Detailed Explanation of Rex Rabbit Breeding Techniques and Precautions
The Rex rabbit is a very important fur-producing rabbit breed in China, and its farming area in China is second only to that of meat rabbits. The Rex rabbit also has very high economic value, so naturally more and more people are raising them. When raising Rex rabbits, breeding work is very important and directly affects the production of Rex rabbits. So how exactly should Rex rabbits be bred? Below, the editor brings you the breeding techniques for Rex rabbits. Let's take a look!
1. Identifying Estrus
When raising Rex rabbits, you should promptly detect estrus in Rex rabbits so as to arrange the breeding time conveniently and effectively improve the conception rate of breeding. During estrus, the feed intake of Rex rabbits decreases, their activity increases, and they run around. When they enter the peak period of estrus, they will mount rabbits in the same cage, and if a male rabbit is nearby, they will flirt with the male rabbit. They will also raise their tails and accept mating behavior from the male rabbit. At this time, when you check the vulva of the female rabbit, you will find redness, swelling, moisture, and other phenomena. The color is pink in the early stage and dark purple in the later stage.
2. Natural Mating
Natural mating is raising male and female rabbits together and letting them mate naturally. Natural mating can allow Rex rabbits to mate in a timely manner and avoid missed mating. However, it also has many disadvantages: mating cannot be chosen freely, and inbreeding is likely to occur, causing breed degeneration and reducing fur quality. Moreover, when they are mixed together, the male rabbit will constantly chase the female rabbit, resulting in excessive physical exhaustion, reducing the semen quality of the male rabbit, and leading to insufficient offspring. Finally, it will also cause fights among male rabbits, which not only reduces mating quality but also easily causes various diseases.
3. Manual Assistance in Mating
Manual assistance in mating is placing estrous female rabbits that have been raised separately together with male rabbits to encourage mating, and after successful mating, returning the female rabbit to its original cage. This method is further divided into single mating and group mating. Single mating is placing one female rabbit into the cage to mate with the male rabbit, and then after about two hours placing other female rabbits in. Group mating is placing 6-7 estrous female rabbits in at one time and letting them mate freely, then separating them after about one day. This allows selective breeding and mating, avoids inbreeding, improves the overall quality of Rex rabbits, and also allows reasonable arrangement of male rabbit mating to improve the constitution of breeding rabbits. However, it is relatively time-consuming and labor-intensive, and is mainly used in various large-scale farms.
4. Artificial Insemination
Artificial insemination is a newly developed technique for breeding Rex rabbits in recent years, and it can maximize the value of breeding male rabbits. It improves the utilization rate of semen and the conception rate, can quickly enhance the overall quality of the rabbit population, and reduce the incidence of disease. In addition, the mating capacity of male rabbits is enhanced, and the amount of feed fed can also be reduced, lowering breeding costs. However, artificial insemination requires manual work in both semen collection and insemination, has a relatively complex process, and has certain technical requirements. Under ordinary conditions it is difficult to accomplish, and it is only suitable for modern farms with strong technical capacity and complete facilities.
The above is a brief introduction to Rex rabbit breeding techniques. We should reasonably choose the breeding method according to our own breeding techniques and scale. For example, farmers with a small breeding scale and simple management usually mainly use natural mating. That is all for today's introduction. This article is for reference only, and we hope it can help everyone!