standard or mini??

[AquaticRex]

ok i have a rex rabbit, and i've read the requirements for both standard and mini. he is 6 months old now and i think he is done growing. is he a mini or a standard? cause his weight is smack dab between at 5 pound even. which would you consider him as? or is he maybe not done growing?

 

[Inle_Rabbitry]

It would help if you posted a picture, however judging from your avatar pic and description, I would definitely push towards the fact of him being a standard rex.

I have seen some pretty big mini rex that were from some weak lines, and brood does can also get to some pretty hefty weights, but 5lbs at 6 months is certainly pushing it if it were a mini rex. Generally, the preferred weight of a mini rex that age is around 3lbs, give or take a little.

Another good way to see if your rabbit is a standard rex is that he'll have much longer ears compared to his body than that of a mini rex. Mini rex ear length should stay under 3.5 inches in length. If they are much longer, chances are you've got a standard rex. However, just like weight can fluxuate in mini rex due to bad breeding, ear length can also be out of proportion.

Hope this helps.

 

[AquaticRex]

lol yea his ears are definitely still big for his body. what throw me off is that i bought him and one of his sisters and his sister is most definitely a mini rex. its just weird that i have a standard and his sister is a mini but they are from the same litter. and i know that the parents are both pure mini rexes

 

[Inle_Rabbitry]

Do the parents have pedigrees? If they don't, then you technically can't call them purebred (even if in reality, they are purebred).

Also, just some FYI on genetics, you can't have a standard rex and a mini rex in the same litter if the so called parents are purebred. Standard rex and mini rex are two entirely different breeds. For example, that's similar to saying you got a labrador retriever and a chihuahua from a litter that had purebred chihuahua parents. Not to mention a combination like that is impossible. (And even if this combination would be possible, the labrador wouldn't be called a labrador because it's parents weren't labrador, making it a mixed breed.) So even though an animal may "look" like a certain breed, if it doesn't have purebred parents of that same breed, not to mention those parents have to have at least a 3 genereation pedigree stating that they are ofall the same breed, than you can't call that offspring the name of any actual breed.

So, back to topic, lol. If you say the parents are purebred mini rex (and they have an actual pedigree to prove this) and the siblings are mini rex, than your rabbit is mini rex.

If the parents don't have a pedigree, there is no way to prove that they are purebred, making your rabbit and it's sibling, mixed breeds. They may look like mini rex and have mini rex in their background, but judging by your rabbit, they either have very bad breeding, or there is a standard rex thrown in their background somewhere.

 

[AquaticRex]

thats a good point. i sort of just based it on when i saw the parents. but now that you mentioned it, there could possibly be a standard somewhere in the backdrop. but for sure i know that they are from the same litter.

 

[RAL Rabbitry]

He is probably a mini-rex without the dwarfing gene. One of my herd bucks is at 5 lbs. He got 7 legs before he went oversized at 4.5 months old.

Roger

 

[leo9lionheads]

There is no such thing as Standard Rex, there's Rex and Mini-Rex. I would say hes just a Mini Rew without the dwarfing gene causing him to go over the weight limit. another thing is, is he over weight?, that is more common in pet rabbits as they have different diets than most show rabbits.

 

[Nancy McClelland]

based on weight he's probably not gonna fit in the mini category. We have one that was really well rounded when we rescued her--she was seven pounds. Now she's under five and looking more rabbit like and less blob like.

 

[Starlight Rabbitry]

leo9lionheads wrote:

There is no such thing as Standard Rex, there's Rex and Mini-Rex.

That is correct however, a lot of breeders will use the term Standard to describe a Rex. It just makes it easier than being asked if it is a mini or standard rex.

Sharon

 

[mistyjr]

He could be a Mini-Rex, Rex mix??

 

[Inle_Rabbitry]

leo9lionheads wrote:

There is no such thing as Standard Rex, there's Rex and Mini-Rex. I would say hes just a Mini Rew without the dwarfing gene causing him to go over the weight limit. another thing is, is he over weight?, that is more common in pet rabbits as they have different diets than most show rabbits.

Breeders use the term "standard" to decribe a base breed. So even though the breed description simply calls it "Rex", adding the word "standard" to that better describes and defines the breed when speaking about it, especially when it comes to show room and breeding conversations.

