Bunnies!

[Akane]

I was having a really bad day. I've been in and out of the hospital and my health problems resulted in me failing a test in a class I really need to pass. I was crying about that when my husband suggested we go look at the bunnies at the feedstore to try to cheer me up. I got my hands on Amako and could not let go. I was actually debating meat rabbits not pet dwarf rabbits but she was soooo cute. Of course we can't have just one bunny so he bought me a pair. 1 female mini rex and 1 male dwarf that I don't know the breed. We quickly cleaned up the cage I'd made for guinea pigs a few years back, it still needs wiped out with vinegar but we didn't have time last night, and I named them Amako (sky child) and Getsuko (moon child). Amako is already boldly hopping about where ever she is put. Getsuko is still frozen in fear and does a panicked run for their house every time we open the door to the porch.

Amako:

Getsuko:

3x6' cage:

Anyone know what breed getsuko is? Is rex coat a dominant or recessive trait? What might we get for baby bunnies some day in the future?

 

[Bunnylady]

Getsuko looks like he might be a pet-quality Dutch. He is also going to need a cage of his own within the next few weeks. Your cage is big enough to subdivide, if you want to go that route. If he is so frightened, it is probably best that he have another rabbit with him for now, but I wouldn't leave them together for longer than a month, or you may have a mess on your hands (think tween-aged mom!)

I breed Mini Rex, so I understand what you mean about not wanting to let Amako go. Isn't that coat amazing?

I have no idea what rabbit prices run in your area, but small mixed breeds sell for about $10 apiece around here. The pet shops only want purebreds (not that they can tell the difference!) but they only pay about $15 for them, and then turn around and sell pet quality animals with no pedigree for more than you would be charged for a show quality, pedigreed animal at a breeder's. Go figure!

 

[Akane]

The cage can easily be divided or I wouldn't have gotten 2. It has a door built on both sides so when I clean it next I'll just put in a divider. What age is good to let a mini rex breed?

The petstore here sells them for $35 and the breeders for $40-$45. My friend was thinking of selling her puppies through the petstore but aside from the conditions the puppies are kept in the store also wanted to mark them up about $1000 from what they paid her. Not that they weren't worth it but she said no. She did provide them with kittens which were simply kittens off the many farms here that they put through basic vaccinations, testing, and microchipping (which a breeder or someone ordering in bulk can do for pretty cheap) in order to charge several $100.

 

[NewHopePoultry]

Rex is a recessive trait.
Mini Rexes need to be at least 5 months old before being bred.
Around here mix rabbirs go for $5 and generally you can get them for free on craiglist.
Getsuko is a dutch, cant tell clearly what color he is though(looks ticked)
Amako looks caster(broken), so thats what color offspring you'll end up with mainly

 

[lovesduckies]

yup your little Getsuko looks like my billy who is a dutch bunny!!

 

[Bunnylady]

Quote:
I think Amako is a simple chestnut, not a castor. Castor is a richer, redder variation of chestnut (like the difference between reds and oranges). In Mini Rex, castor is showable, chestnut is not, though a judge might allow a chestnut on the table as a castor and mark it down severely for poor color. Getsuko appears to be a steel. Both steel and chestnut are agouti-based colors, they might be hiding self, dilute, or non-extention genes, so there are quite a variety of possibilities depending on what recessives they are carrying.

May I be blunt, here? These two were being sold as pets, most likely because they are only pet quality. I would never presume to tell you what to do, but neither one appears to be an animal that I would choose to put into a breeding program. You said you were considering meat rabbits, so perhaps the idea of someone buying your babies to eat or feed to a snake may not bother you, I don't know. But the reality of breeding rabbits (particularly mixed breed rabbits), is that you can't be too choosy about what happens to the offspring, because the pet market can only absorb so many. If anything, small mixed breeds may be harder to get rid of, because those wanting rabbits to eat would prefer the more tender, meatier fryer of a commercial breed. Just a little food for thought (pun intended!)

And yes, I have known snake people that paid $80 for dwarf rabbits from the pet shop, when that was the only thing they could find!

 

[FireTigeris]

Before breeding Id check to see if you can find a vet that will see rabbits, they are considered 'exotics' and it cost a whole lot more for vet care- they are considered this because their anatomy is vastly different then a cat or dogs, my cat vet (I have an exotics vet (chickesn, doves and rats)Dr. Hart, a cat vet (Dr. Cook) and a rabbit specialist (Dr. Lincoln), to see if your vet is willing to do an emergency c-section to save your rabbits life. He or she might be able to tell you the pros and cons of those two as a 'pair' - oh and in this area mixed bunnies are 'worthless' to most people, end up feeding pet pythons and alligators.

 

[Akane]

A vet is not a problem. I have one who's done many surgeries on guinea pigs when I was doing guinea pig rescue.

I'm not going to flood the pet market. If they find homes they find homes. If they don't I get to start practicing for meat rabbits and they become part of my dogs' raw diet. Same as the button quail. I grew up in the middle of farming country. On the surface they are pets but everything here has a purpose and if they don't have a home they serve that other purpose.

 

[FireTigeris]

awesome - sounds good

 

[NewHopePoultry]

Caster and chestnut are the same color. Its just known of caster in mini rexes and chestnut in most other breeds. (Both are AA BB CC DD EE)
The coloring is suppose to be a deep mahogney color, but it can very.
Agouti-based colors are dominant , and its unlikey that they both will be carrying the same recessives genes, so it safe to say, most of the offpsring will be caster or at least agouti based.
Most likey they will go as food for reptiles only only for about $5 each (of course it depends on your area)