Detailed Explanation of Rex Rabbit Hutch Construction Standards and Forms
The Rex Rabbit, scientific name Rex Rabbit, originated in France. It is a typical fur-type rabbit, and because its fur closely resembles that of the precious fur-bearing animal the otter, it is called the Rex rabbit. The Rex rabbit has a well-proportioned body, a dewlap under the cheeks, long upright ears, fine and curled whiskers, and dense, thick, short and even fur with a glossy, eye-catching appearance; the coat feels cool to the touch. White Rex rabbit: the whole body coat is pure white, without any stains or stray-colored hairs, and it is one of the most popular and most valuable coat color types in the fur industry. Blue Rex rabbit: the whole body coat is pure blue, with a uniform color from the base to the tip of the hair, and it is one of the earliest developed Rex rabbit color types; among all kinds of Rex rabbits, it has the softest fur and is one of the more popular coat color types in the fur industry. Black Rex rabbit: the whole body coat is pure black, and each hair fiber is charcoal black from the base to the tip, with a rich luster, neither brown nor rusty in color, and it is one of the more popular coat color types in the fur industry.
For raising Rex rabbits, you can use your own idle housing for small-scale home rearing. If it is large-scale breeding, a scientific and reasonable breeding farm must be built.
1. Construction standards
A Rex rabbit breeding farm should be far away from noisy areas and polluted areas, and choose a place with high and dry terrain, shelter from the wind and facing the sun, a low groundwater table, and good drainage.
To prevent pathogens from entering and reduce the occurrence of disease, disinfection facilities should be provided at the entrance of the breeding farm. Before management personnel enter the rabbit farm, they must first pass through a disinfection room. The top of the disinfection room is equipped with ultraviolet lamps, and a recessed channel sprinkled with disinfectant is set on the ground. Management personnel put on clean work clothes and, after comprehensive disinfection, may enter the breeding farm. In addition, at the gate of the breeding farm, a relatively large disinfection recessed channel needs to be set up to disinfect vehicles entering and leaving.
For large-scale Rex rabbit breeding, multiple zones such as the doe breeding area, the young rabbit production area, and the commercial rabbit production area should be set up to facilitate centralized management.
2. Rabbit hutch forms
The construction of rabbit hutches should be suitable for the local climate type. Rabbit hutches should have conditions such as rain protection, wind protection, cold protection and warmth retention, and heat protection and cooling. At present, the forms of rabbit hutches mainly include: closed type and open type.
Closed-type rabbit hutch:
The closed-type rabbit hutch has good cold protection and warmth retention, but poor ventilation, so during construction, the distance between rabbit hutches should be kept at 6----8 m, and trees can be planted in between for summer shade and heat protection. Multiple rows of wire cages can be set up in the closed-type rabbit hutch to facilitate centralized management. Every 12 rabbit cages are set as one group, 3 layers and 4 rows, and the bottom of each layer of cages is laid with bamboo boards, which can effectively prevent Rex rabbits from suffering from mastitis and pododermatitis; the gaps in the bamboo boards are about 1 cm. The distance between the bottom of the lowest cage and the ground is about 20 cm to prevent dampness. The distance between the upper and lower cages is about 10 cm, with plastic boards placed in between to make it convenient to clean manure and urine. The size specifications of the rabbit cages are generally: length 50 cm, width 60 cm, front height 50 cm, rear height 35 cm, and the cages are equipped with feed troughs and water troughs. The stocking density in a closed-type rabbit hutch should not be too high. When the temperature is high, windows should be opened for ventilation, and when necessary, exhaust fans should be set up for cooling; in winter, when the temperature is low, only the south-facing windows are opened.
Open-type rabbit hutch:
The open-type rabbit hutch has low construction cost, is sturdy and durable, and has good ventilation, but poor warmth retention. The roof of the rabbit hutch can be covered with firewood and straw to increase the warmth retention function. Inside the rabbit hutch, double-row cement board rabbit cages are generally used, suitable for raising commercial rabbits. The size specifications of the rabbit cages are the same as those of wire cages.