Scientific Facts
| Common Name: | Lilac Rabbit |
| Scientific Name: | Oryctolagus cuniculus |
| Life Span: | 9 – 12 years |
| Size : | Medium |
| Weight : | 6-8 lb |
| Body Shape: | Compact |
| Habitat: | Meadows, woods, grasslands, deserts, wetlands, and forests. |
| Country of Origin: | United Kingdom |
Physical Description
Lilac Rabbit is a small to medium-sized breed bunny that weights around 6 to 8 pounds when it already reaches its maturity. It has a short and moderately upright ear that measures up to 3.5 to 4 inches long. Lilacs have a short body with a petite rise at its upper line, well-furred, wide haunches, and a short head. It has a dense body shape with plainly described purple to a greyish color.
The pelage of the Lilac Rabbit is about 1 inch long and is very pleasantly soft when you touch it. A lilac has only one standard color, which is lilac, for which it got its name. Fascinatingly, when you see the Lilacs in a well-lit room, its color may appear in light grey, but when you see it with natural light, it seems to be appearing like a beautiful lavender hue. It is also has a different shade from purple-blue to light grey.
You can easily distinguish which is male or which is female among lilacs, simply by their features. The male lilacs commonly have a broad and silkier head than the female lilacs. While the female lilacs are mostly larger than the male lilac rabbits and they commonly have a small head and dewlap or extra fur beneath their chin that they used to build a nest for their little kits.
Good-to-know Facts About Lilac Rabbit
Here are some quick facts about Lilac Rabbits:
- They can be indoor or outdoor pet rabbits.
- They are the best companion for single people, elderly or seniors, families with children, and for first-time pet owners.
- They are also convenient in an apartment and can be as a house rabbit.
- Their temperaments are sweet, compliant, companionable, and quite gentle rabbits.
- Lilac rabbit’s comparable breeds are Havana Rabbit and Beveren Rabbit.
- Lilac rabbits are a dual-purpose breed that can be reared for both meat and fur.
Colors
Similar to its name, the Lilac Rabbit has only one standard approved color, which is lilac or lavender. The American Rabbit Breeders Association or ARBA level calls for a “balance pinky shade of a dove color” all over its body with no other seen markings. The color of its eyes is blue-gray with a ruby glow when seeing them in certain lights.
Coat
The Lilac Rabbits have a little fur that is slushy every time its touch. They don’t need much grooming compared to other fleecy breeds like the English Angora. Weekly grooming will remain its coat soft, but when you want to expand this amount into twice per week when the molting period comes, which commonly takes place twice every year.
There are also definite precautions that you don’t need to forget. For example, the coat of Lilac rabbits must need to be kept out into direct sunlight to avoid fading. The Lilac rabbit also has a rollback fur.
Behavior and Temperament
Lilac Rabbits have the charming natured temperament; they are also sociable pets that usually love to have a friend for them to play with. They are usually a very sweet and companionable bunny that loves to seek attention to their human family. They tend to be caressed by their human family; they also enjoy exploring as well as playing some games.
Every rabbit may have various likes or dislikes; these breed of rabbits likes to sit on your lap in an hour while you are petting them. The Lilac Rabbits adore having toys so they can play with it as well as they chew it. Its favorite toys are including cardboard boxes, plastic cat jingle bell toys, plastic toddler key rings, stuffed toy animals, and bell toys. They also enjoy to play in a play-fence in their enclosures, and they do binky around in the clover. These breeds also enjoy chewing a piece of some rabbit-safe wood, an empty roll of toilet paper, and even a ball.
Female Lilacs are commonly quite clean, and they love to organize their toys as well as their food dishes nicely in their cages. While the male Lilac Rabbits are also like to be petted as well, but they are frequently more playful than the female Lilacs. They may become delighted to go out of their cage for them to play. They can also be filthier, though, and when they smell another rabbit’s scent, they may use to spray for them to cover it up.
And because Lilacs are nature-friendly pets, they do well to those younger children that know how to be gentle and interpret how vulnerable can rabbits are. Almost all of the rabbits are harder to teach than a cat or even dogs, but this might not be impossible. For example, litter teachings are possible with a great number of patients, recompense, and place a few litter boxes around your house.
