Mini Rex Rabbit Breeds

A description of the origin of the Rexes has been givenelsewhere. Following their introduction into this country (asthe Castor Rex in 1927) many of the normal-furred breedswere used to produce colour Rexes. The combination of anycolour with the Rex coat is of course a fairly simple matter,although the improvement of the colour Rex produced maytake a considerable time.

The Rex character consists of a shortening of the guardhairs until they are below or level with the undercoat, thusproducing an exquisite, plush like coat, of some i inch length,with a velvet touch. In some cases guard hairs do project,and are considered a fault in the breed.

Rex furs are the most valuable rabbits furs commercially,and the carcases are also suitable for the meat trade. Thebest qualities of Rex furs will usually bring as much as doublethat obtained for the normal furred pelts. Not all coloursare however in demand. The Chinchilla Rex and the HavanaRex pelts are almost always wanted, but some of the other pelts, the Orange Rex for example, although a most popularexhibition variety, have a lower value.

The Rex fur is only at its best when the animal is mature,and it is therefore necessary to keep the Rexes a minimum ofsix to seven months, and more usually eight months, beforepelting. The mature Rex will weigh between 6 to 8 lbs.,and thus the carcase weight of the Rex when pelted will beabout 4 or slightly more lbs.
The early Rexes were of weak constitution, and sufferedconsiderably from various ailments. Indeed it seas thoughtby many that the character arose through disease. This ofcourse is completely incorrect, and the Rexes are as soundconstitutionally and as hardy as the other breeds.

There are two other types of Rex rabbits, the Astrex and the Oppossum Rex.The Astern evolved during 1932 /4 has a Rex coat which istightly waved over the entire body. At the present time thereare very few to be seen, but in the past there were some casesin which the waving was assisted, at least, by artificial means.The Astrex has little commercial value, for the curling will notoften stand up to dressing. Astrex were recognised in allcolours, although ermine, black, lilac and havana were themost common.
The Oppossum Rex was produced in 1924 by T. Leaverof Kent, in an attempt to Rex the Chifox. Originally threeblack Chifox were used, but later woollies from Argentes wereintroduced to obtain the silvering.

The undercoat length of the Oppossum Rex is about I inch,and the guard hairs which project above the body coat aresilvered, that is devoid of pigment, and curled. The coat isat right angles to the body, and thus present a similar appear-ance from all directions. The character is recessive to normal Rex.The Black Rex is of a lustrous blue-black (being self-coloured)with slate-blue unclercolour. They are a most useful colourfor furriery stork, for they invariably match well.

The Blue Rex was one of the earliest colours, althoughthe colour has been greatly improved, usually by crossing withBlue Bevcrens. The blue is a clear bright medium shade (notlavender) and again the pelts usually match fairly well.

The Castor Rex was of course the original Rex, being anAgouti with dark rich chestnut-brown colour, the intermediatecolour being rich orange on a dark slate blue undercolour.The variety has changed considerably from the originals, andin fact has been re-made on a number of occasions. It is notone of the furriers' popular colours.
The Chinchilla Rex is undoubtedly the most popular colourfor fur work, although perhaps more difficult to match well.The pelts, when of good quality, fetch the best prices of any.The colour is a dark slate base, over which is a near whiteintermediate colour, the top colour being lightly tipped withblack and white, giving a sparkling, chinchillated wavy effect.It should perhaps be added that the Chinchilla Rex is one ofthe most difficult of the Rexes to produce in the highestquality.

The Cinnamon Rex is an Agouti Rex the top colour beingbright golden tan, the intermediate colour a light orangeclearly defined on a blue undercolour. The belly is of coursewhite on a blue undercolour. They are uncommon. Geneti-cally the variety is a brown Agouti.

The Dutch Rex is a rexed variety of the popular fancy breed,and is very rarely seen, and is of little value as a commercialfur, except perhaps as a novelty.
The English Rex is the rexed variety of the English, and isalso very rarely seen.
The Ermine Rex is undoubtedly one of the most popularRexes, and has been bred to a high degree of excellence.Blue-eyed stock were at one time seen, but at the presenttime all the Ermine Rexes are albino, i.e. red-eyed. Thepelts are suitable for many forms of fur work, but do notcommand such good prices as do many of the colourrexes.

