Ear control is the only severe fault related to the ears and crown (with associated DQ based on severity).
Folded Airplane Ears
This is the same girl from the side at the beginning of our posing session when she was very stressed out. You can clearly see that her ears are creased in this picture, which is a fault as well, and she is of course holding them all the way up. Folded ears are typically a sign of narrow ear openings. Hollands with folded ear are also likely to have thin ears. They should not feel like paper between your fingers, they should have some good substance.
Length of Ears
This is Pill pictured as a senior. In my opinion, his ears are on the longer end of proper. They are a little bit longer than the jaw line which according to the SOP "Length of ear should be equal to or slightly longer than the jaw line." I do feel like this buck in particular has a little bit of extra leeway in this matter because he does have such a massive head that it still balances well, but I recommend trying for shorter ears in your line because ear length (in my experience) can get out of control very quickly. Pille has very well-furred ears.
Too Much Length of Ears
This is Harley, he is a false dwarf, and as with most false dwarf Holland Lops, his ears are BIG. I like how open they are and thick and well-furred and they round well on the tip, however they do not balance properly with the head. They are long past the jaw line and while he is a beautiful rabbit, it is very easy for the eye to go straight to those ears which distracts from and otherwise balanced rabbit. Harley also has some thinning in his fur on part of his ear where you can see skin through it, this is not desirable.
Poor Crown Definition
This is Shakti. She is pictured here as a junior going through a molt and this picture shows what is meant by a lack of crown definition. At this point in her life, you cannot see where her crown even begins on the top of her head. This is a fault.
Good Crown Definition and Placement
This is Onyx. He is still young in this picture, but for his age he has very good crown definition. I used a black rabbit because you can see the lighter parts of the hair shaft in the crown and it helps accentuate it. He has good height to the crown as well as placement with the start to the crown being directly above the eyes.
Poor Crown Placement
This is Wyvern. This girl had a lot of great features, but crown was not one of them. She didn't have great definition (though many juniors do not) but what strikes me on her is that he crown starts distinctly behind the eye. This is a truly slipped crown. It also means the front to back width is less than it should be and if you look at the base of her ears you can see that they are not as open as they should be and curl in on themselves on the top back. These are not desirable traits. If her ears were not so thick this would likely cause a crease in the ear that folds them. Because her ears were thick, they stayed open.
Head
What the SOP Says About Head
Head is worth 24 points out of 100
According to the ARBA SOP;
Head evaluation can be found on pg 150 of your SOP
The highlights for head are;
- width
- muzzle
- curvature
- cheeks
- head set
- head size
- proportion
- eyes
Head Faults:
- pinched muzzle
- flat cheeks
- narrow between the eyes
- SEVERE FAULT: narrow or long head
- SEVERE FAULT: head to small to balance with body
Head Size and Front Assessment
Pill has a wonderfully big head. they use the word "Massive" in the SOP and I think he definitely embodies that. His head matches the mass of his body so I definitely think he has the proportion aspect. Pill also has great width between the eyes, nice full/round cheeks and a well-filled muzzle. Also note the length of the face. Draw an imaginary line between the eyes and then measure the distance between the middle of that line and the nose. This is what is meant by a proper (not long) head.
Improper Head Size
This is Sunflower. She has a small head. I really love this girl but at some point her head stopped growing long before her body did. She is big, wide girl with great mass throughout her body, but her head is just too small to balance with it. While does normally have a smaller head than bucks, this is a severe fault on the show table.
Narrow Between the Eyes
This is Silver Sable. She had a rough stage as a junior so she can be my example of a less than ideal head. SS is narrow between the eyes. I don't even like to be able to see the eyes when looking at them directly from the front. I also don't see her as having a well filled muzzle or round cheeks.
Pinched Muzzle and Curvature
SS was also incorrect from the side as well. She lacks the proper curvature coming down from the top of her head to the front of her face which makes her face look pinched at the muzzle. This is commonly referred to as snipey. Some rabbits will have a very dramatic molt as a junior and look like this and still grow out of it, but others do not.
