The New Zealand rabbit is an unpretentious and easy-to-care breed that is very popular among farmers. It is believed that this particular species is the true standard of effectiveness, since rabbits can be raised not only to obtain tender and juicy meat, but also valuable, perfectly smooth fur.
History of breed origin
This species of rabbits hails from America; they first started talking about it in the 1940th year. Many farms believe the species appeared in New Zealand, but this view is erroneous. The breed was obtained by crossing Belgian giants Flanders and silver rabbits Champagne.
The first representatives of the breed turned out to be incredibly beautiful, with an interesting appearance. Scientists have set themselves the main goal - to get animals with snow-white hair. For the experiments exclusively albinos were used and after a couple of generations, in the litter there were completely no animals with a red fur coat. This species was briefly named NZB, red - NZK.
In Europe, this species began to be in demand in the 1921st year. It quickly gained popularity, but was registered in the 1936th year.
Scientists did not stop working and continued to improve rabbits. In the Netherlands in 1981, a new branch of the species was officially registered - an animal with black wool. This breed remains rare today, as it has gained recognition in few countries. Outward signs, the animal strongly resembles a Vienna black rabbit.
Physical characteristics
New Zealanders have a fairly large size - the length of the body is about 50 cm, the weight is almost 5-5.5 kg. The hind legs are large and strong, the back is fleshy. Due to these qualities, animals are used in meat production.
Most beginner farmers organize their business on the basis of this type. Rabbit meat is a useful and dietary product, so breeding these animals becomes a profitable business.
The body of the animal is covered with thick fur, sparse coat on the ears, they reach a length of almost 12 cm, a short neck. It is believed that the smaller the rabbit’s neck, the better. The most popular are representatives of the breed with white hair and red eyes.
Varieties of New Zealand rabbits
The described type of rabbits is considered universal, because they allow you to get both meat products and high-quality skin. Animals can also be raised for exhibitions, including medical research.
There is a red and white representative of the breed, but the latter species is in greatest demand. Each subspecies is characterized by certain advantages and valuable qualities.
Red New Zealand Rabbits
The rabbit of this subspecies has a smaller body size, which is why they differ from white relatives. It is customary to refer to the number of large species. It has a strong physique, the head is not large, straight ears. Around the mouth and eyes, on the hips, abdomen and tail, the red color of the coat, several tones lighter. Eyes are dark brown.
The coat is medium-long, shiny, not coarse to the touch, soft and velvety, has a uniform brick red hue.
A strong maternal instinct is manifested, at one time the female leads - 7-9 rabbits. Offspring is characterized by early maturity. When organizing proper and attentive care, by 2 months of age the weight of rabbits can be about 2.5 kg.
In an adult, the body length is about 48-51 cm, body weight in the range of 4-4.6 kg. Females always grow larger than males. The rabbit is characterized by high fertility, but less productive in comparison with white rabbits.
May be kept under different climatic conditions. Ideal for beginner farmers, they become wonderful pets, as they quickly get used to people.
The average life expectancy of red rabbits is 10 years.
White New Zealand Rabbits
White representatives of the breed have a pleasant to the touch, soft and delicate coat. The coat is perfect white in color, the head is not too large, symmetrically spaced short ears about 10 cm long. Short neck, compact body, well muscled muscles.
Short muzzle, nose with a slight hump, wide profile. Females are more delicate in appearance and smaller in size compared to males. The eyes are small, red, which confirms their origin - albinos.
The legs are straight, strong and thick, can be flesh or white. The back smoothly passes into a large and wide sacrum, the croup is rounded. The live weight of a white New Zealand rabbit reaches 4.5 kg.
Advantages and disadvantages
Among the main advantages of New Zealanders are the following qualities:
- rapid weight gain, thanks to which the breed is grown to obtain high-quality meat;
- rapid growth of rabbits;
- the rabbit at a time leads up to 10 rabbits;
- high fecundity;
- soft and delicate coat.
The described breed is widespread, and to date, no shortcomings are known.
Commercial potential of the breed
This breed is often used to organize your own business. Rapid growth and mass gain allows you to quickly pay back all invested funds. For sale, both high-quality tasty meat and skins coated with soft and delicate fur can be used.
What do you need to start breeding?
To start breeding New Zealand rabbits, large financial costs are not required. It is enough to choose the right rabbit, provide a place for the animal to live comfortably and stock up on the required amount of feed. All investments pay off literally after the birth of the first rabbits.
Feed
Most of the animals ’diet should consist of fresh grass, which is why feeding in the summertime will not be a big expense. It is most profitable to breed rabbits outside the city, as it is difficult to find the required amount of greenery every day within the city. Especially if the farmer has a large number of individuals.