Training how to stop your Lilacs or do some other habitual instruction and tricks will come up with a lot of time, a sufficient repetition is needed and of course, some treats for your pet. Offer them some chewing toys or other things that are safe for them to gnaw on like some hay or even a pinecone for them to feel happy. The standard lifespan of a Lilac Rabbit is about 9 to 12 years; however, there are some breeds that may be lived for more than 12 years because of the proper care.
Habitat
As their sized indicates, these medium-sized Lilac Rabbits must need a sufficiently large-sized enclosure in order for them to live comfortably and lengthy life. Indoor cage required having a wired frame on each side and a plastic bottom where you can place the rabbits bedding. If you prefer to put them to live as an outdoor pet, a wood enclosure required to be elevated from the floor and need to put a fenced bottom with a slope for the rabbit to keep safe from any elements that may harm them as well as any rabbit predators. Completely change their bedding every week, and do not forget to clean the lilac rabbit’s bedding every day.
For the Lilac rabbit’s bedding, provide them a wood pellet or aspen. You may also used some pelleted horse covers. Avoid giving your pet a pine as well as cedar. Eventually, clean their cage using white vinegar or some product that a cage safe cleaner, avoid using some bathroom cleaner, or like other things that might contain any toxic for the pet cage.
The Lilac Rabbits required to dedicate some time out of their cage, most especially when the pet owners wanted to have a docile and friendly pet. The rabbits need to routinely deal with humans to any age, as well as some other animals like dogs and cats. These breed of rabbits also enjoy exploring its surroundings, whether these indoors, maybe an outdoor, so always check the rabbit indoor rooms when it is bunny-safe, or no hazards detect like some exposed wires. And when pertaining to outdoor spaces, the enclosures need to be fenced to avoid running or hopping off for the Lilac Rabbits to keep safe.
Eating Habits
Like any other breed of rabbits, the Lilac Rabbits also need to have a good diet that consists of good quality pellets that are full of the rabbit’s daily nutritional needs. The diet of a lilac rabbit must have at least 70 percent excellent-quality hay-like timothy or orchard hay. You should also try the alfalfa grass; it is good for your pet’s overall health.
Alfalfa grass comes up with high caloric content that necessary good for baby rabbits’ development. The remaining of its diet required to have a balance of some fruits, vegetables, leafy greens, and pellets. Just like the hay, there are also a lot of good pellets that you can buy in the market; there are some pellets that contain a higher protein content that your pet needs.
You should be knowledgeable of what variety of fruits, vegetables, and leafy greens you might include in your pet’s diet. Not all varieties are rabbit-safe. As a matter of fact, the large number of leafy greens are considered to be unsafe as they might cause a digestive circumstance in your rabbit, especially when you fed your rabbit a big amount of it. As much as you can, feed your rabbit some leafy greens that are rich in fiber and even nutrients like romaine lettuce. And also, as much as possible, you should avoid giving your pet a fruit that high in sugar content. The Lilac rabbits love to eat wet foods, hay, lettuce, carrots, and also dark leaf lettuce.
Once your Lilac rabbits reach the age of seven months, moderately switch their food over to oat, timothy hay or orchard grass. You should also prevent giving them some yard clippings since some kinds of grass are usually sprayed with fertilizer, pesticides, insecticides as well as any other kinds of chemicals that might harm your pet when they eat it. Make sure also to have their cage fresh water every day. The Lilac Rabbits are commonly a crepuscular pet, which means they are more active every morning or evening, and they commonly do their feeding during the evening. Lilac Rabbits have an average sleep for about 8 hours every day.
Grooming
Lilac rabbits are tremendously clean animals because they know how to groom alone by themselves. But, if you want for a smooth-running extra lustrous or simply a shiny pet, it is preferable to groom your lilac rabbits at least every two to three weeks. However, during the molting season, it is preferable to groom your pet rabbits every week to take off their stray hairs.
Those rabbits that have a short coat are not actually at high risk to any most digestive problems, while those long furs can seem to cause rabbits. These rabbits might have still get another disease like flystrike, ear mites as well as overgrown teeth. These ailments can be supervised or maintained together with a proper guide to a rabbit’s health as well as proper grooming care to your pets.
