The Soviet chinchilla is one of the most popular breeds of meat and skins. These rabbits are versatile and productive - in addition to the high quality fur that resembles a real chinchilla, they provide a lot of tasty meat. We will learn how to choose animals on a tribe, how to keep and breed them - further in the article.
Subspecies history
In 1927, the first American chinchilla rabbits were brought to the USSR. They were distinguished by their small size and thick fur. After crossing with large breeds, long and purposeful selection, it was possible to increase the weight of chinchillas to 5 kg.
In the creation of a new breed, hybrids obtained from the crossing of rodents - a small chinchilla, and rabbits of the White Giant breed were involved. A new breed, the Soviet Chinchilla, was officially registered in 1963.
The authors of the breeds are considered to be rabbit breeders of two fur farms - "Cherepanovsky" (Novosibirsk region) and "Anisovsky" (Saratov region) and specialists of the rabbit farm Research Institute of rabbit breeding (created in 1932).
Description of the breed
Soviet chinchilla - belongs to the breeds of a large category. Chinchilla rabbits are easy to recognize for their large size and beautiful fur.
Breed constitution
The main external signs:
- The body is massive, strong and slightly elongated. Length - 60-70 cm. The sternum is massive, rounded, in girth - 38-40 cm. The back is long, with a bend.
- Paws are large, strong, fleshy.
- The head, in comparison with the large body, is medium-sized, neat.
- Ears are erect, medium length.
An adult rabbit weighs from 4 to 8 kg. The average weight is 5-6 kg.
Fur and skin
Chinchilla fur is considered one of the most expensive in the world. The Soviet chinchilla has soft and fluffy fur. The color is silvery-bluish. On the belly and in the eye area there are separate inclusions of white color, on the top of the tail and on the ears there is a black border. In the back of the head is a light wedge. The eyes are usually cherry brown, but blue are also found.
The fur of this breed is unique, it is not only dense and beautiful, but also has a unique color. Today there are enough scammers who give out the fur of these rabbits for expensive chinchilla fur. And this is not surprising, because both the one and the other fur are thick, shiny, and their color is almost the same.
A distinctive feature of the breed is heterogeneous color.
Major defects
In the litter rabbits with pronounced defects are often found. Such animals are immediately discarded and separated from the herd, as they are not suitable for breeding.
The main defects of the breed include such signs:
- hanging croup;
- the presence of bald spots;
- uneven fur;
- the presence of red color in the color;
- back with a hump;
- big ears hanging and “breaking”.
Character
Everything is fine with the character of the Soviet chinchilla, their behavior is no different from smaller rabbits. They are also kind, helpful and affectionate. But due to their large size, keeping them at home is too problematic.
Economic characteristics
Soviet chinchillas are bred both on small private farms and on large livestock farms. Rabbits quickly pay off, because the demand for bluish fur and dietary meat is always stable.
Economic characteristics of the breed:
- The average cost of a skin is 3,500 rubles.
- Slaughter age is 3-4 months.
- Low-fat meat - suitable for baby and diet food. The meat contains a minimal amount of bones and tendons. Fat contains few calories.
- The cost of mature individuals is 3-4 months old, about 1000 rubles.
Chinchilla skins are willingly bought by felt and fur factories.
If you are looking for advice on how to properly skin a rabbit at home, then this article is here.
Productivity
Large rabbits give not only valuable bluish fur, but also delicious dietary meat. The calves gain weight quickly; by six months they gain up to 90-95% of the mass. The main characteristics of productivity in table 1.
Table 1
Specifications | Description |
Male weight, kg | 6-7 kg, maximum 8 kg |
The weight of the female, kg | 5-6 kg |
The number of cubs in the bane | 7-8 pieces |
Weight of a 2 month old rabbit | 1.9-2 kg |
Slaughter meat yield | 58-60 % |
Advantages and disadvantages
The breed was bred as universal, so it is slightly inferior to meat subspecies. But with good feeding, you can quickly feed weighty rabbits.
Advantages of the Soviet chinchilla:
- They quickly adapt to different weather and living conditions.
- High productivity in females.
- Due to its large size, a lot of meat is produced.
- The fur is much appreciated - due to its high quality and unusual color. The density of the fur is twice as high as that of other breeds.
Disadvantages:
- Spacious cells are needed for maintenance.
- It takes a lot of grain and hay - for feeding.
- The farm is expensive.
Content as a pet
This breed is rarely bred for keeping at home. This is too large a beast - its size is comparable to the size of a small dog. Such a pet needs a lot of space and food. The cage will occupy about a quarter of the living room. It is better to keep decorative and dwarf rabbits at home.
Content Options
The Soviet chinchilla, like other rabbits, can be bred using any of the methods of keeping - aviary, cage or pit. Let us consider in more detail all three options.
In aviaries
The option is suitable for areas with a mild climate and warm winters. With enclosure, rabbits can be grazed. The problem with this type of keeping is the behavior of the rabbits. They are animals burrowing, and can arrange a tunnel.
Features of the organization of aviary content:
- Need a free piece of land overgrown with grass.
- An awning is pulled from above - to protect from the sun.
