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Page 1: Breeds Rabbit

TAMIL NADU VETERINARY AND ANIMAL SCIENCES UNIVERSITY

VETERINARY COLLEGE AND RESEARCH INSTITUTE

NAMAKKAL – 637 002

AGB 608– SMALL FARM ANIMAL BREEDING

Term paper

On

RABBIT BREEDS AND ECONOMIC TRAITS

SUBMITTED TO

DR. S. PANNEERSELVAM, Ph.D.,

PROFESSOR AND HEAD,

DEPARTMENT OF ANIMAL GENETICS AND BREEDING

NAMAKKAL

SUBMITTED BY

A. RAMACHANDRAN

MVN 10001 (AGB)

DEPARTMENT OF ANIMAL GENETICS AND BREEDING

VETERINARY COLLEGE AND RESEARCH INSTITUTE

NAMAKKAL – 637 002

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RABBIT BREEDS

INTRODUCTION

The domestic rabbit is descended from the wild rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus), which originally

occurred mainly in south-west Europe, but did not occur in central Europe. Some 2000 years ago

the Romans kept rabbits in enclosure , 'leporaria', for their meat. This method was later also used

in France and England; it served to meet the desire for hunting. The first wild rabbits came to

Germany around 1300, and they were kept on the island of Amrum. Real domestication was

completed in the Middle Ages, initially in France, by keeping them in enclosures. The first

books on this animal species also appeared here. Domestic rabbits were kept in Germany from

the middle of the twelfth century, i.e. before the wild form. They were still kept very extensively

in enclosures. Soon after the animals became domesticated, the first different colours and forms

appeared. At the end of the eighteenth century there were already several breeds, including the

Angora rabbit and animals with lop ears. Currently there are about 80 breeds with approximately

200 colour strains, which can be divided into five groups depending on size and hair length. In

addition, there are breeds which do not fit into the normal clas ification, as well as new breeds.

Rabbits have a fairly long body. The neck is short, the head fairly long with long ears. Short tail,

wool-covered and close to the body. Soft hair, varying in length. The individual breeds differ in

colouring, size, form, and hair structure. There are dozens of different colours and colour

combinations of white, grey, blue, yellow and black. Lop ears and Angora wool are prominent

physical features of individual breeds. Adult rabbits weigh between 1 and 8 kg. They occur alJ

over the world and are often feral. Insofar as rabbits are not kept for pleasure, they are mainly

kept for meat. All large and medium-sized breeds are suitable for meat, especially the New

Zealand, Chinchilla, Large Silver, Viennese and Aries rabbits.The pelts of Short-haired (Rex

rabbits) and Fox rabbits are made into furs. The hair is used in hatting. The wool of the Angora

rabbit make extremely soft, warm clothing. Rabbit dropppings are a valuable natural fertiliser in

areas far from agriculture. The rabbit is one of the most frequently used animals for

experin1ents. Dwarf rabbits are often kept as house pets, although it is often difficult to reconcile

the different

Scientific classification

Kingdom: :Animalia

Superphylum : Chordata

Phylum: : Vertebrata

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Class: Mammalia

Order: Lagomorpha

Family: Leporidae

Genera

1. Pentalagus

2. Bunolagus

3. Nesolagus

4. Romerolagus

5. Brachylagus

6. Sylvilagus

7. Oryctolagus

8. Poelagus

SECTION F - FANCY BREEDS

SECTION L - LOP BREEDS

No Breed No Breed No Breed

F.1 Angora F.7 Hare Belgian F.13 Polish

F.2 Dutch F.8 Hare Tan F.14 Rhinelander (R.V.)

F.3 Dutch Tri-coloured

(R.V.) F.9 Harlequin F.15 Silver

F.4 English F.10 Himalayan F.16 Tan

F.5 Flemish Giant F.11 Lionhead F.17 Thrianta (R.V.)

F.6 Giant Papillon (R.V.) F.12 Netherland Dwarf F.18 Tri-coloured English

(R.V.)