The Fawn Rex is a tan pattern Rex with a saddle of brightgolden fawn, gradually shading to a white belly. It is notoften seen.
The Fox Rex, another tan pattern Rex, is produced in thefour colours found in the normal fur Foxes. It is of coursethe rexed normal fur breed. There are few of this breed,which would otherwise be useful for furriery.

The Havana Rex is extremely popular. It is a self-colouredvariety of a rich dark chocolate colour. The pelts are probablythe most sought after by the fur trade, and the breed has theadvantage that probably the majority of pelts will be suitablefor this work. The pelts are used for all types of garments,and brown, being usually in fashion, is always in demand.

The Harlequin Rex is the counterpart of the Harlequinrabbit, and is not often seen.
The Lilac Rex came from Havana crossed Blue Rex litters,for the colour is dilute brown, and from rexing the normalLilac. The latter method usually produced the best stock.The pelts are easy to match, and are fairly popular in the furtrade.
The Lynx Rel is a rexed variety of the normal Lynx, whichoriginated in Germany, and is not seen in this country.Genetically it is a dilute brown Agouti. The top-colour isorange-shot-silver, the intermediate colour being a brightorange, and the undercolour white, the variety being, ofcourse, an Agouti. The pelts snake up most attractively.

The Marten Sable Rex is the rexed normal light or mediumSable Marten, and is a tan pattern Rex with rich dark sepiabrown saddle shading gradually on the flanks, and with awhite belly. It is not so popular as the Siamese SableRex.
The .Nutria Rex is a self coloured Rex with rich golden browncolour, but is now rarely seen, although in other countries theyare considered to be one of the best Rexes for furs. Occasion-ally Nutria Rex turn up in litters of Havana Rex.

The Opal Rex is again very rarely seen, although it waspopular at one time. It is genetically a dilute Agouti, and hasa top colour of a pale shade of blue with a layer of golden tanbetween it and the slate blue undcrcolour. It is not verysuitable for fur work.
The Orange Rex is a striking deep rich orange, carried welldown the sides and shading to a white belly. The OrangeRex is the rexed New Zealand Red, and is genetically anAgouti although always classed as a tan pattern Rex. It ismost popular as an exhibition variety, but is rather toostrikingly coloured for furriers.
The Orange Buff Rex is very rarely seen. It is a shadedvariety with the saddle a deep rich clear orange shading into abeige or light clear biscuit colour over the remainder of thebody. The breed was derived by selection from orange Rexwith orange beige belly fur.

The Seal Rex is the Rex variety of the dark Siamese Sable,having a rich dark sepia (almost black) saddle with onlyslightly paler shadings on the remainder of the body. TheSeal and Sable Rexes are often interbred, to improve quality.The Seal Rex has one of the best pelts for the furrier.

The Seal Marten Rex is the Rex variety of the dark MartenSable, and has only recently been separated from the MartenSable Rex and given its own standard.
The Siamese Sable Rex is the rexed normal Siamese Sableof either the light or medium shades. The light shades arethe least popular with furriers, and the dark mediums the mostpopular. They are a shaded variety with a rich dark sepiabrown saddle shading gradually to a rich chestnut on theflanks.

The Silver Seal Rex became quite popular after the last war,but their popularity died out and they are very rarely to beseen. The pelts are of little use for fur work, they failed toattain the smooth plush texture of other Rex.. The breedis the rexed variety of the Silver Grey.

The Smoke Pearl Rex is a most attractive variety of the shadedgroup of rexes. The Siamese Smoke Pearl Rex has a saddleof smoke-grey shading to pale grey on the flanks, chest andbelly. It was produced from Sable Rex, being a Sablecarrying the factor for dilution. Thus a Marten Sable Rexcarrying dilution would give a Marten Smoke Pearl, and infact this has been produced although it is at present very un-common. The pelt of Smoke Pearl Rex is of such a delicatecolour that it is used mainly for evening capes or trimmings.The Tan Rex, a rcxed variety of the normal tans have beenproduced but are not often seen.