Chinchilla rabbits are the most popular and common in Russia. Almost every rabbit breeder began with this breed. Probably not in vain. Those who are just thinking about raising rabbits should first of all learn all about this breed.
Chinchilla rabbits: breed description
The full name of the breed is Soviet chinchilla. As the name implies, it was bred in the Soviet Union. The breed was registered in 1967. Also from its name you can understand that something connects it with animals with valuable fur, chinchillas. If you look at the photographs of rabbits, you can see that their color is very similar to the fur of a chinchilla animal. A light smoky undercoat and a blue spine with black tips make the rabbit skin very beautiful. The rabbit seems to be casting in silver. The undercoat is very dense and delicate. Therefore, rabbits can be kept in winter in cold cages right on the street, they are not afraid of frost. The eyes are dark brown, and around them are bright "glasses". The coat on the stomach is light.
The body of the rabbit is powerful. Especially if you compare it with Californian rabbits, which in comparison with the Soviet chinchilla look simply elegant. A broad back, the back looks rounded due to the well-developed muscles of the hind legs.
Productivity breed advantages
Characteristics of chinchilla rabbits are reduced to the fact that these individuals are highly productive. The breed belongs to the meat-skins, which indicates its versatility. Rabbits are large, adults are 6-8 kg in weight. You can slaughter it for meat as soon as the skin ripens, it is about 5 months. From such a rabbit you can get a carcass of about 3 kg in weight and a beautiful skin.
Chinchilla rabbits are unpretentious in food and have a very high immunity. They are resistant to many adverse natural phenomena, very rarely get sick. There are farms that grow rabbits for laboratory research and experiments. Such individuals cannot be vaccinated for the purity of the experiments. So, on such farms, the livestock of experimental animals consists exclusively of chinchilla rabbits. And not in vain, all this thanks to their vitality and good appetite, as well as high fecundity.
Chinchilla Rabbits: Breeding
In the case of rabbits, this breed can be allowed from 6 months. By this age, females have already gained the necessary body weight and are ready to endure full-fledged offspring. For a year, a female can be mated 6 or more times. For one bunny rabbit gives birth to an average of 10 rabbits. Soviet chinchillas are good mothers, their maternal instinct is highly developed. They have a balanced, calm character and therefore rarely scatter and eat rabbits. If this happens, it is mainly the fault of the owner. Most likely, the rabbit breeder did something wrong. Did not put the nest in a cage on time, did not put more hay in the feeder, or there was no water in the drinker.
Rabbits always have enough milk. Therefore, even when rabbits are born a lot, it is better not to intervene and not to transplant newborn babies to females in which few cubs were born.
After giving birth, it is advisable to distract the female with something, for example, let her gnaw a juicy carrot, and at this time check the newborns to remove the dead, if any. Before this, it is advisable to rub your hands on the mother and the hay so as not to leave your smell on the rabbits.
Chinchilla Rabbits
Rabbits are born naked and blind, but they are warm in the nest, which the female pre-covers with down. She pulls down fluff from her fur, mainly from her chest. Chinchillas always have enough fluff to keep the nest warm.
Rabbits grow very quickly. In a month they can be separated from their mother, they are completely independent and can already do without mother's milk, eating like adult rabbits.
At first, the rabbits are just gray, by the age of 5 months they have finished shedding, and they acquire their beautiful chinchilla color corresponding to the breed.
Soviet chinchilla and not only
Of course, rabbits with chinchilla color were bred not only in the Soviet Union, but also in other countries. There are several breeds similar to our domestic one, but all of them are inferior in weight, in color or in fecundity or require more careful care.
- Chinchilla rabbit breed ordinary, smallest.
- The breed is a giant chinchilla, similar in size to the Soviet chinchilla, but bred in America.
- Rabbit breed American chinchilla. Medium sized, also bred in America.
Also similar to the Soviet chinchilla is the gray giant breed. In gray giants, the color of the skin often has a reddish hue, and they are not as silver-blue as chinchillas. Their fur is not so beautiful, and before you sew something from it, it is usually painted black. The fur of the Soviet chinchilla does not need to be dyed, the hats and fur coats sewn from it are very beautiful. Adult gray giants have a longer body than chinchilla rabbits. True, the little rabbits are difficult to distinguish, they are very similar. Therefore, if you want to buy rabbits of the Soviet Chinchilla breed, then it is better to do this in specialized farms with documents.
The beauty of the fur of chinchilla rabbits
Chinchilla rabbits give excellent quality fur. Different shades of gray-blue with a black veil are cast in silver. The abundance of delicate fluff, making up a thick undercoat, and soft spinous hair make the fur very pleasant to the touch. The fur products of these rabbits are light, durable and very effective. Recently, their fur has learned to process it in such a way that it is difficult to distinguish it from the valuable fur of a chinchilla animal.
There is not a single rabbit breeder who does not know what kind of chinchilla rabbits they are. Photos of them are everywhere in large numbers. Because each rabbit breeder began to breed animals from this breed. No matter how many breeds there are on the farm, everyone has a Soviet chinchilla. And each rabbit breeder is grateful to her for its unpretentiousness in maintenance and quick payback.