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Animals with hanging ears always cause affection in people. Perhaps because they have a "childish" look, and the cubs are always touching. Although rabbits by nature do not have hanging ears even in childhood, nevertheless, rabbits with hanging ears have been bred for a long time.
Because of the shortened facial part of the skull and the slightly humped line of the front part of the head, the lop-eared rabbit received a different name - "ram". The lop-eared head in profile resembles the head of a sheep.
There are 19 breeds of this kind in the world. And this is clearly not the limit. Breeders continue to crossbreed different breeds of lop-eared and common rabbits, developing new varieties. Perhaps a breed of hairless fold-eared rabbits will soon appear. At least the first copies are already in stock.
This is not a breed yet, but an application for it. True, this lop-eared head does not look like a ram's either in profile or in full face.
The most common breeds of lop-eared rabbits
For a rabbit ram to be considered a breed, it must be recognized by the British or American Association of Rabbit Breeders, since these are the organizations that 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 at once, and the Kashmir 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 data, no photo.
Kashmiri ram
The Kashmirian fold dwarf rabbit differs from the large version of the Kashmir fold only in weight. Country of origin, colors and exterior are the same. Moreover, given that breeds weighing less than 3 kg are referred to miniature, both of these varieties are miniature.
Kashmiri fold decorative rabbit weighs 2.8 kg, and the Kashmiri dwarf ram 1.6 kg.
Kashmiris have about 20 colors. Practically all colors 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 down at the sides, but not dragged along the floor.
English ram
A large variety of rabbits are lop-eared rams. It belongs to one of the largest varieties of Folds and is the longest of all. The weight of the English ram is 4.5 kg, and the length of the ears is 65 - 70 cm. English breeders plan to bring the length of the ears up to 75 cm. The color of any saturated color. The coat of this rabbit is short. It was bred in England.
French ram
Similar in characteristics to the English ram, which is the ancestor. The French ram has the same weight, but much shorter ears. Color, as well as an Englishman, can be any.
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 the very case when the breed is recognized by one association and not recognized by another. The British organization recognizes this breed, the American does not.
The purpose of breeding this breed was to create a medium-sized fold-eared rabbit.When breeding, they crossed a French Fold and a Dutch dwarf.
In Germany, the German Fold was recognized in 1970. In 1990 he was recognized by the British Association. Initially, the colors of the rabbit 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 standard is not recognized: harlequin, otter, silver marten, blue, piebald with a large share of colored surface, chocolate.
Standard colors by group
Agouti: chinchilla, chocolate agouti, opal.
Piebald with white main color and a small number of colored spots, including tricolor.
Plain: black, chocolate, blue, albino (REW), blue-eyed white (BEW), purple.
Veil: golden, silver, black, blue, chocolate, lilac bloom on the tips of the hairs, silver-brown, sable, pearl-smoky.
Striped in cream, red, auburn and fawn tones.
The ears of the German are thick, wide, with powerful cartilage. The ears should hang down behind the eyes and be turned with the auricle towards the head.
The coat is of regular length.
American long-haired ram
The American Longhair is similar to the Dutch Fold Dwarf, as it has it in its ancestry. Initially, the Fold Dutchman had only solid colors. To diversify the color, it was crossed with an English "butterfly", getting spotted fold-eared rabbits. But the quality of the fur of the Dutch Fold deteriorated and they added angora rabbit, resulting in a lop-eared miniature rabbit with long hair. But in the standard of the Dutch ram, such wool is not provided for and long-haired rabbits were rejected from breeding, although now they are found in the litter of standard Dutch rams.
Enterprising Americans have noticed that people are more willing to take non-standard Dutch Folds with long hair and have attempted to cross two long-haired individuals in order to obtain 25% of long-haired rabbits in the litter, since the gene that determines long hair is recessive. As a result, in 1985, three applicants at once submitted long-haired rabbits for registration.
The standards presented by the applicants varied, which delayed the registration of the long-haired ram as a breed. It wasn't until 1995 that the standard was established.
The weight of the rabbit 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);
- the black;
- blue;
- agouti;
- opal;
- steel;
- pale yellow;
- deer;
- redhead;
- light to dark sable;
- black-brown;
- pale yellow;
- chocolate;
- butterfly.
Character traits
All fold-eared rabbits have a calm and docile disposition. Perhaps due to the fact that the ears are not only hanging, 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, lop-eared rams have no choice but to freeze in place.
Caring for ram rabbits is somewhat more difficult than for ordinary breeds. Moreover, the conditions of detention may differ depending on the breed.
When choosing a breed of sheep, you must first figure out how to care for a fold-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 food of these animals.
But if you want to get an English ram, you have to be puzzled by the cleanliness of the cage. Ears dragging on the floor will constantly find dirt. The animal can also hurt its ears on something sharp while walking around the house.
A long-haired or lion-headed ram will require careful grooming, as it may swallow wool during the shedding process, cleaning its skin. If the fur forms a lump in the intestines, then the rabbit will not live longer than a couple of days.
To prevent this trouble, the animals are given malt-paste, which dissolves the wool. And don't forget to comb them out.
Lop-eared rabbits eat at home the same as other decorative pets of this species. They are given feed, observing the requirements for hay, compound feed and succulent feed.
With good care, rams live as long as their relatives with erect ears, that is, 6 - 12 years.
Specific ram problem
Because of the drooping ears, the rams cannot shake their heads and shake out the secretions accumulated there from their ears. Sulfur plug can provoke otitis media, so rams need regular cleaning of their ears throughout their life.
Breeding rabbits
Puberty in rams occurs at the same time as in normal rabbits. They can also happen at the usual time, that is, in 5-6 months. Depending on the breed, rabbits bring a different number of rabbits. Large breeds of rams produce 8 - 12 rabbits on average. You should not expect more than 6 cubs from small ones.
Conclusion
Dwarf rams with their cute appearance attract buyers more than ordinary rabbits. And if the ram is also fluffy, then there will always be those who wish for such an animal. With lop-eared large breeds, things are more complicated. That is why the English ram was not widely spread. In Russia, it is unlikely that it will be possible to get an American long-haired ram, but one of its progenitors, the Dutch Fold, is already quite common in the country today.
