Immunity of wild animals, their active growth and survival are the result of chaotic mating. This also applies to lagomorphs. Every experienced farmer knows that crossing rabbits is an occupation that requires special control and knowledge in this area.
Crossbreeding rabbits of different breeds
Some varieties of this procedure help animals become stronger and more productive. In addition, commercial breeding involves the systematic use of crossbreeding methods to maintain the normal viability of not only individuals, but entire breeds.
Natural selection and methods for its implementation at home
A typical farm where rabbits are bred is a place of concentration of a population of animals, most often of one litter.
How many and what breeds to keep in one place is decided by the owner of the farm. Previously, the representatives of the contained breed lived in the wild, which means they were tested by natural selection. That is, an animal, in order to live, feed and reproduce, had to make some effort. The weak, unable to do this, were destined to perish. Farm life is the opposite. The breeder himself sits the animals in the cells, saving them from fights, obtains food for them and even selects pairs for mating.
The lack of natural selection between offspring reduces not only the survival of rabbits, but also their productivity. The development and growth of a population, achieved by mixing separate breeds, in captivity without human help also becomes impossible. There is only one way out: the breeder must independently recreate the features of the environment that are close to natural conditions. So, to carry out the crossing of rabbits of different breeds.
Features of breeding rabbits
Rabbits are animals that require constant mixing of blood to grow their population.
But, despite this feature, it is more convenient and practical to keep only one breed. In an industrial setting, interbreeding is also practiced, which makes breeding more efficient. Such types of population development have their advantages and disadvantages. In addition, the exact definition of the direction of the farm depends on whether the pets are bred for meat, resorting to improving, improving the breed, or for the live sale of breeding individuals.
Novice farmers are often interested in the question of whether it is possible to breed relative rabbits, and how this will affect their offspring. Kinship rabbits can interbreed with each other, but the result of such an experiment will not have a chance of life. Such an experiment can lead to:
- the appearance of a miscarriage in a female;
- weak and non-viable offspring;
- slowing down the growth and development of newborns.
- frequent diseases and death of individuals.
Cross-breeding couples at home will not bring results. But still, there are special farms that are engaged in this type of selection. The fact is that when mating with each other, relatives lay a new life with their own characteristics, which can be used for some purposeful needs.
Purebred breeding is the easiest and best not only for beginners but also for experienced breeders. As a result, the quality of the breed, its genetic resistance to diseases and other paramount traits.
But there is also a drawback. The first thing a farmer needs to know is the need to systematically dilute the stock with new individuals of the same breed. Caring for future offspring and their viability depends on the percentage of new, fresh blood in the herd.
Varieties of crossbreeding techniques
Crossbreeding of rabbits is not at all monotonous process, as people far from farming might imagine. It matters both the procedure itself and the choice of two animals - a male and a female. The quality of the offspring will depend on this, which consists in the growth rate of the individual and its weight. In addition, the bunny is endowed with fur, which also has a price. But, to benefit from all these features of breeding is not difficult only when certain conditions are met. And the first such condition is the use of certain types of crossbreeding as necessary.
Today, several types of crossing are known, which are used both at home and in industry. These include:
- introductory crossing;
- absorptive crossing;
- industrial increase in population;
- factory methods;
- variable and random mating.
The main feature of crossing rabbits of different breeds is obtaining a healthy high-quality brood. With which method the efficiency is better, it largely depends on which breeds are used, as well as on the purpose of the procedure itself. In addition, selection does not stand still, and a three-line cross has recently been reproduced in Hungary. The crossed specimen itself was named "White Pearl".
Characteristics of the breed The White Pearl has high growth rates as well as productivity. A rabbit of this breed is able to give 4-5 scents per year. In addition, she feeds offspring of 30-32 heads in 42 days. By this time, rabbits reach a weight of 2.5-2.7 kg.
Features of Industrial Crossing
The answer to the question of which breeds of rabbits can be crossed depends on the genetic characteristics of the breeds themselves, as well as on the requirements and characteristics stated by the breeders. Many of them are used for industrial crossbreeding, which is designed to increase the benefits, and therefore, profit from breeding individuals, so the first thing a breeder can do is correctly follow the recommendations of breeders, although some of them are contradictory.
The answer to the question of what selection of a male and a female of certain breeds will produce high-quality offspring should be sought in reference materials. Rabbit compatibility chart can also help.
Rabbit | Crawl |
White giant | Soviet chinchilla |
Gray giant | Silver |
Soviet chinchilla | Vienna blue |
Californian | Black-brown |
New Zealand | White giant |
Black brown | California |
Vienna blue | New Zealand |
All of these crossbreeding options are a great chance for each farmer to increase their own profit from breeding. The rabbits resulting from such a mixture of blood will have high rates of productivity. In addition, it is forbidden to experiment on your own. All possible types of tests were carried out repeatedly and the chance to "discover" a new high-quality cross is close to zero, especially if an inexperienced farmer decided to do it.
Introductory Procedure
The introductory procedure is one of the most popular and effective, especially in cases of urgent need to save the brood from extinction. Such problems often arise from the fact that rabbits breed in a herd in which family ties are present. The farmer's inaction will quickly render the herd unusable, weak and dying out. One easy way to fix this is to make an introduction. It is such a procedure for mixing two bloods by mating:
- Improved female and improving male;
- a half-blooded female and an improved male;
- breeding in "myself".
Rabbits that are bred by this crossing method can have good performance:
- growth of live weight;
- acceleration of age for slaughter;
- early maturity;
- reproductive abilities;
- milkiness.
In addition, some farms use the "introduction" to produce wool. This method allows you to make it the highest quality and most expensive. The thicker and smoother it is, the higher the price for it. But such rabbits are very rare. More often the goal of livestock breeders is to increase resilience.
A popular example of such a procedure is mixing a White Giant and a Soviet chinchilla. Much is known about the resulting offspring. The resulting rabbits from this experiment had a high percentage of meat from the carcass, good skin and vitality.
THE RESULT OF MATING RABBITS OF DIFFERENT BREEDS!
Report on experimental crossing of rabbits "flander + kalifonia" // New crossing of rabbits
Crossing rabbits of different breeds.
The need to use other crossing methods
Other methods of crossbreeding are simpler and less dependent on the person (except for complex crossbreeding). Only the variable procedure has some features that every farmer should understand. This method is used to increase profits after certain results of industrial crossing. For the crossing itself, the best rabbit is selected (obtained from the industrial method or left for posterity) and is reduced to the paternal and maternal breeds alternately.
The popular question among the people, which hares will be obtained by crossing white and black rabbits, is also associated with some features of selection. White and black animals can produce a gray, white or black rabbit. It all depends on genetic accuracy. In addition, the quality of animal hair will depend on how "nature" disposes. But the task is simplified, since with the help of knowledge about some laws of genetics, it is possible to calculate the external signs of offspring with an accuracy of 95-98%.
Domesticated hares are gradually losing the characteristics of their breed and require its restoration. In addition, each rabbit degrades her performance indicators very quickly. The task is still the same: improving the breed that one or another male can give. The resulting okrol is kept separately from the livestock, females are selected and later crossed with other males of the improving breed. The most favorable age for crossing is from -5 months after birth.
It is necessary to cross in time, because with age, the rabbit grows fat and becomes unprofitable for further breeding.