FAQ's

 

How were Lionheads developed?  

It is believed that Lionheads were first developed in 

Belgium as a cross between a Swiss Fox and a 

Belgian Dwarf. The resulting cross was a small rabbit 

with normal fur on it's body and a longer "mane" 

of wool around it's head. This new rabbit took 

Europe by storm and has caused quite a stir here in 

the United States too.

 

 

Can I "create" a Lionhead w/o using a Lionhead 

in my breeding program?

No, you must use a Lionhead to produce a Lionhead.  

The mane gene is a true MUTATION, so in order 

to get a mane gene, one or both parents must 

have a mane gene.  

 

 

What is the difference between a Single Mane Gene 

(SMG) and a Double Mane Gene (DMG) Lionhead?

There have been two wonderful articles written about 

the mane gene by two established Lionhead breeders.  

They very much compliment each other, so I highly 

recommend reading both articles if you are 

considering getting involved in the Lionhead breed.  

The first article "Inheritance of the Mane Gene"  

was written by Brenda Lindner.  It describes in depth 

how the gene is passed from parents to offspring.   

The second article "The Mane Gene in the 

Lionhead Rabbit" was written by Gail Gibbons of 

Cimarron Rabbitry in Kansas.  It goes into depth 

about the mane gene, what each type looks like, 

and selection process.  If you still have questions, 

please feel free to contact us with

 specific questions.  

(Click on the title to be taken directly to the article)

 

 

Is it true some purebred Lionheads have no mane?

That depends on your interpretation of "purebred".  

In the sense that you can get an offspring with no mane 

out of two purebred Lionheads, then Yes, some 

"Purebred" Lionheads will have no mane.  However 

to be considered a "Lionhead" the rabbit MUST 

show the characteristics of a Lionhead...in this 

case a MANE.  So in my opinion, NO a rabbit 

with no mane...even if out of two purebred maned

 parents...would NOT be a "Lionhead".  If an offspring 

does not get at least one mane gene from one of its 

parents, they will not have a mane.  They will never 

have a mane themselves and can never pass a mane 

gene to their offspring.  This can occur when two 

Single Mane Gene Lionheads are bred together 

or where a Single Mane Gene Lionhead is bred to 

a non-maned rabbit such as in hybrid programs.  

When using a true Double Mane Gene Lionhead, 

you will never get a Non-Mane Gene offspring.   This 

is described in depth in Brenda Lindner's article on the 

Inheritance of the Mane Gene. 

 

 

Why do some Lionheads have full, fluffy manes 

and some thin, wispy manes?

                                  

This is something that is being worked on by all Lionhead

 breeders.  Most rabbits with fuller manes tend to be 

Double Mane Gene (DMG).  This fuller mane is what  

Lionhead breeders want, but sometimes the DMG 

Lionheads  do not lose all the wooly skirting around their

 flanks and hindquarters or their ear furnishings as is 

required by the proposed working standard.  Most rabbits

 with the thin, wispy manes tend to be Single Mane Gene

 (SMG).  These rabbits tend to show extremely well as 

juniors, but seldom hold the prominent, beautiful manes 

as a senior animal  Each breeder has a bit different 

opinion on which gene variety (SMG or DMG) we 

should be breeding for.  The common goal here though 

is to get Lionheads that have full manes and 

maintain those manes as seniors.

 

 

Which mane type should I be working with in my own herd?

 This is a question that needs to be answered by every 

breeder when they start a Lionhead breeding program.  

There are many different philosophies out there on "which 

is best".  Here at PrideLands Rabbitry we are using 

exclusively Double Mane Gene Lionheads.  This came 

about after several years of working with both mane 

types to see which possessed the qualities we were 

looking for (full, prominent manes that were maintained 

on senior animals).  After working on the breed for 

3 years, it became obvious to us that the DMG 

Lionheads were the ones that possessed these traits.  

So over the following year, we worked toward only 

using DMG Lions in our program.  Not all breeders 

agree with this philosophy, so make sure you talk 

to several breeders when looking to purchase Lionheads 

to determine which mane type is best 

for your own program.  

 

 

Is it true Lionheads also come in a Lop-Eared version?

Yes!  Lionheads are currently being worked on in England 

in a lop-eared version and also a rex-furred (velveteen) 

version.  Currently all Certificates of Development 

in the U.S. are for the erect-eared versions 

with a normal coat.   ARBA policy is not to accept 

a breed that doesn't change more than the ear carriage 

or coat variety.  Therefore, it is unlikely that either

 the Lop version or the Rex version will ever be a 

"recognized" breed with the ARBA.

 

 

What is a Sport Lionhead?