Spaying or Neutering
When you have two rabbits in one enclosure, and you don’t want to breed them, it is reasonable to spay the female Lilac Rabbits then neuter the male Lilac Rabbits. Female rabbits can be spayed at least at their age as four months old, but another veterinarian would rather have to wait until they reach the age of six months before spaying them. While the young male lilac rabbits can be neutered when they reach their four months old of age.
Health Issues
The most appropriate way to obstruct any health problem that might possibly occur to your pet is to secure that your pet rabbit has its diet that is rich in the hay. Like for example, when your rabbit grows diarrhea because it has a poor diet, the soiled coat of the rabbit might attract some flies during the warmer season, most especially when your pet is outdoor.
Also, when the rabbit cannot groom by itself properly, there are some flies that might lay eggs in its fur near its bottom. And when the eggs of those flies finally hatch, they will start to eat your pet rabbit – this is often called as flystrike. To prevent this flystrike, just make sure that your pet may eat a balanced diet and make a habit to check its fur for some flies that may have landed on its soiled fur.
Some other possible health problems that your pet rabbit might be encountered was its overgrown teeth. It is an interesting thing that your pet rabbit’s teeth continuously grow throughout their entire life. The hay that your rabbit’s usually eating helps to trim your rabbit’s overgrown teeth. The overgrown teeth of rabbits might grow into the rabbit’s mouth as well as their jaws, which may be caused immense pain to your pet rabbit. This can only be fixed by a veterinarian who files down the overgrown teeth and also prescribed some antibiotics for your pet for any infection that might occur. Pet owner also occasionally check its Lilac’s ears to see if there are any sign of ear mites.
Protecting Your Rabbit’s Health
Consistent health, as well as critter checkups, might be done at least once a week, or every second week, should become a weekly routine as a pet owner. This routine may lend a helping hand to your rabbits for them to have good health and excellent condition. It is also a good recommendation to examine the state of your rabbit’s teeth to make sure that there are not any long teeth that may cause your pet any discomfort feeling.
However, grooming does not necessary a lot, especially when the rabbit’s fur is in low maintenance. But, it’s a good objective to give them a pleasurable gentle brushing to help them to get rid of any excess hairs just the same as the length of their coats. Like any other kind of pets, Lilac rabbits should need to be dewormed on a regular basis. It is good to see your veterinarian for any proper advice regarding administering a worm medication to your pets. De-worming your pets is a very crucial concern for your rabbit, and these should commonly do during the spring and fall season.
Breeding Traits
The reproduction of blue and chocolate rabbits generate these many breeds of Lilac Rabbits. However, its color, which is lilac, is not distinctive to the Lilac rabbit. But the Lilac Rabbit has one of a small number of rabbits that have only one common and approved color, which is color lilac. A pet Lilac rabbit must have usually kept in pairs for them to have solidarity. It is very influential to a Lilac rabbit regarding their happiness for them to live longer with a companion. In the wild, rabbits are generally very social animals.
The female Lilac rabbits can produce at least 2 up to 4 litters of baby bunnies every year, which consists of 4 up to 6 babies. Baby Lilac rabbits are born without a coat, and their eyes are closed. Lilac rabbits usually have an adequate litter size, and these breed of rabbits make an excellent mother. However, they might become uncharacteristically moody during their mating season.
The young rabbits can open their eyes when they are around 7 up to 14 days with the standard number of 10 days after their birth. After they finally open their eyes, you may start to offer them a small amount of food like an alfa pellet as well as water. Eventually, even the young rabbit started to eat some small amount of food; there doesn’t mean that they are quite prepared enough to be weaned from their mothers. These mother rabbits know when the right time for them to wean their little bunnies. Weaning plays a very important role regarding the development of the baby rabbit’s growth, health, development of their digestive system, and also, it is good for their immune system.
Lilac Rabbit Breed Origin
The Lilac rabbit is one of a few rabbit breeds that were named after their color. These breeds are known to have developed in different locations around the same time. They said the first breeder of Lilac Rabbit is H. Onslow of Cambridge in England. During the year 1913, H.
Onslow showed the Lilac rabbit for the first time at the well-known London exhibition. During the year of 1917 in the Netherlands, the growth of the breed was recognized to a Mr. C. H. Spruty. When they first appear and well-known as the Gouda, and in a short period of time, they take them into Germany and France, where they are still called to be the Gouda Rabbit. Gouda rabbit is known to be as meat and fur rabbit kind in Germany and in France, and they weigh between seven and eight pounds.
