Rabbit lop-eared ram: description of the breed and keeping at home

A distinctive feature of lop-eared ram rabbits is hanging ears and miniature size. Decorative pets are trainable and toilet trained. Friendly and phlegmatic animals need daily walks, games and communication with the owner. Also, before buying, you should familiarize yourself with the rules of feeding and caring for the breed.

History of the breed

Decorative lop-eared ram rabbit originated from farm breeds in mid-twentieth century England. Long ears were considered a marriage. But the farmers decided to turn the flaw into a hallmark. 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 sheep appeared in Holland as a result of crossing the French and Dutch fold breed.

In 1974, a mini-lamb 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 Flemish farm giant. But modern domestic breeds are more suitable for keeping in an apartment.

Description and characteristics of the lop-eared sheep

Appearance of rabbits:

height - 30 centimeters;
body length - 70 centimeters;
weight - 1.5-2 kilograms;
ears length - 25 centimeters from the age of three months;
the head is rounded, with a convex forehead and a well-defined nape;
wool with undercoat, soft, 18mm long;
various colors - white, grey, 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 directed in different directions. By three months, the ears grow in length and hang down on the sides of the bulbous forehead, giving the rabbit's head a resemblance to that of a lamb.

The complaisant nature and attachment of sheep to the owner is explained by poor hearing. Lop-eared 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:

wit;
stress resistance;
good digestion.

Due to their innate calmness, lop-eared sheep quickly adapt to a new home and tolerate transportation well.

Most rabbits have sensitive digestion. The fold breed is less likely to suffer from intestinal disorders, but is prone to obesity.

Weak immunity is considered a disadvantage of rams. But he alth often fails unvaccinated rabbits and those living in unsuitable conditions. A minus when breeding can be called a small offspring of a decorative breed - on average, 4 rabbits.

Breeders call the negative qualities of lop-eared rabbits garbage around the cage, teeth marks on wallpaper, furniture and wires, smell and noise at night. Sheep behave badly because they lack attention and have a lot of unspent energy. Bunnies that are played and trained every day are no problem.

Content rules

How to provide a lop-eared ram rabbit with favorable conditions and proper care:

choose a cage of a comfortable size - 80 centimeters long and wide and 50 centimeters high;
put a bed of clean paper and sawdust on the bottom of the cage and change it every day;
keep the temperature in the apartment 22-25 degrees;
avoid draft;
There should always be food and water in the feeder and drinker;
combing wool during shedding;
cut nails;
clean ears;
keep the toilet clean.

Lop-eared sheep molt in spring and autumn. Scratching prevents the formation of hard hairballs in the stomach of pets, which they swallow.

Manicure for rabbits is done every two to three weeks with a special nail cutter, the part located above the blood vessel is cut off. The ear canal is cleaned with cosmetic sticks. The lop-eared ram rabbit should 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 owner's belongings.

Taming Features

How to help a lop-eared ram 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 rabbit is calm, eats, sleeps, washes and shows interest in what is happening on the other side of the cage, you can proceed to accustoming to hands:

pour food into the palm of your hand and stretch it out to the rabbit, calling him by name;
when he gets used to eating with his hand, stroke him with the other hand;
put an empty hand in front of the rabbit and lift it up a little as it climbs up on 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, leave marks around the apartment. If breeding ram rabbits is not included in the plans, the animal must be castrated or sterilized. Suitable age for surgery is 4-6 months.

Older toy rabbits are more likely to experience complications. Sheep 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 a lop-eared sheep

Decorative rabbit menu:

root crops - carrots, boiled potatoes, turnips, pumpkins, raw broccoli; as well as Jerusalem artichoke, beets, zucchini;
cereals - peeled oats, wheat, sunflower seeds, flax, pumpkin;
green food - in summer - fresh grass collected in an ecologically clean place, in winter - dried herbs.

Lop-eared sheep 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, apricot twigs.

Dangerous product for lop-eared sheep - white and red cabbage. The vegetable contains substances that stimulate the production of digestive enzymes. With regular use of cabbage, ram rabbits suffer from bloating, and in severe cases, digestion stops. Instead of white cabbage, you can give cauliflower. Its inflorescences contain fiber, vitamins A, B and C.

Rabbit premixes consist of cereals and seeds and are suitable as roughage. Granulated foods contain hay, vegetable pieces and mineral supplements to improve the appearance of the coat. Hard granules wear down teeth.

Complete foods are 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 upset. Therefore, for sheep, it is better to buy a grain mixture and add self-cooked vegetables.

Subtleties of breeding

Lop-eared ram rabbits are ready for breeding at 6 months. Basic breeding principles:

to preserve the purity of the breed, only a purebred male is taken. The female can be both purebred and with flaws that are not considered gross deviations;
as a rule, rabbits of the same color are knitted. Parents of different colors more often have rabbits with marriage in color;
during pregnancy, the female should get enough water. Dehydration negatively affects the lactation of rabbits.

Birth occurs a month after mating. The behavior of the female signals the imminent birth - a week before the birth, the expectant mother pulls out the hair on her chest to build a nest. At this time, a queen cell for 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 hairless, blind and with straight ears;
on the tenth day they become covered with wool and open their eyes;
on the fourteenth day they are ready to be fed with vegetables and grass, but their main food is mother's milk.

On the thirtieth day, the straight ears of the rams sag, and on the forty-fifth day, the rabbits can be transferred to adult food. At three months, young lop-eared rabbits begin their "teenage" period. The muzzles of animals are awkwardly drawn out. By six months, the disproportion of the body goes away, and lop-eared rabbits look attractive.

Diseases and vaccination

On the twentieth day of life, lop-eared rabbits are driven off helminths, and at the age of one month they are vaccinated against myxomatosis and viral hemorrhagic disease. Deworming drugs are given 10 days before vaccination.

For vaccination, a complex vaccine against myxomatosis and hemorrhagic disease is used, or individual vaccines for each disease are administered at intervals. After 3 months, revaccination is done, and then the 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 - infectious diseases that are treated in the initial stage. With an acute course and the absence of veterinary care, rabbits die after 10 days.

With malnutrition, animals suffer from bloating and intestinal obstruction. The hardening of the ball of wool, which the rabbit swallows during the molting period and without daily combing, also leads to a stop in the digestive system. The first symptom of all diseases is the refusal of food. If the pet does not eat anything for the second day and sits ruffled, it must be urgently examined by a veterinarian.

How to buy a good lop-eared ram rabbit

Signs of a purebred and he althy lop-eared rabbit:

ears fully down;
correct bite - the lower teeth close behind the upper;
shiny eyes, clear nose and coat.

Don't buy a two month old bunny with straight ears. He is not a purebred, and the ears will remain on the top of his head.

Apathy and drowsiness are shown by infants who are too early to sell. Without mother's milk and warmth, they will grow up shy and aggressive. Incorrect bite, in which the lower teeth close in front of the front, leads to dental diseases in the future. Wet, sticky hair around the eyes, nose, under the tail are signs of an unhe althy animal.

Estimated cost

The price of the lop-eared breed depends on the class:

show - perfect in appearance, the most expensive rabbits;
breed - individuals with acceptable flaws, suitable for mating, in second place in terms of cost;
pet - lop-eared sheep with marriage are not suitable for breeding, so the price is lower.

More expensive than show-class rabbits are animals with a rare color: cheetah, Siamese, red, Ren. They are highly rated despite not meeting breed standards. The average price for lop-eared ram rabbits ranges from five to eight thousand rubles.