• Forum/Server Upgrade If you are reading this you have made it to the upgraded forum. Posts made on the old forum after 26th October 2023 have not been transfered. Everything else should be here. If you find any issues please let us know.

Lionhead rabbits - how old??

liz.lewis15

Young Bun
Hi, we rescued an abandoned bunny last year after being put in touch with a friend of a friend who had discovered one abandoned in a garden. I've always kept rabbits but they were always large breeds and short haired. This little lady was tiny when we got her, and the vet estimated her age at under a year. She did have fluffy strands round her face, but not much
377932b03daf1b5111a906f3f052ed0b.jpg


However, 4 months later and she looks completely different.
ad8726205726fb96d45fdb43e38b92c7.jpg
with far more long hair, though still not a complete lionhead. I figure she is some mixed breed, but just wondered if this could help us work out how old she was? Or I have wondered that once she had a happier home and proper attention then maybe she was just in a better condition to grow the long hair? We've also adopted her a buddy and bonded them ourselves, so she has a very happy life now!
c9c909166b15b91614b22c8812b58756.jpg



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
She's beautiful and looks very happy. :love:

My vet is bunny-savvy but says it's hard to figure out a rabbit's age. :?
 
However, 4 months later and she looks completely different.
ad8726205726fb96d45fdb43e38b92c7.jpg

with far more long hair, though still not a complete lionhead. I figure she is some mixed breed, but just wondered if this could help us work out how old she was? Or I have wondered that once she had a happier home and proper attention then maybe she was just in a better condition to grow the long hair? We've also adopted her a buddy and bonded them ourselves, so she has a very happy life now!
Sorry, I'm not sure on the answer to your question but can I just say what a perfectly timed photobomb! ;)
 
Well I knew she was young, I was just surprised at how much her fur changed in a few months. Wondered if this was her maturing? In which case she was abandoned as an absolute baby, which makes me very sad indeed!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
She does look quite young in the first pic & manes on lionheads do become fluffier with age. Poor little thing being abandoned, so very glad she has a happy forever home :)

Oh and dont they make a gorgeous couple :love:
 
I think they look good together! Although he has outgrown her now, but she's clearly still in charge..! Thanks everyone


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
I have two lionheads (one at the bridge) and when I adopted them both they had tufts on their faces which eventually became the full mane. don't think the mane can necessarily be an age indicator however.

Bilbo was under a year when I adopted him (May 2011) and he looked like this at first.


In September 2011 he looked like this.


Then he became super fluffy by April 2013.




Frodo had been in rescue for two years so he was at least that when he came to us (June 2012) and he looked like this.


In October 2012 he had his mane and skirt.


And this is a more recent picture of him looking extremely fluffy. He is very good at looking windswept and interesting :lol:


Both bunnies came from the same rescue which was indoor based but they became outdoor bunnies in the summers following their adoptions so I think the manes maybe came through as a response to the weather or perhaps being out of a stressful environment. Frodo was ill in rescue and their accommodation was none too large. It wasn't the best rescue tbh and has since closed down. So I do wonder if stress kept their mane growth suppressed.
 
Do you have any more of her as a youngster? Sometimes you can be more accurate by body shape if they are younger as they fill out around 6-8 months.

The main could be going from baby to adult or just a general moult or I'd a agree temperature could be a factor too.

She's very pretty!
 
These are the very first pics I took, in the small cage she first had (which is now open and just has a litter tray in!) but she definitely looks skinny and sad
42bea5288968d17085d33f6077760d38.jpg
299a1b764883d242f1396080c176191c.jpg
a7dd654cf05e3cc18ca83d52f088fade.jpg



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Aww, bless she does look a bit skinny there. She's not a really young baby, but I would guess around 6 months, as she's not quite adult either. It's very tough to be exact with rabbits though, I'd definitely agree that she was under a year.
 
Awww she is sooooo beautiful :love: Does she enjoy her melba toast? :lol: :lol:


Re: age...I have a lionhead cross and his level of facial hair changes constantly throughout the year...so I would tend to view it more as an indicator of season than age I'm afraid!
 
Thanks everyone. To be honest, it doesn't matter to me how old she is, I was just curious. I've had bunnies from kittens to old age before, so I guessed she was about 6 months to a year. It was the sudden appearance of the mane that confused me! She's a vet healthy weight now, you'll be pleased to hear! And incredibly active, she sleeps on a window sill... I can't stop her! She's currently dozing on a rug in front of the fire and watching the rugby.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
id say about a year old or just under, I wonder if there may be abit of dutch in her as well as lionhead, just the look in her face and being leaner
 
I have a lionhead bunny
this is in september/october time
10387214_10205464388064822_3047356630780698647_n.jpg


And this is her the other week when it was snowing. As you can her mane is a lot thicker than it was in october.
10923495_10205314932368523_5828266948453590374_n.jpg
 
Back
Top