Rex rabbit pelt harvesting time and method, how much does a fur coat generally cost?

Rex rabbit

Answer: The quality of the rabbit pelt directly affects economic returns. To obtain high-quality rex rabbit pelts, in addition to having superior breeding rabbits and scientific feeding, you must also understand the rex rabbit's molting patterns and accurately calculate the pelt harvesting time. The rex rabbit's molting is divided into two types: age-related molting and seasonal molting.

Age-related molting: From 30-150 days of age after the young rabbit is born, this is the first age-related molting period. After the first age-related molting ends, harvesting the pelt is most economical. The second age-related molting mostly occurs between 170-240 days of age. If the first age-related molting happens to fall in spring or autumn, the second age-related molting often begins immediately.

Seasonal molting: This refers to adult rabbits molting in spring and autumn. Spring molting generally occurs from early March to the end of April, and autumn molting generally occurs from early September to the end of November.

The pelt harvesting time for rex rabbits must be grasped in terms of both the right age and the right season.

1. Right age: This means slaughtering and harvesting the pelt after the young rabbit's first age-related molting ends and before the second age-related molting begins, that is, at 5-6 months of age, when body weight reaches 2.5-3 kg. At this time, the pelt area meets requirements. From the perspective of fur maturity, slaughtering and harvesting the pelt after the second age-related molting ends is even better, but this requires raising them for more than two extra months, which increases feeding and management costs.

2. Right season: Pelt harvesting refers to the harvesting time for adult rabbits, old rabbits, and culled rabbits, and should be chosen during late winter and early spring, that is, from the end of November to before March of the following year. This is because pelts harvested during this period have thick underfur, do not shed fur, and have good pelt quality.

For small-scale rex rabbit raising in rural areas, manual skinning is mostly used. The method is: first use a rope to hang the slaughtered rex rabbit by the hind legs and secure it to a post, use a sharp knife to make circular cuts around the neck, at the hind leg joints, and at the front leg bent joints, then cut the skin open from the upper edge of the genital area along the inner sides of both legs, peel the skin open and turn it upward from above the genital area, strip it toward the neck, and remove the skin using the method of pulling it off like a sleeve, making it into a cylinder shape with the leather side facing outward. Use scissors to cut the removed skin open in a straight line from the middle of the belly, spread it flat on a wooden board with the fur side facing inward and the flesh side facing outward, and secure it with small nails. Do not stretch it too tight or too loose, and do not expose it to the scorching sun, to prevent the leather side from producing oil and deteriorating.

For rex rabbit fur coats, the price in physical stores generally does not exceed 3,000, while e-commerce platforms, because they do not need shop rent, are somewhat cheaper than physical stores, with prices around 2,000 yuan. Some rex rabbit fur coats that are not made of whole pieces generally cost around 500 yuan, but depending on the clothing brand and workmanship, prices will also vary. If the price gap is too large, it may be a fake, so pay more attention when purchasing.