# Crossbreeding a fuzzy lop with a giant or lionhead mix?



## notasnowballs (Dec 28, 2010)

I didn't buy purebreds because I just can't afford them for wool breeds, and oh my gosh, it's a RABBIT. They have hundreds of rabbits on Craigslist. People can't GIVE them away fast enough. But I'm probably making somebody mad about now. Sorry about that. I digress...

So this little guy was at the auction and he's got maybe 2 inch long fur, maybe a little shorter. His body size is that of a nice meat rabbit, and he's white. I thought maybe I could give spinning a try. I'm crazy enough I took the puppy's shedding fur off and made a little ball of yarn out of that. My husband thought I was nuts. LOL I just wanted to see if it would make soft string because his fur was so soft. 

If I breed to one of my giant mixes (Their Daddy was Flemish Giant, Mom was a mix with strong lionhead traits- 2 or 3 of her kits always have that lionhead tuft on top of their heads), I wonder if the long fur trait will get bred back in? 

Ultimately, I'd love to get a great big, fluffy bunny that I can make stuff with. 

Also, has anyone had any experience with the hide of the wool rabbits, like Angora, after butcher? Does it shed? Or does it make a nice long fur that stays on? I noticed that the standard white meat rabbits hides shed and I don't like that.


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## mysticklobo (Feb 24, 2008)

The gene for long fur and for the Lionhead "mane" are two different genes. 

The mane gene is a partially dominant gene, a single mane gene gives a very thin mane that can shed out as the rabbit grows, two mane genes gives the nice full mane that the breed is know for. Sounds like your doe is a single mane version of them.

The wool/angora gene is a simple recessive, so it takes two to get a long coat, BUT there are modifiers that effect the length, textures and other features of the coat. I wouldn't cross them personally, as you probably wouldn't like the resulting coats. 

I work with the different angora breeds crossing them, partially because they are RARE where I live and partially because I don't like any one breed, but like traits of all of them.


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## Falls-Acre (May 13, 2009)

I agree with pp, if your aim is wooled rabbits, then you ought to start with wooled breeds. There are several different ones, you don't necessarily have to keep them pure to breed if you don't want to. However, if you plan to breed them and want a marketable animal, then you would be better off getting a few of the same breed. Doesn't have to be fancy high quality expensive ones though. Shop around before you buy. Also, I would avoid crossing dwarf breeds with giants. You could be asking for trouble when it comes time for breeding. If the buck is smaller, he might not be capable of 'hitting' the doe and if the doe is smaller, she may have trouble kindling. Lionheads are supposed to be a dwarf breed. Not to mention crossing Lionhead with a wooled rabbit, your first generation is likely to resemble neither or have very poor 'wool' quality.

As for shedding, all rabbits will do it, even Angoras. If you mean the fur is coming off the prepared skin after processing, that is more likely to do with the age at butchering and how you are prepping the fur than the breed from which it came.


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## 6e (Sep 10, 2005)

Also, might I add that having bred and shown Fuzzy Lops for years, they are not a true "wooled" breed like an Angora. Their adult coat should come in with a lot of long guard hair that makes grooming far easier, but isn't all that great for spinning or things like that. 

The others are right on the Lionhead. The genes that determine a Lionhead are different from any wooled breed.

If your true interest is in spinning plus something you can butcher, then I would highly suggest starting out with wooled breeds and the French Angora is a good multi purpose rabbit. When you cross breed, you usually lose the wool or you end up with wool with a lot of guard hair.


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## notasnowballs (Dec 28, 2010)

Ah well, I was hoping. The lionhead mix threw 20% of her babies with fuzz on their faces and on the sides and rear and it's REALLY long, and that was with a giant as the sire. So I was hoping. Oh well. They are cute though. Now I have 2, 1/2 Flemish Giant brown girls with fuzz on their heads and rears, BIG fluffy rabbits. LOL


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## mysticklobo (Feb 24, 2008)

If they were born with the long hair, they only carry one mane gene, the good ones are born bare around the neck and along the sides, as they have two mane genes. The single mane rabbits will shed out the mane and skirt completely a lot of times.


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## notasnowballs (Dec 28, 2010)

No, they weren't born with the long hair. They look like all the other babies, but as their hair starts growing in, they gradually start to look "fuzzier" than the other babies in the litter. I've got a litter from this same doe now, with the fuzzy lop as the father (I just had to try it, and he has a nice meat rabbit look on him. He throws nice, big babies with good meat on them, and so does this doe- so I thought at the very least I'd get good meat bunnies)- There are like 4 white ones, a couple browns, and I think a black one (have to go look again, lots of babies here right now LOL). Anyways, out of all that, I've got a couple of fuzzy white ones, a couple fuzzy brown ones. We will see if they do the characteristic thing that all of her babies have done so far and only grow fuzzy stuff on their heads (a LOT of it) and on their sides and butts. I'm not kidding when I say that hair gets two to three inches long before I pluck it, it's just not all over their body.

This doe's daughters, I have 2 of them that are brown, also had the head and side hair, and I bred them both to a giant, which produced... more brown rabbits with side hair. Blurp's whole litter had the side hair and head hair prolifically, but they were all brown like the Giant. Whisker's litter was half fuzzy, half brown rabbits, some blacks. I tried a second time with Blurp, but this time bred to my fuzzy lop and so far I have gotten a litter of all browns and blacks with black otter looking markings. I don't know if there are any fuzzies yet, they are too young. 

I will try to upload a picture or two of the offspring from these guys. Interestingly, the fuzzy gene seems to go into more rabbits in the second generation, when bred to a giant. I would think it would be diminished- wierd. I guess I don't understand genetics at all. 

So, the rabbits look like every other rabbit until they get a little bit older, then suddenly they are fuzzier.

https://post.craigslist.org/imagepreview/m/5G35Q15M93E93M13J4c67dd
65550239a61488.jpg fuzzy lop (REW) father and lionhead giant mix mother

https://post.craigslist.org/imagepreview/m/5Gb5Ke5Fc3G63If3Hac67a9f5061e82011e6f.jpg same parents, different litter


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