In the year 1922, the first-ever Lilac Rabbit was reproduced in England by a geneticist named R.C Punnet. He grows the Lilac rabbit by crossing the breed of a Havana Chocolate with the breed of Blue Beverens. These crossing of the breed named as the Cambridge Blue. Until the British Rabbit Club acknowledge the breed as a new breed, they change its name into Lilacs. There are a lot of demands of Lilacs, but because of the breeders’ fondness, the color of the Lilac will negate bigger as for the size of the animals. The Lilac Rabbit was acknowledged by the two, which is the American Rabbit Breeders Association or ARBA and the British Rabbit Council.
The Lilac rabbit has its start in both English as well as Continental Europe imports in America. During the year of 1922 and 1926, a lot of shipments has been made to the United States, and from there they create a great deal of notice in these new breeds. A small stock magazine during September 1925, which is Rabbitcraft, promotes the English Lilac until they export it to Canada. In the year 1928, the American Standard of Perfection declares that the Lilac Rabbits are somewhat in demand on the West Coast and its spread out within the rest of the country.
The American enthusiasts adopt these English standards; between the year of 1939 to 1944, there is no difference has been made to the quality, and from that, the National Lilac Club was first created. The Lilac Rabbits make a number of admirers and acquire in favors during 1940 when 25 Lilacs shown in American Rabbit Breeders Association National Convention.
The Lilac club became idle, and Lilac Rabbit had almost past in its breeders by the year of 1951. And they were just only 6 Lilac Rabbit is shown at the National. But in 1952, some of the breeders restructure the Lilac Club.
National Lilac Rabbit Club of America (NLRCA)
In this club, you will find any information about the breed of Lilac Rabbit. The National Lilac Rabbit Club of America has a few members within the country. The members of this club have the advantage to compete in the yearly sweepstakes contest, which they measure the degree, the success of that member showing at either local, state, as well as the national all breed and the Lilac specialty shows.
The members of this club receive a semi-annual newsletter. And this club is currently working on its first-ever guidebook as a profit of membership. They also make great show rabbits and good choices for every start as rabbit enthusiasts. They do the good performance of rabbits for youth, and they showed competitively as with either juniors or seniors.
Availability: Where to Get One?
The price of a Lilac Rabbit maybe vary upon the quality of the rabbit, where are you going to buy them, the quality of the cage that you choose for them and the health care they need, and more. You may also inquire in a breeder as well as in the National Lilac Rabbit Club of America.
How to Care
The Lilac Rabbits are very easy to care for. Its common diet should be composed of rabbit pellets, at least 1 ounce of the pellets is good for every pound depends on rabbits weigh. And also add at least a hand full of hays every day. You can also sometimes, give your pet rabbit some treats like dried papaya, carrots, parsley, spinach, clover, dried banana as well as some dandelion leaves.
When molting season, they should be groom to take off any loose fur, but other than that, they don’t require much brushing. If you want to remain your pet rabbit for the show, you should stay them away out of direct sunlight so that their fur does not stray its vibrant hue.
The Lilac Rabbit’s fur is very sensitive to the direct sunlight. If their enclosures are placed outside where the sun can shine to them for a whole day, the fur of Lilac rabbits might get sunburned. The best way to avoid these is either you move their enclosures to an area that has a shade or keep their cage covered whenever the sun shines on their beautiful fur.
FAQs
Do lilac rabbits turn brown?
Their fur turns to a brownish color little by little.
Do they need to stay in a sunny place?
And even though the Lilac Rabbit has a place of shade to stay with all the time, you still need to cover the sunny section of that place. But you might don’t leave them in their cage alone for a day. The Lilac rabbits will eventually get sunburned fur, but a new fur will also become sunburned if you’re not that careful to cover their enclosures.
Are lilac rabbits larger than dwarf rabbits?
Yes. The size of a Lilac Rabbit is usually larger than a dwarf rabbit, so they don’t need a bigger shelter. Just give them enough space for them to hop and explore.
What’s the usual color of Lilac rabbits?
They are more of a purple color than greyish.
