How did you get interested in the Lynx Variety?
Lynx was actually the first color in Mini Rex that I laid eyes on. I remember
the exact moment… it was at a 4H youth show in my county and a young gal,
about 9yrs old was holding a gorgeous rabbit that had the color of a deer.
She told me the color was called Lynx and that was it! I had seen other
Mini Rex colors at the show as well, but none held my attention quite like
the Lynx did. I searched the internet for Lynx Mini Rex breeders and eventually
found another youth breeder in my county who was selling a buck. Shortly
after purchasing him, the breeder that I’d bought my first Lynx buck from
introduced me to Jamie O’Brien of Kokopelli Acres, at the time a very well
known and respected Lynx breeder.
What has been the toughest part of working on this variety for you?
The variety still isn’t as consistent as I’d like to see. For instance,
I’ll get a litter with kits that have such an intense intermediate band
that the lilac tipping becomes less evident and also in the same litter
there will be a kit that seems to have so much lilac tipping that not enough
of the intermediate band ‘shows through’. If I’m lucky, there will be at
least 1 kit that will have a nice balance of the two extremes, however
it seems like Murphy’s Law that that’s the one that will have the type
problems. So with such inconsistent litters, the selection of what to keep
is narrowed down tremendously when you’re trying to find the right balance
between the two extremes without sacrificing type.
Another major issue is undercolor – the standard currently calls for WHITE
undercolor on the body & sides, but dove-gray undercolor on the belly.
Genetically speaking, it is virtually impossible to have both on a single
rabbit without some aspect of the darker undercolor creeping up the sides
and hindquarters. Often the rabbits that have the clean sides and hindquarters
often don’t show the dove-gray undercolor on the belly (widebanded Lynx)
or they are Fawns. Just to compare – the dove-gray that is described in
the Lynx standard corresponds to the same dove-gray color that is preferred
on a Lilac, so ideally undercolor *should* be thought of as “Lilac” and
not “Dove-gray”.
What colors are compatible with Lynx in a breeding program?
In a Lynx breeding program, I have found the most helpful color to be REW
that is either genetically a Lynx or a Chocolate Agouti. I have found that
with the REW, you are forced to evaluate ONLY type and fur as REW has no
color to judge… this will at the very least help bring up type and fur
in your Lynx program. For color, I have found the most helpful variety
to breed to is Chocolate Agouti. You can create them yourself by breeding
Lynx to Chocolate. Chocolate and Lilac can help tremendously IF it comes
from a pedigree of Agouti patterned colors (Lynx, Opal, Castor, Chocolate
Agouti).
I have found that breeding to Chocolate and Lilac with a pedigree full
of other self varieties, you run the risk of ‘dirtying’ your undercolor
along the hindquarters.This may not be an issue though for future Lynx
standards, but is definitely an issue and something to keep in mind for
the current SOP.
Who has been most helpful to you in your breeding program?
As in other people & breeders? Definitely the judges and those friends
who aren’t afraid to give me constructive criticism. Some people who have
encouraged me along the way and who have helped me focus on what is important
to Mini Rex in general, have included: Ashley Morton, Jamie O’Brien, Marla
Windish, Joey Shults, Jamie Green, Berlena Reynolds, Allen Mesick, Dr.
Stephen Roush, Donna Percivalle, Doug King, Randy Shumaker, Eric Stewart,
and Jennifer Whaley just to name a few. These people have taken time out
of their day to answer questions I’ve had about Mini Rex and about the
Lynx variety specifically. I know I’ve asked some tough questions of them
along the way and I am forever grateful for their advice, suggestions,
guidance, and friendship. To sum up their collective advice in 6 words:
Mini Rex: Type, Fur,
THEN Color.
I'd like to see some info about how to make quality lynx starting with
castor. It amazes me how lynx is still so misunderstood when it is genetically
easy to understand being a "lilac castor".
It should be that easy! LOL. The easiest way to produce Lynx out of Castor
is to breed a Castor to a Lilac. This will introduce the chocolate gene
and the dilute gene which are needed to create Lynx. As soon as the next
generation is old enough to breed, you can then cross either the littermates
together or to Lilac in order to produce Lynx in the next litter.
On paper, this sounds so simple. But what actually happens in the nest
box? Why do people say it’s so hard to create them? Well, often times the
Lynx that are produced from these types of crosses tend to have dark (lilac)
undercolor throughout their coat. So then comes the task of cleaning up
the undercolor to comply with the current standard. To do that, people
in the past have turned to light undercolored and widebanded rabbits such
as Fawn and Red. This is where the confusion originated between Lynx and
Smutty Fawns.
How do you improve ring color?
The same as with improving ring color in a Castor or Opal… Selection, Selection,
Selection! Ideally you want the width of the intermediate ring band and
the width of the undercolor to be equal while keeping in mind you also
want a good even Lilac tipping throughout. Although the standard calls
for bright fawn intermediate ring color, ideally we *should* want as rich
rufus orange/red as possible, like that of Castor intermediate ring – I’ve
seen it on Lynx so I know it’s possible!
How popular is Lynx among breeders around the US?
Lynx generally is not a very popular variety as it is so misunderstood
people generally don’t want to take on the challenges of learning about
them. However, there are several dedicated breeders nation wide that share
a common goal: To see the day Lynx are regular and consistent competitors
for BOB and BIS.
