Wow! Nice and curly.

Can I add this picture to my Astrex page?
http://www.rabbitgeek.com/astrex.html

Have a good day!

Good morning, everyone.

*smiles* Today is going to be the day that I am going to do my best to consolidate my Rex/Satin Angora fur genetics project and plan in one place. If this thread needs to be moved to another forum, please feel free to move it.

Purpose of Cross: My main goal is to see if I can keep the satinization and wool length of a Satin Angora intact while seeing how Rex fur may alter the density of the SA wool and, in doing so, determining if the velvet-like texture of the Rex fur can be transferred in some way to the SA's coat.

Candidates for Cross: Red Rex doe and red (preference) or REW (what I may have to work with if I cannot get my preference) Satin Angora buck

Project Considerations:
1. I am breeding to SA's that are more meat-typed in body and have been shown to be such for several generations
2. I would prefer to use a red Rex and a red SA with several generations of red to help avoid the worry of color for now
3. Rex fur and Angora wool are polar opposites in their length requirements, so I may lose or gain unexpected qualities in both
4. Whether an Astrex fur type would be more beneficial to this project over a typeal Rex fur type

Long-term Project Goals:
1. Develop a rex-furred Satin Angora that keeps to a meat-typed body
2. Gain more density in the SA wool
3. Determine if the red Rex fur has any affect/effect on improving the color intensity of the red SA's color
4. Determine if a consistent combinations of desired fur/wool-type can be achieved
5. Determine if the consistent results (pelts and rabbit) will be productive for meat, pelt tanning, spinning, and/or other market-based purposes

I hope this helps clarify my reasoning for doing this experiment and my questions regarding it. I am not looking to make a new breed or even get the results of this combination on the show table at present. I simply have an interest in fur-type with this cross and want to see how far I can carry it in a humane manner that allows myself and the other two in the household to put the culls in the freezer and without consistently breeding any potentially lethal/outright lethal genetic disorders/deformities.

MamaSheepdog, I am indeed comfortable with inbreeding and line-breeding. Given that I know that rabbits tolerate such far better than dogs, cats, horses, etc., I am fine with doing so.

With all of this finally put into one place, I welcome your comments, questions, concerns, etc.

Thank you for your consideration, everyone.

Respectfully,
RW

Of course! I posted more pics in Random Rabbit Ramblings last night.

Feralty,

good job on your project outline! I still would suggest getting the body type set first.

Rex fur is recessive and will only show up with two recessive genes present, otherwise you will get a normal coat. I have done this cross with a Mini Rex and a Jersey Wooly, much like you are talking about but in miniature! I have heard and seen about a random Lion-head type kit showing up though. So what happened was a basically short furred rabbit with some "tufts" of fur around its head and neck and near its belly, but only a small amount. Angora fur is also recessive and need two wool genes to show as well. Satin is recessive but seems to be be incompletely recessive as it has been introduced into a French Angora. The only angora that has a furred face and ears is the English Angora. The French and Satin Angora have clean heads and ears/feet. There is no way you will ever get wool and Rex together in the way I think you mean. Unless you are thinking like a "teddy" guinea-pig type thing? In other words a bottle-brush type thing where all the fur is the same length and standing straight up? That type of thing would actually defeat the purpose of wool for spinning though.. While good Angora Fur needs it guard hairs to keep from being too cottony and a matted mess, too many would probably cause a lot less undercoat as well and not enough crimp either.If you are more concerned with the meat end and not the wool part of it then no problem just use Rex and Satins together as well to keep the good meat body. I think if you want to have fun and don't care either way what happens then just get a Lionhead and introduce its funky genetics instead, LOL

Forgot to add ... YES the length of coat DOES have an impact on the colour intensity , the rex fur has the colour concentrated in a smaller area whereas the angora has the same colour "stretched" out along the much longer hair shaft

I think you've just rained on Feralty's parade, Lauren. Feralty'sDreaming again...

I didn't know that Rex fur is recessive... a friend of mine bought a Rex buck from me because she thought the SCF had visited her Ca. buck, so there are now Cali/Rex babies on the way. She was planning on keeping a rex coated one- I guess she'll have to wait until Gen. 2.

Yep. She will not get a Rex coated one, some will carry the Rex gene, and will have to be crossed with a Rex to get babies with the Rex coat.

The ideal weight for a satin angora is 8 pounds. The ideal weight for a rex is 8-9 pounds. Both breeds are a 4 class commercial body type. The standard for the satin angora states the flesh should be firm, and well filled with good width and depth. If you are purchasing a satin angora for your experiment and full grown it is skinny and 5 pounds, you should find another breeder. For body types, both breeds should be very close to the same.