A distinctive feature of lop-eared sheep rabbits is their drooping ears and miniature size. Decorative pets can be trained and are toilet trained. Friendly and phlegmatic animals need daily walks, games and communication with the owner. Also, before purchasing, you should familiarize yourself with the rules of feeding and caring for the breed.
History of the breed
The ornamental lop-eared ram rabbit originated from farm breeds in the mid-twentieth century in England. Long ears were considered a bad thing. But the farmers decided to turn the flaw into a distinctive feature. The idea was supported by French colleagues.
As a result of breeding work, varieties of lop-eared rabbits appeared: French, American, German. In 1964, the first dwarf ram appeared in Holland as a result of crossing the French and Dutch Fold breeds.
In 1974, the mini-ram breed appeared in California. Its variety is a fleecy short-haired ram with plush fur. The ancestor of the lop-eared decorative rabbit is the farmer's Flemish giant. But modern domestic breeds are more suitable for keeping in an apartment.
Description and characteristics of the fold sheep
Appearance of rabbits:
- height - 30 centimeters;
- body length - 70 centimeters;
- weight - 1.5-2 kilograms;
- ear length - 25 centimeters from the age of three months;
- the head is round, with a convex forehead and a clearly defined nape;
- wool with undercoat, soft, 18 millimeters long;
- Various colors - white, gray, black, opal, blue.
Female lop-eared rams differ from males in the absence of dewlap and smaller size. Rabbits are born with straight ears or pointed in different directions. By three months, the ears grow in length and droop on the sides of the convex forehead, giving the rabbit's head a resemblance to a lamb's.
The docile nature and affection of rams for their owner is explained by poor hearing. Fold rabbits are phlegmatic in nature. The life expectancy of decorative breed pets in favorable conditions is 10 years.
Advantages and disadvantages
Positive qualities of ram rabbits:
- intelligence;
- stress resistance;
- good digestion.
Thanks to their innate calmness, fold-eared rams quickly adapt to a new home and tolerate transportation well.
The disadvantage of rams is considered to be weak immunity. But health often fails in rabbits that are not vaccinated and those living in unsuitable conditions. The disadvantage of breeding is the small offspring of the decorative breed - on average, 4 rabbits.
Breeders call the negative qualities of lop-eared rabbits litter around the cage, teeth marks on wallpaper, furniture and wires, smell and noise at night. Rams behave badly because they lack attention and have a lot of unspent energy. Rabbits that are played with and trained every day do not cause much trouble.
Content Rules
How to provide a lop-eared sheep rabbit with favorable conditions and proper care:
- choose a cage of a comfortable size - 80 centimeters in length and width and 50 centimeters in height;
- put a bedding made of clean paper and sawdust at the bottom of the cage and change it every day;
- maintain the temperature in the apartment at 22-25 degrees;
- avoid drafts;
- there should always be food and water in the feeder and drinking bowl;
- comb the fur during shedding;
- trim claws;
- clean ears;
- keep the toilet clean.
Fold sheep shed in spring and autumn. Brushing prevents the formation of hard clumps of hair in your pet's stomach, which they swallow.
Rabbits are given a manicure every two to three weeks with a special nail clipper, and the part located above the blood vessel is cut off. The ear canal is cleaned using cosmetic sticks.The lop-eared sheep rabbit needs to be let out of the cage for at least 1.5 hours a day and devote this time to playing together. Walking around the apartment alone will not benefit either the animal or the owners' belongings.
Taming Features
How to help a lop-eared sheep rabbit adapt at home:
- pour food and talk to him affectionately;
- do household chores near the cage so that the pet gets used to the presence of a person;
- open the door for the animal to come out, accompany it.
If the little rabbit is calm, eats, sleeps, washes himself and shows interest in what is happening on the other side of the cage, you can move on to hand training:
- pour food into your palm and hand it to the rabbit, calling him by name;
- when he gets used to eating from your hand, stroke him with your other hand;
- place an empty palm in front of the rabbit and lift it little by little as he climbs onto it in search of food.
Simultaneously with taming, the ram rabbit will learn to respond to its nickname.
Sterilization and castration
Puberty of lop-eared rams occurs at 6 months. The animals become restless, irritable, and leave marks around the apartment. If breeding sheep rabbits is not part of your plans, the animal must be castrated or sterilized. The appropriate age for surgery is 4-6 months.
Older decorative breed rabbits are more likely to experience complications. Rams aged one year and older must be pre-examined. In the absence of contraindications, the veterinarian may allow the operation. But mature rabbits will take longer to recover than young ones.