No Breed No Breed No Breed

L.1 Lop Cashmere L.4 Lop English L.7 Lop Meissner (R.V.)

L.2 Lop Cashmere Miniature L.5 Lop French L.8 Lop Miniature

L.3 Lop Dwarf L.6 Lop German L.9 Lop Miniature Lion

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NORMAL FUR BREEDS

No Breed No Breed No Breed

N.1 Alaska N.16 Continental Giant

coloured

N.31 Siberian

N.2 Argente Bleu N.17 Continental Giant white N.32 Smoke Pearl

N.3 Argente Brun N.18 Deilenaar (R.V.) N.33 Squirrel (R.V.)

N.4 Argente Crème N.19 Fox - Silver N.34 Sussex (R.V.)

N.5 Argente de

Champagne

N.20 Golden Glavcot (R.V) N.35 Swiss Fox (R.V.)

N.6 Argente Noir N.21 Havana N.36 Thuringer (R.V.)

N.7 Beige (R.V.) N.22 Hulstlander (R.V.) N.37 Vienna Coloured

(R.V.)

N.8 Beveren N.23 Lilac N.38 Vienna White (R.V.)

N.9 Blanc de Bouscat

(R.V.)

N.24 NZ White, black, blue N.39 Wheaten (R.V.)

N.10 Blanc de Hotot (R.V.) N.25 NZ Red N.40 Wheaten Lynx (R.V.)

N.11 Blanc de Termonde

(R.V.)

N.26 Perlfee (R.V.) N.41 Fauve de Bourgogne

(R.V.)

N.12 British Giant N.27 Pointed Beveren (R.V.) N.42 Argente St Hubert

N.13 Californian N.28 Siamese Sable - Marten

Sable

N.43 Miniature Satin

N.14 Chinchilla N.29 Sallander (R.V.)

N.15 Chinchilla Giganta N.30 Satin

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REX BREEDS

1 General standard

2 Self: black, blue, ermine, havana, lilac, nutria

3 Shaded: sable siamese, seal siamese, smoke pearl, smoke pearl marten, tortoiseshell

4 Tan pattern: fawn, fox, sable marten, seal marten, orange, otter, tan

5 Agouti pattern:castor, chinchilla, cinnamon, lynx, opal

6 Other varieties: dalmatian, harlequin, himalayan, silver seal, satin rex

7 Rough coated: astrex

8 Rough coated: opossum

9 Mini rex

10 Mini rex broken

(BRC et al)

Classification of breeds based on body size

Breed Weight Size Body Type Fur

American 10-11 lbs Large Semi Arch Flyback

American Chinchilla 9-11 lbs Large Commercial Rollback

American Fuzzy Lop 3.5-3.75 lbs Small Compact Wool

American Sable 8-9 lbs Medium Commercial Rollback

Belgian Hare 6-9.5 lbs Medium Full Arch Flyback

Beveren 8-11 lbs Large Semi Arch Rollback

Blanc de Hotot 8-11 lbs Large Commercial Rollback

Britannia Petite 2.5 lbs Small Full Arch Flyback

Californian 8-10 lbs Large Commercial Flyback

Champagne d‟Argent 9-11 lbs Large Commercial Flyback

Checkered Giant 11.5+ lbs Giant Full Arch Flyback

Cinnamon 8-11 lbs Large Commercial Flyback

Creme d‟Argent 8-11 lbs Large Commercial Flyback

Dutch 3-5 lbs Small Compact Flyback

Dwarf Hotot 2.5-3 lbs Small Compact Rollback

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Breed Weight Size Body Type Fur

