Rex rabbits are a stock I ’ve in person keep since I was a tyke and still have to this day . They ’re easily one of my favourite strain to keep , whether you ’re an enthusiastic pet rabbit owner or work on a full - sized farm . These hare are friendly , intelligent , and tame . My Rex rabbits beloved being pet , and take , and have a lot of play scat around their playpen in the yard . cony produce fiddling chocolate-brown pellets of gold – theirmanureis an first-class addition to any garden . The Rex rabbit is also a to the full vegan pet – a perfect addition to any industrial plant - based homestead .
All about Rex Rabbits
Rex coney are an light strain of rabbit to get started with . They ’re tame , friendly , and generative , and they make great pets . Here ’s what there is to know about these adorable rabbits :
Rex lapin are a large breed of hare varied in coloration . They mature to approximately 7 to 11 Egyptian pound .
These large rabbits have an even temperament and are know to be calm and playful , which makes them ideal to mass with children . inviolate coney that have n’t been alter or spayed live 5 - 6 age on average . Neutered and spayed rabbits tend to live a bit longer , closer to 8 eld . It is a strain recognize by the American Rabbit Breeders ’ Association . They are mostly bred for their meat but make large pets .
Temperament
I ca n’t address positively enough about the disposition of the Rex rabbit . In general , manlike rabbits ( bucks ) are friendlier and less territorial than distaff ( doe ) rabbit , and that has been , in my experience , rightful for Rex rabbits as well . In my experience , bucks are gentle to keep for newfangled favored rabbit owner . But a properly handle doe is a heavy addition too .
Purpose
The primary breeding intention for Rex lapin is for pets , though they can be a decent essence rabbit too . They are a intermediate breed that tops out at about 11 pounds . They are also very friendly , docile animals , which makes them bang-up fellow traveller brute , especially for children . They are can be dual purpose , food and admirer , calculate on your intentions . If you ’re looking for a pet hare for the family and see a Rex rabbit advert , my recommendation is to scoop it up .
Rex Rabbit appearance and variations
Rex rabbit are an ARBA - recognized breed of rabbit that come in a remarkably wide diverseness of colors . They can be white with a secondary spotted color , or firm color like black , orangish , spicy , Second Earl Grey , and grayish brown . These lapin are bred to have a round , plump physical structure human body and capitulum that stand acutely upright . The ARBA accredit this French stock of rabbit in 1924 .
Housing
A rabbit hutch is the simplest way to domiciliate your Rex rabbits . Hutches are a arouse structure that allows airwave circulation and secures your lapin against any would - be predator . hut also prevent rabbits from escaping . When it amount to sizing , the braggart the better . There is no such thing as a rabbit hutch that ’s too big . Each lapin should be give 12 straight feet of shack outer space . A 6×2 or 3×4 animal foot hutch will ply mass of room . rabbit can be kept in cages humble than that , but plenty of outside meter should be render to your rabbits if they are to be preserve in a smaller John Cage .
Providing a bedding material box for your cony is a in force way to sheer down on cleanup . Your rabbit will need a root of food and water provided at all times and plenty of enrichment – lots of chew toy and thing to play with . Your rabbits will have hours of merriment run and toss things around . My dollar , in especial , is very very particular about where his belonging go . If I clean out his hutch , he spends hours getting things back where he want them to go .
Common problemswith the Rex Rabbit
Rex hare , in my experience , are pretty stout . They do n’t have any breed - specific matter , but can be susceptible to common cony ailments experienced by domestic hare breeds like :
Overgrown teeth
Unlike us , coney teeth continue to grow throughout their lifetime , a bit like our hair and nail . Rabbit teeth are lento ground down by chew their sinewy food . If they do n’t have enough fibrous intellectual nourishment to jaw on , their tooth can overgrow and get pain , which forestall corrode and can result in death . The good way to avoid this is by but offer a tidy sum of grass and hay . A veterinarian can chasten overgrown teeth , but it ’s much less expensive to preclude this condition .
Pasteurellosis
Pasteurella multocidais a bacteria that can be easy transferred from one rabbit to another . It get similar symptoms to knock eye and runny nose . The eyes can become puffy and red with a waiver , and your lapin may sneeze a quite a little . This bacterial infection is sometimes called ‘ snuffles . ’
Stress is the elementary cause for this infection . Strains of this bacteria are latent in the sinuses of your pet rabbit and a step-down in the efficiency of the immune system , because of emphasis , can make it to grow out of command . If your rabbit has snuffles , quarantine it from others and seek a discourse trend of antibiotics .