This term typically refers to a Lionhead that has a 

white mis-mark on it's body.  This mark can occur 

anywhere, but is typically on the head, nose, or front feet.  

t is typically caused by the Vienna Gene.  This is a 

gene carried by Blue-Eyed Whites.  When crossed 

with colors other than BEW, the gene causes 

white mis-marks.  It can also be hidden and not 

show up in offspring for several generations.

Sport Mismarks

 

 

Do I need get a pedigree on Lionheads that I purchase?

Several years ago, when Lionheads were still being 

imported in to the US, it was fairly common not to have 

a 3 generation pedigree accompany the rabbit at the 

time of sale.  Now though, most breeders are far 

enough along in their breeding programs that yes, 

a pedigree would be an important part in the decision 

process for purchasing a Lionhead.  It is wise to inquire 

on how much of a pedigree will be included when 

purchasing a Lionhead rabbit and whether the rabbit 

is a purebred or hybrid.

 

 

Are Lionheads good moms?

It has been our experience that they are excellent moms.  

They are easy to get pregnant and have few kindling 

problems.  They typically raise litters of 5 to 9 kits 

easily depending on the size of the doe.  Smaller 

does typically have smaller litters, although 

we've had even our small does raise 6-7 in a litter. 

 

 

What is a hybrid Lionhead?

A hybrid Lionhead is the result of crossing a 

purebred Lionhead to another breed of rabbit. 

 Probably the most common cross is the

Netherland Dwarf, but  other breeds 

have been used by people, as well.  

 

 

Why cross purebred Lionheads with other breeds?

This was a program used by many respected Lionhead 

breeders when the breed first entered the US 

several years ago.  It was used for several reasons.  

One was due to the very limited gene pool originally 

available in the US, so they were out-crossed to 

prevent excessive inbreeding of one particular line.  

The second reason is to improve type and move 

toward the proposed US standard.  Many of the 

Lionheads originally imported into the US lacked the 

body type and size to conform to the US proposed 

standard.  So many breeders chose to use other rabbit 

breeds to improve or correct these conformation traits. 

The third reason was plain and simple greed.  

Lionheads could be more rapidly reproduced when 

bred to existing rabbit programs.  It's important to make

sure if you are buying hybrid Lionheads that the 

breeder had a specific goal (besides greed) 

in mind when doing the hybriding and that the goal 

was accomplished.    There are also breeders who are 

breeding exclusively purebreds.  We totally respect both

 approaches.  Here at PrideLands we chose to use 

initially a very selective hybrid program w/ show quality

 Netherland Dwarfs to improve the type and size on our 

original English Imports.  We were very pleased with the 

results in our first two years of raising Lionheads 

and have moved forward w/ those hybrids to a program 

that is now exclusively purebred Lionheads.  

Regardless of the approach in breeding 

purebreds vs. hybrids, we all share the same goal to 

move the breed toward acceptance by ARBA.  There 

are many differences of philosophies on how to 

best accomplish this goal.  We recommend reading 

the proposed working standard and talking with 

many Lionhead breeders so that you can evaluate 

what might work best for you in your own program.  

 

What is the history of the Lionhead Presentation?

Lionheads were first presented to the ARBA by 

Arden Wetzel at the 2004 ARBA Convention & Show 

in Providence, Rhode Island.  Unfortunately, none o f the 5

 varieties passed Presentation, but Arden was allowed 

to make several valuable changes to the working 

standard which should help his attempt next year.  

 

Arden made his second attempt 

at 1st presentation of his 5 varieties at the 

2005 ARBA National Convention & Show in 

Indianapolis, Indiana.  Tort was the only variety that 

passed the presentation process.  He could not go forward 

with additional presentation attempts with his other 

4 varieties since this was his second failed attempt 

at 1st presentation.  

 

Arden's 1st attempt at second presentation of the 

Tort (Black) variety was in 2006 at the ARBA  

Convention and Show in Fort Worth, Texas.  

The presentation animals were lovely and it's obvious 

the dedication that Arden had put into this breed.  

Unfortunately the Senior doe had a white spot at 

the base of her tail which is a DQ.  All animals in 

the presentation must be free of all DQ's, 

so Arden's 1st attempt at 2nd presentation failed.   

 

Arden's 2nd attempt at his second presentation  

of theTort (Black) variety was at the 

2007 ARBA Convention and Show in Grand 

Rapids, Michigan.  Unfortunately, the presentation 

failed due to one of the Senior animals having broken 

off their teeth.  

 

Presentation rights then passed to the second

 COD holder, Gail Gibbons.  Gail made her first

 presentation at the 2008 ARBA Convention and Show 

in Louisville, Kentucky.  The only variety

to pass presentation was the Siamese Sable.   

She will make her 1st attempt at 2nd presentation

with the Siamese Sable Variety in 2009.  

She will also be allowed to present in her other

four varieties (Chestnut, REW, Sable Point, 

& Tortoise - Black) for her 2nd attempt at 

first presentation.  

