The joys of giving in!

[Mickey328]

Attended a show on Saturday and went...er....bunny wild! Came home with 3, plus one we'd picked up on Wed for an exhibitor, so 4 new buns in QT just now. Also have 2 more on the way in a couple weeks.

Wed's acquisition is a gorgeous broken black Sr NZ doe. She's already had 2 10+ litters, so I'm hoping for a nice big one about Mid March after breeding her to our SF buck. We'll breed the SF doe at the same time so I'm really hoping for lots of popples about then.

I'd made arrangements through a local group for a jr broken opal charlie Rex doe, but when we checked the sex change fairy had visited and turned out she was a he. So we get one of his sisters instead, and she's the sweetest bun I've ever encountered! I've read lots where folks have buns who head butt for loving but never experienced it til this one. She gives kisses too. I've totally fallen in love with the fur as well!

Figured it might be time to add another buck to the herd so we got Max, a jr Champagne d'Argent. He's such a character!

Hubby even got in on the action. He fell head over heels for a chocolate mini Rex doe.

Also got to meet in person a person from the group who has Americans. We'd already made arrangements for one of the does from her first litter, and I got to hold her...I'm in love again Turns out she has another litter that's unrelated, so we made arrangements for a buck from that one. Will probably be getting these two in a couple weeks.

We also got a great deal on 5 cages, so plenty of room but...we're running out of QT Space!!!

Now, of course, I'm thinking I need a Rex buck. I want more colors and more of that amazing fur! There's another show next month...oh dear. I do have a question though...the two does we got...one's a standard and one's a mini who's mother carries the dwarf gene. Could I breed her to a standard buck?

 

[skysthelimit]

It's so hard to to get more rabbits. They are so fascinatingly cute!


It is possible to breed MR to Rex, depending on the size difference, and depending on your goals. You don't really want to introduce that MR dwarf gene into the Rex gene pool, if you are breeding for meat or show. You'll turn an 8-10lb rabbit into a 4-6lb rabbit. It's easier to lose size in this case.

 

[Mickey328]

Thanks, Sky. My main purpose is meat, but I've fallen for the Rex fur. What I'd like to do is have the Rex primarily for pelts, and of course we'd eat what's left. I certainly wouldn't inbreed at all, because I'd prefer them to be a bit larger. I just want to make sure it wouldn't endanger the mini if I bred her to a standard.

 

[Ramjet]

Thanks, Sky. My main purpose is meat, but I've fallen for the Rex fur. What I'd like to do is have the Rex primarily for pelts, and of course we'd eat what's left. I certainly wouldn't inbreed at all, because I'd prefer them to be a bit larger. I just want to make sure it wouldn't endanger the mini if I bred her to a standard.

There is nothing that compares to a quality Rex fur , I can see how you could fall head over heels for them.

I keep rex for both the meat & pelts .... then find it difficult to dispatch them cause they are just so damn sociable. I can put down my meat mutts without a problem .... but they are kinda standoffish.

Here's a chocolate buck I sold recently:

And his Lilac brother:

Those shots were taken at 5 weeks , they are now 10 weeks and very nice.

 

[3mina]

Don't be too concerned about 'inbreeding'. All it does is concentrate genes, both wanted traits and unwanted ones. The trick is knowing which traits are the ones you want to keep, which is where having a clear plan and strict culling practice come into play. Choose fast growing meaty rabbits with correct dense coats and you'll do well.
There's a thread about an inbreeding study on here but I can't find it but the gist of it was twenty generations of full sibling breedings before problems cropped up.

 

[Mickey328]

Thanks Ram and Mina! Of the 2 rex we have, one is the sweetest rabbit I've ever met and the other is..well...sort of blah. She's docile but doesn't show much personality, yet. Hoping that will change as we handle her more.

I don't have problems with inbreeding per se, but with the mini, especially because she has the dwarf gene, I'd prefer to avoid it. I don't need them huge, but I'd like to work on maybe having my Rexes be a bit larger. I really wish hubby had fallen in love with a standard buck, LOL.

If I were to get a standard buck, do you think it'd be okay to breed it to our Mini?

 

[Ramjet]

Thanks Ram and Mina! Of the 2 rex we have, one is the sweetest rabbit I've ever met and the other is..well...sort of blah. She's docile but doesn't show much personality, yet. Hoping that will change as we handle her more.

I don't have problems with inbreeding per se, but with the mini, especially because she has the dwarf gene, I'd prefer to avoid it. I don't need them huge, but I'd like to work on maybe having my Rexes be a bit larger. I really wish hubby had fallen in love with a standard buck, LOL.

If I were to get a standard buck, do you think it'd be okay to breed it to our Mini?

I don't see why you couldn't breed a rex buck to a mini rex doe .... but that is really going to leave you with none of the desired traits of either. You will turn an 8-10lb rabbit into a 5-7lb rabbit that grows slowly.
Rex are a commercial bodied rabbit and well suited for meat production. The dam to the above pictured boys is just over 11lbs (a little over the weight limit according to the breed standard if I remember correctly)

If your goal is meat , I would stick with just the Rex to Rex and ... keep the mini as a pet tho some people do keep mini rex for meat , its not ideal and down the line you may have to deal with peanuts (double dwarf genes).

 

[3mina]

I think using the MR for a meat line will take you some time but it's doable. Keep notes on the does and bucks so you have a clear view of what's going on in your herd. Keep back the meatiest, fastest growing kits and eat the slowest littlest ones. I usually keep one doe per season/year out of a ridiculous number of kits and she's got to be outstanding. I usually hold back a few from each set but by the time I'm ready to breed that doe I've cut back to one from the grow outs.
Personally, I'd keep the Minis out of my Rex lines on the off chance my rabbits ended up in someone else's herd. This is highly unlikely for my herd but there's always a possibility.

Having said all that, what you've got is what you've got so that's what you use. We generally call our first rabbits practice rabbits anyway. As you go on there's a possibility of the added interest of showing or a second (third, fourth) breed.
Most of all, have fun with our herd

 

[Mickey328]

Well, our primary purpose when we started last year was meat. We had a pair of SF, and I got the NZ and the Champagne for breeders, as well as a pair of Americans coming. The Rex we came home with were...um...well, just cuz we sorta fell in love. Since we have cages, feed and space, I thought we might add fur to our enterprise as well. And since we have 2 does, I figured we'd need a buck. So primary purpose of those will be fur. Of course, I'd never just take a hide and leave the rest to waste, so we'll eat them too.

Thanks y'all, I appreciate it!!