- Slate is dug around the entire perimeter of the enclosure - to protect it from undermining, or they cover the floor with a metal mesh.
- Set side feeders. You can’t pour food on the floor, only in the feeders so that the animals do not catch an intestinal infection.
With enclosure, you don’t have to clean the cells every day. Minus - uncontrolled breeding and closely related crosses.
In cages
Keeping in cages is the best option for breeding rabbits with valuable fur. The advantages of the method:
- Possibility of individual feeding and rational use of feed.
- Prevention of closely related relationships and birth control.
- The ability to monitor animals and timely detection of diseased animals.
In warm climates, rabbits can be kept in cages throughout the winter. Where winters are harsh, animals are transferred to special insulated rabbits.
Features of the arrangement of cells:
- The cages are placed so that direct sunlight and cold winds do not fall into them.
- The length of the cages is about 3.5 m. Large animals need space. If rabbits move a little, their joints will hurt.
- The materials for the cages are wood and mesh. In wooden cages, rack floors are made so that the droppings fall down.
- At the edges of the cells, feeders and drinking bowls are attached. Learn about making drinking bowls with your own hands from this article.
- In a cage, a mother plant is made for an okrol. In this house, a rabbit equips a nest for bunnies. The mothers are removable and stationary.
- Cages can be installed in sheds during the cold season. They are also made up of 2-3 tiers - under a canopy.
In the pits
This method is usually used when raising rabbits for meat. The main disadvantage is the deterioration of the quality of the fur. Features of the arrangement of pits:
- At the bottom of the pit is straw. They change it regularly. You can also install a mesh floor - so that the manure falls through.
- The walls are blocked with hard materials that rabbits cannot gnaw through.
- Feeders and drinkers are placed along the walls.
- They dig a hole in one of the corners - the animals will subsequently increase its size. The entrance to the burrow is blocked by a door, which subsequently facilitates the capture of animals.
- The pit is closed from above - from predatory animals and precipitation.
With pit content, rabbits are in a favorable microclimate - this is almost a natural habitat. But there is also no birth control here, and there is no way to breed purebred rabbits for a tribe.
Feeding
Rabbits are herbivorous animals. The diet of animals bred for fur and meat should contain:
- grain and compound feed;
- green grass (in the summer);
- juicy feed;
- hay (in winter);
- boiled potatoes;
- milk whey;
- bone flour;
- vitamin and mineral supplements.
Features of feeding rabbits:
- When kept at home, the feed is based on green feed and hay. You cannot give branches of stone fruit trees - they contain harmful substances.
- The animals are fed with carrots, turnips, raw potato peels (in small quantities), beets (taught gradually), collard greens, pumpkin, zucchini, Jerusalem artichoke, cucumbers, salad.
- For the rabbits to grow well, they are given grain mixtures, which include corn, oats and barley. Or they give compound feed - in addition to grain, it contains meal, meal - fish or bone meal, various additives.
- Rabbits can be fed with vetch, alfalfa, sweet clover, red clover, fireweed. The grass is first dried, otherwise digestive problems are possible. Useful for animals are oat, corn and rye sprouts.
- Feeding by wild meadow grasses is allowed - nettle, plantain, reeds, yarrow, dandelion, oregano and other edible species.
- Among the wild herbs are many poisonous. Do not feed rabbits with hemlock, foxglove, celandine, dog parsley.
Read also one more of our article on when and how to feed rabbits.
Table 2 - feed standards for adult rabbits. The composition of compound feed for adult rabbits is shown in table 3.
table 2
Period | Cereals, g | Bran, g | Hay, g | Green forage, g | Table salt, g | Root crops, g |
Winter | 35 | — | 170 | — | 0,7 | 150 |
Summer | 30 | — | — | 650 | 0,7 | — |
Table 3
Ingredients | Percentage of rabbit weight,% |
Crushed oats and wheat | 30 |
Crushed barley and corn | 45 |
Bran | 12 |
Sunflower meal and cake | 12 |
a piece of chalk | 0,5 |
Salt | 0,5 |
In order for the rabbits to have a good digestive system, they must be given hay or greens. You can feed them one compound feed in one case - if it contains grass meal.
Rabbit breeding
The Soviet chinchilla has average fertility rates. Females become pregnant several times a year. Sexual maturity occurs at 3.5 months, but to be sure of the offspring, a female 5-6 months old is taken for mating. A female can participate in mating up to 6 times per year.
The female hunts every 5-7 days, in winter - once every 8-9 days. During the hunt, the rabbit behaves uneasily. For mating, the female is planted in a cage to the male, but not vice versa. At the time of mating, the feeder and drinker are removed. To check if the female is covered, she is again placed in the cage to the male 5-6 days after mating. If she behaves aggressively, it means that fertilization has successfully occurred.
We recommend that you read the article on mating rabbits, the rules and features of their mating.
Okrol and rabbit care
Firth lasts 26-36 days. 2 weeks before the okrol, prepare the place:
- the cell is disinfected;
- large sawdust or straw is strewed onto the floor;
- change the water regularly - it must be fresh;
- for 10-12 days, the female lines the nest - stores down and straw, if she does not do this, the rabbit breeder will have to work hard.