Diet of the fold sheep
Menu of decorative breed rabbits:
- root vegetables - carrots, boiled potatoes, turnips, pumpkin, raw broccoli; as well as Jerusalem artichoke, beets, zucchini;
- grains - peeled oats, wheat, sunflower seeds, flax, pumpkin;
- green food - in summer - fresh grass collected in an environmentally friendly place, in winter - dried herbs.
Fold-eared rams will like dandelions, plantain, clover, fireweed, reed, sorrel. For normal digestion, lop-eared rabbits need fiber, which is found in beans, corn, young apple, cherry, and apricot twigs.
A dangerous product for lop-eared sheep is white and red cabbage. The vegetable contains substances that stimulate the production of digestive enzymes. With regular consumption of cabbage, sheep rabbits suffer from intestinal bloating, and in severe cases, digestion stops. Instead of white cabbage, you can give cauliflower. Its inflorescences contain fiber, vitamins A, B and C.
Ready-made mixtures for rabbits consist of grains and seeds, and are suitable as roughage. Pellets contain hay, vegetable pieces and mineral supplements to improve the appearance of the coat. Hard granules wear down teeth.
Ready-made food is balanced and suitable for daily feeding. But lop-eared rabbits do not eat all components equally well; they choose the most attractive in smell and taste. As a result, the balance is disrupted. Therefore, for rams it is better to buy a grain mixture and add home-cooked vegetables.
Subtleties of breeding
Fold rabbits are ready to breed at 6 months. Basic principles of breeding:
- To maintain the purity of the breed, only purebred males are taken. The female can be either purebred or with flaws that are not considered gross deviations;
- As a rule, rabbits of the same color are bred. Parents of different colors often produce rabbits of different colors;
- During pregnancy, the female must receive enough water. Dehydration negatively affects the lactation of rabbits.
Childbirth occurs a month after mating. The behavior of the female signals the imminent birth - a week before giving birth, the expectant mother pulls out the fur on her chest to build a nest. At this time, a queen cell for the rabbits is placed in the cage - a box with straw, which the female will arrange for their appearance.
Features of the development of lop-eared ram rabbits:
- are born without hair, blind and with straight ears;
- on the tenth day they become covered with fur and open their eyes;
- on the fourteenth day they are ready to complementary feeding with vegetables and grass, but their main food is mother’s milk.
On the thirtieth day, the straight ears of the rams droop, and on the forty-fifth day, the rabbits can be switched to adult food. At three months, young lop-eared rabbits begin their “teenage” period. The animals' faces stretch out awkwardly. By six months, the body imbalance disappears, and lop-eared rabbits look attractive.
Diseases and vaccinations
On the twentieth day of life, lop-eared rabbits are driven away from helminths, and at one month of age they are vaccinated against myxomatosis and viral hemorrhagic disease. Anti-worm medications are given 10 days before vaccination.
For vaccination, a complex vaccine against myxomatosis and hemorrhagic disease is used, or separate vaccines for each disease are administered at intervals. After 3 months, revaccination is done, and then vaccinations are repeated every six months.
Myxomatosis and viral hemorrhagic disease (VHD) are incurable diseases transmitted from sick animals and blood-sucking insects.
Rhinitis, bronchitis, pneumonia, stomatitis are infectious diseases that can be treated in the initial stage.In acute cases and lack of veterinary care, rabbits die after 10 days.
With improper nutrition, animals suffer from bloating and intestinal obstruction. The digestive system also stops due to the hardening of a hairball, which the rabbit swallows during the molting period and without daily combing. The first symptom of all diseases is refusal of food. If your pet does not eat anything for the second day and sits with a ruffled look, it needs to be examined urgently by a veterinarian.
How to buy a good lop-eared sheep rabbit
Signs of a purebred and healthy lop-eared rabbit:
- ears completely drooping;
- correct bite - the lower teeth close behind the upper teeth;
- shiny eyes, clean nose and coat.
You should not buy a two-month-old rabbit with straight ears. He is not a purebred, and the ears will remain on top of his head.
Infants who are too early to sell show apathy and drowsiness. Without mother's milk and warmth, they will grow up fearful and aggressive. An incorrect bite, in which the lower teeth close in front of the front teeth, leads to dental diseases in the future. Wet, matted fur around the eyes, nose, and under the tail are signs of an unhealthy animal.
approximate cost
The price for a fold-eared breed depends on the class:
- show - ideal in appearance, the most expensive rabbits;
- breeding - individuals with acceptable flaws, suitable for mating, in second place in cost;
- pet - lop-eared rams with defects are not suitable for breeding, so their price is lower.
More expensive than show-class rabbits are animals with rare colors: cheetah, Siamese, red, Wren. They are highly rated, despite not meeting breed standards. The average price for lop-eared ram rabbits ranges from five to eight thousand rubles.
