Altex?

[TMTex]

I picked up some rabbits that I thought were Californian, but the buck has black swirls on white ears instead of the normal black ears. He's also bigger than Calis that I've seen.

The doe has good Cali markings and is about the right size for a full grown Cali. The kits have good Cali markings, but their ears look bigger than normal. Some even have a little floppy ear thing going on when they move.

I tried to find out what I could about them and saw pics of an Altex buck online. His ears were similar to the one I picked up.

The tattoos start with "BC". I don't know who the breeder was, because these were given to someone who gave them to someone else, who accidentally bred the buck and doe, raised the kits for a while and gave them to me.

I should probably take some pics, but I'm not at home now.

So, does anyone know about the Altex breed as far as ear markings? I've read that they're 25% Champaigne d' Argent, 25% Flemish Giant and 50% Californian. There aren't many pics of them though.

 

[Flemishstar]

HMMMM Ive wondered about this also!!! good topic TMTex....now im gonnahave to look online<br /><br />__________ Mon Jul 22, 2013 2:08 pm __________<br /><br />...check out the bottom of this page http://suddanlyfarms.com/altex-rabbits

 

[TMTex]

Thanks, Flemishstar. Yes, that was the site I was using to compare my buck. The buck in the bottom center looks similar to "Clyde", but Clyde's ears have more distinct swirling on them. I'll post a pic after I get home.

The doe and buck came prenamed as "Bunny" and "Clyde".

 

[Flemishstar]

haha....I do NZ whites now...and I wanna add some californians....but if these altex are what they are cracked up to be I want some
...Also some i seen have darker "swirls" than others

 

[TMTex]

Here's the buck in question, "Clyde". Altex or not, he'll be a nice buck. He's large and has a great disposition.

He's still in one of the travel cages until I can build him an indoor hutch. With the heat outside, I want him to remain fertile. DW also wants her pet rabbit to have a companion. Two birds, one stone.

 

[Mountain Spice]

I love that bunny!! He looks like he has tied dyed ears!! Groovy man.. :groovyhippie2: :groovyhippie2: :groovyhippie2:

Love, Peace and Chicken grease!!! :chicken2: :chicken2: :chicken2: Lol !!

 

[Flemishstar]

I like him too tmtex....Im jelous !!! And hes got awesome colors<br /><br />__________ Mon Jul 22, 2013 9:17 pm __________<br /><br />B.C.... CAnada...british colombia?

 

[paradox]

so jealous if he is an altex. I have been trying to read up on them but can't really figure out what happened to them. Can't get them from a&M anymore. Saw something about them being sent to Dublin and then that breeder supposedly went out of business...Never see ads for them anywhere in Texas.

 

[OneAcreFarm]

I don't think he is Altex...his color is faded because of the heat. Not all Cals have completely solid ear coloring either, I have some that have swirly ears too and it is much more noticeable when it is hot and they start to fade.<br /><br />__________ Mon Jul 22, 2013 10:16 pm __________<br /><br />

so jealous if he is an altex. I have been trying to read up on them but can't really figure out what happened to them. Can't get them from a&M anymore. Saw something about them being sent to Dublin and then that breeder supposedly went out of business...Never see ads for them anywhere in Texas.

The only two places I know of to get actual Altex stock is ChiggerRidge in Tennessee, and CottonPickin Rabbitry in Pensacola, Fl.

 

[grumpy]

Altex are "nearly" a breed of the past. I'm hesitant to say if any breeding colonies are still pure and intact.

The ears on an Altex aren't like the one pictured. True, they are longer, but they generally lay parallel to the facial line extending well beyond the nose with a gentle upward slope.

As a breed.....they are poor producers and only the buck should be used in a meat production atmosphere. AND "only" as a terminal sire. Meaning first generation crosses grow exceptionally well but usually fall far short of being a good cross for breeding. The buck is the key for top meat production crossed onto your does. Past that....not worth a lot.

Inadvertently, I came into possession of one doe that apparently had some Altex blood in her background. I kept three daughters and one son. The daughters had huge litters but failed miserably in their mothering abilities. They went to the snake guy after 3 unsuccessful attempts of re-breeding them.

The son "JOE" gave away the "altex" influence. His offspring had the long sloping ears that laid forward with the slight upturn near the end of their ears. None of that blood remains in the rabbitry.

Grumpy.