When collecting grass, the environmental component is important - urban grass cannot be considered an environmentally friendly product. Such food can be very harmful to the health of the rabbit.
To feed 20 rabbits, approximately 1 bag of fresh grass is required each day. Greenery is added to the cage as the rabbits eat it, do not give too much grass. Such actions will lead to severe contamination of the cell. In addition, animals simply will not eat dirty or not fresh grass, because of which they can remain hungry.
Read the article on how and how to feed rabbits.
Do not forget about the grain component of the diet. Combined feed is suitable for this, which can be purchased at the poultry market. The cost of one bag is about 500 rubles. Depending on the total diet, it is determined how much of this amount of food is enough. It is best to use additional complementary foods, and then 1 bag of compound feed is enough for about 14 days of feeding 20 rabbits.
Place of detention
In a specialized store, ready-made aviaries or cages are sold, but you can also make them yourself if there is such an opportunity. It is better to opt for professional cages, which are a variety of designs. There are also multilevel cells with varying degrees of complexity.
With the purchase of the finished product, in order to equip the future rabbit farm, you need to immediately make a major investment. The average cost of one finished cell is approximately 10,000 rubles. In one cell can be no more than 4 adults.
If it is not possible to make large financial investments, you can do the self-production of cells. Such designs will be simple, but durable and lightweight. You can use plywood, natural wood, metal mesh and simple boards.
The ideal option would be to make the simplest and most functional cells. Be sure to consider the following points:
- use only a strong mesh so that the animals cannot gnaw through it;
- inside the cage there should be a place for free movement of animals;
- consider good ventilation, since stale and stagnant air leads to the rapid development and spread of bacteria, which as a result leads to a global epidemic;
- if you equip the mesh floor and the cage is in a suspended position, this will greatly facilitate the cleaning process and will not allow waste to accumulate;
- feeders and drinking bowls should always be freely available.
In open-air cages where females and offspring are kept, individual houses should also be present. In such houses the rabbits themselves equip the nest, necessary for a comfortable stay of young animals.
When designing a cage, consider the specific features of these animals:
- the male must have a separate cage, since rabbits can fight among themselves, so you should not constantly keep it together with the female;
- in one cage several individuals can be placed, but these must be young rabbits of the same age;
- Before the round-up, the rabbit moves to a separate housing, as young offspring can be trampled or bitten by other animals.
Number of rabbits
At the initial stage, one of the most important points is the number of animals. To find out how profitable and promising the project will be, you will need to be patient. You should not immediately buy a herd, since only 2-3 females and one male will be quite enough. Such a number of animals will help to understand whether it is worth further to do business, and will also allow you to acquire the necessary skills to care for rabbits.
A small economy does not require any major financial injections or time expenditures. However, subject to a competent approach, full return will occur in the very near future. The rabbit breeding rate is high, so in a month you can get a full herd, which will bring a good income.
Choosing the right person
Choose a young and healthy female with a male for breeding. To be sure of the breed, give priority to trusted breeders.
Features of care and maintenance
New Zealanders do not require special care. It is enough to provide spacious and clean cells, and take care of proper nutrition. On the legs of rabbits there is a hard and thick pile, so they feel comfortable on the mesh floor.
In the summer, they can live in portable cages that do not have a bottom. Specially equipped professional cages ideal for winter living can also be used. Same-sex individuals should be placed in a separate section of the cage.
Terms
To grow healthy New Zealanders capable of mating, adhere to several conditions:
- In the room where the cages with animals will be located, maintain the temperature within 20 degrees.
- Make good ventilation, but avoid drafts, as this can adversely affect animal health.
- Choose spacious enough cells. You can choose completely mesh options. Even the lack of a flat floor surface does not bring animals inconvenience.
- Arrange in 2-3 tiers of the cage, do not forget to supplement each house with feeding troughs with drinking bowls. How to make a drinker yourself, is written in this article.
- Keep in one house individuals of approximately the same age and gender. You can pick up animals and size.
- Large and adult individuals require large cells so that they feel comfortable and can move freely.
- Regularly clean the cage, otherwise the fur will deteriorate due to constant dirt, especially in white rabbits. Animals that live in clean cages have significantly higher meat tastes.
New Zealanders do not like loud noise, bright lighting and heat. To successfully breed representatives of this breed, exclude these factors. In the case of living individuals in favorable conditions, rabbits quickly gain body weight and give regular offspring.
