How to harvest rex rabbit skin to ensure top quality

Because the quality of rex rabbit fur is greatly affected by the season (for example, in hot seasons the fur grows sparsely, the skin is easily damaged and hard to store), rabbits are generally slaughtered for skin in winter, that is, from December each year to February of the following year. At this time the skin is clean, the underfur is thick, the gloss is good, and high-quality skins are plentiful and easy to store.
How can high-quality rex rabbit fur be obtained? Besides careful daily feeding, corresponding technical measures must be carried out in the links of skin collection, fresh skin handling and storage.
Strengthen feed nutrition
Feed and nutrition are the links most prone to problems in production. Unifying nutritional standards, scientifically designing feed formulas and strictly controlling raw material quality are the “three keys” to ensuring feed quality and nutrition. Here everyone is reminded that on rabbit farms without formula design technology and the ability to control and purchase raw materials, it is best to use commercial feed with high credibility. This may be more economical than mixing feed oneself and give better results.
Rex rabbits must both grow meat and grow skin, which requires a higher nutritional level. It is recommended to use 11.3 MJ/kg digestible energy, 18%-20% crude protein, 2%-3% crude fat, 1% calcium, 0.5% phosphorus, 1% lysine and 0.9% cystine.
To obtain high-quality rex rabbit skin, generally about 1 month before slaughter, appropriately adding soybean, cystine or a small amount of sulfur to the diet can improve fur quality. According to German rabbit-raising experts, adding protein feeds such as soybean, alfalfa and sunflower cake to the diet 3 weeks before slaughter of fur rabbits has a good effect on improving pelt quality.
Master the skin collection time
The skin collection time for rex rabbits mainly includes the skin collection age in months and the skin collection season.
According to the rule that rex rabbits have normal physiological molting at different growth stages, the skin collection age of the rabbit is determined. Young rabbits begin their first molt from the 6th week after birth, and the molting period lasts 70 days. At about 4.5 months of age, the second molt begins. At this time the molting and shedding phenomenon is most serious, and the fur covering the whole body of the rabbit is sparse and uneven, especially on the rump and flanks. This molt lasts about 50 days. At about 6 months of age, the second molt ends and the fur enters the growth and maturation stage; the hair roots are firmly attached and not easy to shed. At the same time, the skin matures, its flexibility, toughness and elasticity are all excellent, and the pelt area increases. The pelt quality at about 6-8 months of age is clearly better than slaughtering for skin at 3 or 4 months of age. Improper skin collection will lead to low rabbit skin quality, hair shedding, poor grade, low processing utilization rate, failure to reach a higher grade and low economic value. In order to improve the grade and economic benefit of rabbit skin, attention must be paid to the skin collection age of rabbits. Skin collection at 6-8 months of age is relatively ideal, but in production the concentrated skin collection time is at 4.5 months of age.
Like other animals, the fur quality of rabbits is clearly affected by the season. First, rabbits have seasonal molting and shedding; second, hair follicle development is affected by temperature. In the hotter summer and autumn, the seasonal molt of rabbits enters its peak period, and some hair follicles are in a dormant state, so rabbit fur is not only sparse but also loosely rooted and very easy to shed; by winter and spring, as the temperature drops, most rabbits finish molting and enter the stage of vigorous hair growth and maturation, and the hair follicles develop well. At this time the fur is thick and dense, the guard hairs are neat, the gloss is good and hair does not shed. This is the best season for obtaining high-quality rabbit skin. The best skin collection season is from December to March of the following year.
Therefore, to improve the grade of rabbit skin, comprehensive consideration must be given to the most suitable skin collection age and season, with reasonable arrangement and operation. This is the key to obtaining premium-grade rabbit skin.
Basic skinning methods
Rex rabbit fur is precious. To reduce soiling and damage to the fur and protect it, the rabbit should first be killed, then skinned, and then bled.
The first step is killing. At present, the neck displacement method is generally used for killing. This method is simple and easy: hold the two hind legs with one hand, press the thumb of the other hand on the medulla oblongata area behind the base of the two ears, and press the remaining four fingers on the lower jaw. Then pull hard with both hands to twist the rabbit's head backward, causing cervical dislocation and death.
The second step is skinning. After killing the rex rabbit, skinning should be done immediately (the skinning technique is the same as for meat rabbits).
The third step is carcass handling. To prevent the carcass from becoming stiff after too long a delay after killing, which makes bleeding difficult, bleed immediately after killing and skinning, and after bleeding carry out evisceration at once. First cut open the abdominal cavity along the midline of the abdomen, then cut open the pubic symphysis, separate out the urogenital organs and rectum, and remove all internal organs; cut off the rabbit head at the anterior cervical vertebrae; cut off the hind feet at the hock joints; cut off the front feet at the wrist joints; cut off the tail at the first caudal vertebra. Finally, wash the blood stains and dirt off the carcass with clean water.
Scientific handling of fresh skin
The handling of fresh skin directly affects the quality of rabbit pelt. The fresh skin stripped from the slaughtered rabbit contains a large amount of water, protein, bacteria and various enzymes. If it is not properly handled in time, in mild cases it affects the quality of fur products, and in severe cases it can cause the pelt to deteriorate, shed hair, become moldy, become infested with insects, lose processing value and become waste.