Lionheads vs Netherland Dwarf

I don't know if this will happen but I've considered the idea of raising another breed besides Mini Lops.

I'd love to know what main differences people have found between raising Lionheads vs Netherland Dwarf rabbits.

I'd like to know any observations, such as: differences in temperament, differences in health, differences in litter sizes, kindling success, differences in what they sell for etc.

Thank you so much in advance!

I havent had Netherlands since the 80's and 90's so cannot comment on the current state of the breed - but those old bloodlines were pretty nasty and I never recommend one for a child's pet

I've had Lionheads and found them to have horrible bathroom habits, be high strung and with very poor mothering skills but that might just be the bloodlines in Ontario :mrgreen: The grooming required for double maned ones was a royal PITA and some coats types were very prone to matting and needed daily attention

I don't have any personal experience with Lionheads so I can't speak much to the differences, but my kids started in Netherlands a little over two years ago. Most of our rabbits are absolute sweethearts, and the few that have a little bit of an attitude are certainly manageable. I prefer the temperament of the Netherlands over most of my husband's Mini Lops! Their litter size typically averages between 2 to 4 but we have had as many as 6 in a litter. Adding in the peanut, max factor, and hippo genes, though, we are happy if we end up weaning two. First time moms will often loose their litters and stretched out kits that are DOA are not uncommon. For us, I haven't noticed a huge difference in hardiness between the Mini Lops and the Netherlands. If anything, the Netherlands have seemed to fare slightly better as we lost a higher percentage of Mini Lops when we had our A/C go out in the barn at the beginning of the summer. I do not know how this compares with Lionheads though. As far as selling prices, I typically see decent show quality Netherlands from Average Joe breeder go for prices between $65 to $150. Top-name breeders can sell their Netherlands for $200 to $400 and up. Netherlands are very competitive on the tables here.

Netherland Dwarfs have a reputation for being nasty. They seem to have improved recently though - my bucks are very friendly albeit flightly. My does are still kind of mean. Lionheads, from my experience tend to be a bit friendlier than netherland dwarfs - most lionhead does Ive met would tolerate a lot more than what a dwarf doe would, and the bucks seem a bit less energetic.

Netherland dwarf adults themselves dont have too many health issues - but it seems they have a monopoly on birth defects - peanuts, hippos, max factors, faders - if you breed two show quality netherland dwarfs together, expect at least a quarter a babies to die within the first week even with a perfect mother. Some lines also have difficulties with birth due to the large heads, but good quality lines generally dont have that problem because of the wide hips. Lionheads generally have larger, healthier litters. Not to say lionheads don't have any problems - some lines of lionheads have been bred into ND and have similar problems, but as a whole lionheads tend to have less problems. Also, lionheads can have some problems due to the mane - you need to take care of their wool.

Netherland dwarfs are expensive little rabbits. Most of the ones I bought cost around $150. Even higher quality ones go for even more. Netherland dwarfs are so particular and have such small litters, that they have a low supply of good rabbits and a high demand for them, so the prices are high. Lionheads are much more variable. Both are hard to find good rabbits - there are a lot of pet quality lionheads out there that have been bred into show lines, and as a new breed there are some different interpretations of the standard (and some lines were bred to fit the older standards), so you have to be careful when buying. These are two very different breeds - I'd suggest getting a couple of each, and getting to know the local breeders of each (lionhead and dwarf breeders in general are very different groups)