No matter how far a person would go in perfection, development, and the standard of living from wildlife. But still the need for close communication with animals remained.
Escape, retire, morally reassure yourself with your favorite four-legged fluffy. Pets give birth for various reasons. Someone feeling lonely, feels the need to communicate, even with such silent, loyal friends.
Others, out of great love for all living things, paying attention, care, and affection. Families with children acquire pets in order to accustom the child to responsibility, to develop in him compassion and love for the neighbor, the weak, the smaller. And how much joy in the eyes of kids, at the sight of such creatures.
In any case, it is always nice to know and understand that you are not alone. That you need someone, that someone needs you and always waits. Looking into their faithful eyes, you forget about everything bad in the world and imbue yourself with only the warmest and positive emotions. One of these representatives is the lionhead rabbit.
Description and features of a lionheaded rabbit
Lionhead rabbits are dwarf breeds. They bred a variety of rabbits quite recently, at the beginning of two thousandths. By crossing dwarf shorthair and fluffy breeds of rabbits.
And in a couple of years, American breeders officially documented the standards of babies, after which they already had the full right to participate in exhibitions.
Their hair on the head and chest is longer and thicker than on other parts of the body. Thanks to this feature, they got their name — a lion-headed dwarf rabbit, such a miniature king of animals.
If we consider the lion-headed rabbits in the photo — one can count more than five ten shades of different color. In purebred representatives, the wool is long only on the front of the body, if there is a length and on the sides, then this is already a deviation from the norm.
Despite their diminutiveness, their paws are short, but powerful enough. But the ears are small, at the ends of the rounded, V-shaped. Very sensitive to loud sounds and touches, as they have a lot of nerve endings.
Therefore, if the pet was presented to a very small child, you need to monitor their communication. Due to the painful touch to the ears, the rabbit can not stand and bite the child.
Decorative lionheaded rabbit looks like a toy, with a very soft and shiny fur, beautiful round face and a half kilogram weight.
These Belgian kids are very clean and easy to train, they respond well to the phrases spoken by the owner. Even a child will be able to teach elementary teams how to roll a ball or jump on their hind legs.
They deserved the love of people with their peace of mind, good nature, desire to make contact with a person, playful with children. They are also excellent friends with other four-legged households, such as cats and dogs.
Keeping and caring for a lion-headed rabbit at home
Care for lion-headed rabbits, as well as for any other pets, almost family members, should be given due attention. Without it, no one can do, and nothing.
Rabbits, like all living things, should have their own home, their refuge, a place for eating and spending the night — a cage. Well, if it is large and spacious. It should contain a drinking bowl, a feeding trough, a toilet tray and a house. As a filler, it is best to use aspen chips or wood pellets, but not conifers.
They serve for the toilet, and a great opportunity to chew and sharpen teeth. Although the rabbits are very smart, still acquiring a small or already adult pet in the house, you need to treat the animal with patience and understanding.
In a new, unfamiliar place, for some time, the fluffy will not be uncomfortable, it will get stuck in a corner, will hide, do not make contact. Therefore, it will take several days to meet new owners, to adapt and get used to a certain place for a toilet. But then there will be no problems with this.
The cage itself must be placed in such a place that the sun does not shine too much, it is even dangerous for the animal. They can get a heat stroke. The temperature of the air in the room should be slightly more than twenty degrees of heat.
But you have to know that there shouldn’t be drafts either, which is fraught with a cold in an animal. Also away from any equipment, noises and sudden movements will frighten a little friend.
Be sure to, several times a day, a lion-headed eared bird should be let out for a walk, so that it kneads its limbs. Rabbits are not stress-resistant. Therefore, although they are friendly with respect to the rest of the pets, it is better to keep them away from the cats.
Those by nature can take your pet for prey and scare him badly. In rare cases, such situations lead to cardiac arrest in rabbits. During the walk, the animal can make sounds that are similar to grunting.
By this they show not contentment than the readiness to bite, or, on the contrary, joy. Therefore, looking at the pet, over time, you can easily determine his mood and habits.
Decorative rabbits, like all animals, are subject to various diseases. Therefore, it is worth paying attention to the appearance. If the wool has become dull, soggy or uncharacteristic sniffing, unpleasant smell, wounds on the face — all these are signs of the disease.
Perhaps diarrhea, worms or some other, immediately contact a veterinarian to prevent the disease or to start treatment in time. There are still health troubles with dwarf rabbits.
Upon reaching the age of two, they may develop cancer of the reproductive organs. Therefore, neutered or sterilized animals are out of risk.
Since these are representatives of a smart head of hair, the care for it should be special. Daily brushing with a special brush, but very carefully, so as not to damage the pet’s skin. Not only will give a beautiful aesthetic appearance, but also save the animal from the disease of the digestive tract.
