Which rabbit breeds are the most popular for raising? 7 excellent breeds recommended
Friends who previously did not understand the specialty breeding industry always thought that rabbits could only be pets, but that is not the case. Depending on the breed, rabbits have different uses, such as fur use, wool use, meat use, etc. Below are several excellent rabbit breeds for different uses.
1. Rex Rabbit
Originating in the Cologne region of France, it is the world's most famous short-haired fur-type rabbit. Because its fur is short and smooth, and the guard hairs (coarse hairs) do not protrude above the plush surface, it looks especially beautiful, so it is called "Rexrabbit" abroad, meaning king of rabbits, and is transliterated in Chinese as "Likesi Rabbit." Because the Rex Rabbit's fur resembles otter fur, it is usually called "otter rabbit" in China. Its coat comes in more than ten colors, including white, black, blue, yellow, gray, coffee, lavender blue, and California color. It has a medium build and well-developed hindquarters. The head is small, the muzzle pointed, the eyes large and round, the tail medium in length and upright, and the whiskers fine and curved. Adults weigh 2.5-3.5 kg and give birth to 5-7 young per litter. The outstanding feature of this rabbit is that its whole body is covered with dense, fine, soft, silk-smooth short fur, much like plucked otter plush. It has relatively few guard hairs, with an even tip, not protruding above the plush surface; hair length is 1.3-2.2 cm, but 1.6 cm is considered ideal. Rabbit fur has strong warmth retention and does not shed easily.
2. Lop Rabbit
There is no exact record of its origin. It is said to have first appeared in North Africa, and later spread to Germany, France, Britain, Belgium, the Netherlands, etc., with French, German, and British lines. Most rabbits raised in China are French lop rabbits. Because the head shape resembles a ram, they are commonly called "ram rabbits" in China. This rabbit is a large meat-purpose and ornamental breed. Its greatest feature is that both ears are especially long and large, forming a "V" shape and hanging down to the chest. It has a bulky body, short neck, broad back and waist, round hindquarters, and thick bones. Its coat colors include white, black, brown, and yellow. The French lop rabbits introduced into China have brown coat color, weigh 6-8 kg, with some reaching more than 10 kg. This rabbit gives birth to 5-7 young per litter, is docile and slow in temperament, and has stable heredity, but its adaptability, disease resistance, and reproductive performance are relatively poor, maternal instinct is not strong, and nursing rate is low.
3. Japanese White Rabbit
Commonly known as the "Japanese large-eared rabbit" or "Japanese large-eared white rabbit." This rabbit is a standard-fur, medium-sized, dual-purpose fur and meat breed. Its coat is pure white, eyes red, both ears long, large, and upright, with thin ear roots and pointed ear tips shaped like willow leaves, and does have a dewlap under the jaw. Adults weigh 4-5 kg and have the characteristics of early maturity, fast growth, good reproductive performance, and excellent fur quality. Because its ears are long and large and its fur is white, the blood vessels are clearly visible, making it a relatively ideal laboratory rabbit.
4. Chinchilla Rabbit
Originating in France, it gets its name because its coat color resembles that of the valuable fur animal the chinchilla (also called the crested rat or chinchilla), and it is a world-famous dual-purpose fur and meat breed. The breed was initially developed in a smaller size as the standard Chinchilla rabbit, and later American and giant Chinchilla rabbits were successively developed. Their common coat characteristic is gray-blue fur, with black ear tips and upper tail surface, and gray-white around the eyes, on the underside of the tail, under the belly, and in the triangular area of the nape. The differences among the three types of Chinchilla rabbits are: the standard type has a darker color, appearing gray-blue; the American type and giant type have lighter coat color. The standard type has no dewlap under the jaw; the American type and giant type both have relatively well-developed dewlaps. For adult standard-type rabbits, males weigh 2.5-3.5 kg and females 2.7-3.6 kg; American-type males weigh 4.1-5.0 kg and females 4.5-5.4 kg; giant males weigh 5.4-6.8 kg and females 6.5-7.3 kg. Because of good fur quality, strong adaptability, and good reproductive performance, it is very popular and widely raised. However, its growth rate is relatively slow.
5. New Zealand White Rabbit
The New Zealand White Rabbit was developed in Britain by purebreeding selected albino individuals from the New Zealand Red Rabbit that produced a lot of meat and had good meat quality, and later introducing crossbreeding with the Flemish Giant rabbit. It is now a widely raised meat rabbit and laboratory rabbit. This rabbit has pure white fur, pink eyes, a small head, upright ears, a medium build, cylindrical body shape, broad and deep chest, full back, waist, and ribs, round hindquarters, sturdy limbs, and does have a dewlap under the jaw. Adults weigh 4-5 kg and give birth to 7-8 young per litter. This rabbit is characterized by rapid early growth, reaching 2.5-2.7 kg by 3 months of age. Its advantages are high meat yield, tender and fat meat, strong disease resistance, high reproductive rate, and good fur quality.
6. Belgian Rabbit
Originating in Belgium and later introduced to Britain, after selection and breeding it became a large meat-purpose breed. Its coat belongs to the standard fur type and is brown-yellow. Because the coat color closely resembles that of the wild hare, it is also called the Belgian hare. This rabbit has black eyes and broad, large, upright ears. The ear tips have bright black fur edges. It has a large build and relatively long limbs. Adult rabbits weigh 5.5-6.5 kg, average 8 young per litter, and reach 2.5-2.8 kg by 3 months of age. Its advantages are fast growth, tolerance of coarse feed, strong constitution, strong adaptability, fine bones, full muscles, well-developed hindquarter muscles, and tender meat, making it an ideal large meat-purpose breed. However, compared with medium meat-purpose breeds, it consumes more feed, and when raised on metal wire flooring it has a relatively high rate of foot disease, so large commercial rabbit farms should only raise it as a sire breed to cross with small and medium-sized female rabbits to produce commercial meat rabbits.
7. California Rabbit
Originating in the U.S. state of California, it belongs to the standard-fur, medium-sized breeds and is one of the world's famous meat rabbits. Its coat is mainly white, with red eyes, and only the two ears, nose tip, lower limbs, and tail are black or brown. However, the young rabbits have white coats, and only after the first molt does the characteristic of black on eight points appear, so it is called the "eight-point black" rabbit. This rabbit has small, upright ears, a medium build, and full hindquarters. Adult males weigh 3.6-4.5 kg, females 3.9-4.8 kg, and each litter has 7-8 young; by 3 months of age they can reach 2.3-2.5 kg. Its advantages are rapid early weight gain, full muscles, strong adaptability, and good disease resistance. Female rabbits are docile, have good maternal instinct, high milk yield, and a high nursing rate, so they are praised as "nanny rabbits." Their heredity is stable, and they are often crossed with New Zealand White Rabbits to produce commercial meat rabbits.
In summary, for these breeds, large-scale raisers who have raised rabbits can evaluate them, or talk about the best rabbit breeds you have raised. In fact, raising rabbits is still quite popular now, but it also depends on the local market.
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