Nutrition
New Zealanders are not capricious in nutrition, but for a full-fledged growth, a balanced diet is required. If the rabbit eats properly and fully, the meat is tender and juicy, with a moderate percentage of fat, while there will be no specific smell of rabbit meat.
Summer to winter rations have certain differences. But there is a main rule - a varied menu. You can only give fresh food with a sufficient content of nutrients and vitamins.
In the summer diet should be present different types of herbs and fresh herbs, plantain with dandelions and clover.
Winter diet consists of:
- high quality cereal feed;
- hay;
- coniferous twigs;
- various root crops.
Introduce vegetables and fruits into the diet with great care. Let’s no more than rabbits can eat at a time. If animals begin to eat spoiled foods (for example, fruits begin to rot in the summer and freeze in the winter), serious digestion problems may appear. Rabbits begin to feel bad and hurt.
Most often, representatives of this breed are bred to get meat. That is why it is so important to correctly compose a varied and balanced menu. It is strictly forbidden to overfeed rabbits, since the presence of excess fat and a large body weight can cause death.
Rabbits have such a natural need as grinding their teeth, so be sure to put a thick piece of wood (round shape) or salt stone in the cage.
Extra care
Additional care does not cause special difficulties, but allows you to maintain good rabbit health, so that their breeding becomes more profitable. To do this, you must:
- Undergo a veterinary examination regularly - at least once every 6 months.
- Preventive vaccinations can extend the life of rabbits and prevent the risk of contracting a dangerous disease.
- Regularly remove tangles and comb out the wool, maintain the ideal condition of the skin, especially if it is planned to realize it as a secondary product in the future. Pay most attention to the abdomen to prevent hair from falling off. Use a special comb for this.
- After the washing procedure, the rabbit should dry well, but only in a warm room, otherwise there is a risk of a cold.
- When swimming, make sure that water does not get into your ears. This can lead to the development of otitis media, which is treated very hard and for a long time.
- Do not bathe animals too often, as constant wetting adversely affects the beauty of the fur. For washing, use only special shampoo, which can be purchased at a veterinary clinic.
Rabbit breeding
Breeding rabbits is a promising line for starting a small business. Rabbit meat is considered one of the most useful high-quality products, which is always in great demand among consumers.
If the main goal of starting breeding is to obtain meat and its further resale, think in advance about where you will sell it. Prepare several distribution channels for your products, be sure to consider the scale of your own farm and how much meat you can offer.
At the first stages of breeding, to make sure whether you can do this business or not, it is better to raise rabbits for your own needs. If everything goes well, and caring for the animals does not cause any special problems, in the near future the business promises to start making good profits.
What are rabbits sick with?
Like any other animal, rabbits can suffer from various diseases. The most common problems are:
- Myxomatosis - manifests itself as tumor formations on the paws and head, can also appear on the genitals, often merge into large edema. There is infection from parasites, infected rabbits and other rodents. Be sure to carry out a complete disinfection of the cell, send all suspicious individuals to slaughter.
- Viral hemorrhagic disease - most often animals older than 1 year old suffer. Outwardly, the disease is manifested by a lack of appetite and mood, a throwing of the head and convulsions. Disinfect cells, destroy sick rabbits. As a prophylaxis, vaccinate.
- Coccidiosis - young individuals aged 2 to 4 months suffer. Manifested by general weakness, diarrhea, yellowness of the mucous membranes. Be sure to clean all infected individuals; consult your veterinarian with a problem. Prevention is the frequent cleaning of cells with feeders, the preparation of a balanced diet (the number of legumes with bran is minimized).
- Rhinitis - manifested by sneezing, runny nose, fever. Isolate all sick rabbits; instill a solution of furatsilin in your nose.
- Infectious stomatitis - affects young individuals aged 1 to 3 months. It manifests itself in a wet muzzle, ulcers appear on the mucous membranes, which provoke an increase in salivation. For treatment, pour streptocide powder into the oral cavity, use a solution of copper sulfate to treat ulcers.
Regularly examine all animals and, if suspicious signs or unusual behavior appear, isolate the rabbit and then show it to the veterinarian. Only after determining the diagnosis can we understand how serious the situation is and what measures should be taken to minimize the likelihood of negative consequences.
Tips for Beginner Breeders
First you need to decide what animals are raised for - for meat, wool or for sale. Each option has certain subtleties that are associated with maintenance, care and nutrition. Of course, the differences are not too strong, so the breeder must set a clear and specific goal.
At the time of purchase, it is very important to choose completely healthy animals that will easily get used to their new place of residence. Consequently, they will grow rapidly and give offspring.
When choosing rabbits, pay attention to such factors:
- Age - 3-month-olds are considered ideal. Younger individuals may die as a result of weaning or a sudden stop in milk feeding.
