Rabbit breeding selection tips: how to choose a rabbit breed
1 Meat-type rabbits
The breeds most commonly raised in China are: New Zealand rabbit, Californian rabbit, Belgian rabbit, and Chinese White rabbit. The basic requirements of meat rabbit production for a breed are fast early growth (body weight should reach more than 2.5 kg by 70-80 days of age), high feed conversion efficiency, good meat production performance, and adult body weight of around 4 kg.
The New Zealand rabbit is currently the most widely raised meat rabbit in the world. It originated in the United States and has three populations: the New Zealand White rabbit, New Zealand Red rabbit, and New Zealand Black rabbit. The New Zealand White is the most numerous. Its main external features are: white coat, relatively short and thick head, full muscles on the hindquarters and loin and rib areas, and a good meat-type body conformation, with adult body weight reaching 4-5 kg. The breed's greatest characteristics are fast early growth, strong reproductive capacity, and easy management. It is suitable for raising in most areas of China and is an ideal meat-type breed for China.
The external features of the Californian rabbit are: white coat, with the two ears, nose tip, four paws, and tail black, also called "eight-point black." It has good reproductive performance and strong maternal instincts.
The Belgian rabbit is a large meat-type rabbit. Its shape and coat color resemble a wild hare. Bright black hair edging on the ear tips and black on the inner side of the tail are its distinctive features. Adult rabbit body weight is 5-6 kg, and large rabbits can reach 9 kg. It has the highest meat production rate and good economic returns.
The Chinese White rabbit, also called the vegetable rabbit, is small in size, with adult body weight of 2.0-2.5 kg. Its main features are: delicate and compact, with small upright ears and a pointed muzzle. Its main advantages are strong reproductive performance, tolerance of roughage, and strong disease resistance.
2 Wool-type rabbits
The German Angora rabbit is a high-yielding fine-wool long-haired rabbit. Its greatest characteristics are: high coat density, with a wool cluster structure but not easily matted, and high wool yield. The annual wool yield is 800 g for males and 1,100 g for females, with a maximum of 1,700 g. The wool quality is good, with a high proportion of fine wool, and the down fibers are fine. It is the most ideal wool-type rabbit breed for farmers. However, this rabbit has high requirements for conditions, and in production it should be adapted to local and seasonal conditions.
The French Angora rabbit is a coarse-wool long-haired rabbit, with a high coarse wool content, but its wool yield is lower than that of the German Angora rabbit. It has a long face and high nose, and the forehead hair, cheek hair, and foot hair are all short. It has a large body size, and large, thin ears with no long hair on the back of the ears. It has strong reproductive capacity, high lactation performance, and relatively strong constitution and adaptability, but low economic returns.
The Chinese Angora rabbit's main feature is that the entire back of the ear has dense, slender down growing from the ear tip, flowing out beyond the ear, with a head like a lion's head and claws like tiger claws. Adult rabbit body weight is 2.5-3.0 kg. It has a high reproductive rate, good maternal instincts, tolerance of roughage, and strong disease resistance. The wool yield of the new Chinese Angora rabbit is not inferior to that of the German and French rabbits, and it can also be selected in production.
3 Fur-type rabbits
The Rex rabbit, also called the velvet rabbit or otter fur rabbit, is characterized by: medium body size, well-proportioned structure, broad head, and medium-sized ears. The whole body is covered with dense, bright, silk-like short down. Originally the back was reddish brown, the coat color on the sides gradually became lighter, and the abdomen was light yellow. At present, the Rex rabbit has more than 20 coat colors, among which white, blue, and brown are the most valuable. The main problems with China's Rex rabbits are small body size and impure coat color. Because coat color inheritance is relatively complex, in production it is best to choose solid-colored rabbits. The coat colors of rabbits on small and medium-sized farms should not exceed 3, and for small-scale household raising, 1 coat color is appropriate, preferably white. The disadvantages of the Rex rabbit are high requirements for feed conditions, poor disease resistance, and susceptibility to Pasteurella infection and coccidiosis.
4 Dual-purpose rabbits
The Chinchilla rabbit has a good constitution, strong adaptability, a gentle temperament, relatively fast growth, good reproductive capacity and lactation, and good coat color and coat quality. At present, China's market demand for it is large.
The Japanese White rabbit has a relatively large body size, good constitution, strong adaptability, early maturity, fast growth, strong reproductive capacity, and tolerance of roughage.
The Checkered Giant rabbit has a good constitution and strong reproductive capacity, but poor maternal instincts. Adult rabbit body weight reaches 4.5-5.0 kg. It can adapt to China's raising conditions, and is raised more in the north.