Immunity of wild animals, their active growth and survival are the result of chaotic mating. This also applies to rabbits. 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, industrial breeding involves the systematic use of crossbreeding methods to maintain the normal viability of not only individual individuals, but whole breeds.
Natural selection and methods for its implementation at home
The usual farm where rabbits are bred is the place where the population of animals, most often one litter, is concentrated.
How many and which breeds to keep in one place, the farm owner decides. Previously, the representatives of the contained breed lived in the wild, which means they passed the test of natural selection. That is, the animal, in order to live, eat and breed, it was necessary to make some efforts. Weak, unable to do this, was destined to die. Farm life is the opposite. The breeder himself sits animals in cages, 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 individual breeds in captivity without the help of humans also becomes impossible. There is only one way out: the rabbit breeder must independently recreate environmental features 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 for population growth.
But, despite this feature, it is more convenient and practical to contain only one breed. In industrial conditions, interbreeding is also practiced, which makes breeding more effective. These types of population development have their advantages and disadvantages. In addition, the exact determination of the direction of the farm depends on whether pets are bred for meat, resorting to improvement, improvement of the breed, or live sale of breeding individuals.
Beginner farmers are often interested in the question of whether it is possible to cross 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 the growth and development of newborns.
- frequent illnesses and deaths 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.
Thoroughbred breeding is the simplest 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 a drawback. The first thing a farmer should know about 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
Crossing rabbits is not a monotonous process at all, as far-away people can imagine. It matters both the procedure itself and the choice of two animals - a male and a female. It is from this that the quality of the offspring will depend, which consists in the growth rate of the individual and its weight. In addition, the rabbit is endowed with fur, which also has a price. But, to benefit from all these features of breeding is easy only if certain conditions are met. And the first such condition is the use of certain types of crossbreeding as necessary.
Today there are several types of crossbreeding that are used both at home and in industry. These include:
- introductory crossbreeding;
- absorption crossing;
- industrial increase in population;
- factory methods;
- variable and random mating.
The main feature of crossing rabbits of different breeds is to obtain a healthy high-quality brood. Which method is better for efficiency, largely depends on which breeds are used, as well as on the purpose of the procedure itself. In addition, the selection does not stand still, and a three-line cross has recently been reproduced in Hungary. The crossed specimen itself was called the 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 from 30-32 goals 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 features declared by the breeders. Many of them are used for industrial crossbreeding, which is designed to increase the benefit, 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 which selection of the male and female of individual breeds will produce high-quality offspring should be sought in the reference materials. A rabbit compatibility chart may 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 breeding profits. The rabbits resulting from such a mixture of blood will have high productivity indicators. In addition, self-experimentation is prohibited. 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 this.
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 due to the fact that rabbits breed in a livestock in which family ties are present. The inaction of the farmer will quickly lead the herd into disrepair, make it weak and endangered. One easy way to fix this is to make an introduction. This is a procedure for mixing two bloods through mating:
- Improved female and improving male;
- half-blood female and improved male;
- breeding in "yourself."
Rabbits that are bred using this crossbreeding method can have good performance:
- live weight growth;
- acceleration of age for slaughter;
- precocity;
- reproductive abilities;
- milkiness.
In addition, some farms use “introduction” to produce wool. This method allows you to make it the most high-quality and 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 the mixing of the White Giant and the Soviet chinchilla. A lot is known about the resulting offspring. The hares resulting from this experiment had a large percentage of carcass meat, good skin and vitality.
The need for other crossbreeding techniques
Other methods of crossbreeding are simpler and less dependent on the person (except for complex factory 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 cross itself, the best rabbit is selected (obtained from the industrial method or left for posterity) and is mixed with the paternal and maternal breeds in turn.
A popular question among the people is what hares will be obtained when crossing white and black rabbits, is also associated with some features of selection. White and black animals can make gray, white or black crawl. It all depends on genetic accuracy. In addition, the quality of animal hair will depend on how "nature" orders. But the task is simplified, because with the help of knowledge about certain laws of genetics, it is possible to calculate the external signs of offspring with an accuracy of 95-98%.
Domesticated hares gradually lose signs of their breed and require its restoration. In addition, each rabbit worsens its productivity indicators very quickly. The task is still the same: improving the breed that one or another male can give. The obtained 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.
