California/Altex - colored ?!

[Ramjet]

I recently came upon three rabbits supposedly 50/50 California/Altex mix.

I have to wonder tho since the buck is grey and the does black if they are something else ?!

The seller showed me what was suppose to be the buck that sired them, a purebred Altex (white with faint grey points on the ears & nose).

Their purpose is meat rabbits , they are nice & healthy and didn't cost me much so the color doesn't really matter. Im just curious if they are what I was told or ... something else.

I'll post some pics later when I can upload them from my camera.

 

[akane]

A californian is a black rabbit (most of the time) with the black just restricted to the cooler points on the rabbit. The himi gene makes it heat sensitive. However if the altex was a pointed rabbit all offspring should be pointed or himi/californian marked.

 

[Ramjet]

Just realized I probably put this in the wrong section ....


Thanks for the reply akane .... that explains the black does , but what about the grey buck ?!

 

[akane]

Sounds like a sable point but like I said if it was a sable point then crossed with a californian all offspring should be pointed. Sables and himis. It could also be a chinchilla but then you'd get chinchilla and himi.

 

[Ramjet]

If it hadn't been 35 years since I sat in a biology class , I'd say I should have paid better attention ... now I'll just blame it on old age.



I'll post some pics later this evening , maybe they help nail down the answer.

 

[Dood]

Himilayans / Californians are always pointed with red eyes but not always black pointed. They can be agouti based and the points come out grey and the underside of the tail will look white.

You can also have chocolate, blue, lilac, opal, lynx, fawn, tort, broken, etc... himilayan and the points will all be different colours depending on the true genetic colour hiding under the white fur.

I believe the Astrex gene is a simple reccesive so if you breed the buck to the does then 50% of the kits should have wavy fur

 

[akane]

A californian can be any color but how many have you seen that aren't black based? It's the standard so generally a californian is a black rabbit. That's not the point though. The problem is you can't get solid colored offspring out of 2 pointed or chin rabbits.

 

[Dood]

Oops

I didn't realize Altex was a breed/strain of rabbit and assumed the poster meant Astrex = crinkly furred rabbit.

If the father is himilayan Altex and the mother is a himilayan marked Californian then they can only produce more himilayan or red eyed whites.

 

[OneAcreFarm]

A californian can be any color but how many have you seen that aren't black based? It's the standard so generally a californian is a black rabbit. That's not the point though. The problem is you can't get solid colored offspring out of 2 pointed or chin rabbits.

Actually, Californians DO come in Black, Blue, Chocolate and Lilac. In Europe, all four colors are accepted for showing, but here in the US, ARBA only accepts the Black.

A real Altex looks like a lightly colored Cal. There are some "Altex" floating around out there that are the result of some folks OTHER than Dr. McNitt and Dr.Lukefahr, who created the Altex. These folks took the same "recipe" and crossed the three different breeds for a generation or two and started calling them Altex. Since they are a cross of Champagne, Flemish and Californian, those early generations can have a LOT of variation in color. A real Altex is hundreds of generations removed from the F1 and F2 generations, unlike these other rabbits. Not saying that is what is going on with your rabbits, but keep in mind that Altex crosses are not meant to be used for breeding. The Altex buck is a terminal sire, meaning that all his offspring are meant to be eaten. So, breeding these won't get you any better or faster growing animals. That being said, if they are nice and meaty and you like them, they will work just fine.

 

[Ramjet]

The Altex buck looked exactly as you describe , a lightly colored cali , this buck was also registered.
The does were purebred cali's.

He had stated that this was the second time he had bred back and gotten nothing but solid colored rabbits - black or grey.

He also has American Blues , Im wondering if he didn't somehow get his litter mixed up and I have an American/Altex cross instead of Altex/Californian.

Could this be the result of breeding back to does the buck in question had sired with a Californian - bred to his daughters ?!

Pics aren't very good , I had a hard time keeping them still.

 

[skysthelimit]

The Altex buck looked exactly as you describe , a lightly colored cali , this buck was also registered.

By whom? Altex is not a recognised ARBA breed, so it cannot be registered by ARBA.

 

[Dood]

There are other colours that can look like himilayan but they won't have red eyes.

If the buck was red eyed and himilayan/Cali and the does pure Cali then it is genetically impossible to get full coloured kits and he may have made a mistake as you mentioned.

It makes me wonder what other mistakes have been made

I will assume he knows who the mothers are as the kits are with them for 4 weeks or more so the father must have been the American Blue so you have AmBlue x Cali

 

[Ramjet]

The Altex buck looked exactly as you describe , a lightly colored cali , this buck was also registered.

By whom? Altex is not a recognised ARBA breed, so it cannot be registered by ARBA.

That I don't know .... maybe I just got fed a line of crap.


Any idea what they are from the above pics ?!

 

[Dood]

I would like a better picture of the second rabbit, outside in a soft natural light would be best.

The colour looks chocolate or possibly blue which is very odd and quite rare so I am doubting the purity of the California does as well and they may be AmBlue crosses

 

[5dognightfarm]

Altex cannot be registered because they are not accepted by the ARBA.

These look a lot like Americans.

 

[OneAcreFarm]

Altex cannot be registered because they are not accepted by the ARBA.

These look a lot like Americans.

Yep....my thoughts exactly.... :|