They are very clean, and in an attempt to clean themselves, they often get tired of wool, not having the ability to regurgitate it. As a result, the esophagus is clogged, bloating appears, severe pain, and in more severe cases, can lead to the death of a pet.
The teeth also need care. They grow without stopping all their life, so rabbits must constantly grind them. To do this, put a special stone in the cage of your pet that you can easily purchase at any pet store.
Also, for these purposes, a branch of an aspen, acacia or shrub tree is well suited. Otherwise, the teeth will grow very large, the rabbit will not be able to eat normally, which will lead to the depletion of the animal’s body.
Lionhead Rabbit Feeding
Like lionheads, they prefer vegetable food. So and their diet should correspond: eighty percent of herbal food and twenty percent of cereals.
Of the vegetables, rabbits can be given a little cabbage leaf, a piece of carrot, which is good for grinding teeth, pumpkin, a very small amount of beets. Fruits prefer apples and pears, in small pieces.
Rabbits eat grass: alfalfa, dandelion, perennial, burdock. It is important to know that all plant foods should be slightly dried. If vegetables and fruits, it is better in the morning cut, feed the pet in the evening.
Let the freshly plucked grass lie down for a few hours, otherwise it may lead to bloating in the animal. Hay should also be an integral part of the diet.
Vitamin and mineral feed supplements purchased in specialized stores will help Fuzzy to develop well. Put a piece of chalk in a cage, he and teeth will clean and saturate the body with enough calcium. But do not overfeed your pet, which can lead to obesity and early death.
Drinking water should always be in a cage, you can put a saucer or use the drinker. The more dry food is included in his diet, the more the rabbit will drink water, especially pregnant females.
Reproduction and life expectancy of a lionheaded rabbit
On average, lionhead dwarf rabbits live up to eight years, some with proper care and all eleven. The same lifespan directly depends on heredity.
No congenital abnormalities. Timely vaccination and veterinary care will also prolong the life of your pet. They also do not tolerate stress and loneliness.
As for breeding, these little animals are very fertile. To reach puberty, and this happens at the age of six months, rabbits can breed for a whole year.
They are mostly polygamous animals. If at home it is a couple. Then in farms, nurseries for one male there are three, or even four females.
Pregnancy at the rabbit lasts from thirty to forty days. On average, the female brings about five rabbits in the offspring. Before the farrowing, the future mommy tears down on herself and lines the nest for future offspring.
Children are born pink, almost transparent, bald, very small and blind. Then they gradually become overgrown with fluff, their eyes begin to open only after a week and a half. And by the end of the month they can eat feed, but they still need mother’s milk.
Price and reviews of the owners
You can buy a lionheaded rabbit at any pet store or nursery that breeds them. To purchase must be treated with full responsibility.
Well examine the animal for the presence of disease, view the previous offspring, exclude genetic diseases. Also check the compliance of breed standards.
Wool should be clean and shiny. If the animal is not active and is huddled somewhere in the corner of the cage, it means that the pet is not very healthy. You should pay attention to the consistency of feces, it should be hard, round and without a strong smell. When purchasing an adult, look at the availability of vaccines made.
The price of a lionheaded rabbit depends on color and age. If you buy an animal in Moscow or the region, for example, a dwarf lion-headed rabbit cub costs two to three thousand.
An adult is more expensive — around five, seven thousand rubles. If there are familiar breeders of such lovely pets, then the purchase can be twice as cheap, if not for nothing. As for the reviews on the content of these fluffy cuties, they are very different, both positive and negative.
Some people talk only about virtues — they are very friendly, they make good contact with both adults and children. Easy to learn and understand host commands. Upon returning home owners, the rabbit stands on its hind legs, happily welcoming and waiting for delicacy. Do not shed that like many owners.
You can walk freely around the apartment without catching the balls of wool. Just as quickly accustomed to the toilet to the tray, one specific place, which excludes incidents in the form of feces under the sofa or the corners of the room.
With certain vaccinations, adult rabbits can be walked even on the street. In the diet is not picky, you can use not only the specialized purchased feed, but also easily feed the products from your own bed.
Not noisy, sleep at night without disturbing anyone. If the time to clean the cage, then virtually no smell in the house will not. Those who want to make money by breeding their money will not be left at a loss, as the kids are very prolific.
A few negative reviews, but they are. Some people do not like the fact that these ears are fearful, not diligent. Who does not have enough time and patience to teach the child to the toilet, is also not completely satisfied with this.
But in any case, since you have already acquired such a fluffy happiness, remember one thing — we are responsible for those who have been tamed. Therefore, with the appearance in the house of an already new full member of the family, treat him with full responsibility.
And he will repay you only with joy, happiness and love. It will become a faithful and devoted friend for you and your children for many years. Psychological discharge in life difficulties, and sometimes a good, attentive listener.
