Friendly Rabbit Breeds What Breed of Rabbit Makes the Best Pet

When choosing a pet rabbit, breed is one of the major factors to consider.  Rabbits vary a great deal from breed to breed in terms of temperament, lifespan, care needs and ease of handling.  With more than 60 rabbit breeds and over 500 varieties worldwide, there are many to choose from; this article gives information on the breeds most commonly seen as pets.

Rabbit breeds are classified into four sizes - dwarf, small/medium, large and giant.  As a general rule of thumb, the smaller the breed, the longer the lifespan, with dwarf breeds having an average lifespan of 10 to 12 years while giant breeds have a shorter lifespan of 5 to 6 years.

Size also has a bearing on temperament, with the larger breeds tending to be more laid back and friendly, while the smaller or dwarf breeds can be very energetic, highly strung and more difficult to handle.  Long haired breeds such as the Angora need almost daily brushing while very short haired breeds like the Rex need no brushing whatsoever.

Therefore, the 'best' pet rabbit breed in terms of friendliness and ease of care would be a large breed e.g. English Spot, New Zealand, Californian, Standard Rex or French Lop.  Dutch and Himalayan rabbits are also friendly and easy going, despite being a small/medium size.

The most common pet breeds seen today are dwarf or small breeds e.g. Netherland Dwarf, Dwarf Lop, Mini Lop, Holland Lop, Lionhead, Mini Lion Lop, Polish, Mini Rex etc.  These have been breed to look small and cute with rounded heads, however, these breeds have a far higher risk of dental disease which can be very costly to treat.  They are also not recommended for inexperienced rabbit keepers or children as their lively, energetic nature makes them more difficult to handle.

Discover Rabbit Farming

Rabbit farming is now popular throughout the world, especially in third world countries as rabbit is it being acknowledged as a completely new origin of lower price protein, with minimal arrange and minimal maintenance costs.

For commercial rabbit production, the work necessitates a full investigation before entering, and local market conditions will stand out from state to state. In certain countries rabbit meat is just not popular, and consequently finding meat markets (very important to your ability to succeed) is much more difficult as opposed to runners markets where rabbit meat is popular and widely recognized.

Whilst there are several RabbitBreeds, commercial rabbits for meat production are generally the latest Zealand white and also the Californian. Despite China, the key rabbit producing countries are Spain, France and Italy. They normally use the latest Zealand white for the rapid growth and meat yield. There are several breeds which were exclusively bred with regards to fur, for instance the angora rabbit.

In terms of rabbit breeding goes, rabbits breed well and quickly. The gestation amount a doe is 32 days and she can produce anything from 5 to 9 kits. A kit is ready for slaughter at Three months at about 2.8 to three kgs in weight. The meat yield is about 50%, so with one doe you can expect final rabbit products around 7.5 kgs of meat and 5 skins every 1 to 2 months. For rabbit production then, 40 kits annually is definitely the norm, that's equivalent to 60 kgs of meat and 40 skins.

Rabbit feed is really a commercial formula for optimum growth. A non pregnant doe will eat 100 gr. per day, however if in lactation, will consume 350 gr. on a daily basis.

Rabbit skins are normally stored frozen but tend to be air dried in hotter climates. Better not to salt simply because the white fur to a salted rabbit skin can transform brownish over the sea voyage towards main rabbit tanneries in China.

Service or product farming business you have got to stick to local agricultural regulations, especially about the disposal of dead rabbits, rabbit welfare and health areas of the enterprise. An excellent you should do is visit rabbit farms in your neighborhood, and communicate with the people who run the rabbitries. Learn a local starting costs, your running costs with your income (where could you sell your slaughter rabbits as well as to whom). Visit several farms, and whilst they are simply more likely to give contradictory advice, you should make your individual decisions plus there is nothing can beat learning at the job. Good luck with your rabbit farming venture.