When the lion R-O-A-R-S

Here is our young Lionhead - Kayla, whose Dam is Jess and Sire is Sean.

This photo was taken when Kay is 1 month old. She is a tort Lionhead and is a little camera shy.

Pines's Kay at 2 months old.

Look at her perfect pose (okay, not 100% perfect but almost). There has been a number of inquiries for this tort bun but we had to decline for we have decided not to sell this doe - yet. She seems to have the attributes of a good Lionhead.

Now Kay is 3 months old. She looks like a buck though. But upon checking (or sexing the rabbit), Kay is a she-bun. A doe to be exact. She has a nice head and a compact body. Just one thing... her ears need to improve as they are a bit long for a Lionhead. Ah well, never mind... let's see how she develops. Hopefully the ears would stay short in proportion to the head and size of the rabbit. So stay posted for more ROARing news! :D

Jess' Kits - 20 Days old

Lionhead kits are a little bald around the abdomen, sides, bottom, and cheeks when they are born. Now don't be quick to judge them by their appearance for these bald areas are where the wool would grow as they mature.

At approximately 2 weeks old, you would notice the growth of fur is quite uniform and certain parts of the body would be covered with longer and thicker fur.

This breed of rabbit however is not a recognized breed of the American Rabbit Breeders Association (ARBA) although they can be shown at ARBA shows as an exhibition breed.

The following are some useful links on Lionhead which we thought of sharing:

Rabbit world Agro

Lionhead Proposed Working Standard

Sean & Jess' Kits - Day 2

Growth of fur is slightly visible especially on those who resemble Sean. Size wise, not much of a difference compared to the day before - when they're just born. The kits look very much like Smeagle of Lord of The Rings and that's NOT cute at all. Now speaking of cuteness, we don't exactly encourage people to buy (or adopt) rabbits based on cute factor alone. Neither are we denying the fact that our interest in rabbits also started with "Oh look! How cute is that fuzzy-wuzzy bunny". There's nothing wrong with falling head over heels or love at first sight for its "cuteness" but the message that we are trying to convey is: Consider well. It's a long term commitment (they can live up to 6-7 years or some longer depending on various factors). Think carefully. Sleep on it. Talk to your love ones who in someway or other would be affected by the additional "family member". Don't worry about someone else is gonna buy the cute rabbit you saw on display in the pet shop that's so CHEAP (or so you think but you will be surprised with what better offer you can find on the internet especially buying from breeders). By the way, do you know that you can find rabbits that are "cuter", "prettier", "fluffier", and "CHEAPER", etc. if you buy from a breeder? Reason being, rabbits sold at the pet shops are "rejects". Breeders do not want to keep the "stocks" for their breeding program because it lacks certain characteristics or features which could improve or at least maintain the quality of their stocks. So yea, in a way you can say rabbits sold at the pet shops are of inferior quality. Think: a breeder could sell a bunny for RM250.00 to a buyer. But if he has to sell thru a medium - pet shop, the pet shop takes 40% and breeder only 60%. So there you go!

Oh! There's another point to note... Rabbits are cute when they are young (peak of "cuteness" is between 1-2months old) but when they reach maturity, that's when you can see their long pointy ears and face - another "lab rabbit". Pet shops often take in rabbits which are barely 2 months old and it's a huge NO to separate the kits from its mother below the age of 2months, even though they may be nibbling on pellets and drinking from the feeder. There could be adverse effects on the well being of the bunnies in future.

So think before you make a purchase or opt to adopt a cute bunny. Now back to Jess' bundle of joy...

Generally, rabbits nurse the kits once or twice a day when no one is around. Their instincts would tell them to keep away from the kits except to nurse them to avoid any unwanted attention of predators. Since we separated the kits from its mother, we kinda reschedule the nursing time according to the "our timing" so we had to force Jess to nurse her kits. She is of course, unwilling to nurse her kits. We had to hold her down and gently stroke her so she would stay still and nurse the kits. Otherwise she is rather fidgety and would hop around. Once she even resorted to bite anyone who attempt to restrain her. What a feisty mom!

Stroking Jess

While Ashley in the other cage is expecting real soon... check out the huge bump. We're guessing 8 kits or more judging by the size of it. Now, most of the time she is resting and there are hardly any digging or biting of the grills of the cage (which is her new found interest/ addiction of late).

Yummy mummy

We also caught her in action: busy building her nest with hay and shreds of newspapers.

Ashley engrossed in building her nest. Oblivious to the fact that we were recording her every move.

Sean & Jessy's Bundle of Joy - Day 1

Nothing beats the monotony of a mundane Monday than being greeted by a nice surprise upon reaching home from work - A bundle of joy. Yes, 6 kits! 6 fully formed and healthy baby rabbits, shuffling around the tray beneath Jessy's cage with 1 of them struggling to break free from being stuck in between the floor of the cage (here's a note of advise: if you are expecting, please cover the floor with a mat or mesh wire). We had to use tools to ply open or rather widen the gap in order to free the poor kit. Good thing the kits are hardy and would not die (even - if) from falling off a 2 story cage!

Please note that this is a planned pregnancy which we "arranged" a groom for the doe, having in mind a vague idea of how we wanted the offspring to be ("lab rabbit" is an experiment which went awry so think before "you do"). We were just unprepared for the kits for we couldn't tell if the mating was a success or if Jess is pregnant... But, we reckon after a few rounds of experience, it should be easier to tell if the doe has it. Anyway, Congratulations to the proud parents - Jess and Sean!!! *clap* Well done Jess!

Dam: Jess

Sire: Sean

who are the proud parents of these kits.... 6 in total!

Look how tiny...(and so obscene) LOL!

Cleaning with a damp cloth cos the kits were a little "bloody" and dirty for some landed on jess' poo!

This is how we clean the kits

Healthy kits

For the 1st few days we had to separate the kits from the dam to prevent it from being trampled or hurt in any way such as scratches caused by the dam's sharp nails. It is until feeding time (twice a day, morning and evening) that we brought it back to jess for cleaning (the dam would lick the kits feces) and feeding.

Because these kits are not with its mother, we use a baby napkin or a "good morning towel" to cover it and to keep it warm and fuzzy throughout the day.