Curvature of the Skull and Head Mount
Sushi has really good curvature coming down from the crown into the muzzle. I also think she is a good example for head mount. The head rests right into the shoulders and sits so the eyes are even with the topline and directly above the feet. I really like her head mount.
High Head Mount
This is Buddy. There is a lot to love about him, but he tends to want to have a high head mount though. Note that the eyes are not level with the shoulder/topline. My herd tends to fault toward a higher head mount if incorrect so I don't currently have a picture of a low one, but it would be evident by the eye being lower than the shoulder/topline.
Eyes
The SOP describes the eyes as "bold and deep set." I think Glow shows what is meant by that. She has beautiful eyes that are easy to see, but her cheeks and brow ridge clearly stick out around them (deep set).
Narrow/Long Head
False dwarves tend to have this feature more than you will see in a show rabbit. This is Cayenne. Unlike Pill in the first picture, if you draw an imaginary line between her eyes and then measure the distance between the middle of that line and the nose, you will get too much distance. This is really common in false dwarves, but absolutely not ideal in your show rabbits.
Body
What the SOP Says About Body
Body is worth 32 points out of 100
According to the ARBA SOP;
Body evaluation can be found on pg 149 of your SOP
The highlights for body are;
- short
- massive
- thick set
- topline
- chest
- shoulders
- hindquarter
- muscling
- dewlap
Body Faults:
- lacking depth
- long, low or narrow shoulders
- chopped, pinched or undercut HQ
- large dewlap in does
- SEVERE FAULT: low head mount
- SEVERE FAULT: long or narrow body
- SEVERE FAULT: flat shoulder
- SEVERE FAULT: shoulder dip
Body Assessment
When assessing body faults it is REALLY important that your rabbit is properly posed and relaxed. Note that Snozzberry, pictured here, has her head positioned with her eye equal to her topline and above her front feet. For information on teaching your rabbit pose, check the following link;
Mass
Mass is a general term in Hollands, but basically, you want your tiny rabbit to look like the Hulk. Pictured is Charizard, she is a tiny junior doe who may not even be 2 lbs yet, but she looks like a little bulldog. This is a rabbit who has mass and when I think of what a massive rabbit is to me, I think thick bone and muscling. This rabbit definitely falls under the category of thick-set IMO as well.
Lack of Mass
This is Helios. This little buck was really typey and technically correct in so many ways, but especially as a junior he just lacked mass. He was more narrow than a Holland Lop should be IMO and he just looks lankey. He is definitely more Bruce Banner than Hulk.
Topline
Glimmer has a very nice topline to me. they say the topline should "start behind the head and carry back to a HQ of equal depth" pg 149. Topline is probably one of the things people disagree on the most as far as interpreting the standard. To me, this is the goal, however a lot of people want a more upright rabbit with shorter shoulder length.
Topline
This is Charmander, he is an example of shorter shoulder with a good topline. I love the curvature on this guy and how it manages to be so smooth the whole way down despite his very short shoulder. A lot of breeders really prefer this and I think you need to breed to your own interpretation of the standard and I personally think that Glimmer (above) is more correct.
Topline
This is an example of a sloping topline, which is what you want to avoid. I actually feel like I could make a whole page of incorrect toplines, but I want to focus here on what i have seen most commonly and this is definitely a big one. This is one example of a sloping topline. Glow is a beautiful girl with some great features, but notice how her topline starts right behind the head but doesn't continue back evenly until the curve, just kind of gently goes down. There are different degrees of a sloping topline and I have seen rabbits who have basically no curvature and just slope all the way down to the ground.
Major Faults
Shoulder dips are actually not something you can just see in a picture. Sometimes you can but you really need to feel the spine to know if it is a shoulder dip or a crouch. Rabbits can fake a shoulder dip by tucking their elbows which can drop their necks and cause the topline to slope up before it slopes down. If I were to post this picture on any forum there would be people saying he has a shoulder dip, but he was just tucking his elbows from stress. Make sure you have a judge or veteran breeder assess your rabbit if you think it has a shoulder dip. This picture also shows what looks like undercut HQs. Do you see how the bottom curves under before it hits the ground? That is undesirable as well. You can feel when a rabbit is undercut as well when you run your hand over their body.