 

[TMTex]

Thanks, folks. If he's not an Altex, I should be able to use him in my breeding program with an eventual goal of pedigreed Calis. I'll probably keep a doe from his litter and linebreed in an attempt to keep the swirly ears. They're pretty cool looking.

I might want to keep some of the long eared bunnies too. They should be pretty heat tolerant. The ones with ears that are so long that they border on floppy might be a bit much though.

 

[paradox]

Thanks for the input Grumpy. Sounds like they didn't live up to all the hype I read about them. I think I will quit searching for them. LOL. Not like I needed any more rabbits anyway.

 

[OneAcreFarm]

Thanks for the input Grumpy. Sounds like they didn't live up to all the hype I read about them. I think I will quit searching for them. LOL. Not like I needed any more rabbits anyway.

Well, as Grumpy said, using an Altex buck as a Terminal Sire to produce meat rabbits was what they were developed for. Not to use to produce breeders. A&M isn't breeding them anymore, so it is hard to find the actual Altex stock. Lots of people out there combining the same breeds for a generation or two and calling it "Altex", which they aren't. There were hundreds of generations involved in the production of the Altex and you won't get the same results from an F1 or F2 cross.

Honestly? You will do better just getting two very nice specimens of a couple different meat breeds (Cal, NZW, Champagne, Am Chin, etc) and crossing them for the hybrid vigor. You still want to butcher all offspring, or alternatively, breed one of the crossbred offspring to a third breed to keep the hybrid vigor. Once you start breeding back to one of the original breeds in your cross, you will lose the hybrid vigor. AND, no amount of hybrid vigor will correct poor genetics, so start with big, meaty rabbits with the conformation that you are wanting in your end result. At the most, hybrid vigor will get you to butcher time about a week faster or so.

 

[Secuono]

It's just molting/color fade due to heat. All of mine get similar patterns.

 

[OneAcreFarm]

Here's the buck in question, "Clyde". Altex or not, he'll be a nice buck. He's large and has a great disposition.

He's still in one of the travel cages until I can build him an indoor hutch. With the heat outside, I want him to remain fertile. DW also wants her pet rabbit to have a companion. Two birds, one stone.

Not sure if it is just the picture, but it looks as if you *may* have a Chocolate Cal there....I have had them before. I have one doe that if I bred her to a certain buck would throw Choco/Blue/Lilac Cals.

 

[grumpy]

Here's the buck in question, "Clyde". Altex or not, he'll be a nice buck. He's large and has a great disposition.

He's still in one of the travel cages until I can build him an indoor hutch. With the heat outside, I want him to remain fertile. DW also wants her pet rabbit to have a companion. Two birds, one stone.

Not sure if it is just the picture, but it looks as if you *may* have a Chocolate Cal there....I have had them before. I have one doe that if I bred her to a certain buck would throw Choco/Blue/Lilac Cals.

"Clyde" is one cool lookin' dude. I've never seen ears marked like that on a rabbit before.

The altex "ears" lay forward alongside the head and face. Nearing the end of their ears, they "turn-up" just a smidge. They "are" overly large, being bred to withstand higher temps and still do well.

Clyde's ears are pretty much "standard" as far as structure. His coloring on those ears are a trip!! Like some exotic leathers I've seen.

grumpy.

 

[paradox]

Here is how pathetically easily amused my family is. I showed them this pic and they all got excited and saying that they wanted him cuz his ears are sooooo cool! Who would have thought we would all get that worked up over a rabbit with interesting ears...

 

[grumpy]

Gotta admit....they're definitely different.

grumpy.

 

[TMTex]

The swirls and his nose look brown in the pic, but black in person. I guess the camera does things to the colors. I really hope to be able to keep the pattern in future generations.

I have no experience in breeding for color, but I'd imagine that line breeding to one of his daughters might do the trick. All of his offspring have normal Cali markings, although a couple have those long ears that flop forward. The floppy ears might come from the dam. I don't know.

 

[Ramjet]

so jealous if he is an altex. I have been trying to read up on them but can't really figure out what happened to them. Can't get them from a&M anymore. Saw something about them being sent to Dublin and then that breeder supposedly went out of business...Never see ads for them anywhere in Texas.

I recently bought three Altex/Californian from a guy in Katy , I know he has two purebred Altex bucks , not sure if that's all he had or there were others , I'll get back to you on this next day or two.