Here's an amazing anomaly .
. .
You've no doubt heard about hairless dogs (to date I think there are at least
five hairless breeds), as well as other hairless animals such as rats, chickens,
cats or cavies.
BUT have you ever seen a Hairless Bunny Rabbit?
What you see is real –
no trick photography, nor has the bun been shaved or artificially modified! This amazing little character is quite rare and
was accidentally bred here in Australia. Considering that she is the result of inbreeding (parents are brother and sister),
we can presume what occurred is a genetic fault. It's also interesting that in previous litters her mother regularly produced
a kit having a bald patch on its forehead. In maturity however these oddballs grew fur over the bald area.
Since she has an uncanny resemblance to a Kangaroo her breeder nicknamed her 'Little Roo'. These photos were
taken on 31st December 2005 and it is yet to be determined if or when Roo will also grow fur – will keep you posted.
From the onset the hairless kit struggled to thrive and if her more robust sister hadn't been removed from
the nest and fostered to another doe she may not have survived. Her sister is quite normal and is a lovely Sussex colour.
Even though Roo has tufts of fur on her muzzle and around her eyes, for obvious reasons her colour is too difficult to determine.
Nevertheless this naked four week old Mini Rex is here to captivate and enthrall us with her amazingly bizarre appearance.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *Two weeks later
– as you can see Little Roo has grown some patches of fur, so apparently it looks as if she'll only
be temporarily hairless.
Postscript: unfortunately I have to report a sad ending . . .
Roo failed to thrive and grow
as a kitten normally would and several weeks after these photos were taken she appeared to lose even more condition. She continued
to eat but was noticeably drinking more than average consumption of water. Then one morning Roo was found deceased –
just as if she had gone to sleep and never woke up. Hairlessness is known to be caused by a recessive mutation and is usually
fatal. Although it was hoped she would survive no one could have prevented the predestined fate of sweet little Roo.
I received the following from Sarah Giers a US breeder (with thanks and appreciation) for granting
permission to include more fascinating info.
"It is the fur less gene at work. It tends
to appear more commonly in rex coated breeds, which is where I got it. Rabbits that carry the gene often display a bald patch
on the forehead (or elsewhere, though normally on the forehead). That bald patch usually grows in as the rabbit gets older,
but it is a good indicator that the rabbit carries the fur less gene. If a baby gets two fur less genes, it will look like
the bald one in the picture (or sometimes it will be even more bald). There are actually a variety of bald rabbits that were
developed for use in warm countries as a meat rabbit.
The genetics are reasonably
well understood. A rabbit with no fur less gene (FF) will be totally normal. A rabbit with one fur less gene (Ff) will often
display some balding as a baby, but that will usually grow in. Not all will display any balding. A rabbit with two fur less
genes (ff) will be mostly or completely bald. In my experience the ff babies do seem to be rather weak and die, The Ff babies
can sometimes be a little weaker, and they tend to need a little extra care, but once they reach about 4 weeks, they are fine.
However, if a whole line of ff babies was developed, there must be stronger lines of fur less rabbits. I cannot imagine that
it would be of any use to create a whole variety of fur less meat rabbits if the babies were so fragile."
l thought you might like to see a pic of my rabbit called Clifford . . . he's neary six weeks old and has lived
with his mum and seven siblings since he was born. He seems to sandwich himself between the
others to keep warm. Eats like a little horse . . . he's very cute!! Jan.
Hi Jan, Thanks heaps for your amazing photos and info about Clifford! How is he now, fully furred or
still a bit different from the rest? Does he reside in Australia or in another country? All the best and
big hugs to your sooky baby and the others! Cheerio, Christine
Clifford is doing
well . . . she as it turns out is still 90% furless! Clifford lives in Melbourne and is now an inside rabbit – being
a little delicate in the heat. l nearly lost Clifford two weeks ago due to massive dehydration and a possible stomach bug.
We syringe fed her for a couple of days on a rehydration liquid and she now seems much better! Jan & Cliffordette J
And hairless (skinny?)
rabbits can be found way over in Sweden . . . Hi! I found
your website when I searched for "skinny rabbit". I have a large rabbit farm in
Sweden and I got a skinny called Teddytassens Biran. Very ugly, but so friendly!
Here's pictures of the girl while she was alive:
If you like you can put my link to my webpage
in your site. Best regards, Sofie Nilsson, Sweden
Copyright
© Christine Carter. All Rights Reserved.
Powered by Crazy Domains – Australia's # 1 for Domains & Hosting
