Rex question?

[Bunnylady]

Have you thought about Silver Fox? Lovely fur, big, super gentle, meat breed.

The breed that we in the US call the Silver Fox doesn't exist in the UK; their "Silver Fox" is our "Silver Marten."

I chose Rex rabbits over the NZ as they are more beautiful, more friendly, eaiser to handle and I want to use their pelts. I know you can use NZ fur too but there is something special about the velvet soft fur of the Rex. Hopefully my NZW doe is pregnant and then I can compare a litter of Rex kits with a litter of NZ. Or I can see what happens if I breed my Rex buck with my NZW doe - I know I'd lose the Rex fur but I wonder what their temperament would be like and would I get a bigger litter and bigger kits?

There are no guarantees on temperament - while two good natured parents usually have offspring that share that easy-going personality, you can't be sure that you won't get at least some of a bit more stand-offish type. The further apart the parents are on the friendliness spectrum, the more variability you are going to see in the offspring. And of course, how much handling a rabbit gets as a youngster plays a part in how comfortable it is with handling as an adult.

How big the litter is will depend on the doe; her fertility doesn't really care what breed the buck was. If the buck is "firing blanks," of course, the doe can't make up for that, but as long as the buck is producing viable sperm, the litter size is more a function of how many eggs the doe releases than what breeds the parents are.

How they grow is another matter, and like everything else, has no simple answer. There is a lot to be said for "hybrid vigor," but when one parent is significantly smaller than the other, how the babies grow is going to be determined to some degree by the growth potential of the parents' breeds. The cross has the potential to produce healthier animals, but once again, no guarantees - for example, if you breed a Golden Retriever with dodgy hips to a Labrador with the same condition, you can't expect their puppies to magically have perfect bones just because they are crossbred.

 

[Rex79]

Thanks @Bunnylady,

Its great to have somewhere I can ask all the questions that come up on an almost daily basis. I already feel more knowledgable than I did a week ago!

I just searched Silver Marten rabbits in the UK and can't find any for sale!

I feel more confident at giving the cross breeding ago when My NZ doe is ready to rebreed.

 

[secuono]

The breed that we in the US call the Silver Fox doesn't exist in the UK; their "Silver Fox" is our "Silver Marten."

Well, that just sucks! They're like cuddly bears!