English Angora 6-9 lbs Medium Compact Wool

English Lop 9-10 lbs Large Semi Arch Flyback

English Spot 6-8 lbs Medium Full Arch Flyback

Flemish Giant 13+ lbs Giant Semi Arch Rollback

Florida White 4-6 lbs Small Compact Flyback

French Angora 6-9 lbs Medium Commercial Wool

French Lop 10.5-11 lbs Large Commercial Flyback

Giant Angora 9-11 lbs Large Commercial Wool

Gaint Chinchilla 12-15 lbs Giant Semi Arch Flyback

Harlequin 6.5-9 lbs Medium Commercial Flyback

Havana 4.5-6 lbs Small Compact Flyback

Himalayan 3-5 lbs Small Cylindrical Flyback

Holland Lop 3-4 lbs Small Compact Rollback

Jersey Wooly 3-3.5 lbs Small Compact Wool

Lilac 5.5-7.5 lbs Medium Compact Rollback

Mini Lop 4.5-6 lbs Small Compact Rollback

Mini Rex 3-4.5 lbs Small Compact Rex

Mini Satin 3-6 lbs Small Compact Satin

Netherland Dwarf 2-2.5 lbs Small Compact Rollback

New Zealand 9-11 lbs Large Commercial Flyback

Palomino 9-10 lbs Large Commercial Flyback

Polish 2.5-3.5 lbs Small Compact Flyback

Rex 7-9 lbs Medium Commercial Rex

Rhinelander 6-9 lbs Medium Full Arch Flyback

Satin 9-11 lbs Large Commercial Satin

Satin Angora 6-9 lbs Medium Commercial Wool

Silver 4-6 lbs Small Compact Flyback

Silver Fox 9-11 lbs Large Commercial Rollback

Silver Marten 6-9 lbs Medium Commercial Flyback

Standard Chinchilla 5-7 lbs Medium Compact Rollback

Tan 4-6 lbs Small Full Arch Flyback

Thrianta 7-9 lbs Medium Compact Rollback

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Weights:

First off the weights are estimated, the fact of the matter is- some rabbits of the same breed grow

to be different sizes than others. I also want to point out that I do not own every breed of rabbit,

so much of the data displayed above is based upon research I have preformed.

Size:

Grouped the rabbit breeds listed above by size based upon the following standards:

Small 2-6lbs

Medium 6-9lbs

Large 11lbs

Giant 11 lbs +

The size groupings above are based upon estimated breed weight, not your individual animal(s).

BREEDS AVAILABLE IN INDIA

1. Soviet Chinchilla

This breed was evolved in erstwhile USSR. Adults weigh 4.5 to 5 kg. Though this breed is

reared for meat its fur is a fancy in fur crafts. The Giant Chinchilla Rabbit is one of the few

rabbit breeds that was created in America. Before the English breed known as the Chinchilla

Giaganta, which incidentally, corresponds to the so called "Heavy-Weight" or American

Chinchilla and not to be our own being exibited in shows throughout the Middle West. Now the

breed is called the Million Dollar Rabbit.

2. Grey Giant

This breed is also a native of erstwhile USSR. Adults weigh 4.5 to 5 kg. Due to the resemblance

of its fur with that of hare, it is often mistaken as hare. It is also reared for meat and fur skin.

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3. New Zealand Breed

Three colours

White

Red

Black

Although, cross breeding can result in many different combinations of these three basic

pigmentations. There are efforts with certificates of development on a blue and broken variety.

The Red has bright golden red fur with a slightly harsher fat. One of the larger breed of rabbit, it

can weight anywhere from 9 lb. to 12 lb (5 kg).

New Zealands are a breed that makes a wonderful house pet. They may be easily litter trained,

and are generally less destructive than some other breeds. "Bunny-proofing" the home should

still be done with caution, however, since a bored bunny will still find things to chew on.

Some adult New Zealands does can be more aggressive than males although not all females are

aggressive. The aggressiveness is caused from not being spayed.

3. New Zealand White

This breed was evolved in England.

It is an albino animal with white fur.

The eye colour is red due to the absence of melanin pigment.

Adult weight is 4.5 to 5 kg. Meat and fur skin are the main products.

New Zealand Whites are popular rabbits as pets, in the show ring, and unfortunately in

the laboratory and meat/fur farm.

