Key Technical Points for Raising and Managing Colored Angora Rabbits
The colored Angora rabbit is a rare economic animal introduced into China from the United States. After more than ten years of development, it has now entered the stage of large-scale development. Its rabbit wool comes in many color types, including coffee, yellow, cream, black, chinchilla and silver gray. Adult rabbits weigh 3-4 kg, and one doe gives birth to 6-9 young per litter, about 30 young per year. Young rabbits can produce wool at 6 months of age, and each rabbit produces more than 0.6 kg of wool per year, with economic returns 2-3 times higher than ordinary Angora rabbits. The raising and management techniques are as follows: (1) Build rabbit housing. The rabbit housing should be built on a site with high, dry terrain, good drainage, a south-facing sunny aspect, and good ventilation in a quiet spot. The rabbit cage should preferably be semi-open, with a cage width of 70 cm, depth of 80 cm, and height of 50 cm. The cage and housing should preferably be made of bamboo, and the cage floor material should be smooth and soft. (2) Select breeds. The selection of breeding rabbits is crucial, and purebred stock must be introduced from a proper improved-breed farm. Breeding rabbits should be well developed, physically robust, with fine and dense wool, uniform color, and high wool yield, and should be large in size, with a thick neck, broad chest and back, a long loin, wide hindquarters, bright eyes, and large ear shells. In addition, selected breeding bucks must also have normally developed testicles and strong mating ability, mounting and mating immediately upon encountering a doe; selected breeding does should have wide hindquarters, a gentle temperament, many offspring, well-developed mammary glands, at least 8 teats that are evenly arranged, large and soft, and high milk yield. Breeding rabbits must by no means be too fat or too thin; moderate to slightly above moderate body condition is the standard. (3) Feeding by stages. 1. For does in the gestation period, sufficient complete formula feed must be supplied to ensure the nutrition needed for fetal development. In the daily ration formula, not only must nutrients such as protein, minerals and vitamins be supplied in sufficient amounts, but special attention must also be paid to the crude fiber content, which should not be less than 15% of the daily ration. Three days before giving birth, appropriately reduce the amount of formula feed and feed more green feed. After the kindling box is disinfected, place the doe in the cage, spread clean and soft bedding straw in the box, and reduce the light inside the cage. Does often give birth at night and in the early morning. From kindling to weaning of the young rabbits takes about 30-45 days. During this period, sufficient nutrition must be supplied to ensure milk secretion, while the doe should also be prevented from overeating, which can cause indigestion and diseases such as mastitis. 2. For young rabbits within 20 days of birth, life depends basically entirely on mother's milk, and their adaptive capacity is very weak, so they must be carefully cared for to ensure they get enough milk every day. Young rabbits lacking milk should promptly be fostered by a nurse doe or hand-fed. Before the young rabbits open their eyes, insulation and cleaning measures in the kindling box should be strengthened to prevent damage from rats and other animals. After the young rabbits open their eyes, they should be appropriately supplied with some easily digestible, nutritious feed and an appropriate amount of green feed, with the feeding amount gradually increased. 3. For young rabbits with strong digestive capacity and relatively fast growth, green and coarse feed should be the main supply, with concentrate as a supplement, maintaining moderate to slightly above moderate body condition as the standard, so as to avoid raising them too fat or too thin and affecting their use value. When young rabbits reach a certain body weight, the outstanding ones may be selected to be kept for breeding, while the rest are transferred to be raised for wool production.