Breeding rabbits is a profitable occupation not only for large fur farms, but also in conditions of homestead maintenance. Viennese blue rabbit has excellent economic performance. It refers to the meat-and-peel direction. Its breeding and cultivation is justified both for the production of skins and for the production of meat.
History
The Viennese blue rabbit (photo in the text) was bred in the nineteenth century, and more precisely in 1895, in Austria, in the estate of Vienna. Johann Konstantin Schulz, breeder and rabbit lover, set himself the task of obtaining a breed of rabbits with a lot of meat and high-quality fur.
Reproductive crossing of two breeds - the Moravian rabbits (the oldest Czech breed) of pure blue color with the Flanders large breed rabbits, the second name is the Belgian giant, gave its results. Careful selection of animals only with bluish-blue hair color, strong constitution, with a live weight of at least 4 kg allowed us to bring out a new population, which received a new name - Vienna blue rabbits.
Description of animals
Breeders did not stop at the achieved results, constantly improving the breed. To date, the Viennese blue rabbit is as follows:
- the constitution is strong;
- physique - harmonious;
- the head is light;
- eyes are dark blue;
- ears - straight set, medium length up to 16 cm, wide and straight;
- the body is dense, compact;
- back - elongated, wide;
- the chest is quite deep and wide;
- croup - rounded and wide, the same and lumbosacral;
- legs are straight, muscular and strong;
- claws - a bluish tint;
- color - even gray-blue.
Economic characteristic
Any breed of pet is improved over time. These changes also affected the Viennese blue rabbit breed. Characteristics of the modern animal population:
- live weight up to 5.5 kg; specimens weighing 7 kg are often found;
- meat yield - up to 60%;
- incidence index - on average 61%;
- body length reaches 60 cm;
- chest circumference - an average of 38 cm;
- litter - 6-9 rabbits with an average weight of 72 grams;
- the quality of the skin - the size is quite large, fluffy and soft;
- maternal instinct - well expressed, females, as a rule, are characterized by high milkiness;
- payment of feed - at the age of four months per 1 kg of growth, up to 4 feed units are required;
- life expectancy of about 5-7 years (individual individuals can survive up to 12 years).
Initially, Soviet breeders were tasked with increasing the live weight of animals, improving the quality of fur and raising rabbits with good adaptability to various climatic conditions and a diverse food supply. The latter quality, taking into account the size of the former USSR, was very relevant.
Fur quality
The color of the hairline is always uniform, very even, bluish-blue color. Options in shades are possible - slightly darker or slightly lighter. Dark tones of skins are more appreciated. They are used both in-kind and for reliable simulation of the skins of valuable commercial fur animals.
Viennese blue rabbit is characterized by the quality of the fur. 1 cm 2 accounts for more than 21 thousand hairs. Another indicator of the quality of the fur: there are more than 60 downy hairs per one hairline, better only in Russian ermine rabbits. The coat is even and thick. The underfur and awn are uniform in color, lighter towards the base. Downy hairs are much lighter than the rest.
The skins are distinguished by a uniform original color, have a glossy shine. They have no zoning, brown shade, black or gray hair.
Benefits
The Vienna Blue Rabbit is beneficial in breeding for a number of reasons:
- hardy to adverse conditions;
- easily acclimatized;
- You can get early winter fights;
- the safety of rabbits reaches 100%;
- rabbits grow rapidly and have the following indicators:
- at birth –70-72 grams;
- in one month - 600-650 grams;
- in two months - 1700-1800 grams;
- in three months - 2500 -2600 grams;
- in four months - 3000-3200 grams or 70% of the live weight of an adult;
- adults - up to 5000 grams;
- calm and sociable;
- early ripening;
- high lethal yield;
- good feed recovery;
- high quality skins;
- well kept in sheds (in the open air) and in rabbitries.
Using
The skin of excellent quality and high meat yield gives double benefit from slaughter of rabbits. Rabbits can be raised even at their summer cottage. Short term gestation of rabbits, just one month allows you to easily get from one female for 4-6 bunnies up to 35 rabbits - this is almost 70 kg of excellent dietary meat.
Slaughter begins 70 days after birth, rabbits, when the weight of the carcass reaches one and a half kilograms. As practice shows, consumers prefer carcasses with a weight of about 2.5 kg, so it makes no sense to fatten young stock for a long time to a weight of 4.5-5 kg.
Dietary meat is always in high demand. Elderly people are happy to purchase it, and it’s also useful for a child’s body. This is a great alternative to poultry, there will be no problems with the sale of meat.
Excellent quality skins - this is an additional profit for the au pair. There are craftsmen who make their own skins, sew and sell their products. If it is not possible to produce the skin yourself, it can always be turned over to procurement enterprises for further industrial processing.
I want to note the excellent acclimatization of animals to a variety of conditions. Rabbits easily adapt not only to the climate, but also to the local food supply, which removes the problem with food.
Many farmers breed the Vienna Blue Rabbit. Reviews of rabbit breeders confirm the excellent economic performance of animals. They are ideal for commercial rabbit breeding. Rabbits of this breed are often taken precisely for the creation and development of a business.