Popular breeds of rabbits for home breeding
What breeds of rabbits are best for home breeding? This is the first question that comes to mind for a novice rabbit breeder. The success of the economy does not depend on the breed, but on how competently the person approaches the business. It is important to understand for what purpose you will breed rabbits: to sell meat and skins, or for yourself.
Popular rabbit breeds
20 breeds are popular in the world.
Classification
There are several types of rabbits:
- meat;
- fur-bearing;
- meat and skin;
- dwarf.
Rabbits of meat breeds quickly gain weight and when they reach six months of age, they can be used for meat. Fur breeds have a thick, soft coat. Mixed species are the most popular among breeders, because their breeding allows you to get both meat products and sell skins profitably.
Decorative animals are bred for pleasure as pets. Dwarf animals with long fur are bred in an apartment to obtain threads for knitting.
When breeding fuzzies, you need to take into account the climatic conditions of the region and select representatives that do not need special care. What breed of rabbits is best suited for breeding in the Russian climate?
We propose to consider the most popular breeds in order to have an idea of their content.
Flanders
The first representative on our list is Flandre. It does not take root well in the territories of the post-Soviet space. To maintain it, it is necessary to build special heated cages, which is very costly. At the same time, Flandra is used for breeding many breeds of meat orientation.
Flandre is a real giant compared to its relatives. Its body reaches 70 cm in length, and its body weight reaches 10 kg. All over the world, this breed is appreciated for its tender tasty meat and thick fur, which resembles kangaroo fur in structure.
Despite their high production rates, eared hulks require special care. Rabbit houses should be large. Representatives of the species consume a lot of food. Rabbits reach puberty very late, so their birth is often accompanied by complications. However, if the farm has a warm enough outbuilding that can be adapted to their maintenance, then there should be no problems with breeding the breed.
New Zealand White Rabbit and Lop-eared Sheep
The average body weight of New Zealand representatives reaches 5 kg. The body is muscular, lean. They are distinguished by their pure white color. The head is small in size with erect short ears. The feet, even on the soles, are covered with thick fur.
New Zealand White Rabbit
Representatives of the breed gain weight very quickly. By the age of 3 months, rabbits gain 3 kg. Rabbits give a large offspring of up to 12 young rabbits.The rabbits have a calm disposition.
Lop-eared ram is a very popular species in Western Europe. Like flanders, body length can reach 70 cm. Body weight 7-8 kg. The wool is velvet-like to the touch. The body is lean with a well-developed muscular system. Hanging ears are a feature of this species. This structure of the ears makes the hearing of rabbits much worse. The nature of the animals is calm and affectionate, due to which they are often bred as pets in an apartment environment.
Lop-eared ram
White downy rabbit
In our territory, you can find several varieties of this species. The color can be not only white, but also blue and black. The average body weight of the animals is 4-5 kg. The length of the body is 51 centimeters.
White downy rabbit
Fecundity of females is average. In one pregnancy, rabbits can bear about 7 rabbits. Almost all representatives of fur breeds are distinguished by good adaptation to any climatic conditions. The fur of the breed is light and elastic.
Angora fur rabbit
The Angora rabbit resembles a fluffy ball. Individuals of this species are often taken to children because of their benevolent, playful disposition. Their weight is only 3 kg.
Angora fluffy rabbit
Individuals of this species do not differ in early maturity. They gain weight very slowly. The rabbit brings up to 6 rabbits in one round. Their coat requires special care. Rabbits need to be sheared often, warm dry cages are needed for keeping.
Black-brown rabbit
Individuals of meat and skin breeds are especially popular among breeders due to their unpretentious care and good adaptability. The meat of this breed of rabbits is distinguished by its special taste. Fur in color is similar to that of a silver fox.
Black-brown rabbit
Rabbits gain weight quickly. Their average body weight is 5 kg. During one pregnancy, the female carries about 8 babies.
Butterfly
The unique color made this species popular among connoisseurs of fur. Contrasting spots, reminiscent of butterfly wings, stand out against a plain background. According to the color scale of the spots, the following varieties are distinguished:
- blue;
- the black;
- grey;
- yellow.