- External data - rabbits should be well-fed, fur coat is dense and shiny, ears are clean, eyes are bright, without swelling, dry muzzle.
- Behavior - A healthy animal is active, moves around the cage with pleasure.
Be sure to check with the seller how rabbits ate, as you can’t change the diet when transporting to a new place. Find out what vaccinations were given, if any.
New Zealand rabbits as pets
Often the rabbits of this breed are kept as pets. These animals are friendly and very smart, which is why they differ from dwarf ones. The latter absolutely do not like to be in the hands of a person in debt.
New Zealanders quickly become attached to the owner, who gives them food, and enjoy playing with children. The maintenance does not cause any particular difficulties; no special diet is required. Rabbits can be sick, so they need to be regularly brought for preventive examinations to the veterinarian.
The average life span of an animal is 5 years. If the male is neutered and lives in favorable conditions, this indicator increases to 10 years.
An overview of the New Zealand rabbit is presented in the following video below:
Business plan with approximate calculations
Before you get rabbits, you should ask about the prospect of the case and how it will turn out to be profitable from a financial point of view. It is necessary to understand exactly what results will result from properly organized and productive work. For starters, you can consider the acquisition of three rabbits and one male of this breed.
To ensure comfortable living conditions for animals, it is necessary to prepare in advance cages, which should be at least 10 - the acquired rabbits will be in 4, and the rest will remain empty until the offspring appears. It is desirable that the aviary be about 150x60x60 cm in size. You can make it yourself - take a net (4.5 sq. M) and wooden slats (6 m). Place the enclosure at least 1 m above the ground.
The cost of the grid is 200x4.5 = 900 rubles, slats - 50x6 = 300 rubles. The approximate cost of an aviary will be about 1200 rubles. Do not forget about spending on rabbits - the average cost of one individual is about 800 rubles. To purchase 4 animals you will need 3200 rubles.
In the first week, purchased animals require special care until they get used to a new place. Then you can start directly knitting. Within a month, the female hatches the offspring, one week takes to mate. After about 2 months, after the purchase of the first animals, offspring will appear.
For one year of raising rabbits, you can get about the following result:
- from the primary herd - 4 adults;
- from the first drive - 15 individuals, completely ready for sale;
- from the second drive - 15 rabbits ready to knit;
- about 50 rabbits.
Further, the breeder can independently maintain the number of animals at the desired level. For breeding, be sure to leave 2 healthy and best males. Consequently, approximately 30 adults will be ready for sale each month. Do not forget that under adverse conditions or poor nutrition, a high percentage of mortality can be observed.
For food, for 12 months, you will have to spend about 1000 rubles to purchase hay and about 3000 rubles to buy 5-6 bags of animal feed. Initial costs will require you to invest about 10,000 rubles.
Rabbit meat at the wholesale price - 300-350 rubles per 1 kg. An adult rabbit weighs about 4.5 kg on average. Therefore, if you sell 30 adults each month, you can get about 40,000 rubles. Skins are also suitable for implementation - one piece costs about 200 rubles (the cost of raw material).
Breeding rabbits is not only profitable, but also a quick payback business. If you correctly put the business on the stream, it becomes possible to earn a good amount and ensure regular income. Depending on the size of the herd, the profit will also increase.
The implementation of the finished product
The issue of product sales is of primary importance. It is required to think over it even before the moment when the first batch of the finished meat product will be. By this time there should already be a buyer. For all suppliers in the first place is always selling their own product.
Do not forget that you need to take care of advertising. In order for people to have a desire to purchase goods, they must know what offer is available. The main emphasis should be on the high quality of meat, because this will allow you to get regular customers.
Do not neglect self-promotion, because each buyer wants to purchase high-quality meat directly from the farmer, without talking to intermediaries.
Breed Reviews
Lyudmila, 40 years old, amateur farmer, Omsk. Recently I decided to get rabbits, opted for a New Zealand breed and did not regret it. The meat is incredibly tasty, and the skins are excellent, although they are considered a secondary product. Another feature was high fecundity.
Arseny, 35 years old, economist, Voronezh. I really liked the appearance of rabbits of this breed. For me, the simplicity of animals and the simplicity of care were important, which I could get. Due to the high palatability of the meat, I decided to breed this breed.
Hide
Add your review
New Zealand rabbits are a very attractive breed. They have an interesting appearance, beautiful animals can literally conquer at a glance. They are attracted by excellent physical data, smooth coat and size of animals, which are characterized by unpretentiousness in care, excellent fecundity and endurance. Representatives of this breed are a good start for business.