Lionhead Rabbit Breeders - Bragg Lionhead Farm

On this page I will list some information that will hopefully be helpful to others. If there are any questions please contact us and I will try to help you as much as I can. We are learning as well. As I find more it will be added. Thank you for looking!

Click the book for a downloadable Care Sheet!!!

~ General Rabbit Info ~

• I feed a rabbit pellet that is 16% Protein and 21% Fiber for all of my rabbits. Do not free feed your rabbits as they will get too fat and it will cause health problems down the line for them. I feed 1 cup a day, Pregnant/Nursing does get full feed as well as bunnies under 3 months of age. No fruits or vegetables should be given to your rabbit until older and tiny pieces at a time. An upset stomach/diarrhea (enteritis) can quickly kill a rabbit! If you change your rabbits diet…. DO SO GRADUALLY! Mix old food with the new food and change the diet over several days. Fresh WATER must be available all the time! A rabbit cannot eat or digest his food without water.

• Extra fiber is very important in the longer hair breeds such as the Lionhead's, Lionlops, & English Angora's. Give Timothy/Orchard Grass Hay regularly. I feed hay at the very least every other day with mine in the winter and once or twice a week in the summer. Do not free feed your rabbits as they will get too fat and it will cause health problems down the line for them. It is very important to take proper care with Lionhead's and Angora's so they can get rid of their hair balls from cleaning themselves. They are not like cats, they can't cough up a hairball. Feeding hay on a regular basis is good but also giving a small chunk of pineapple will help them pass the hair. Feed the pineapple every 3 weeks or at least every month to make it easier for remembering when to do it. But only a small piece! That's all it takes or your rabbit will get loose stool. In the winter time, or even in the summer as long as you have your house air conditioned you can give Quaker Oats in the feed as well for fiber. They love it! But it is a hot feed, so can only be given if the bunny is in the air conditioned house or winter time. Alfalfa hay is ok for young rabbits, but because our rabbits here are already used to Timothy hay, which is better for them when they are adults we suggest you stick to feeding Timothy/Orchard Grass hay. A good link on hay is here. Benefits of feeding hay.

• Your bunny was given Bene-Bac gel before he/she left our rabbitry. This is to help with the stress of leaving for their first home. Bene-bac gel is a good thing to have on hand if you will be having litters of your own for weaning the kits or if you plan on taking your bunny to show and will be traveling. I give each bunny 1/2 cc of this gel.

• Another good thing to have on hand in any rabbit barn is Sulmet. This is something that is put in the water of rabbits to help if they get diarrhea. Only give this to them if you see loose stool. 1 oz for a gallon of water is good. Only give them this water for one day and than it has to be discarded. Sulmet is used in all farm animals including chickens, cows, and goats. So it's a good thing to have on hand. I buy these items from Jeffers online.

• Toenails must be trimmed on regular basis. Human nail clippers will work for this. Keep Kwik Stop powder on hand for any bleeding. In a hurry you can also use flour but I recommend getting the Kwik Stop.

• Resting boards are good for bigger breeds of rabbits, although they all like them. Just the wire is hard on a rabbits feet and the resting board helps get them off the cage wire. You can use just a plastic cutting board sold at Walmart. The plastic can be washed and disenfected and does not hold odor. 8x12" is a good size.

• Cage size for a smaller breed of rabbit should be at least 18x24. And for the larger breeds at least 24x24. Of course bigger is always better! Rabbits may have hair and some have a great deal of it, but they still have to be kept out of the weather. A rabbit has to have a roof over it so it helps keep the rain, snow and sun off of it. In the winter time place more hay in the cage with it so it will stay warmer and in the winter you can give Quaker instant oat meal in it's dry form mixed in with their pellets a few times a week to keep the animal warmer.

• In Hot weather, just like we get hot we like to get cooled down. Placing a frozen 2 liter bottle in with the rabbit will help cool down the cage even if it doesn't like to lay against it. Also keep fresh water at all times!

• Toys, rabbits love toys! You can use something as simple as a empty toilet paper roll or paper towel roll. They like plastic bottle caps off of two liter bottles, empty tuna cans, plastic cat balls with bell inside, old keys on ring, wooden blocks (untreated wood). Be creative! Bunnies love to play and toss things!

