A Detailed Guide to Rex Rabbit Farming Techniques and Rabbit Hutch Construction Methods
The key points of Rex rabbit farming techniques are as follows:
1. Select superior breeds. The Rex rabbit is a dual-purpose breed raised for both fur and meat. You should choose French or American Rex rabbits with a large body size, fine, soft, glossy fur that feels smooth, and white or bluish-grey coloring as superior breeding stock.
2. Formulate feed scientifically. The Rex rabbit is a herbivore. Since raising them entirely on grass under artificial conditions cannot meet their nutritional needs, in daily feeding, besides regularly providing some fresh green feed, you should also supply complete pelleted feed in a certain proportion. The advantages of complete pelleted feed are: it does not freeze in winter, does not mold in summer, Rex rabbits love eating it, and it provides comprehensive nutrition. Its formula is: soybean cake or soybean meal 15%, corn 10%, wheat bran 19%, straw or weed powder, fish meal 3%, bone meal 1.5%, salt 0.5%, growth promoters and rabbit additives 1%.
3. Strictly control breeding. Currently, 70% of the Rex rabbits raised in China are imported from France or the United States. After breeding, because purification, rejuvenation and selection work have proceeded slowly, breed performance has degenerated and fur quality has declined, affecting economic returns. Therefore, the "five no-breeding" rules must be followed when mating.
(1) Do not breed male and female rabbits that have not reached breeding age.
(2) Do not breed those whose pedigree is unclear.
(3) Do not breed those that are sick.
(4) Do not breed those with unstable heredity.
(5) Do not breed those that do not meet the requirements of directional breeding.
4. Disease prevention and control. Disease is the great enemy in Rex rabbit farming, and the policy of “prevention first, combining prevention with control” must always be carried out. The following should be done:
(1) Frequently and promptly clean the rabbit cages and rabbit hutches, and maintain good environmental hygiene. In summer, disinfect once every 10 days; in winter, disinfect once a month. The disinfectants used are: Lysol, disinfectant solution, caustic soda, etc.
(2) In spring, summer and autumn, give each rabbit one medicated bath with a solution (trichlorfon 3%, amitraz 0.01%, fenvalerate 0.01%) to prevent skin diseases, foot and ear mange, etc.
(3) Vaccination. Young rabbits should be injected 3—4 times a year with rabbit plague vaccine and Pasteurella vaccine, to strengthen the Rex rabbit's own resistance and improve and accelerate its growth and development.
5. Skinning and processing of Rex rabbit fur. The time for slaughtering Rex rabbits should avoid the molting period and summer. It is best to control slaughtering and skinning in autumn, winter and spring. The slaughtering methods include:
(1) Stick method. Lift the hind legs of a Rex rabbit weighing more than 2.5 kg, then strike the medulla oblongata area at the base of both ears with a wooden stick to kill it.
(2) Electric stunning method. Use an electric stunner with a voltage of 70 volts and a current of 0.75 amperes to electrocute the Rex rabbit at the base of the ear until death.
(3) Air injection method. Inject 5—10 ml of air into the vein of the Rex rabbit's ear to cause fatal blood embolism. After the Rex rabbit is killed, first tie its hind legs with rope and hang it upside down on a post, cut off the forelimbs and tail, then use scissors to slit open from the hind leg joint, along a parallel line above the genital area on the inner side of the leg, peel the surrounding fur outward and turn it back, and use the stripping method: one person holds the belly and back with both hands, while another person pulls the entire Rex rabbit skin down in a tube shape; when reaching the base of the ears, cut the scalp apart and pull it off, thus forming a tube skin with fur facing inward and skin facing outward. After removing blood stains and other dirt from the fresh tube skin, it can be put on a stretching frame in its original orientation, head up and tail down. Remove the fat and meat scraps remaining on the skin board, straighten the belly and back, smooth the fur, and let it stretch naturally. Fix the lower end of the skin with clips or thin string so it does not shrink back or curl at the edges, then hang it in a ventilated, dry place to air-dry.
The above content is for reference only.