Major Topline Faults
Flat shoulder is considered a major fault also. This is Red Hawk, who is demonstrating a flat shoulder. It really should have a very gentle curve that she just does not have. Her shoulder is a little long as well, which is also not desireable. Red Hawk also has a dewlap, which in Holland Lops is permitted (to an extent).
Chest
Junior buck Metapod has good width of chest and this is absolutely associated with shoulder width, so any Holland that has one, should have the other as well. A broad chest is very desirable in Hollands.
Shoulder Width
This is Odin pictured from above while posed. Unfortunately pictures cannot show this well, but your goal is to have shoulder width as wide as possible without being wider than the HQ. I wish this picture was better angled because he really did have great shoulders just under the width of his HQ.
Well Muscled
This is a term you will hear a lot and it is really hard to convey in pictures, but when you feel it, you know it. This is Harley and I think this picture shows his muscling as well as it can. This buck was just rock solid all over.
Pinched HQ
Pinched HQ are a fault. this is something you can feel when you run your hand down the topline, it will be apparent when you reach the HQ. A sign of pinched HQ is if they constantly stick their back feet out to the side. The best way IMO to check for pinched HQ is to watch them hop away from you. In the picture, you can see that the back feet are parrallel and that is what you want to see, In a rabbit with pinched HQ they will V out from the tail so from this angle would look like an upside down V, wider toward the ground and close together closer to the tail.
Low Head mount
Low head mount is a fault. This is Cerulean, he definitely has a low head mount which means he absolutely cannot pose properly. The head should at least be able to get to the level of the eye meeting the topline.
Length of Body
Long body is a fault. This is Cayenne. She was a great brood doe and I am so grateful to her for the contribution she made to my red line, but she is LONG. her shoulder was long, her overall body was long. She also did not have the width to balance it, which made her look even longer. I would not ever keep a buck with a long body BUT a doe with a long body from good lines paired with the right buck can be invaluable.
Narrow Body
Narrow body is a fault. I am not sure who this rabbit is, but it is a good example of a narrow body. Compare to Charizard in the picture for mass, and Metapod in the picture for chest. All 3 rabbits are juniors and it is very apparent that this rabbit lacks width.
Bone, Feet and Legs
What the SOP Says About Bone, Feet and Legs
Bone, feet and legs are worth 10 points out of 100
According to the ARBA SOP;
Bone. feet and leg evaluation can be found on pg 150 of your SOP
The highlights for bone, feet and leg are;
- short
- thick
- straight
- heavy bone
Bone, feet and leg faults:
- SEVERE FAULT: long or fine bone
- SEVERE FAULT: weak ankles
Bone
Assessing bone on limbs can be done in 2 ways, the most obvious one being looking at the width of the front limb compared to the length. Pill has good bone.
Bone
The other way to assess bone is to look at the back feet. I was always told that you want the width of the back foot to be half of the length to be able to call it goog bone.
Fine Bone
Fine bone is a fault. This girl, Micah was from a previous attempt at breeding BEW that ended up being scrapped.
Legs
This is Octavia, she has straight front limb. When sitting correctly it should just come straight down from the shoulder to the table. Her legs are a little long which is a fault, but they are most definitely straight.
Good Ankles
This is Charmander and this picture demonstrates good ankles that allow the leg to go straight to the ground from a side view as well.
Weak Ankles
I have no idea who this rabbit is (possibly Ollie), the picture is very old, but this little one is a good example of weak ankles.