 

At this time all shows MUST accept Lionhead

entries in the Siamese Sable variety.  It is up to

the discression of the show secretary whether to

allow other varieties of Lionheads to compete.

If other varieties are allowed to enter, ALL

entered varieties will compete for BOB/BOS.

 

Who are the current COD holders & 

What are the varieties on their CODs?

There are currently 8 Certificate of Developments

on file with the ARBA:

 

GAIL GIBBONS (MN) - 1st COD

Chestnut, REW, Sable Point, Siamese Sable, & Tort - Black

 

THERESA MUELLER (WA) - 2nd COD

Black, Blue, REW,  & Tort - Black

 

DAWN GUTH (OH) - 3rd COD

Black, Pointed White (all 4 varieties), REW, 

Siamese Sable, &Smoke Pearl

 

LYNNE SCHULTZ (NE) - 4th COD

Blue Point, Chestnut, Orange, Sable Point, & Tort - Blue

 

LEE NEVILLS (IN) - 5th COD

Chocolate, Tort - Chocolate, Lilac, Opal, & Seal

 

 

What is the difference between a proposed working 

standard and an official working standard?

A Proposed Working Standard is a standard that is 

written by a breed sponsor which has been approved

 by the ARBA Standards Committee.  

This standard allows an individual to work on developing 

a new breed for presentation to ARBA.   

The standard may be clarified and changed upon 

agreement by the breed sponsor and the ARBA 

Standards Committee.  The Proposed Working 

Standard becomes an Official Working Standard after 

passing one presentation by the ARBA Standards 

Committee.  This standard can continue to be clarified 

and changed up on agreement by the breed sponsor 

and the Standards Committee, but it is now owned 

by the ARBA and is the only standard which will 

be accepted at ARBA shows.  

 

 

Can I show my Lionheads at rabbit shows?

YES, but they only have to accept Siamese Sable 

Lionheads, since this is the only variety which passed presentation in Kentucky in 2008.  It is up to the 

discression of the show secretary if they will 

accept additional varieties of Lionhead entries.  

Make sure you check w/ the show secretary prior 

to sending in your entry to confirm that they will be 

allowing Lionhead entries in varieties other 

than Siamese Sable.   Some regions encourage 

showing only COD colors which would currently be:  

Black, Blue, Blue Eyed White (BEW),  

Blue Point , Chestnut, Chocolate Agouti, 

Chinchilla, Chocolate, Lilac,  Opal, Orange, 

Otter (in Black, Blue, Chocolate, & Lilac), 

Pointed White (in Black, Blue, Chocolate,  & Lilac), 

REW, Sable Marten, Sable Point, Seal, Siamese Sable, 

Silver Marten (in Black, Blue, Chocolate,  & Lilac), 

Smoke Pearl, Smoke Pearl Marten,  Squirrel, 

Tort (Black), Tort (Blue), 

Tort (Chocolate) & Tort (Lilac).  

 

You will need to have a copy of the proposed 

working standard to give to the show

 secretary and the presiding judge.  Lionheads still 

cannot compete for Best in Show or earn Certificates 

of Legs toward a Grand Championship, nor can they be

Registered.  The breed must pass 3 ARBA 

presentations and be approved by the ARBA 

Standards Committee and the ARBA Board of 

Directors before it can be shown in

 competition for the Best in Show awards. 

 

 

Can I show hybrid Lionheads at rabbit shows?

Yes!  All Lionheads that meet the type traits set 

forward by the proposed and/or working standards 

can be shown.  Please note this means they must 

exhibit a "showable" mane. No mane gene rabbits could 

NOT be shown as Lionheads, since the standard 

clearly calls for a maned animal.  

 

 

What happens once the breed has passed 3 presentations?

 Once the breed has successfully passed 

3 presentations in at least one variety, 

then the subsequent breeders w/ 

CODs on Lionheads would have their 

Breed COD's changed to Variety COD's.  

Each subsequent COD holder would be allowed 

to present up to TWO additional varieties  

which are included on their CODs 

the following year at the ARBA Convention.  

They too would have to successfully pass 3 

presentations for new varieties to be admitted 

to the breed.

 

 

Should I only be breeding these colors?

 Our personal philosophy in our breeding program is to 

keep stock based first on mane quality, second on 

body type, then worry about color.  With a knowledge 

in color genetics, there are many colors that can be

 successfully used to achieve the goals of COD colors.  

The key is knowing your color genetics, or seeking out 

the advice of someone who does.   Our recommendation 

is to look closely at what colors you are breeding 

together.  There are definitely color combinations that 

should and should not be bred together.    Build a 

breeding program around color compatible families 

so that you have a broad base to use in your 

breeding program.

If you don't find the answers to your Lionhead questions 

here please feel free to contact us.  

We love visiting about this exciting new breed.