premature death in Lionheads

[nugget]

Just wondering if there are other Lionhead owners that have lost their bunnies under “suspicious” circumstances.  I can’t help but wonder about the overall strength of this breed….with it being a fairly new breed. I lost my lionhead at only 11 months old. I have a friend who lost hers before 2 years of age. My vet had even performed an autopsy and found no obstructions (no foreign objects or hairballs) She saw no reason why the injesta in her stomach and intestines shouldn’t have broken up and passed. It seems as though her intestines had just quit working. It would be nice to know of any similar situations with lionheads…..and it would be even nicer to hear of Lionheads reaching that ripe old age of 7!

[LoveChaCha]

Like humans, animals will pass of natural causes.

I have a friend that has a Lionhead for the past 2 years and he is in great health. Loves chasing cats around in the house, lol.

I think some other members have older Lionheads that are past 2 years old.

[Karla]

I have heard about this as well about lionheads being a new fashion breed where the looks are of greater importance than the health. However, I think it depends a lot about the breeders and which line is used.

Karl is turning 2 years in september and is still going strong.

[RabbitPam]

It’s always possible that a genetic line passes along a weakness or illness that will surface at a similar time. Since bunnies can be bred so frequently, it would be easy to have many that trace back to a line with a common problem. I’m wondering if you and your friend may have gotten both bunnies from a local breeder so shared some blood lines or characteristics, making it more likely than a random global selection of lionheads.

Doesn’t help to know though. I am sorry for both of your losses.

[nugget]

It has been a tough decision for us, but we have decided to get another Lionhead. We have spoken with a breeder and hope to have our new little guy here next weekend. I hope we have made the right decision, another loss would be heart breaking! thank you all for your comments!

[Andi]

I know some older Lionheads, 6+ years old. We get many in our rescue, as they are more of a fashion/fad pet atm
I could see it being related to bad breeding, absolutly. But again, that can happen with any breed, I took in some Angora/Rex crosses, within the first year 3 of 7 in the litter all up and died with no signs of illness, necroscopy proved otherwise, they had gotten an illness in the womb that affected the kidneys. I have 2 of these guys still, and theya re healthy and almost 4 years old.

[Author]

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