Fur
What the SOP Says About Fur
Fur is worth 7 points out of 100
According to the ARBA SOP;
Fur evaluation can be found on pg 150 of your SOP
The highlights for fur are;
- Rollback
- gloss
- density
- texture
- length
Fur faults:
- thin
- silky
- long
- harsh
- soft
- wooly
- extremely short
Fur Assessment
Still working on this section. come back soon for updates.
Color and Markings
What the SOP Says About Color and Markings
Color and Markings are worth 4 points out of 100
According to the ARBA SOP;
Color and Markings evaluation can be found on pg 150 of your SOP
The highlights for color and markings are;
- conformation to the color description
Color and markings DISQUALIFICATIONS:
- foreign color spots on solid pattern
- eye color other than specified in the color description
SHOWABLE COLORS:
- Chestnut (solid and broken)
- Chocolate Chestnut (solid and broken)
- Chinchilla (solid and broken)
- Chocolate Chinchilla (solid and broken)
- Lynx (solid and broken)
- Opal (solid and broken)
- Squirrel (solid and broken)
- Tri-Colored (broken ONLY)
- Pointed White (solid ONLY)
- Black (solid and broken)
- Blue (solid and broken)
- Chocolate (solid and broken)
- Lilac (solid and broken)
- Blue-Eyed White
- Ruby-Eyed White
- Sable Point (solid and broken)
- Siamese Sable (solid and broken)
- Seal (solid and broken)
- Smoke Pearl (solid and broken)
- Tortoise-black, blue, chocolate and lilac (solid and broken)
- Otter-black, blue, chocolate, and lilac (solid and broken)
- Steel- silver or gold tipped, black, blue, chocolate and lilac (solid and broken)
- Cream (solid and broken)
- Frosty (solid and broken)
- Orange (solid and broken)
- Red (solid and broken)
Color and Markings
Still working on this section. come back soon for updates.
Condition
What the SOP Says About Condition
Ears are only worth 10 points out of 100 total points for the rabbit which may not seem like a lot, but when you add in the crown's 8 points, you really have to take your ears seriously. Thats 18% of judgement that falls on ears and their placement essentially.
According to the ARBA SOP;
Condition is defined as: "The overall physical state of a rabbit in relation to health, cleanliness, fur and grooming." (pg 9) Additional info regarding condition is found on pg 18
The highlights for condition are;
- appearance of health and vigor
- bold and bright of eye
- good coat, firmly set in the pelt
- firm in flesh covering
- flesh deep and even
Faults for condition are;
- too thin in flesh/boney
- too fat, with soft, flabby flesh
Condition Related DQs from Competiton
Condition is pretty straight forward, your rabbit should be healthy outwardly. Even though it is only 5 points it definitely can impact the judgement of the body as well, so it is really important to keep them in condition and not let them get over or under weight. If you can see your rabbit's hip bones or spine, it is underweight. additionally, if you can feel these structures as you run your hand over the topline your rabbit is underweight.
In addition to this, any sign of disease is a DQ. Here is a list of DQ's related to health that appear in the definition section of the SOP:
- Abscess/Boil (pg 7)
- Cataract (pg 8)
- Cold (pg 9)
- Conjunctivitis (pg 9)
- Ear Mites (pg 10)
- Fur Mites or Mange (pg 11)
- Hernia (pg 12)
- Parasites (pg 13)
- Purulent Discharge (pg 14)
- Slobbers (pg 16)
- Sore Hock (pg 16)
- Tumor (pg 17)
- Vent Disease (pg 17)
- Weepy Eye (pg 17)
- Wry Neck (pg 18)
If you aren't familiar with any of these, I have added the page number they can be found on in the SOP for ease of reference.
BONUS SECTION
Assessing from Birth to Adulthood
I want to share how I assess my rabbits starting at birth. This works for my line, but all lines are different so take the time to watch how all of these points grow and change in your line.
Assessing Newborn Holland Lops
Assessing a rabbit in the first week of life sounds pretty farfetched right? There isn't a ton you can tell from your baby at this age, but there are some things to start watching from this point on. Keep in mind that this is for my line and all lines grow a little different so it is important for you to look at these things in your own babies and then watch how they grow with these features.
