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Animals with floppy ears always evoke affection in people. Perhaps because they have a “childish” appearance, and babies are always adorable. Although it is not natural for baby rabbits to have floppy ears even in childhood, nevertheless, rabbits with floppy ears have been bred quite a long time ago.
Due to the shortened facial part of the skull and the slightly humped line of the front of the head, the lop-eared rabbit received another name - “ram”. The head of the lop ear in profile resembles the head of a sheep.
There are already 19 breeds of such “rams” in the world. And this is clearly not the limit. Breeders continue to cross various breeds of lop-eared and ordinary rabbits, creating new varieties. Perhaps a breed of hairless lop-eared rabbits will soon appear. At least the first copies are already in stock.
This is not a breed yet, but an application for one. True, this lop-eared head does not look like a lamb’s, either in profile or from the front.
The most common breeds of lop-eared rabbits
For a sheep rabbit to be considered a breed, it must be recognized by the British or American Rabbit Breeders Association, since these organizations are the “trendsetters.” Although it may happen that a breed recognized by one organization (Americans are more democratic in this regard) is not recognized by another.
Among the rams there are both large breeds, exceeding 4 kg, and miniature ones. Some breeds exist in two, and the Kashmiri Fold even in three, variants.
True, there is no other information about the giant Kashmir ram, except for the mention of its existence. No size information, no photos.
Kashmir ram
The Kashmir Fold dwarf rabbit differs from the larger version of the Kashmir Fold only in weight. The country of breeding, colors and appearance are the same. Moreover, considering that breeds weighing less than 3 kg are considered miniature, both of these varieties are miniature.
Kashmiri Fold decorative rabbit weighs 2.8 kg, and the Kashmir dwarf ram weighs 1.6 kg.
Kashmiris have about 20 colors. Almost all colors range from black to albino. The coat is of normal length. The photo shows that the head of the Kashmir ram is shortened. The ears should hang to the sides, but not drag on the floor.
English ram
A large variety of rabbits is the lop-eared ram. It belongs to one of the largest varieties of lop-ears and is the longest-eared of all. The weight of an English ram is 4.5 kg, and the length of the ears is 65 - 70 cm. English breeders plan to increase the length of the ears to 75 cm. Any color, rich in color. This rabbit has short fur. He was bred in England.
French ram
Similar in characteristics to the English ram, of which it is the ancestor.The French ram has the same weight, but much shorter ears. The color, just like an Englishman, can be any color.
German ram
The smallest of the “family” of large rams. Its weight ranges from 3 to 4 kg. And his ears are the shortest, from 28 to 35.5 cm.
The German Fold is exactly the case when the breed is recognized by one association and not recognized by another. The British organization recognizes this breed, but the American one does not.
The purpose of breeding this breed was to create a medium-sized lop-eared rabbit. During breeding, the French Fold and Dutch Dwarf were crossed.
In Germany, the German Fold was recognized in 1970. In 1990 it was recognized by the British Association. Initially, rabbit colors were only with the agouti gene.
Later, enthusiasts interested in a greater variety of colors, with the help of other breeds of rabbits, greatly diversified the color of individuals of this breed.
But until now the following are not recognized as a standard: harlequin, otter, silver marten, blue, piebald with a large proportion of colored surface, chocolate.
Standard colors by group
Agouti: chinchilla, chocolate agouti, opal.
Piebald with white base color and a small number of colored spots, including tricolor ones.
Plain: black, chocolate, blue, albino (REW), blue-eyed white (BEW), lilac.
Veiled: golden, silver, black, blue, chocolate, purple coating on the tips of the hairs, silver-brown, sable, pearl-smoky.
Striped in cream, red, dark red and fawn tones.
The German's ears are thick, wide, and have powerful cartilage. The ears should hang behind the eyes and be turned with the auricle towards the head.
The coat is of normal length.
American Longhair Ram
The American Longhair is similar to the Dutch Fold Dwarf, as it has it in its pedigree. Initially, the Dutch Fold had only solid colors. To diversify the colors, it was crossed with the English “butterfly”, resulting in spotted lop-eared rabbits. But the quality of the Dutch Fold's fur deteriorated and angora rabbit, resulting in a lop-eared miniature rabbit with long hair. But the standard Dutch ram does not provide for such wool and long-haired rabbits were discarded from breeding, although even now they are found in the litter of standard Dutch rams.
Enterprising Americans noticed that people were more willing to take non-standard Dutch Folds with long hair and attempted to cross two long-haired individuals in order to obtain 25% long-haired rabbits in the litter, since the gene that determines long hair is recessive. As a result, in 1985, three applicants submitted long-haired rabbits for registration.
The standards presented by the applicants varied, which delayed the registration of the Longhair Ram as a breed. It was not until 1995 that the standard was established.
The rabbit's weight was determined to be up to 2 kg. The ideal weight is 1.6 kg.
Lop-eared lionhead
The average weight of rabbits of this breed is 1.5 kg. The breed was registered in 2007.
The colors are very diverse:
- white (red- or blue-eyed);
- black;
- blue;
- agouti;
- opal;
- steel;
- pale yellow;
- deer;
- ginger;
- sable from light to dark;
- black-brown;
- pale yellow;
- chocolate;
- butterfly.
Character traits
All lop-eared rabbits have a calm and easy-going disposition.Perhaps due to the fact that the ears not only droop, but in almost everyone the auricle is turned towards the head. This position of the ears prevents the animal from accurately determining where the frightening sound is coming from and jumping to the side. Therefore, the fold-eared rams have no choice but to freeze in place.
Caring for sheep rabbits is somewhat more difficult than for conventional breeds. Moreover, conditions of detention may vary depending on the breed.
When choosing a breed of sheep, you must first find out how to care for a lop-eared rabbit of your favorite breed.
Maintenance and care
In general terms, the care and maintenance of rams does not differ from ordinary breeds, if we consider the place or nutrition of these animals.
But if you want to have an English ram, you will have to worry about the cleanliness of the cage. Ears that drag along the floor will constantly find dirt. The animal can also injure its ears on something sharp while walking around the house.
A long-haired or lion-headed ram will require careful grooming, as during the molting process it can ingest hair while cleaning its skin. If the fur forms a lump in the intestines, the rabbit will not live longer than a couple of days.
To prevent this problem, the animals are given malt paste, which dissolves the fur. And don't forget to comb them.
At home, lop-eared rabbits eat the same things as other decorative pets of this species. They are given feed, observing the requirements for hay, feed and succulent feed.
With good care, rams live as long as their relatives with erect ears live, that is, 6 – 12 years.
Specific problem of rams
Because of their drooping ears, rams cannot shake their heads to shake out the accumulated secretions from their ears.Earwax can cause otitis media, so sheep need regular ear cleaning throughout their lives.
Breeding sheep rabbits
Puberty in rams occurs at the same time as in ordinary rabbits. They can also occur in the usual time frame, that is, in 5–6 months. Depending on the breed, female rabbits produce different numbers of babies. Large breeds of rams on average produce 8 – 12 rabbits. You should not expect more than 6 cubs from small ones.
Conclusion
Dwarf rams, with their cute appearance, attract buyers more than rabbits of ordinary breeds. And if the ram is also fluffy, then there will always be people willing to buy such an animal. With lop-eared large breeds, things are more complicated. That is why the English ram has not become widespread. In Russia it is unlikely that you will be able to get an American longhaired ram, but one of its ancestors, the Dutch Fold, is already quite common in the country today.
