Astrex Project
I thought I had better put a few words here about what I am trying to do to bring the astrex curly rabbit into my rabbitry. Three years ago I started to search on the internet about the Astrex rabbit. I wanted to find some to start to work with but at the time couldn't find breeders willing to share information or stock. So I continued to do research and formed my own plan. What I have in my barn and in my pics is what I have come up with to use for stock to work towards a Astrex Rabbit. Since I first started I have joined a group on line and learned more about what is going on in North America with the breed or rather the efforts to bring back the breed. I still can't afford to import any from Canada so I am working with what is available. My efforts are just a start and by no means true astrex but they are a beginning and I'm fine with that. I remembered that in the beginning some of the imported Lionheads ocasionally had these curly babies. Since I still had some of those bloodlines I started with that and with a mini rex buck who I got because his owners didn't want him because sometimes he produced curly offspring. So that is where I started and just had the one line until on October 4,2008 I traded bloodlines with another gal in Minnesota. So now I have a new gene pool to use. I'm looking forward to more curly babies and soon to write down and idea of what we are looking for in the Astrex and using that to work toward the future.
Blue Hills Sox
Sox is the doe who started it all. I identified a Lionhead line that I knew had produced curly babies and bred the doe to a mini rex buck that I knew threw curly babies and so I started with Sox
Blue Hills Wiskers
Wiskers is the buck I kept out of the first mating. Right now Sox is bred back to him. Wiskers was a very curly baby but now he is in that coat without the curls. I'm sorry that I didn't take pics when he was a baby. Then you could see why I liked him but his wiskers are still curly and like his mom Sox I thing he will get the curls back in his coat. But mine right now are mostly curly on the bellies and around the flanks.
Blue Hills Twizzle
Twizzle was traded for a different astrex doe line to Betty Hoover. She was from the same bloodlines as Wiskers just a younger litter. I kept her sister Twix a Broken Black otter
Blue Hills Lenny
Lenny was a surprise. He showed up in a different Lionhead litter and he is really curly. He is a sable point and will stay here to breed the does in the spring. Here again I didn't take early baby pics and you would have been really able to see all the curlys. He has more than any of the others I have had so far.