How do you tell the difference between Lynx and Fawn other than Ring color?
I'd like to read about how you know if you have a TRUE Lynx or a Fawn.
:)
At birth, it’s rather easy to tell. Lynx look exactly like Lilacs only
they will have pink bellies where Fawns look much lighter and often will
have little to no pigment, comparable to that of a Red or a REW at birth.
When the fur starts growing in during the first week, it becomes much more
evident as the Lilac color intensifies on a Lynx compared to the golden
color on a Fawn.
I have said that it can be difficult to discern a Lynx from a smutty Blue-Fawn,
as often people haven’t seen a Lynx to compare a Blue-Fawn to. I’m a visual
learner, so I like to give visual or mental images of what to look for
when someone presents you with a rabbit and it is not certain whether it
is Lynx or Fawn. Imagine this – how does the color look when you blow into
it? Regardless of surface color or ‘tipping’, does it look like distinct
rings like that of a Castor (only not Castor coloring), or does it look
more like that of a Red where the color gradually fades from the tip of
the hair down to the skin with no discernable true rings? For it to be
Lynx, first look for a clean and distinct separation between the undercolor
and the intermediate band. If that is present, you can then focus your
attention to tipping and intermediate band qualities to see where improvement
needs to be made, if any.
You can also test breed to determine if the rabbit is a Lynx or Fawn, you
can find that topic elsewhere on this site.
My question would be concerning how the judging of the Lynx variety in
the Mini Rex is going? Are there judges out there who will DQ for lack
of visible rings? Judges who will let pretty much anything through?
How about judges who will DQ for too dark of undercolor or judges who DQ for
lack of undercolor on the belly? Do we need to "reeducate" most
judges on proper Lynx color and pattern? I.e. how to tell the difference
between Lilac or Blue Fawn and Lynx.
I have found that there are some judges who follow the SOP as closely as
possible… if there is any hint of undercolor (other than white) on the
colored body portion, expect an automatic DQ. The problem with this is
it further opens the door for a smutty Fawn to win the variety with the
‘benefit of the doubt” that some kind of ring is present since there is
a fairly even tipping. There are also other judges who will just comment
on but still let dark undercolor on the body portion slide. This is both
good and bad though… good that it’s stiffer on the possibility of showing
a Fawn, but bad that the standard isn’t truly being followed. I have also
seen a few Judges who don’t take their time with the color to check for
belly undercolor, rings, or eye color – sort of like a don’t look, can’t
find type of approach. These judges, to be honest, do agitate me. Do I
think any of these judges are wrong in doing what they do? No, not really
as each judge has his/her own individual interpretation of the standard.
I just think because of there are so many misconceptions about the Lynx
variety, Judges just don’t really know what to look for or what should
be ideal. I think before judges need to be further educated on the variety,
the variety needs to first have a clear and firm description in the standard.
Preferably one that will lie to rest the dilemma of whether it is a Lynx
or a Fawn that is on the table. It is this reason alone that I support
the concept of eventually finalizing the standard to one day call for lilac
undercolor throughout – a true Lilac Agouti. We currently accept the concept
that that Black Agouti’s (Castors), Blue Agouti’s (Opal) and Chocolate
Agouti’s all have dark undercolor throughout – why is it not logical to
also accept the same concept for a Lilac Agouti?
During the 2008 ARBA convention the Open judge did not check for belly
color, under color or ring color once. It was the end of the
day and everyone wanted to get done so the variety was not given the same
respect and consideration as would a class of Castor, Opal, or Chin.
There would have been a mass of complaints if those varieties had
not had the ring, belly, or under color checked. Do we need to further
educate our judges? Do we need to have the less popular varieties
judged at the beginning of the day when the judges are fresh so they will
take the time to do it right? It has been two years since the standard
was changed. How as a group of breeders can we get the same standard
of judging for our variety as that afforded to the more popular ones?
I honestly don’t know the answer to these questions. All I could really
say is that hopefully if enough of us breeders of those ‘less popular’
varieties speak up, then it may bring attention to this fact. I too have
seen times when judges would breeze through a variety, yet take their time
on another “more competitive” variety. But I don’t fully blame the judges
as I have seen some classes of a few varieties which are obvious that the
overall quality isn’t there, for that I say the blame could be placed on
the breeders & exhibitors. Whether we raise Castor, Lynx, Black, Seal,
REW or a COD variety… we should be breeding as close as possible to the
Mini Rex breed type & fur standard. Color, although important, shouldn’t
be the first consideration.
One other observation I’ve made is that in the larger, more competitive
varieties, there are more exhibitors standing around the tables listening,
watching, and anticipating the judges comments and placements… yet in the
lesser varieties, you’ll be lucky to find a couple of exhibitors watching
eagerly. I think having exhibitors participating in the observing the judging
puts just that much more pressure to do a thorough job. Maybe for shows
(be it national level or local), prior to judging, we can voice our concerns
to whomever will be judging and hopefully they’ll take them into consideration
while they go over the variety. It may be just as simple as politely asking
for the same consideration that would be given if they were looking over
Castors. This could be a topic to discuss with our District Directors.
