Double mane
Lionheads

(MM)

The double mane (MM) Lionhead is very easy to spot when they are born. They look
quite bizarre compared to anything most rabbit breeders have ever seen. They are completely bald on the lower body sides, cheeks, and behind the ears, and stay that
way until they are well over a week old. The photos on the right show these newborns. The Chestnut in the lower photo is about 2 days old - notice top of the head (cap), triangle through the top of ears, cheeks and the area around the eyes are bald leaving fur only on the center part of face. On the broken (lighter) bunny the naked areas are more pronounced as this baby is six days old and has already developed a nice coat of white fur.

These bald areas will eventually begin to grow a soft coat of wool at about eight or nine days of age. The wool will grow much slower and it will be many weeks before the baby double mane gene Lionhead has an even coat of fur.

Some newborn double mane gene Lionheads will show a wool area that covers almost the entire head. These will always have face wool as juniors though many will shed it out before they are adults. At this age you will see where the wool on feet or legs will be as well (note hind feet on broken baby at right).

3 1/2 week old baby
double mane gene (MM)

Because the coat on the double mane gene ((MM) baby Lionhead takes such a long time to even out they are often discarded from breeding programs. The shorter coat on the sides can cause them to appear very long and narrow in body type. The lack of even fur on the cheeks cause the face to appear snipy with a long fore face and very narrow muzzle. You can see the much shorter fur on the flanks of the baby Lionhead on the left. Though it is harder to see the cheeks have a flat appearance to them. The ears often look long because of lack of coat (wool) on the cap of the head. These babies are never "cute". As rabbit breeders most of us are used to those cute little month old babies, with round little faces and fluffy little bodies. The Lionhead breeder is resigned to the "uglies" on their double mane gene (MM) babies till they are at least 2 months old.

REMEMBER type is often an optical illusion due to length of coat.

Most double mane gene (MM) Lionheads develop a distinct saddle by the age of 8 weeks.

The Tort doe on the right is 9 weeks old in the photo and is very typical for her age as a double mane gene (MM) Lionhead. She is lacking the clean sides of many of the single mane gene (Mm) youngsters at the same age. This type of Lionhead is often beaten on the show tables at this age by the cleaner flanked and more dramatic single mane gene (Mm) Lionheads.

This doe is already showing a break between mane wool and flank wool and a nice clean face and legs.

Below you will find a nice row of typical double mane gene (MM) senior Lionheads as you can see there is a diversity of wool type.

owned by Diane Ricketson

owned by Angel Fergurson

owned by Tina Jackson

Some baby double manes (MM) by age 8 to 10 weeks have earned names such as "floffballs", "powder puffs", "dust mops". This is because some carry severely exaggerated mane wool which can be present over the entire body.

On the right you will find photos of a young black double mane gene (MM), with this type of wool as a youngster. As a baby the face wool extends down the face and the cheek wool is so dense that the eyes are almost lost in the wool. There is NO break for the saddle and the chest mane and triangle wool all join the wool covering the body.

In the lower picture the bunny is a little older. The wool has more length but the youngster still has face wool. The saddle still has not appeared. This photo shows some wool on the ears. Ear wool is not always present on this type of Lionhead baby but is not uncommon.

These young Lionheads are often discarded from breeding programs as owners believe they are simply "angora type " babies and will not shed out their wooly body coverings. In many cases this is not true.

In bloodlines not contaminated by hybridizing to wool breeds these type of double mane gene (MM) Lionheads shed out the saddle and often the face wool as they age. The Tort doe on the left shed out to have a very nice saddle but was over 5 months old before it happened. The Blue Tort doe pictured below her is beginning to develop a saddle in the picture and has also lost most of her face wool at that point.

Similar to the Lionheads with the single mane gene (Mm), the wool on double-maned Lionheads (MM) is like that of English Angoras but much more dense then anything found on single mane Lionheads.

At one time it was thought that Lionheads that have two mane genes (MM) would not be showable but this has NOT turned out to be true. Most loose the wool on the saddle, face, ears, and feet. It is sad to note that even double maned (MM) with this much wool often loose most of their manes. It is encouraging to note that a much higher precetage of these very wooly baby Lionheads grow to be adults with manes then the other type of double mane gene (MM) Lionheads..

Below you will find photos of double mane gene Lionheads who began life as
"Teddy Bear type Lionheads"

Wooly Bear @ 2 years old

Carbon Copy over a year

Fire Flies @ 10 months

Wetzel's Frodo @ 9 months

Originally it was thought that Lionheads that have two mane genes (MM) would not be showable but this has NOT turned out to be true.

Some do have multiple disqualifications as juniors, such as wool all over the body, face, ears, and feet, but many shed that excess wool off. Many double-maned (MM) Lionheads tend to have wonderful, full manes carried into adulthood and the tendency to have wool on the ears and lower face, when it appears, seems to be fairly easy to breed out.

The dramatic look of the older double mane gene (MM) Lionhead carrying a big full mane makes a big impression on the show tables. They always attract lots of attention where ever they go.

Cimmaron Eldora
double mane gene (MM) at 18 months old

double mane gene (MM)

Even a double mane gene (MM) Lionhead many do loose their entire mane, this tendency seems to be improving in the last few years as breeders have worked very hard to reverse this trait.

In addiction since the mane seems to be impacted by a number of modifiers the length and density of the mane so even on the double mane gene (MM) Lionhead can be very hard to predict.

The two double mane gene Lionheads pictured here show very different type of manes.

double mane gene (MM)

One of the most common mane modifications we have see is the the effect seen on what the English called the Continental Mane. In this mane typeof Lionhead, the mane and even the flank wool is very, very dense but never gest much length. When this type of Lionhead is young they look like they will develop a wonderful mane but no true length really ever develops.

The young double mane gene (MM) Lionhead at the right develped a Continental Mane.
She is out of the Coats Bloodline of imports which produces this type of mane quite often. Though she was very pretty as a junior her mane never developed any length. This type of
mane bred into some of the bloodlines that produce length is showing great promise in
creating dramatic adult manes. Lionhead breeders are finding that careful crossing of bloodlines containing modifiers for either length or density have made dramatic
improvements in the mane on American Lionheads.

Blue double mane gene (MM)
owned by Bonnie Basler

At the left is a nice young double mane gene (MM) Lionhead. This Blue Lionhead buck shows Centennial Mane development on a junior. He has a very nice break from face fur to mane and his mane stands off his body nicely showing good density. This type of mane seldom mats or felts as a junior. It is very easy to maintain.

He is pictured again on the right as a senior (over a year old). He still has a very dense mane and carries a good deal of flank wool but it lacks length. This is a interesting photo as you can clearly see the area that is wool but
you can also see that the wool is only slightly longer then the rabbits normal fur.

The Chinchilla buck on the right in the lower photo is a
two year old direct English import. He also shows a Continental Mane. Again the flank wool is visible as this buck is a double mane gene (MM) who did not shed out his flank wool. The wool is simply the same basic length as his normal fur.

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