Tag Archives: curly bunny

When Good Bunnies Go Bald

These little Astrex babies are a hoot! We came home from the show and three of our curly-haired babies are almost completely bald!

 

Although they’re really, really ugly right now because God made rabbits to have hair for a reason and that is that a hairless rabbit doubles as Stephen King’s muse, I’m excited to see how their new fur comes in. The hairlessness is apparently closely related to the curly gene in Astrex and I’ve heard a rumor a bald bunny comes in even curlier when that molt is finished.
Can’t wait to see.

 

In the meantime, just in case you need a few photos to haunt your dreams, here are a few before and after pictures I’ve found from our own rabbits and the Astrex Facebook group:

 

This photo is of Kojak, from Rainbow Rex Rabbitry. See how his hair grew back so nicely?!

This photo is of Kojak, from Rainbow Rex Rabbitry. See how his hair grew back so nicely?!

 

This little beauty is from Soft Paws Haven and I'm hoping will come to our house in the next few weeks!

This little beauty is from Soft Paws Haven and I’m hoping will come to our house in the next few weeks!

 

Finally, some before and after photos of our Epic:

Epic, pre-balding molt.

Epic, pre-balding molt.

 

Epic, doubling as a finger puppet.

Epic, doubling as a finger puppet.

 

Astrex

I am probably getting in way over my head here, but it looks like we may have a new pet project.

Astrex mini Rex, 19 days old

Astrex mini Rex, 19 days old

Astrex Mini Rex, 19 Days Old

Astrex Mini Rex, 19 Days Old

Our very first litter of mini Rex was born 19 days ago to a first-time mom, Inca and first-time dad, Bushy. They’re both broken, so the resulting litter is 100% broken coloring with many charlies as well. As they’ve developed they’ve caught my attention because their hair seemed to be… peculiar. But it’s our first purebred Rex litter so I wasn’t sure what I was seeing wasn’t… normal.

Astrex mini Rex litter, 10 days old

Astrex mini Rex litter, 10 days old

10 Days Old

Astrex Mini Rex litter, 19 Days Old

Astrex Mini Rex litter, 19 Days Old

19 Days Old

It appears this litter has gotten a full helping of the very rare Astrex gene. This fur type is not recognized by ARBA, so breeders of show rabbits who find it in their nest boxes typically cull. Also, the curl may not stick around through the baby fur and will molt out to normal… the parents of this litter are completely normal in their mini Rex fur, not a curl to be seen!

I’ve been scouring the internet for information and have discovered a few people who are breeding specifically for this trait. It can be found in several breeds besides Rex and mini Rex, also in Harlequin and New Zealand. I’m trying to learn more, so if you, or anyone you know, has found curly coated rabbits in their nestboxes, please let me know! I’ve also created a Facebook page to further discussion on this topic.

 

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Links to the other pages I’ve discovered talking about Astrex:

Astrex, Curly Coated Rabbits on Facebook

Duman’s Ark (Great Photos!)

Astrex Rabbits Curly Wavy Bunnies

Astrex Rabbits

American Astrex Rabbit Breed Club

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