Just a big mini rex?

[UnlabeledMama]

We were given what we were told was a mini rex rabbit by a friend. We weighed all the rabbits today (not to self: Buy long leather gloves!) and she was just over 5 lbs. From what I read a mini rex is 3-4 lbs and a standard rex is 7-10 lbs. What about in between? She definitely has a rex velvety coat.

 

[Bunnylady]

Mini Rex is one of the breeds that need the dwarfing gene to achieve the compact animal described in the breed standard. Unfortunately, the dwarfing gene is homozygous lethal (meaning that a bunny will die if it inherits the gene from both parents). It is dominant, so if a rabbit inherits it, you will see it. With the dwarfing gene, the rabbit has shorter ears, shorter legs, a shorter, more compact body and a rounder head. Without the dwarfing gene, the rabbit's ears, legs, body, and face are a bit longer, and the rabbit is a little bigger, weighing on average 1/2 - 1 pound more than the dwarfed counterparts.

Showable Mini Rex weigh between 3 and 4 1/2 pounds. All of those rabbits have one copy of the dwarfing gene, and one copy of the normal growth gene. Breed two of them together, and you get some babies that get a copy of the dwarfing gene from either their mother or their father, and a copy of the normal gene from the other parent. Those grow up to be of showable size. Some babies will get the dwarfing gene from both parents. These babies are often called "peanuts," and they are easy to spot because they are significantly smaller than the other babies and somewhat deformed, with underdeveloped back legs and odd-shaped heads. Peanuts always die, usually within 3 days of birth. Some babies will get the normal growth gene from both parents; these are sometimes called "false dwarfs" or "brood does" if female. As I said, they generally wind up a bit over the maximum showable weight. My bet is that your doe is one of these. Some people actually prefer these does for breeding, because they tend to have larger litters. When bred to a buck that has the dwarfing gene, they can produce dwarfed babies, but because they don't have the dwarfing gene themselves, they never give birth to peanuts.

 

[UnlabeledMama]

That makes perfect sense! Thank you!

 

[cuppycake]

Some babies will get the normal growth gene from both parents; these are sometimes called "false dwarfs" or "brood does" if female.

Or BUDs (Big Ugly Doe). I have one and while she'll never win any shows she does throw nice kits.