Before we go into the assessment, I just want to throw this in here for anyone new, you should be able to tell immediately which babies are peanuts based on their features. I will share more about this with pictures in a new page I am working on about breeding. When I am assessing a litter, I am not even looking at the peanuts.
My first impression with a baby is the ratio of width/length. I want a baby who is a cobby little thing with a wide frame. It is the absolute first thing I notice, and that baby automatically becomes the one I am watching the most.
After width, I am looking at hind feet. #1 I want to see feet that are half as wide as they are long, because this indicates better bone as they grow. #2 I am looking at how parallel the back feet are to each other. Some babies may throw them out to the side as a reaction to being turned on their back, but if you gently tickle the lower belly they usually pull their feet in and this is the time to assess that. If the feet are distinctly V instead of parallel this could be an early indication of pinched HQ, so it is something to watch for sure. You are also looking at the width between the hind legs, which gives you an early assessment of HQ width.
You can take some time to look at the front limb as well, noting how far apart the front elbows are from each other can help you get an idea of chest width.
I am also looking at the shape of the head and I think this may be the most important thing to check at this age because it is when you can really see the shape of the skull without the distortion of the fur as it grows in. I like a short, more square head and I feel like it has been a good indicator for me that they won't be long in the face.
The only other thing that I look at at this age is the length and shape of the ears and the distance between them.
Assessing 8 week old Holland Lops
This is the absolute worst age to assess a holland lop. They have likely started a very ugly head molt, so I tend to just ignore the heads and long ears altogether at this point.
What I am looking for at this age is major faults like very long front limb. Keeping in mind, this is the lanky stage so some length of limb can be permissible, but excessive length will carry through to adulthood.
Especially with males at this age, they may have lost some width, which may or may not come back later, but I like to compare shoulder width to width of HQ to make sure the shoulder width is at least close to that of the HQ because this balance doesn't change much IMO.
I am looking again at the back feet, but this time, I am not only fliiping them over to assess, I am watching them as they play and run. It is so helpful to see your rabbit move when it is happy and feels secure because this is the time when you can really see their structure. I really want to make sure that by this point their back feet are parallel as they are hopping away.
By this point I have hopefully worked with them a few times and they understand what I want when I pose them and if that;s the case, I am looking for excessive length in shoulder. This is one thing that only gets longer with age, so if there is too much length in shoulder at this age, I do not expect this to be a show animal. This can still be a useful brood doe, but it is definitely something I am not wanting to keep growing wth a buck.
I am also looking at the things I was before, with the width of chest, bone assessments, etc in the first week assessments.
Assessing 12 week and up Holland Lops
By 12 weeks old, my more established projects, like tort, tri, orange/agouti tend to show me what I can expect in them as seniors. By this point I can pretty consistently say who will grand on the show table in these rabbits. However, in my Red project, it takes longer for me to really know because they tend to stay lankier for longer and the features I love just aren't set yet. So know your line before you choose to make cuts at this age. If you have not grown out several of your litters to the 9 month mark, you are not going to be able to say effectively who can get moved on at this age. I know that seems like a long time, but it is so worth it. Remember to take updated pics as they grow so you can really watch the trends in your line.
By 12 weeks in the more established projects I am able to look at the balance between the head and the ears and trust that is how they will continue to grow, however the reds tend to have an extended "uglies" that makes it so I cannot assess these things properly yet.
By 12 weeks I am able to assess my established project rabbits by the SOP and know that very few things will change (such as length of body will increase, width will increase, crown will continue to develop and head will as well), but it is normal for me to still make allowances for my red project (and obviously the BEWs) at this point in order to really give them a chance to come together. Sometimes even 16 weeks is not enough.
I know a lot of people think that growing to 6 months is going to give you the final product, but even 6 month old rabbits have not finished in a lot of ways. Crown, head, and shoulder especially will continue to change with time, the first two typically getting better and the latter getting longer. The longer you can grow your rabbits, the better.