 

[AquaticRex]

yea and no he isn't chubby, unlike his sister, who was bought for a friend (who might i add, for being a tough guy is completely gaga for the girl lmao). she is pretty small and got chubby, i dunno how he feeds her but he's saying something about a diet for get. my rex though is actually pretty fit. i give him a half a cup of pellets in the morning, and he makes that last till the evening where he gets the second half cup, while in between meals he has hay to munch on

 

[RAL Rabbitry]

My mini-rex get one half a cup of pellets a day and hay. Even the larger 5 lb does that are not on litters get the same ration and stay in good weight.

 

[AquaticRex]

i try to just keep it balanced. i found that if i didn't give him a total of 1 cup a day divided up then he gets thin. he doesn't always eat all of it, just sort of takes what he wants and leaves the rest for later.

 

[AquaticRex]

so, i called the person i got the 2 buns from and asked about the background a little more. she is now telling me that dante and chubbs did not come from the same mum but dante came from another breeder when dante's mum died. so now she has told me 2 different things. cause when i got him she said they have the same mum. i'm so confused >.

 

[Inle_Rabbitry]

I'm not sure about the circumstances or reasonsin which you obtained your rabbit, however, for future reference when getting a new rabbit, please keep these things in mind:

Do a lot a research about the breeder you have selected, before you even consider purchasing one of their rabbits. Askquestions such as:

-"How long have you been breeding rabbits?"

-"What is your main focus in regards to improving the breed?"

-"May I see the parents of the rabbits I am interested in?"

-"May I see the pedigrees of the parents?"

-"Have there been any known illnesses, diseases, or any other problems in this litter?"

Asking questions like these will save you a lot of trouble down the road. Finding theses things out ahead of time will prepare you for what to expect in your rabbit. If a breeder is unwilling to answer these questions, or gives you sketchy incomplete answers, then that's a sure sign that this is a bad breeder and you shouldlook elsewhere for your rabbits.Breeders not wanting to educate and help out potential buyers, are just looking to make money, and/or they know very little about rabbits and their care. And if they don't know that, then chances are, they don't know they are selling you something with faulty lines or something that could be sick.

 

[Starlight Rabbitry]

Awesome advice

Sharon

 

[AquaticRex]

i got most of that when going and i went to the person who sells her buns to the pet store up here. i'm not too big on the "is my bun pure bred" thing. lets transfer this to adopting a kid. it's like saying i want a pure Canadian kid, or i want a Chinese kid, or even me, i'm 100% European, i was only born here, but both biological parents are immigrants from Europe. i was looking for a bun that had lots of spunk and personality, not breed. and when i saw Dante, he was 8 weeks old, hyper and was Binkying like nuts. i couldn't help it, and through casual conversation i found out a lot of other things (boyfriend insists i have the gift of gab lol), though apparently not enough...

 

[Inle_Rabbitry]

Well, sadly that's just the problem most people fall into. Breeders who sell to pet stores are called Backyard Breeders. They usually only care about the profit of the rabbits, instead of being concerned about the health of them and the proper homes they will go to. Backyard breeders are the number one contributor to homeless rabbits, because they do not screen their potential buyers (who are usually inexperienced in rabbit care and thus end up dumping the rabbit off because the rabbit wasn't what they expected).

And just to clear things up about purebreds-responsible breeders breed certain breeds to that they can improve them-meaning they try to elimate diseases, physical flaws that may hinder the rabbit, etc. It really should have nothing to do with ego ie. purebred vs. mixed breed.

All rabbits, purebred or mixed breed have wonderful personalities. The issue at hand is when obtaining a mixed breed, it's best to get one from a rescue, rather than supportsome inexperienced backyard breeder.

Hope this helps you out and good luck with your bun! You seem to be a very devoted and proud owner

 

[AquaticRex]

lol as i've said in most of my other posts, i see my pets as i would my own kids lol. as for the homeless rabbits, it's ridiculous as to how people can just give up buns like that. i don't think they would give up their kids just cause it wasn't what they thought (though there are stupid people who do do that). the CAS is for kids who have parents who couldn't take care of them right, not so that people can have kids and just abandon them. animals are no different then people in that sense. to me any ways.