A TAMUK-C resource

Where it all began...

The TAMUK-C Story

The origins of the TAMUK Composite, drawn from the university's own records

Compiled and maintained by Southern Paws & Claws Homestead · Last updated September 2026

TAMUK-C rabbits take their name from Texas A&M University–Kingsville (TAMUK) in South Texas, where the university's program page described the Composite as a new breed. ⁽¹⁾But it didn't start there. For many years, Dr. Lukefahr raised the Composites only in his own backyard, for his family's meat. ⁽⁴⁾

1. Dr. Steven D. Lukefahr

Dr. Lukefahr studied at Texas A&I, then earned his master's and doctorate at Oregon State. His international work began with Heifer International, building meat rabbit projects in Cameroon, and later took him to Alabama A&M, where he founded the International Small Livestock Research Center. ⁽²⁾

He joined TAMUK in 1994 and was named a Texas A&M System Regents Professor. ⁽²⁾ By 2005, he had worked in more than 20 developing countries, helping establish meat rabbit projects to fight hunger and poverty. ⁽²⁾

His favorite project was in Cameroon, where he lived and worked for two years. It later grew to over 1,000 families raising rabbits. ⁽³⁾

2. How the Composite Began

By his own account, Dr. Lukefahr began crossing breeds to feed his own family, about 30 years before his program page was last updated in 2015. ⁽¹⁾When asked later, he placed the start in the late 1980s, while he was living in Alabama. The first cross he remembers was a New Zealand Red with a Siamese Satin. ⁽³⁾

Unconfirmed

Many breeders cite 1989 as the start year. Dr. Lukefahr confirmed the late 1980s, ⁽³⁾ but no document gives the exact year.

His goals were steady production through hybrid vigor, and breeds carrying the major coat color genes. The breeds were added in this order: New Zealand Red, Siamese Satin, Californian, New Zealand White, Dutch, Champagne d'Argent, Harlequin, and Havana. ⁽¹⁾ New Zealand Red and New Zealand White are the same breed, the New Zealand, so the Composite is a seven-breed cross. He chose these breeds for their emphasis on commercial meat production, and selected the Composite for consistent performance in a hot environment. ⁽³⁾ The population was later crossed with the university's Tamuk New Zealand White line to add fertility, litter size, milk production and growth. ⁽¹⁾

The university credited the Composite's long ears and thin coats as adaptations to heat, and described it as suited to small-scale backyard production rather than commercial use. ⁽¹⁾ Because the university's stated goal was no further selection in the Composite, ear length varies from rabbit to rabbit. ⁽¹⁾

In 2013, several Composites were brought to TAMUK and sold to the public that same year, with pedigrees going to all buyers. Dr. Lukefahr considers the breed roughly finalized by 2015. ⁽³⁾

By September 2016, the university's program page listed a new director, TAMUK farm manager Remigio de la Torre, and stated that Dr. Lukefahr was no longer affiliated with the rabbit program. ⁽¹⁾

3. The University's Three Lines

Tamuk NZW

Mid-1980s. Maternal line for hot, humid conditions. ⁽¹⁾

Composite

Backyard meat rabbit with wide color variety. ⁽¹⁾

Altex

Commercial sire breed selected for 70-day weight. ⁽¹⁾

4. Built for South Texas Heat

The rabbit barn went up in 1994 for about $15,000. It's long and narrow, faces southeast to catch the wind, and was designed to stay 10°F cooler than outside. ⁽¹⁾ Students in the Livestock Management Techniques course each raised a doe there, recording litter, growth and feed data over the semester. ⁽¹⁾

5. What Makes Them Valuable

Asked what makes TAMUK rabbits valuable as production rabbits, Dr. Lukefahr pointed to one thing: the ability to produce good litters year-round, even in hot, humid climates. ⁽³⁾

Sources

(1) TAMUK Rabbit Breeding and Teaching Program page
Dr. Steven D. Lukefahr, Texas A&M University–Kingsville, last updated 2016

— (original page no longer online) · Archived copy

(2) Texas House Resolution H.R. 975

Texas House of Representatives, 79th Legislature, 2005

— Original · Archived copy

(3) Correspondence with Dr. Steven D. Lukefahr, 2022–2024

Compiled and published by Daniel Moore

— Original · Archived copy

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