Rabbit Butterfly
The species perfectly adapts to the climatic conditions of our territories. In addition to excellent wool, individuals have excellent meat, which is highly valued among gourmets. Females of this species are very fertile.
Soviet chinchilla rabbit
From the name itself, it is clear that the color of the fur is similar to that of chinchillas. The skins of animals are widely used for the manufacture of fur coats and short fur coats, not only as an imitation of chinchilla fur, but also in its pure form.
Soviet chinchilla
The breed is also valued for its high rate of weight gain. By the age of 3 months, their weight is 3 kg. A rabbit can produce 8-10 babies in one round.
Return on feed
When deciding which breed is best for breeding, it is recommended to pay attention to rabbits with an average weight. As for saving on feed, it all depends on the compound feed itself. For example, in Europe, experienced rabbit breeders and large farms have long switched to pelleted feed. They are balanced and can provide rabbits with all the minerals and vitamins they need for optimal growth and development.
Apart from buying pellets, there is no need to make any extra costs. The only thing a rabbit's body still needs is a sufficient amount of water. With such a diet, as it turned out, the most profitable breeding of rabbits with average body weight. Their fertility is quite high, and the young grow up very quickly.
Among domestic rabbit breeders, medium-sized rabbits of such breeds are quite popular:
- Butterfly;
- Vienna blue;
- California;
- New Zealand red and white.
In addition to active weight gain, individuals of these species are distinguished by early maturity and high sexual activity. The downtime of such individuals is much shorter than that of large meat varieties. Females and males Giants reach sexual maturity 1.5 months later than medium-sized representatives. The fur of medium-sized individuals also differs in quality indicators for the better.
Differences and benefits of albinos
When deciding which breed will be more economical to breed, you should turn your attention to albino rabbits. There are several varieties of white rabbits. Among them are Butterfly, White Giant, Pannon, New Zealand. Albinos have a calm, balanced character.
Rabbit Albino
Rabbits are not at all aggressive, therefore they do not expend their energy on conflicts within the species. Accordingly, much less feed is needed to maintain vital energy. Fat build-up is noticeably fast. All large livestock farms prefer albinos for breeding for sale.
Benefits of keeping rabbits
Any novice farmer wonders whether it is profitable to raise rabbits at all and what breed is better to start. If we analyze the world statistics and trends in the development of rabbit breeding, it will become clear that large breeds have lost their primacy. Even the countries in which they were previously considered a property, began to refuse to breed them, because it is not profitable.
Recently, New Zealand and California rabbits have become the most popular. Also, these trends are closely associated with the invention of new breeding technologies and the release of improved universal feed. Medium-sized rabbits weighing up to 5 kg are characterized by rapid weight gain. By the age of 3 months, they can be slaughtered. Individuals by this time already have a weight of 3 kg.
Today, accelerated rabbits are increasingly found in city apartments. They are kept as pets. The nature of rabbits is very calm, they get along well with children.
Rabbit breeding trends in the Russian Federation
Despite the fact that, for the most part, medium-sized individuals are very highly valued and widespread throughout the world, accelerators remain in demand on the territory of Russia. For our breeders, the purchase of pelleted feed is simply not affordable. It is much cheaper to feed animals with grass, which is very easy to get in the summer and prepare for the winter. Also, branches, grain waste are used to feed rabbits, of which there are always enough in a private farm.
One of the leading rabbit breeders, Mikhailov, proposed a new approach for optimal productive breeding. His system is based on the study of the basic needs of rabbits and aims to produce large-sized meat individuals. He proposed to keep the Giants by open method on a special semi-automated farm. Over time, his methods have been refined.
findings
There is no definite answer to the question of which breed of rabbits is better to choose for breeding. It is necessary to rely on target aspects and financial capabilities. Medium-sized albinos are economical in this regard: they have good performance and adaptability to any climatic conditions.
In European countries, pelleted feed is used for feeding. In our territory, it will be problematic to get high-quality feed of such a plan, firstly, and secondly, it will be expensive. A sufficient amount of succulent grass grows in our territories, which in combination with grain mash will be enough. For the winter, hay is prepared for rabbits. Unfortunately, our asset, accelerated rabbits, are not at all profitable in breeding: they require keeping in large cages, which will be problematic to heat in winter.