Differences between rex and nz rabbits?

[EziRae]

Hi, I'm trying to learn the differences between breeds and I'm having issues telling the difference between a rex and a nz.

I have buck that people think looks like a nz mix, and a doe that people say is a possible rex mix and I literally cant tell how yall can tell the difference lol and google hasn't been super helpful.

 

[jaxmarblebuns]

the biggest difference is fur. Normal fur has two lengths. The under coat which are short soft hairs that keep the rabbits warm and gard hairs which protect the under coat and keep it dry. rex fur however is not like that, they have been bred so that the gard hairs are shorter and thus exposes the under coat making them extremely soft or "velveteen". here are the official differences from the ARBA standard of perfection.

 

[EziRae]

Ohh ok that's one thing that confused me because Ash (the possible rex mix) doesnt have that fur. Shes magpie but not velvet

 

[2CrazyFools]

The rex fur texture is recessive so the moment you mix it with a normal coated breed it disappears in the offspring.

Rex x Normal coated breed = 100% normal coated (provided the normal coated breed isn't a mix breed carrying the rex coat.)

However, THOSE offspring are known to CARRY the rex texture gene so you can breed them to each other or to a Rex rabbit and produce normal and rex coated kits.

You also have the chance of breeding the carriers together and getting normal coated rabbits that only carry normal coats. That's a mix that doesn't carry the rex coat gene even though it's got 25% Rex rabbit and a pure Rex grandparent.

 

[2CrazyFools]

The bottom line is, unfortunately, that when you start mixing rabbits they quickly become a generic "rabbit" shape. There is truly no telling what breeds are in the mix unless you have an accurate pedigree depicting the mixing.

I've got french lop/ English Lop / NZ / TAMUK /American mixes that have huge ears that you would assume came from Flemish Giant but they don't have that breed in them.

Once it gets muddy there's no telling.

The magpie coat could have come from any rabbit breed that has that gene. Rex, mini rex, satin, harlequin, Rhinelander, all the different lops, the angoras, jersey woolies, etc. There's a bunch. (Any that have tricolor in their SOP.)

However it's not found in Flemish Giants, New Zealands, or Californians. I guessed Rex because that's more commonly a breed mixed into other meat breeds that does carry it, though it could be any of the others from who knows how far back. Also Texas A&M Composites come in mapgie and are fairly common meat rabbits in my area.

Kinda a toss up at this point. Basically all you know is "not pure flemish giant" and.... That's it. Can you contact their breeder again and needle them for any additional information? I've seen people list rabbits as "New Zealand rabbits" but in a color they don't come in. When I inquire about it they go, "Well, there's FG in there too."

Worth asking.

 

[EziRae]

Thank you so much! Yall are awesome. I appreciate it!