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New Zealand White Rabbits are easily distinguished by their relatively large and solid

bodies covered in dense white fur, their upstanding white ears, and their red eyes.

New Zealand Whites have become the poster child of the Easter Season, and are often

depicted as being the Easter Bunny.

The name "New Zealand White" is a bit of a misnomer however, as New Zealand Whites were

originally bred in America. They were destined for the meat and fur trade even at their inception,

and fate has not been much kinder with their widespread use in laboratories.

However, as with many animals bred to be slaughtered or tested on, the New Zealand White

Rabbit has a cheerful and friendly disposition. They are affectionate, intelligent, and one of the

easier breeds to teach tricks. These factors make the New Zealand White an ideal pet choice, as

unlike many of the other rabbit breeds, they are less likely to be standoffish and aggressive.

Generally New Zealand White Rabbits grow to the following sizes:

Buck: 4 - 5 kgs / 9 - 11 lbs

Doe: 4.5 - 5.5 kgs / 10 - 12 lbs

4. White Giant

White Giant also originated in the erstwhile Soviet Union. It is almost similar in appearance to

New Zealand White with white fur and red eyes. The length of hind limbs as well as body size is

larger than that of New Zealand White.

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5. Angora

The Angora rabbit is a variety of domestic rabbit bred for its long, soft wool. The Angora is one

of the oldest types of domestic rabbit, originating in Ankara (historically known

as Angora), Turkey, along with the Angora cat and Angora goat. The rabbits were popular pets

with Frenchroyalty in the mid 18th century, and spread to other parts of Europe by the end of the

century. They first appeared in the United States in the early 20th century. They are bred largely

for their long Angora wool, which may be removed by shearing, combing, or plucking. There

are many individual breeds of Angora rabbits, four of which are recognized by ARBA; English,

French, Giant, and Satin. Other breeds include German, Chinese, Swiss, and Finnish.Angora is a

very ancient breed of small rabbit weighing around 3 kilograms. It is a wool type rabbit with

white fur. Annual wool yield recorded is between 300-1000g in 3 to 4 clippings.

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Californian

Weight: 9–10 lbs

ARBA-accepted varieties: Standard (Pointed White)

The Californian was initially bred from crosses between Chinchilla, Himalayan, and New

Zealand rabbits in the 1920s, with the intent of creating a better commercial meat rabbit. It was

first brought to the UK from the United States in the 1950s.These are very popular in the

commercial rabbit breeding industry. also a popular pet rabbit in the united states and often used

in 4-H shows throughout the country. The color of the points on the ears, feet, and tail can be

black, chocolate, blue, lilac or grey

6. Cross-breeds

The crosses between the above mentioned breeds have been produced. They are found to be

highly adaptive to Kerala conditions. The adult weigh 4 to 4.5 kg and breeds all through the

year. Colour of fur is not uniform

REPRODUCTION

Breeding males required – 1 male for 10 females (minimum 2 males for an unit)

Age at which first bred – Small breeds - 4 months age (Polish, Dutch)

Medium breed - 5 to 6 months (Newzealand White,Chinchilla)

Characteristics of oestrum – Polyoestrous (any time).

A female rabbit appears to have no definite oestrus cycle although a certain rhythm exists

in their sexual receptivity.

Cycle lasts for about 12 days of which 2- 4 days are non receptive.

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Signs of heat – Congested, purple and moist vulva, restlessness, rubbing the chin on the

sides of the cage, lying in mating posture and lifting the tail.

Mating behavior – The doe is always taken to the buck‟s cage for mating, and if the doe

is receptive, it will lift the tail and within a minute the buck will be mating the doe.

Mating is successful when the buck falls to one side or backwards after mating.

Ovulation – Ovulation occurs 10 - 13 hours after copulation

Pseudo pregnancy/ – Pseudopregnancy in rabbit may result from sterile copulation false

pregnancy and lasts for 16 to 17 days. At the end of this period she may pull hair from

her body and attempt to make nest and shows development of uterus and mammary

gland.

