Rex vs Mini Rex or even a cross

So I purchased a trio of "Rex" that were approx 4 months old in August. I am sure some of you remember the original pictures, but they were filthy and appeared small with very poor coat quality.

Fast forward to today- Their coat quality has improved some (Still NOT showable by any means) their cleanliness has been cleaned up and they have successfully bred and are currently awaiting those results....

BUT....I weighed the 3 of them yesterday when I was trimming nails and doing health check and this is what I see (keep in mind all 3 rabbits were born in April 2015)-

Broken Black Otter doe- 5.1lbs- supposed Senior age but no where near senior weight. Is not "fat", not "skinny" spine feels good and is free fed. This is a weight increase of approx. 1lb since I got her.

Broken Castor Doe- 4.5lbs same applies as Broken Black Otter doe.

Booted Castor Buck- 5.6lbs; approx weight gain of 1lb. All feeding is same with all 3 buns. One thing I noticed, and I have been checking him regularly as I hadn't noticed his testicles drop yet, but he appears to be cryptorchid. I only saw one testicle and the other side didn't even notice the skin flap for the testicle.

NOW.....for the point of my post-
Could they be a cross of a Rex/Mini Rex. Or is it more likely they are Mini Rex. Their coats are definitely Rex, and have since molted WONDERFULLY compared to when I got them. But for being senior ages with access to free feed I would think they would have at least made Senior weight and they have not.

They are/were intended really for meat purpose and would sell excess kits when available. I will NOT sell with pedigree, because they do not meet the standard but will sell as meat mutt.

This got long winded, but I guess just looking for opinions on whether it is likely they could be Mini Rex instead of Standard Rex.

They could be a cross but they could also be plain mutts with Rex fur.

they could (most likely) be mini rex that are just larger than they should be. There are LOTS of five-six pound mini rex around.

They still make a fine meat animal.

Now go out (if you want a bigger meat animal) and get yourself a couple of meat mutt does and breed to them if you have a working buck. if you cross back and forth you'll eventually get a rex coated mutt of the size you want for your freezer.

ladysown":3e03lzmv said:

they could (most likely) be mini rex that are just larger than they should be. There are LOTS of five-six pound mini rex around.

They still make a fine meat animal.

Now go out (if you want a bigger meat animal) and get yourself a couple of meat mutt does and breed to them if you have a working buck. if you cross back and forth you'll eventually get a rex coated mutt of the size you want for your freezer.

Click to expand...

That is actually the plan right now. I am going to breed them to my American Blue Buck. He is a tad small on the scale at ~8lbs but he is beautiful! The Broken Black Otter doe I did breed to the Rex buck, so we will see what happens with him only having 1 descended testicle! The other girl was placed with the Blue buck! I hadn't thought about the fact that they could actually be bigger until I was posting my original post! Thanks!!

I will try to post updated pictures soon!

It's fairly common in many standard rex lines to have trouble meeting sr weights .... tho I've not encountered any that were that far off at that age.

I think it's highly likely they are mini's or at least a rex x mini-rex cross.

For comparisons sake , my last litter of kits born October 1 are all over 4lbs , I weighed them just moments ago as when I went to feed I noticed they had been fighting and had to separate them , figured I may as well do a full check .... the heaviest is 4.6 , the lightest 4.1 at 8 weeks 4 days.

I have a doe from born April 17th of this year , she's on the small side at 7.3lbs. She's a little more than half a pound short of the minimum ....

Yours are a in the ballpark for mini sr weights ....