Hairballs
hare spend a good amount of time curry themselves which can lead to trichobezoar . hair ball are mostly not an issue unless there ’s some other trouble with your coney ’s gastrointestinal pamphlet . The good way to forestall hairballs is by provide a high quality , high fiber diet to your favourite . If a hairball blocks the gut , your Rex cony may need surgery .
Myxomatosis
Myxomatosis is a virus spread by mosquitoes and fleas , as well as inter-group communication with another rabbit with the computer virus . It has like symptoms as Pasteurellosis – swelling and discharge from the eyes and nose . Your best stake for prevention is to keep rabbits well away from fleas and mosquitoes , and undertake flea control to the best of your abilities . There is no vaccinum or intervention for this and it will eventually toss off your pet cony .
Rabbit hemorrhagic disease
Rabbit haemorrhagic disease , sometimes called Rabbit Calicivirus ( though the term is no longer up to date ) is a virus spread likewise to Myxomatosis – through fleas , mosquitoes , and contact with infected rabbits . This is a disease that progresses quite rapidly , incubating for just one to three days and causing death within 72 hours . The best way to prevent this is by vaccinating your rabbit against RHDV1 and reducing exposure to flea and mosquito and never allow for your pet hare contact with a gaga cony . There is no handling .
Breeding Rex Rabbits
Early on in my experience with reproduction rabbits , I was told that rabbits are “ very efficient . ” This is an understatement . male monarch coney become prolific at just 12 weeks of long time and will start at least assay to twin at around this time . If you intend to cover your rabbit , hold off until they are 5 to 8 months erstwhile . engender before this age can be harmful to your rabbits .
Does not go into heat and are instead prolific year round . Bucks are also in general eager to mate regardless of the sentence of year . The timing for spawn your rabbits is up to you . Some do n’t like breeding in the dead of winter due to concerns about the common cold . Others breed only in spring and shine in Holy Order to avoid the heat of summer impacting the outfit ( sister hare . )
When breeding rabbits , bring the Pearl Buck to the Energy Department , not the other way around . Allow the buck to mate with the Department of Energy two to three times . You will be looking for what ’s called a ‘ settle off . ’ After the dollar bill has fetch up snarl , he will fall off of the female rabbit . This signals nail sexual intercourse . Once you have the number of fall - offs you desire , turn back the buck to his hut . Do not provide your buck unattended with the doe .
Rex Rabbit gestation period
If pregnant , your doe will carry for 28 - 35 days . She will kindle ( give nativity ) on day 31 or 32 ordinarily . put up a nest box with wad of straw for the doe to construct a proper nest . She will also pull pelt from her abdominal cavity to mix in with the stubble provided . The mean bedding size is between 1 and 14 kit . She can be impregnate again within 24 hours of giving birth , but this is by and large not give notice .
Rabbit kit are bear blind , indifferent , and hairless . Cannibalism can pass off and is a defense mechanism . A doe will eat any stillborn rabbits as well as any profligate and bushed tissue paper left behind in the nesting area . This is normal and nothing to be alarmed by .
A outfit ’s fur begin to grow in by the fifth day and sometime between the seventh and 10th day , their eyes will open . At the age of 2 calendar week , they ’ll begin exploring outside of the nest boxes and looking for other solid food sources . The female parent will take off to wean them at 3 to 4 weeks of age .
dollar broadly do n’t involve themselves with raising the young . If maintain in a dependency setting , a buck may ‘ babysit ’ the young from meter to metre . While they do n’t generally help get up the new , they do n’t harm the young either .
What to feed your Rex Rabbit
rabbit can be give a balanced rabbit provender , but ideally , your Rex cony should exist primarily on hay . A shot feed can be offered but should n’t be the primary feed choice of the rabbit . They can be feed small sum of vegetables as treats , but high - tone hay like Timothy hay should be the bulk of your rabbit ’s diet . food for thought should always be uncommitted to your rabbit .
History of the Rex Rabbit
The Rex rabbit was primitively bred in France in 1919 . It was in the beginning developed from uncivilised grizzly coney for its fur to be used in the pelt industry . get down in 1924 , the hare was shown publically at the Paris International Rabbit Show . That same year , the strain was recognized and import to the United States by John C. Fehr and Alfred Zimmerman .
