An important notice:
As of 2017/18, significant circumstantial changes have meant that we will no longer be showing our rabbits anymore. I am going to University in September 2018, and in my absence my mum has decided to switch her attention to breeding rabbits for pet homes rather than for show. Our entire stock of Mini Chinrexes and many of our Lionheads have been rehomed out to permanent owners, with the rest of the Lions and the Dwarf Satins remaining with her.
After much consideration I have decided to keep this website up as it was in 2017, since it represents a period of time I will always look back on fondly no matter where life takes me. I am still very much involved in the rabbit showing community; I am still on the NLRC committee and attend as many stock shows as I can (albeit without rabbits), and I've taken up the position of Junior Editor of the Fur & Feather magazine which I thoroughly enjoy. My hope is that after graduating from University I can find my own place to live where I can get some Lionheads of my own and begin this journey all over again. You'll still see me around in the meantime though, since I'm still judging every now and then (the most notable event being the Southern Championships Junior COM show in May 2018, which was an honour and a privilege to judge), and I wouldn't miss London and Bradford for the world.
The contact details on this website are all still correct if anyone needs advice about rabbits brought from us, and my mum is still selling pet Lionheads and Dwarfs so enquiries are still open. In addition, my email address is also printed in the Fur & Feather each month if anyone wants to contact me specifically.
To everyone who played a part in this wonderful journey we've been on for the past few years, no matter how small, I thank you from the bottom of my heart.
Helaina
As of 2017/18, significant circumstantial changes have meant that we will no longer be showing our rabbits anymore. I am going to University in September 2018, and in my absence my mum has decided to switch her attention to breeding rabbits for pet homes rather than for show. Our entire stock of Mini Chinrexes and many of our Lionheads have been rehomed out to permanent owners, with the rest of the Lions and the Dwarf Satins remaining with her.
After much consideration I have decided to keep this website up as it was in 2017, since it represents a period of time I will always look back on fondly no matter where life takes me. I am still very much involved in the rabbit showing community; I am still on the NLRC committee and attend as many stock shows as I can (albeit without rabbits), and I've taken up the position of Junior Editor of the Fur & Feather magazine which I thoroughly enjoy. My hope is that after graduating from University I can find my own place to live where I can get some Lionheads of my own and begin this journey all over again. You'll still see me around in the meantime though, since I'm still judging every now and then (the most notable event being the Southern Championships Junior COM show in May 2018, which was an honour and a privilege to judge), and I wouldn't miss London and Bradford for the world.
The contact details on this website are all still correct if anyone needs advice about rabbits brought from us, and my mum is still selling pet Lionheads and Dwarfs so enquiries are still open. In addition, my email address is also printed in the Fur & Feather each month if anyone wants to contact me specifically.
To everyone who played a part in this wonderful journey we've been on for the past few years, no matter how small, I thank you from the bottom of my heart.
Helaina
My name is Helaina, and I breed and show rabbits along with my mum Debbie. We live in Portsmouth, Hampshire, and have been breeding and exhibiting Lionhead rabbits since May 2012 and Mini Chinrexes since March 2016. As of January 2016, when I left the Junior section, we became a showing partnership under the name Amethyst Stud. (formerly known as RabbitVille Lions)
Since November 2015, we have taken on a new rabbiting challenge! We brought back 3 red Dwarf Satins from Europe and will now focus on trying to standardise this beautiful breed alongside our work with the Lionheads. We will also be crossing our two lines to try and breed the red colour into the Lionheads.
Since November 2015, we have taken on a new rabbiting challenge! We brought back 3 red Dwarf Satins from Europe and will now focus on trying to standardise this beautiful breed alongside our work with the Lionheads. We will also be crossing our two lines to try and breed the red colour into the Lionheads.
We've been breeding rabbits since September 2010- our first babies were from a pair of Dwarf Lops we brought from a nearby petting farm. After a year we were introduced to the beauty of the show Lionheads, then taken to a local show in March 2012 to have a look round. From then on we were hooked; our first show was the Southern Championships in May 2012 and we have been exhibiting ever since then! Our achievements have been amazing, both in main shows and Junior classes. Our first Best Junior award was in June 2012, and since then we have obtained 17 more including 8 from Lionhead Stock Shows. We've traveled all over the country with our rabbits, the most local shows being less than half an hour away and the longest journey was 5 hours to Harrogate in Yorkshire! In November 2015 we went a step further by going to the Europe Show in Metz, France!
Although our first interest were BEW Lionheads, we struggled greatly with breeding these in the first couple of years due to the extreme recessive nature of the gene and the poor quality of our initial BEW stock. But since August 2014 this colour has come back into the foreground when we were given Dizee the BEW doe by a local breeder giving up the colour. With many of our existing stock being BEW carriers, we were able to produce this very recessive colour and now focus mainly on improving the standard of the colour. Our other main Lionhead colours change frequently according to what we're breeding at the moment, so you could see us with Blacks, Agoutis, Sooty Fawns and many more.
From 2016, you may see us with a completely new colour on the show table! We have always loved the beautiful red Thriantas, and one of our earliest dreams was one day putting this colour into the Lionheads. This dream became a possibility when we went to the Europe Show in November 2015 and brought home three red Dwarf Satins- a Netherland Dwarf-sized breed with a satin coat- not yet standardised in the UK. We will be working on getting this beautiful new breed standardised over the next few years in addition to using them to get the red colour into our Lionhead lines! |
We are both members of the British Rabbit Council, our local club the Farham & Southampton Rabbit Club, and the National Lionhead Club, British Mini Rex Club and National Chinrex Club. As of 2014 we are both on the NLRC's Committee, with me being the Junior Representative and Debbie being the Press Representative and Web Designer. Since starting breeding we have focused on trying to breed closely to the Lionhead Standard set by the BRC and NLRC as possible.
The advantage to getting a rabbit from a hobbyist breeder such as ourselves is that the matings are selected very carefully in order to produce the healthiest offspring with the best tempermants. |
As all our rabbits are purebred, their personalities can be accurately estimated and we know for certain that there is no agression in the ancestry of any of our rabbits. The welfare of our rabbits always comes first, so we would never breed irresponsibly or if we couldn't guarantee a market for the surplus stock we sell into pet homes.
We pride ourselves on being very ethical breeders and treating our rabbits as they deserve. All our hutches are at least 4 ft wide and at least 5 ft wide for pairs or does with kits, and they are all cleaned out weekly. All our rabbits (with the exception of pregnant does and those with young babies) are let out to run around for at least 30 minutes daily, and are provided with a lot of toys such as jingly balls, hidey holes, tunnels and wooden toys to chew. Our does are not bred until they are at least 8 months old, have a maximum of 3 litters per year and are given at least 3 months rest between matings. When our bucks and does become to old to breed they are rehomed very carefully so they receive the continued care they deserve. All our adult rabbits are vaccinated against Myxomatosis and VHD, and will receive the best possible veterinary care should they become ill or injured. |
All images on this site are my own unless stated, including both photographs and drawings. They are not to be used anywhere other than this site except when my explicit permission is given.