Standard Rex Colours

[TF3]

I'm reading up what I can on Rex ...

I assume that info for Mini Rex will be valuable color-wise?
(I have to see if acceptable varieties vary but I think principles would be the same?)

So... Hot topic... Best colours?!
Ok, not best, but I imagine there are better places to start than others, colours that are more established w/strong type? Colours that are too tricky for a newbie?

Is it best to work on line in a specific variety?

I don't think I will have a *lot* of choices, but if looking to buy a trio or quartet... What would you suggest?
ie one broken? One dilute? All the same?)

I am really drawn to otters, dilutes and chocolates-- the more subtle coats
Not so much castors (which I know are THE core colour) or blacks.

I know there are passionate Rex folks here... What do you suggest for starting out?

 

[skysthelimit]

Rex and Mini Rex do not have all of the same colors.

It's easier for me to start with colors that are harder to raise, either because they are hard to find, or are hard to get right, or the type is not the best. These colors are usually harder because they are hard to find, or they are hard to find because the color is hard to get right, lol. One almost creates the other.

Unless you have a really good understanding of color crossing and genetics, I would recommend all newbies stick with selfs, black, blue, lilac, chocolate first.

 

[TF3]

Cool.
I'm interested in genetics and learning a lot but I am a newbie and can see that selfs would be simpler with all of the various aspect in agoutis etc.

Does coat quality have a link with any specific colours?
Ie one colours produces better coat quality?

 

[skysthelimit]

Unless you have something wonky, it's straight forward and you can't go wrong.

Tri is the hardest to get. Because of that, the body type suffers. Harlie cannot be crossed really into anything cleanly without affecting the other colors, Castors get brindling, Reds can suffer color wise, and selfs becomes torts. If you want to raise them, it's best to have a dedicated herd to that color.

Next is shaded. Sable and Cal don't play nice with agouti and Otter. Ok with selfs, better with eachother. But they are only recognized in the black base in Rex, so only black, therefore I don't reccommend crossing them to self black unless you really know your ped and your stuff.

Red should only be bred to Red or in a Tri program. You can breed it to Castor, it brightens the surface color but Castor can leave smut on the Reds. And many people do not want that ee gene in their herd (causes tort, fawn, frosty, fox) and that can limit your sales.

Same with Chin, the above applies. Only black based, bred to itself or some black that doesn't carry any other recessives.

With Chins and Agoutis, you have to worry about ring color, ring width, and they go through a lot of changes. Some people hate dealing with agoutis for that reason.

Castor is the most common agouti, to first original Rex color and original name (Castor Rex means beaver king, because the coat was similar to beaver fur).

Otter is very common too, very beautiful and well loved. No rings and no worry about surface color, with the markings still like agouti.

__________ Sun Jun 28, 2015 5:23 pm __________

Type and texture do ride on certain colors that are more developed. A Tri would have to be super to beat an average Otter, because Otters are so well developed they just have better type. A black otter is more common, and usually carries better fur. Dilutes and Chocolates in some line fade with age, that is a thing to watch.

At one point, I had the genetics to make 13 of the 16 varieties. My peds were mismash and the quality of some suffered. Can't get great Castors breeding them to Otters (exclusively, at some point they need to go back to Castors or otters from Castors). Some of the varieties are treated like they are separate breeds, only bred to themselves to avoid unshowable colors, and after a while, I had to focus on specific colors if I wanted good stock. Jack of all trades deal.

If you love Otters, decide if you want them all the same color. If not, get a trio that carries the other recessives and go from there.

 

[TF3]

Awesome post!
Very helpful!

Having been surprised with both harle and steel in FG (mix-- harle!) I can see the challenges
on agoutis.

I'll have to see what is available but I am definitely leaning self -- even just those 4 with the possibility of broken is lots