Mini-Rex/Rex Tri color/Harlequin

[squeakylax5]

Hello all!

We are looking to choose a mini rex buck for our tri color Rex doe (we would like in-between size rexes). We are breeding rabbits for pets/manure, not for show. We would like a variety of color, but we would like to be able to re-home them also if needed so don't want them to be too odd looking.

My 3 mini rex buck options so far are:
#1- Self black (Mother was tri; unsure of father; siblings- chinchilla, broken chinchilla, solid harlequin, self black)
#2- Booted blue (mother was broken blue; father was chocolate; siblings- blues, chocolate and a black and a chocolate magpie
#3- Harlequinized Castor (mother is tri, unsure of father, siblings- another Harlequinized Castor, 2 tris)

OR should I wait for a solid harlequin buck?

Thank you for any thoughts of advice!

 

[Alaska Satin]

Hello all!

We are looking to choose a mini rex buck for our tri color Rex doe (we would like in-between size rexes). We are breeding rabbits for pets/manure, not for show. We would like a variety of color, but we would like to be able to re-home them also if needed so don't want them to be too odd looking.

My 3 mini rex buck options so far are:
#1- Self black (Mother was tri; unsure of father; siblings- chinchilla, broken chinchilla, solid harlequin, self black)
#2- Booted blue (mother was broken blue; father was chocolate; siblings- blues, chocolate and a black and a chocolate magpie
#3- Harlequinized Castor (mother is tri, unsure of father, siblings- another Harlequinized Castor, 2 tris)

OR should I wait for a solid harlequin buck?

Thank you for any thoughts of advice!

I agree with @ladysown in the other thread https://rabbittalk.com/threads/new-to-rabbits-and-rabbit-talk-for-color-re.37443/#post-363701 about crossing breeds (in this case Mini Rex x Rex) not being a great idea. Sometimes it's helpful in pursuit of improvements in a particular breed, but just making pet mutts tends to result in lots of unwanted rabbits. If you breed pure Mini Rex, you will end up with mid-sized rex-coated rabbits, since the way the dwarf gene works is that in any given litter you'll get about 1/4 - 1/2 "false dwarfs." They are smallish rabbits but they don't have the dwarf gene, so they usually end up about 5-6 pounds, i.e. mid-sized, instead of the 3-4 pound true dwarfs. Also take to heart her comments about having a plan for what you'll do with babies you can't sell, which will be more of an issue with crossbreeds.

Regarding colors, if you're selling for pets, unusual/odd-looking is sometimes an advantage. I've found that having the biggest variety is the best way to sell pets.

A solid harlequin buck would probably give you the clearest harlequins and tricolors. But I would be willing to use either the self black or the harlequinized castor.

Self will cover up heterzygous recessive harlequin <Ee(j)> but according to @reh, once you get two copies of <e(j)> even selfs will look harlequin. Since the self black's mother was tri, he might already carry <e(j)>, which would give you self blacks, harlequins and tris in the litters with your tri doe. You could possibly see chinchillas or magpies as well, depending on whether he inherited the chin allele, and what the doe carries.

Harlequinized castor will give you more harlequinized castors, solid castors, solid harlequins, and tricolors, possibly also harlequinized tris.

I would avoid the booted buck. For one thing, booteds are almost always broken colored, and breeding broken x broken gives you charlies, which are lightly marked brokens homozygous for the broken gene. It looks like there may be a charlie in this photo, based on the few markings, and the lack of/reduced nose and spine markings. On the other hand, it could be a broken magpie, which could produce a similar result.

The problem with charlies is that they have a tendency to develop a genetic disease called megacolon. Not all charlies develop it, and sometimes this condition doesn't become a serious problem till 2 or 3 years of age, but it's a bummer to sell someone a pet that's going to get sick a few years down the road.

 

[squeakylax5]

Thank you so much for your feedback. Maybe I will just plan to breed velveteen lops since I won't get the desired 6-8 pound mark with breeding rex to mini rex. But I appreciate you explaining how to look for a Charlie. Yes, I heard about the megacolon so I would like to avoid breeding them.