# Standard Rex Charlie Doe bred to Standard Blk Otter Buck....help



## oradee1313 (Mar 20, 2011)

Hi Out There......

I have a new litter of what I thought would be 100% broken Rex kits. Out of 9, I have 4 charlies. The doe a black/charlie and the buck a black/otter. I have had nothing but castor's, seals, blacks and black otters out of him. How did I end up with charlie kits???? I have spent several days online looking up the color gene thing. Has any one had this happen before. Thanks for your time and input.  Deb


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## hoodat (Mar 21, 2011)

Rabbit genetics are a tangled web. So called pure breeds seldom, if ever, are. Other lines are bred in to get certain color conformations.


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## Bunnylady (Mar 21, 2011)

A genuine Charlie is a rabbit with two Broken (En) genes. Such rabbits also have slow-running digestive systems (reduced gut motility, to use a more technical term) because the gene that causes the Broken coat pattern is also involved in the development of the digestive tract. They often have odd-looking poop (the fecal pellets are irregular in size and shape), and are more prone to GI stasis episodes. 

The Broken pattern is highly variable in its expression. The En gene sets the pattern, but there are many other modifier genes that determine just how it is expressed in a particular rabbit. If you have the wrong modifiers, a Broken can have as little as white "boots" and maybe a small mark on the forehead. With the right modifiers, you can get something as precise as the English Spot. Most of the Broken Netherland Dwarfs I've seen are almost all white, with just a little color on the eyes, ears, and maybe a spot or two along the spine. Visually, they may resemble Charlies, but their pedigrees often show that they can only have one Broken gene.

I suspect that your Rex are like those Dwarfs. They may visually resemble Charlies because they have so little color on them, but in reality are simply very lightly colored heterozygous Brokens.


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## ByNatureFarms (Nov 14, 2011)

Is it a no no to breed two brokens together?


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## crazyturkeydesigns (Nov 14, 2011)

I'm a little confused...the sire is a solid and the dam is a charlie, right? That's what I'm going to base my response of off 
A little background: EN is the broken (spotting) gene, dominant over en, which is the solid gene. A broken is ENen (one broken gene, one solid), a true charlie is ENEN (double broken gene), and a solid is enen (you need two recessive genes to match up to express...most of the time anyway!). You can only get a true charlie from a broken to broken breeding. There is such a thing as a false charlie, though, and it's just a broken (ENen) with poor pattern modifiers. 
So...a broken x broken (ENen x ENen) will yield= ENEN (true charlie), ENen (broken), and enen (solids). 
Broken x solid (ENen x enen) will yield = ENen (brokens) and solids (enen).
A true charlie x Solid (ENEN x enen) will yield = 100% Enen (all brokens). The chances of getting non-showable booteds are high from charlie to solid breedings, but you do have a chance at a litter of all showable brokens. 
So!! LOL, I hope I didn't confuse you!! 
I do agree with Bunnylady...it sounds like you have a false charlie on your hands! Are any of the babies solids? Do any of the babies have a TON of pattern (like almost too much)? False charlies, like stated above, are just plain old brokens with bad pattern modifiers. 
In my experience (and opinion), broken to broken has been the best way for me. I do have a line of mini rexes that have good pattern modifiers, so that helps. Sometimes breeding solid to broken will lead to stray white hairs in your solids, which is generally a DQ. If I do breed solid to broken, it's only once and it's two exceptional animals. Haven't had a problem with the white hairs yet, but have heard stories about it. 
So in conclusion (LOL!!! sorry I'm longwinded ), broken to broken isn't a bad thing at all, just be ready to cull hard! 
Also...I've had a few charlies and I've never experienced any sort of digestive issue with them...I have one right now and she's got the roundest poops I've ever seen! Are issues with the DT common in charlies? I'd definitely be interested in learning more about it. I know she's a charlie because she's out of a broken to broken breeding with excellent pattern in background, so I'm 100% sure she's a charlie.


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