Mini rex size difference??

[peggysue]

I wonder if any of you can help, these 2 mini rex does are apparantly only a week apart age wise but there is a significant size difference. The larger frosty point girls dob is 06 March and the smaller BEW girls dob is 13 March.

I can't weigh them as i've no scales but would you say the frosty point looks large for her age or is the BEW girl small? I also have a 2 year old mini rex doe and the frosty point is almost at her size now (these 2 are from the same breeder but unrelated) but I know they are fully grown by 6 months.

The breeder of the BEW knew I wanted a breeding doe and selected her for me and has been really good at offering advice but I just wanted to check with other people who know the breed before I go back to her.

Do you think the frosty point is really older than 11 weeks now or is the BEW too small for 10 weeks?

 

[ladysown]

i expect the one will be brood sized and the other more of a show size.

mini rex can vary widely in their size.

 

[skysthelimit]

Yep, like Ladysown said, they do vary, my two bucks probably have at least a lb difference. One could be a dwarf and the other a false dwarf.

 

[jessie15273]

I have noticed that, as they grow they all grow at different rate, but most end up about the same, unless they are a false dwarf. I have some 6 week olds only as big as my phone

 

[akane]

At 8 weeks I've had 2lb bucks and 5 lb does purebred mini rex. Some grow faster than others and their adult sizes can vary by 3-4lbs. Sometimes you do get BUDs(big ugly does) who aren't actually ugly they are just oversized that make great brood does and paired properly turn out nice kits of the correct size but can't be shown. Half of my line is from a 5 1/2lb broken blue and none of the rest are past the weight limit. I've got a 3lb buck. Just barely showable.

 

[ohiogoatgirl]

At 8 weeks I've had 2lb bucks and 5 lb does purebred mini rex. Some grow faster than others and their adult sizes can vary by 3-4lbs. Sometimes you do get BUDs(big ugly does) who aren't actually ugly they are just oversized that make great brood does and paired properly turn out nice kits of the correct size but can't be shown. Half of my line is from a 5 1/2lb broken blue and none of the rest are past the weight limit. I've got a 3lb buck. Just barely showable.

ooooh 5lb mini rex does at 8 wks eh.... :mrgreen: glad i looked here. good to know. now just keep my fingers crossed i get some of those biggies from my soon to be trio.

 

[akane]

Some mini rex are pretty much full grown by 8 weeks. Not even 8weeks when I got them

They grew in to their ears by 8weeks and filled out another 1/4th to 1/2lb after that and that was it.

Opposite line that I crossed them with, also 8 weeks

The size difference can be huge.

 

[themangoavenger]

What is a false dwarf?

 

[Devon's Mom Lauren]

Both their ears are exactly the same though... and they are still in their ganglies, just finishing up that teenage thing. A week does make a big difference in the first few months, but they look almost the same to me! Are you breeding for show and the SOP or for pets? Weight/size is a moot point for pets. However usually there are one or two pet-type in every litter even in a SOP litter, or there are too many to keep!

 

[skysthelimit]

What is a false dwarf?

the rabbit is small, but does not carry a copy of the dwarf gene. Sometimes great for breeding because you don't get peanuts (very small kits with two dwarf genes that don't live long).

 

[peggysue]

Thanks so much for replying, i'm reassured about the smaller doe now. I'll still keep an eye on her full grown size and weight as I wont be mating her if she is likely to be too small to kindle safely.

They will be used for pets so I know size doesn't make much difference, I just didn't want any undue risk to the smaller girl. I didn't realize the sizes could vary so much.

 

[skysthelimit]

Thanks so much for replying, i'm reassured about the smaller doe now. I'll still keep an eye on her full grown size and weight as I wont be mating her if she is likely to be too small to kindle safely.

They will be used for pets so I know size doesn't make much difference, I just didn't want any undue risk to the smaller girl. I didn't realize the sizes could vary so much.

Being small does not necessarily mean she will be too small to kindle. You really won't know until she does. I have one small holland, and a bigger doe. It took them both the same amount of time to kindle a litter (three tries) but the smaller doe gave me 5 and the bigger one one live kit.

 

[JessicaR]

my 2 pound 11 ounce mini rex doe had a litter of 6 kits last week and she had no problems.

 

[ohiogoatgirl]

wow.. i didnt realize some stayed so small... i have two does (from same litter) and they are 3lbs 4oz and 3lbs i think. close to that if not that exactly. and they are about 18wks old.

 

[Honorine]

I breed BEW- depending on the lines you can get some very small ones. Thats my problem, my best doe I ever produced never made adult weight, took BOV's and was exceptional but tiny. Many of the bucks I produce average 2 and a half lbs, reason why I'm crossing out to larger lines. The frosty doe looks like a false dwarf, and the BEW is most likely a true dwarf. There's a lot of size variation in MR, not something to worry about.

 

[peggysue]

I'm just going to add a couple more pics if that is ok, the small BEW girl seems to be coming on now The first pic is the day we got the bigger girl home so the bigger girl was 9 1/2 weeks and the small girl was 8 1/2 weeks. There's a massive difference, the second pic is from tonight. The BEW girl is still smaller but it's not as dramatic i'm pleased to say (and the third pic just made me smile)