Gestation period – 28 -34 days (average 30 days)

Pregnancy diagnosis – The methods adopted to determine the state of pregnancy are

weight gain method and the „palpation technique‟.

The palpation technique is the most reliable method if done by an experienced person.

Palpation technique – A completely relaxed doe should be placed on a table and should

be restrained by gently holding the fold of skin behind ears and over the shoulders. The

left hand is placed under the body between the hind legs and in front of the pelvis.

Embryos can be located and felt like small marble shaped bodies slipping backwards

between thumb and fingers when moved gently in a sideways direction.

An experienced person can determine pregnancy by 8th to 10th day of mating using his

technique.

Litter size – 6-8 kits

Weaning – 4-6 weeks (depending on weight of bunnies) Kindling interval – 2 1/2 to 3

months (it may be as short as one month if bred Immediately following kindling)

ECONOMIC TRAITS IN RABBITS

The traits of rabbit which are instrumental in giving financial benefits to the farmer are called as

economic traits of rabbits. The performance of rabbits in these traits is the basis for selection of

breeding animals. These traits are,

1. Litter size at birth

All the young ones of a kindling constitute a litter. Litter size at birth for the doe is one of the

haracters which contributes for the economic returns from rabbit rearing. The optimum value

should be eight. Some of the kits will be born dead and that should be considered.

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2. Average birth weight of kits

Usually birth weight of kits will be more if number of kits in the litter is less and vice-versa. For

survivability of the kits, it should have at least 40 gms body weight at the time of birth. Average

birth weight of kits of a litter in broiler rabbits should be 40-50 gms or more.

3. Litter weight at 21 day age (three weeks)

The young kits depend fully on their mother for first 10-12 days of their life. At this time their

eyes are not open and the sole feed is mother‟s milk. If the doe is good in its mothering ability

the survivability growth of bunnies will be more. The litter weight at three weeks age is taken as

criteria for measurement of mothering ability of the doe. The optimum value for litter weight at

21 days age is 1.2 - 1.5 kg.

4. Litter size at 21 days

This trait is also equally important in measuring the mothering ability of doe. The does selected

for breeding must have at least six bunnies in the litter at 21st day.

5. Weaning weight of litter

The young bunnies are weaned between 25 days and 35 days. The weaning weight of the litter is

an important selection criterion. At the time of weaning the body weight of bunnies should be

more than 450 gms. Litter weight at weaning must be more than 3 kg.

6. Litter size at weaning

At least 5-6 bunnies should be available from each litter at the time of weaning. More number of

weaned bunnies is always advantageous for the farmer.

7. Number of kindling’s per year per doe:

The gestation period of does is thirty days. Number of kindling‟s from a doe per year depends

on many factors like weaning age, time of maturing, etc. Under our conditions it is advisable to

breed the does within a week of weaning. So if weaning is practiced at thirty days, there should

be five litters for weaning from each breeding doe. Number of weaned bunnies per year per doe.

This is another economically important trait. If five to six bunnies are available for weaning

from each litter and if five litters are produced by the doe per year, the number of weaned

bunnies from the doe per year should be 25.

8. Number of weaned bunnies available from doe per year

This is another economically important trait. If five to six bunnies are available for weaning

from each litter and if five litters are produced by the doe per year, the number of weaned

bunnies from the doe per year should be 25.

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9. Growth Rate

The basic principle of broiler rabbit industry is to exploit the feed efficiency ofbroiler rabbits. It

is practically impossible to record daily the feed given to each and every rabbit. Hence the

number of days taken to attain 2 kg body weight is taken as a yard stick for growth. Animals

who attain 2 kg body weight at lower age are assumed to be better convertors of feed and are

selected as breeding animal.