~Breed Information~

Lionhead

• Weight: 2-3 1/2 lbs

• Lionheads are very small rabbits. As of right now they are not a recongnized breed by the ARBA. Breeders are trying to change that. We are working hard on keeping good type on them along with lasting manes. This is all a work in progress for everyone working on the Lionhead to get them approved. The Lionhead has a standard and the one we are going by right now is under Gail Gibbons.

• The Lionhead does have some special care like any wool breed. They must have fiber at the very least once a week. They get what is called "wool block". It is similiar to a cat with a fur ball, but unlike a cat they can not cough them up, so they need the fiber to pass it.

• The tempermant of the Lionhead is moderate. Like any rabbit when they become of breeding age they can get a little temperamentle. This can be eased by handling your rabbit daily and grooming them often.

Holland Lop

• Weight: Males: 4 pounds maximum, Females: 4 pounds maximum

• Physical Attributes: The body is very short and deep. The overall appearance is of a large rabbit in a small body, with quite a bit of massiveness. The head is short, thick, large, and very round. The ears are short and lopped

• Personality: Holland Lops are generally fairly calm, though some, especially females, can be easily startled and shy.

• Coat Type and Grooming: Holland Lops have a medium-length coat that sometimes requires a bit of extra grooming. Weekly to bi-weekly grooming with a slicker brush are fine, except during shedding season when bi-weekly to daily grooming may be required.

• English Angora

Weight: Males: 5 to 7 pounds, Females: 5 to 7 1/2 pounds

• Physical Attributes: The English Angora resembles, literally, a ball of fluff. The only portion of the rabbit that has short fur is the face. The rest, ears and legs included, is covered in long fur. The face is fairly short, and the body is rounded.

• Personality: Most English angoras are very calm due to years of being bred for good temperaments in order to properly groom the breed. One will often see an English angora upside-down having its belly brushed.

• Coat Type and Grooming: English Angoras have very long, fine fur which requires daily grooming. It matts very easily due to its silky texture. A slicker brush and a comb, preferably with rotating teeth, are a must for grooming. A letter opener is good for splitting matts apart. Clippers are a good idea in case the rabbit ever needs to be shaved, such as in very warm weather or when being bred.

Welsh's Rabbitry has covered tons of my questions when I was starting out! I want to thank them and also direct you to their page for any helpful info they have there!


Kit Color Guide


Color Genetics

Bathing your rabbit

Explaining how F1, F2 & F3 work and why we do it.

Ok with the "F" series it goes like this.
PB = Purebred
ND = Netherland Dwarf
LH = Lionhead
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Breeding a ND & LH gets you an F1
When the F1 becomes old enough to breed you take it to a PB LH, the babies they will have are F2's.
When the F2 becomes old enough to breed you take it to a PB LH, the babies they will have are F3's.
When the F3 becomes old enough to breed you take it to a PB LH, the babies they will have are now PB LH's for you will have a whole pedigree again of nothing but LH's in the past. Now we do this to keep the breed small! Standard says for showing them the ears must be under 3 1/2 inches and body weight under 3 1/2 lbs. Sometimes you have to bring in a F series to keep your lines small. Or to clean up wooly ears in your lines.

~ The way listed above is a PERSONAL Preference. I believe this way is a better way to actually get a true PB Lionhead. Instead of breeding 50/50's to get other 50/50's and calling it a F2 for example instead of what it would be in my way of breeding as it would just be a F1 still. I think it just makes the breed better instead of having too many mixtures in there. After all we are here to better the breed and get them passed! Again, this is just a personal preference on how "I" breed them. Anyone else will tell you that breeding a F1 and F1 together will give you a F2 and so on. BUT YOU CAN NOT TAKE A NO MANED (NM) RABBIT AND FURTHER THE F SERIES!!!
Overall Do what you feel is right. ~

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Understanding The Mane Gene

The mane gene goes like this:
NM= no mane
SM= single mane
DM= double mane
NM X SM= 50% SM 50% NM
SM X SM = 25 % DM 50% SM 25% No Mane
SM X DM = 50-75% DM 25-50% SM
DM X DM = 100% DM

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