The Rex cony was first show in Paris in 1924 and was brought to the United States in the same year . Known as the King of Rabbits , the Rex remain the most commonly used lapin for pelt , due to its lavish coat . The breed was developed in 1919 from a mutation launch in a litter of wild lapin . The mutation had no prominent guard hair , give way the rabbit a easygoing , denser coat .
Like most cony breeds , the rex is a moderately docile creature . accord to PetMD.com , the average lifetime of a king is 6 to 8 year , giving it a shorter life-time than the mean 7 to 10 - year lifetime of most domesticated rabbits .
Rex Rabbit Breed Standard
According to the American Rabbit Breeders Association ( 2018 ) , the Rex rabbit should have a broad head set closely to the shoulders , the eyes and ears should be brisk and ears should be held unsloped . Hips should be well - rounded with a wide loin , rib and shoulders . Feet should be parallel , and not too prospicient .
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Fur should be between one-half to seven - eights of an inch . Sixteen unlike colors are recognized in show - timbre rabbit .
The Rex is view a intermediate - weight rabbit . Bucks should matter between 7.5 to 9.5 pound , does 8 to 10.5 pound . While smaller thanmost common marrow rabbit breed , the Rex is often raised as a dual - purpose , meat and fur , animal .
Rex Rabbit Fur
While Rex are used for meat , show and as pets , the breed is chiefly hump and raised for the plush fur . Rabbits commonly have a dual coat , the undercoat and the “ guard hairs . ” The distinct flavour of a Rex pelage is due to a variation in which the safety hair are pretermit . This go out only the softer undercoat . It ’s standardised to goslings or ducklings before their feathering arise in – the down is always softer .
The tone of this coat can vary , depending on the rabbit ’s genetic science . In meat cony , a boneheaded hide is believe a detriment because it terminate up being part of the offal during butcher . However , for those interested in using the pelt , a thicker skin has been shown to be good to the Rex , as the hide is less potential to tear and the pelt less likely to fall out . The daybook “ Animal ” issue a 2023 study suggesting that Rex be processed in the winter , due to the significantly thinner and poorer quality pelage the rabbits produced in the summer .
Rex Rabbits: Care
As with most rabbit strain , Rex are curious , social animal . Manyraise rabbits in a colonybecause of this . stimulant and enough space to move around improve the calibre of the rabbit ’s life . Those raise for output may consider this a waste of resources , but a study of Rex hare in China showed that the tone of substance and fur better when the rabbits were given admission to arousal , rather than just food and water . The subject was done with two rabbits per cage , a practice recommended by the Rabbit Welfare Association and Fund ( RWAF ) .
Suggested cage size varies , depending on your informant . The Michigan State University website suggests 3 to 4 feet of cage space per hare , calculate on their weight . However , the RWAF and other organization suggest that , at the very least , hare should be able to hop three meter from end to end and stand on their hind leg without strike the top .
Several bailiwick were acquaint at the eighth World Rabbit Congress in 2004 about the eating of Rex rabbits . These study shew that Rex rabbits involve at least 12 % vulgar fiber in their diet . Below that and the cony had diarrhea and significantly downcast weight gain . At 14 % crude fiber , the efficiency of feed versus growth system of weights decreased , suggest that provender should be around 12 % crude fibre .
Research was also done on the protein levels for pregnant and lactating rabbits . Does fed a minimum of 17.5 % protein picture gamey numbers of kit in a litter , wakeless young at birth and a good survival charge per unit in the kits . Lactating mother who were continued on this feed had kits with a faster weight development , with the best fur density .
This story about the rex rabbit was write for Hobby Farms magazine publisher online . Click here to support .
