Which rabbit breeds are good to raise? A brief introduction to several excellent rabbit breeds

1 Rex rabbit

Originating from the Cologne region of France, it is the world's most famous short-haired fur-type rabbit. Because its fur is short and smooth, with guard hairs (coarse hairs) not protruding above the downy surface, making it look especially beautiful, it is called "Rexrabbit" abroad, meaning king of rabbits, and is translated into Chinese as "Rex rabbit". Because its fur resembles otter fur, it is commonly called "otter rabbit" in China. Its coat comes in more than ten colors, including white, black, blue, yellow, gray, coffee, chinchilla blue, and Californian. It has a medium build and well-developed hindquarters. The head is small with a pointed muzzle, the eyes are large and round, the tail is medium-long and upright, and the whiskers are fine and curved. Adults weigh 2.5-3.5 kg, and each litter has 5-7 young. The breed's outstanding feature is that its whole body is covered with dense, fine, soft, silk-smooth short fur, much like otter down that has had its guard hairs plucked out; it contains relatively few guard hairs, the tips are neat, and they do not protrude above the downy surface. The fur is 1.3-2.2 cm long, but 1.6 cm is considered most ideal. Rabbit fur has strong heat retention and does not shed easily.

2 Lop rabbit

There is no exact record of its origin. It is said to have first appeared in North Africa and later spread to Germany, France, England, Belgium, the Netherlands, and elsewhere, with French, German, and English lines, among others. Most rabbits raised in China are French lop rabbits. Because their head shape resembles a ram, they are commonly called "ram rabbits" in China. This rabbit is a large meat-and-ornamental breed. Its greatest feature is its exceptionally long, large ears, which form a "V" shape and droop down to the chest. It has a bulky build, a short neck, a broad back and loin, and round hindquarters with thick bones. The coat comes in colors such as white, black, brown, and yellow. The French lop rabbits introduced into China have a brownish coat and weigh 6-8 kg, with some reaching more than 10 kg. Each litter has 5-7 young. The breed is docile and sluggish, with stable heredity, but it has relatively poor adaptability, disease resistance, and reproductive performance, weak maternal instinct, and a low nursing rate.

3 Japanese White rabbit

Commonly known as the "Japanese large-eared rabbit" or "Japanese large-eared white rabbit." This rabbit is a standard-fur, medium-sized dual-purpose fur-and-meat breed. Its coat is pure white, its eyes are red, and its two ears are long, large, and upright, with thin ear bases and pointed ear tips shaped like willow leaves. Does have a dewlap under the jaw. Adults weigh 4-5 kg. It has the characteristics of early maturity, fast growth, good reproductive performance, and excellent fur quality. Also, because its ears are long and large and its fur is white, its blood vessels are clearly visible, making it a relatively ideal laboratory rabbit.

4 Chinchilla rabbit

Originating in France, it is named because its coat color resembles that of the precious fur-bearing animal the chinchilla (also called the crested rat or chinchilla), and it is a world-famous dual-purpose fur-and-meat breed. The breed was initially developed in a smaller size as the standard chinchilla rabbit, and later the American and giant chinchilla rabbits were successively developed. Their common coat-color features are a grayish-blue fur, black ear tips and upper tail surface, and grayish-white areas around the eyes, on the underside of the tail, under the belly, and in the triangular area at the back of the neck. The differences among the three types of chinchilla rabbits are: the standard type has a deeper color, appearing grayish-blue; the American and giant types have lighter coat colors. The standard type has no dewlap under the jaw; both the American and giant types have relatively well-developed dewlaps. For adult standard-type rabbits, males weigh 2.5-3.5 kg and females 2.7-3.6 kg; American-type males weigh 4.1-5.0 kg and females 4.5-5.4 kg; giant-type males weigh 5.4-6.8 kg and females 6.5-7.3 kg. Because of its good fur quality, strong adaptability, and good reproductive performance, it is widely welcomed and raised. However, its growth rate is relatively slow.

5 New Zealand White rabbit

The New Zealand White rabbit was developed in England by purebreeding selected albino individuals from the New Zealand Red rabbit that produced much meat and good meat quality, and later by introducing crossbreeding with the Flemish Giant rabbit. It is now a widely raised meat rabbit and laboratory rabbit. This rabbit has a pure white coat and pink eyes, a head that is not large, upright ears, and a medium build in a cylindrical shape, with a broad, deep chest, full back, loin, and ribs, round hindquarters, and sturdy limbs. Does have a dewlap under the jaw. Adults weigh 4-5 kg, and each litter has 7-8 young. This rabbit is characterized by rapid early growth, reaching 2.5-2.7 kg by 3 months of age. Its advantages are a high meat yield, tender and plump meat, strong disease resistance, a high reproductive rate, and good fur quality.

6 Belgian rabbit

Originating in Belgium and later introduced into England, after selection and breeding it became a large meat breed. Its coat is of the standard fur type and is brownish-yellow. Because its coat color closely resembles that of the wild hare, it is known as the Belgian hare. This rabbit has black eyes and broad, large, upright ears. The ear tips have a glossy black fringe. It has a large build and relatively long limbs. Adult rabbits weigh 5.5-6.5 kg, with an average of 8 young per litter, and reach 2.5-2.8 kg by 3 months of age. Its advantages are fast growth, tolerance of coarse feed, a strong constitution, strong adaptability, fine bones, full muscles, well-developed hindquarter muscles, and tender meat, making it an ideal large meat breed. However, compared with medium-sized meat breeds, it consumes more feed, and when raised on wire-mesh floors it has a relatively high rate of foot disease, so large commercial rabbit farms should only keep it as a sire breed to cross with small and medium-sized dams to produce commercial meat rabbits.

7 Californian rabbit

Originating in California, USA, it is a standard-fur, medium-sized breed and one of the world's famous meat rabbits. Its coat is mainly white with red eyes, and only the two ears, nose tip, lower limbs, and tail are black or brown. However, the young rabbits' coats are white, and the characteristic of black on the eight points appears only after the first molt, hence the name "eight-point black" rabbit. This rabbit has ears that are not large and are upright, a medium build, and full hindquarters. Adult males weigh 3.6-4.5 kg and females 3.9-4.8 kg, with 7-8 young per litter, and they can reach 2.3-2.5 kg by 3 months of age. Its advantages are rapid early weight gain, full muscles, strong adaptability, and good disease resistance. Does are docile, have good maternal instinct, a high milk yield, and a high nursing rate, so they are praised as "nanny rabbits." Their heredity is stable, and they are often crossed with New Zealand White rabbits to produce commercial meat rabbits.