10.Feed conversion efficiency:

The basic principle of broiler rabbit industry is to exploit the feed efficiency of broiler rabbits. It

is practically impossible to record daily the feed given to each and every rabbit. Hence the

number of days taken to attain 2 kg body weight is taken as a yardstick for feed conversion

efficiency. Animals who attain 2 kg body weight at lower age are assumed to be better

converters of feed and are selected as breeding animal..

POSSIBLE CRITERIA FOR SELECTION OF COMMERCIAL MEAT STOCK

1. Number of teats on doe

2. Temperment of doe

3. Life performance of the doe

I. Number of litters

II. Number of young in total

III. Total weight of all young one at 21 datys

4. Pregnancy rate

5. Young

1) Number of born alive/dead

2) Number surviving to 7days

3) Number of alive at slaughter

4) Weight in 21 days

5) Weight at slaughter total feed consumption to weaning

6) Total feed consumption to slaughter

7) Carcass conformation and quality

8) Carcass fat- distribution and colour

9) Carcass dressing-out

Systems of breeding

There is a veriety of different breeding systems adopted by rabbit breeders.The commenest is

‘‘ like to like”mating.No system is ideal for the all purposes, and the particular system the

breeder adopts will depend upon his or her requirement

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Different systems of breeding in rabbit

1 Inbreeding

Inbreeding is defined as mating between animals which are more closely related to each other

than the average relationship between all individuals of the population.

2.Line breeding

Line breeding is a form of inbreeding in which the relationship of an individual or

individuals is kept as close as possible to an admired or outstanding ancestor. The ancestor is

usually a male because a male can produce more number of progenies during its life time than a

female.

Merits of line breeding

(i) Line breeding should be practised in pure bred population of a high degree of excellence

after identifying outstanding individuals.

(ii) Line breeding is probably most useful when the outstanding sire is dead or not available

for breeding purposes.

(iii) Line breeding also builds up homozygosity and prepotency like other kinds of

inbreeding.

(iv) When progress by inbreeding comes to standstill line breeding makes additional

progress possible.

(v) It can be practised to distinguish a breed into families or lines.

(vi) Line breeding is useful where there is much epistasis i.e. by producing different line and

crossing these lines for combining ability or nicking ability.

3.Like to like breeding

If mated pairs are of the same phenotype more often than would occur by chance it is

called as assortative mating. Positive assortative mating tends to create more genetic and

phenotypic variation in the offspring generation than would be found in a comparable randomly

mated population.

The consequence of assortative mating with a single locus in terms of genotypic

frequencies among the progeny is to increase the frequencies of homozygotes and reduce that of

heterozygotes. It results in subdividing the population into groups and mating takes place more

frequently within than between the groups.

e.g.

Large animal x Large animal

Medium animal x Medium animal

Small animal x Small animal

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4.Corrective Breeding

Synomyms

a. Negative Assortative Mating

b. Disassortative Mating

c. Unlike Mating

If mated pairs are of the same phenotype less often than would occur by chance is called

as disassortative mating. It is mating of individuals of unlike phenotype. Negative assortative

mating tends to decrease variation and increase phenotypic uniformity in the population. This is

also called as “Corrective mating”. It leads to increase the heterozygotes and reduce

homozygotes in the population.

e.g.

excellent x weak character

Large animal x Small animal

Large animal x Medium animal

Small animal x Medium animal

5.Cross breeding

The mating of animals from different established breeds is called crossbreeding. The

progeny produced is called crossbred.

Crossbreeding is done for the following purposes:

1) To exploit hybrid vigour or heterosis and for commercial production of market animals.

(Every time parental breeds have to be crossed for producing market animal).

2) Complementarity is the second reason for crossbreeding i.e. to combine good qualities of

two or more breeds. This refers to the additional profitability obtained from crossing two

populations resulting not from heterosis but from the manner in which two or more characters

complement each other. (sandford et al)

Reference

1.British RabbitCouncil(1995)breeds standards,1996-2000

2. SANDFORD .J.C,(1996) Fifth Edition ,The Domatic Rabbit ,page No.205- 208


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