For a pregnant rabbit, they create favorable conditions - they do not make noise, they drink and feed on time, check their health, do not allow flashes of light, do not disturb the rabbit for no reason.
Okrol usually passes easily and does not require human intervention. The rabbits of the Soviet chinchilla are good mothers, they easily feed up to a dozen cubs. High lactation - up to 200 ml per day.
There are times when females behave aggressively, scatter cubs around the cage. Subsequently, such rabbits are not subjected to mating and discarded, since it is extremely difficult to feed rabbits on their own.
The reasons for the rabbit's aggressive behavior:
- no milk;
- mastitis;
- the next sexual hunt;
- coldness in the room;
- lack of nutrients during pregnancy.
Rabbits are born naked, blind and helpless. But even if many cubs are born, it is not recommended to give them to other rabbits. Rabbits quickly grow up on breast milk. Survival is high. Their eyes open on the 10th day, and on the 15-20th they leave the nest.
At the age of one month, the rabbits are separated from the mother. By this time, they are able to eat regular rabbit food.
Crossing the Soviet chinchilla with other species
To get a good livestock for fattening, the Soviet chinchilla is crossed with other breeds. A good result is obtained when the female of the Soviet chinchilla is crossed with the male of the White Giant or New Zealand White.
Giant chinchilla
The giant chinchilla is in many ways similar to the Soviet chinchilla, but the giant rabbits are even larger and more powerful. This breed was bred by crossing a silvery subspecies with flanders. They have an elongated rounded trunk and straight ears. Color - light blue. Around the eyes - snow-white blotches. The lower part of the body is snow-white.
The subspecies is beneficial for breeding. The weight of the individuals is 6-7 kg. For maintenance, spacious cells are needed, a lot of water and food.
How to choose the right rabbit?
When buying thoroughbred rabbits for a tribe, they must look at the documentation, evaluate the appearance, age and health of the animals.
Rules for choosing rabbits:
- If there is no document for an animal, it is extremely difficult to determine the reliability of a subspecies, especially for novice rabbit breeders. The characteristic color does not appear immediately; it is possible to determine the breed by coat only after the first molt.
- There must be a document on vaccinations and examinations by a veterinarian. The health of rabbits can be told by their appearance. The Soviet chinchilla should have a muscular, large body, as well as:
- fluffy wool;
- clean eyes;
- active behavior;
- well-fed body.
- The structure and color of the fur are evaluated - they must correspond to the characteristics of the breed.
- Carefully look - if there are any defects. Flaws are often found in purebred individuals - they are not suitable for reproduction.
In the video below, the expert talks about the standards of the rabbit breed “Soviet Chinchilla”:
Vaccinations and diseases
The best way to protect rabbits from disease is to follow the rules of keeping and get timely vaccinations. There are diseases that develop so quickly that in a day or two they lead to the death of rabbits.
Rabbits are vaccinated 2 times:
- first vaccination - at the age of 1.5 months;
- second vaccination - 2-3 months after the first.
The most common diseases of rabbits:
- Coccidiosis Prevention is needed with anthelmintic agents. The disease can lead to the death of animals - if not treated in time. The liver and intestines are affected. The causative agents are unicellular parasites - coccidia.
- Myxomatosis. Tumors appear on the body of animals. This disease is viral, it is transmitted by blood-sucking insects. Also, infection occurs through objects. There is no specific treatment. Sick individuals are eliminated, and the premises are disinfected, imposing a long quarantine. There is only one prevention - vaccination.
- Pasteurellosis. Transmitted by wild birds and rodents. Symptoms - fever, lethargy, loss of appetite. Hemorrhages appear in the internal organs. There is no effective treatment.
Reviews of the breed of rabbits Soviet chinchilla
With the industrial breeding of the Soviet chinchilla, the emphasis is on the selfish direction - there is always demand for cheap fur in Russia, but the consumption of rabbit meat is limited. Small rabbit breeders are more interested in meat, since the sale of skins in small quantities is problematic.
Konstantin E. 56 years old, amateur rabbit breeder, Moscow region. I've been dealing with rabbits for a long time. Chinchillas are my favorite breed. If you organize their life correctly, then there are no special problems with their breeding. They are voracious, but also gain weight quickly. The skins come out great. The breed adapts well to our climate, so I see no reason to breed more expensive breeds - they are all very moody.
Alexandra, 47 years old, novice rabbit breeder, Voronezh region. Before breeding rabbits, re-read a bunch of literature. From a variety of breeds I immediately chose a chinchilla - attracted productivity. I took the first rabbits from a familiar rabbit breeder. At first she fed them with special feeds, but then it seemed to me overhead, and I began to give them the usual compound feeds and corn.
My main profit is meat, it is quite difficult to sell skins.
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Rabbits of the Soviet chinchilla are unpretentious and very productive - their owners get not only high-quality fur of a beautiful color, but also a lot of tasty meat. This breed is suitable for growing in different climatic conditions, even novice rabbit breeders can cope with their breeding.
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