Altex Rabbits

Altex rabbits are a commercial rabbit breed intended to produce bucks for use as the sires of "terminal cross" meat rabbits. Altex terminal cross fryers gain weight faster and go to market sooner. In less-developed countries, they represent better nutrition for people through enhanced rabbit production.

Sponsored Links


The Altex breed takes advantage of both hybrid vigor and breed complementation, two factors that can significantly enhance meat rabbit production in the backyard and in a large-scale commercial facility, both in the United States and in less-developed countries where nutrition and daily survival might be constant worries.

How does hybrid vigor work?
Consider that every living creature receives TWO copies of every gene, one from the sire and one from the dam. By blending the genetics of diverse blood lines, such as different rabbit breeds, the likelihood of having differing genes at each locus is greatly enhanced.

Which is to say - the chance of having at least one dominant, healthy, and vigorous gene at every locus that can override a weaker or even damaged gene, is very great. The end result is bigger, stronger, and vigorous rabbits, animals that excel in every trait for which they are bred.

Breed complementation is similar, in that crossbred rabbits from breeds carefully selected to provide the best of all worlds, will perform much better than purebred rabbits from either breed.

Why Altex Rabbits?

• Rapid and efficient weight gain
• High dressing percentage
• High meat-to-bone ratio

The result? Fryers that can be marketed nearly a week sooner.

Altex Rabbit picture published on the Texas A&M Univ. at Kingsville Rabbit Research Program website. Click on image to go there.

For years, most commercial rabbit production in the United States has utilized either the New Zealand White (NZW) or the Californian (CAL) rabbit breeds. In many instances, in order to capture hybrid vigor and improve market weights and conversion ratios, the manager uses a sire of one breed and a dam of the other, so that the end product, the fryers, are actually crosses between NZWs and CALs. In some cases, however, breeders are using NZW x CAL crosses as breeders, since the hybrid cross had performed so well in their herd. But, the more generations you use hybrids for breeding, the less 'hybrid' they become, eventually diminishing the advantage.

But what if the rabbit farmer could use a sire of a third breed that was specifically bred for producing heavier market fryers, sooner?

In a market niche such as meat rabbits that is so marginally profitable, being able to bring fryers to market even a few days earlier may represent a large improvement in profitability. And if the farmer never used any Altex crosses for subsequent breeding, the advantages that the Altex "terminal cross" provides will be retained indefinitely.

Even better, in third-world countries where native forages are the only source of feed, any rabbit breed that will easily gain weight despite the feed shortcomings may make the difference between health and starvation.

With these ideas in mind, Dr. Steven Lukefahr began creating this third, 'terminal cross' breed in 1986, eventually calling it the Altex rabbit, a blending of AL-abama and TEX-as, after the two states where he developed them.

He used the combination of Flemish Giants (FG) with Californians (CAL) and Champagne d’Argents (CHA) in the ratio of one-half Flemish Giant, one-fourth Californian and one-fourth Champagne d'Argent. Dr. Lukefahr describes the process used to develop the breed in this Altex Rabbit article.

The F2 population (second generation) numbered 1,616 rabbits out of 336 litters. From these animals, continued breeding along stringent selection guidelines ensued. After 5 generations, they had achieved remarkable progress toward fixing into the genetic make-up the desired commercial traits:

• 70 day market weights - on average about 4.9 pounds per rabbit as compared to an average of 4.5 pounds for NZW or CAL x NZW crossbred kits.
  
  
• Confirmed genetic improvements in weaning weight, daily weight gain and meat-to-bone ratio

Commercial rabbit rabbit producers in 12 states used Altex sires between 1988 through 1994, frequently reporting that crossbred fryers reached market weight about a week before their purebred NZW fryers.

Refinements and ongoing genetic selection for performance continues today.

Altex offspring have been produced in a variety of colors as the breed was developed. By now, however, expect to find most if not all Altex rabbits with white pelts and dark points (feet, tail, ears, nose) like the Californian.

Both does and bucks of the Altex rabbit breed typically weigh more than 13 pounds at 6 months of age. The first mating can take place at or around 6 months.

How to Use Terminal Crossing
with an Altex Sire

Why?

If the terminal cross offspring are saved for breeding stock, you will lose the genetic advantage provided by the terminal sire. You will reduce the efficiency and potentially the profitability of your herd, because the marketability of the offspring will revert to as before with each successive generation. In this case, you might as well simply stick with NZW.

The Altex sire will likely be capable of siring offspring for years; when your Altex sire becomes aged, simply purchase a new Altex herd sire. Also note however: in hot climates, younger bucks experience somewhat less sensitivity to temporary heat sterility, and may be better able to sire litters through the hot summer months.

For ideal results, cross the Altex SIRE with a New Zealand White or Californian DAM.

It’s a marriage made in heaven!

• The Altex buck confers size and growth rate (marketability)
• The NZW or CAL doe consumes less feed than would an Altex dam, produces more milk, and can wean more offspring.
• CALs and NZW have been used for decades in commercial rabbit production. The dams are known for raising large litters and for ample lactation.
• ALL the offspring should go to market
• Market day should arrive on average up to one week sooner than is typical for a purebred, or a CALxNZW herd

Where to Get Altex Breeding Stock
Breeding stock of Altex rabbits are available from:

• Texas A&M University at Kingsville
• Southern University and A&M College, Baton Rouge, LA.
• We are not aware of any other sources at this time...

Are you interested in purchasing Altex rabbits? You can contact either Dr. Lukefahr or Dr. J.I. McNitt for additional information, pricing and even breeding and management information. (Find contact information on Dr. Lukefahr's Bio page.) You’ll get a complete pedigree, as well as performance trait information for the animals on the pedigree. Pricing is reasonable.

Short version of Dr. Steven Lukefahr’s Bio:

He has worked in over 30 less-developed countries in Africa, Asia, Eastern Europe, and Latin America and the Caribbean, assisting in various global and national programs.

• He developed rabbit husbandry programs aimed at raising rabbits to alleviate poverty and hunger.
• He helped train local farmers in small-scale rabbit production.

In addition to directing the Rabbit Research Program at TAMUK, he also manages outreach programs that educate ranchers and farmers in small-scale and sustainable rabbit production systems.

Please see Dr. Lukefahr’s full public Bio at http://users.tamuk.edu/kfsdl00/index.html.

Go from Altex Rabbits to Rabbit Breeds
Go to Rabbit Breed Descriptions
Go to Raising-Rabbits Home Page

New! Comments