Arre Lionheads Hard to Breed?

[jcl_24]

In the forum I've read the thread about Nethies with the info about them being difficult to breed. This got me thinking about Lionhead rabbits and wondering if they are also hard to breed.

I gather Lionheads are a new breed, only just being recognised by the rabbit breeding and showing organisations in the USA. not sure what the status is in the UK, but I'm thinking "Not officially recognised by the British Rabbit Council yet"?

Its been mentioned on RO before that as a new breed, there has been a lot of inbreeding and cross-breeding with Lionheads whichhas led to genetic problems such as with teeth (know more about that than I'd like to) and their temperement is variable. On that basis (and any other I've not mentioned) are Lionheads regarded as being "difficult to breed"?

Jo xx

 

[SilverBirchRabbitry]

I personally haven't had problems while I was still breeding them. But I think Peg (Tinysmom) would be the best person to answer this question, as she used to raise them.

Unless they are the proper variety, then I don't see issues, I would think the Netherland looking ones would have problems but to be honest I'm not sure.

 

[pamnock]

The BRC recognizes Lions as well as Lionlops. ARBA does not yet recognize Lions, although siamese sables do have a working standard here.



Pam

 

[Flashy]

Maybe you could look into a lionhead breeder in your area and have a chat with them? The BRC website should be able to help you find someone, or Polly may be able to recommend someone because she used to breed lionheads too.

 

[murph72]

I find Lionheads to be rather easy to breed in comparison to my Hollands. Since they are a bit larger, I have never had a stuck kit with a lionhead (can't say that with my Hollands). You'll find a few does that are standoffish and don't want to breed until the moons are aligned perfectly (I personally have two of these) and others will be easy to breed at about any time of the day or year.

First time moms in Lionheads have the same issues of any first time moms. I've had some that scatter their babies. I've also had some that don't quite get the idea of putting the babies in the nest. My personal favorite was a broken doe named Knockout that I have. She's rather contrary when it comes to breeding (one of my toughest). For her first litter it was a cold night so I put a nest box heater under it. Rather than have the babies in the nest, she made a nest, had the babies out in the cold, and returned to the nest to keep her bum warm. By the second time, though, she was a great mom and did everything perfectly.

I have never had problems with my Lionheads with their teeth. In fact, I haven't experienced any genetic issues with them. I bought my original stock from good breeders, though, that are not inbreeding but rather linebreeding.

I do spend a great deal of time with the kits. I do this because I think the lionheads are more prone to be skittish than my lops. I find that if I spend a great deal of time with them in the first part of their life that they are far better pets and show animals. I've gotten lionheads that were not socialized and I can honestly say that I haven't been able to successfully socialize them either.

 

[polly]

We did have lionheads that we bred for a while but they were more Bruces rabbits and he got fed up with the fact that they were not getting judged to the standard well.
You won't have any problems breeding them they kindle pretty easy compared to the nethies however what we noticed was although we didnt have teeth problems it seemed to take a while for the teeth to grow into the skull if that makes sense. the teeth were always fine but sometimes when still pretty young you would wonder if they were going to have problems then within a week or 2 they were perfect.

 

[sheandg]

I will be breeding one of my does for the first time at the end of this month. I am excited but nervous for the first litter.