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The only breed bred exclusively for the needs of the Soviet fur industry is the “white giant” rabbit. This breed originates from the albino variant of the Flanders giant that appeared at the turn of the 1927th and XNUMXth centuries. Flanders albinos, brought to the young Soviet state in XNUMX, did not have sufficient endurance to successfully breed in Our Country.
To improve the characteristics of the Flanders albino, it was decided to cross it with the closest, already “”, relative of the “gray giant” and the “Soviet chinchilla”. Both fused rabbit breeds carry the agouti gene and have a “wild” color.
All these three Soviet breeds of rabbits are very large animals, and backcrossing was also used in further work with them. In particular, the white giant was poured into the Soviet chinchilla. The white giant was also used in breeding a black-brown rabbit, whose fur imitates the fur of a black-brown fox.
When breeding productive animals, the main criterion is the correspondence of the characteristics of the animals to the set goals. It is possible that when a white giant was crossed with a Soviet chinchilla, the offspring breed was recorded according to the color of the rabbit’s skin.
Requirements for a white giant
The breed of rabbits “white giant” was bred primarily for the fur industry, taking into account the fact that fur often needs to be dyed in the manufacture of products. Obtaining meat in this case was in second place, although the breed was classified as meat-skin.
Due to the need to color the fur, the main requirement for white giant rabbits is the flawless whiteness of the fur. No yellow tint is allowed. Such a pure white skin allows you to sew large fur products and dye them without fear that the shades of the skins will not match.
Breed description
General form. Large, powerful, but not massive animal. Pure white skin with dense hairline. No shades of white are allowed on wool. A white giant that has at least a milky shade of skin is culled from breeding. The thick coat inherited from the Soviet chinchilla protects the rabbit well from frost and bad weather. The length of the coat should be 4 cm.
Head. The structure of the head of the white giant differs from the structure of the heads of his ancestors – the giants of Flanders. In white, the head is lighter and has an elongated shape compared to Belgian rabbits.
The photo clearly shows the difference in the structure of the heads of the white and Flemish giants.
On the left is a giant rabbit, on the right is a giant of Flanders.
Ears. If the ears of Flanders rabbits often look like burdocks, then the ears of giants are more accurate. Their length is 15 cm. The auricles are narrower at the base than in the middle, the tips are rounded. Ears must be erect.
Корпус. All skinny breeds of rabbits have a long body, since in this case the skin is larger. The white giant is no exception. It belongs to the leptosome type, that is, it has an elongated body with short legs.
The chest of a rabbit is deep, but not wide, with a developed dewlap in rabbits. The breed standard requires a chest girth of at least 37 cm. The back is straight, wide. The croup is rounded. The body length of a giant cannot be less than 60 cm.
Paws. Strong, powerful, with a wide set.
These rabbits are often kept either on wooden slats or in aviaries.
Breed weight requirements
The weight of a rabbit of this breed, along with the quality of the skin, is one of the main requirements. When assessed by weight, all rabbits are divided into three classes: elite, first and second.
Fix the weight of rabbits at the age of 10 months and after a year. By ten months, the elite should weigh 5,6 kg, the first class – 5,1 kg and the second class – 4,6 kg. After a year, the weight of rabbits, respectively, is 5,8; 5,3; 4,8 kg.
With a strict approach to evaluating a rabbit, such a manufacturer as in the video should not be allowed to breed. He is too light even for a class II, has short ears and a short body, although for a female rabbit this would be a very good mark. But where, after the collapse of rabbit breeding, can one find decent producers? And no one has a decree for rabbit breeders today.
Evaluation of the White Giant rabbit
Breed defects
Animals with signs of rickets are not allowed to be bred: a humpbacked or drooping back, splayed front paws. Clubfoot on the front and x-shaped set of the hind legs are also unacceptable.
A narrow chest indicates a too weak constitution. Such rabbits come across in this breed and are subject to strict culling.
An overly developed dewlap is also a vice, as this is evidence of a crude constitution and phlegm, which is unacceptable in breeding rabbits.
Features of keeping and feeding white giants
At one time, selection was aimed at breeding an animal that is resistant to frosts. White giants are really quite capable of walking on the street in winter, which is what the owners of these rabbits in the photo show off by launching a black-brown one to them.
But even a frost-resistant animal, in winter requires more high-calorie food and in larger quantities than in summer. Provided that rabbits are kept on the street. In winter, the animals are provided with free access to highly nutritious hay, such as alfalfa or timothy.
But in winter, the energy of alfalfa will go not into fat, but into warming the rabbit’s body. In addition to alfalfa, they also provide concentrates and succulent feed. In winter, it can be carrots, fodder cabbage, high-quality silage, beets.
In summer, rabbits are given dried grass and concentrates. In the case of a complete replacement of hay with grass, it should be borne in mind that grass is required 3-4 times more by weight than hay. Wet grass should not be given, which is more likely to ferment in the intestines, leading to bloating.
Contents in a cage
Keeping in a cage for these animals is undesirable due to the large weight and paws poorly adapted to the mesh floors. In addition, the breed requires a cage 1,5 times larger than the standard. If plywood is laid on the floor of the cage or the floor is made of flat slats, then the white giant will be quite comfortable in such a dwelling.
In winter, animals need to be provided with heated drinkers and queen cells. In the presence of a warm mother liquor, the rabbit will calmly hatch even at -20 ° C. At lower temperatures, it is better to move the cells to a warm room.
Breeding white giants
Rabbits become capable of breeding at the age of 4 months, but they can be bred not earlier than 8 – 9, since this breed, like all other giant rabbits, is late-ripening, and the rabbit is fully formed no earlier than 8 months. With an earlier mating, the rabbit may die during the birth along with the rabbits.
The rabbit brings 7-9 rabbits at a time. The maximum number of rabbits in a litter is 12 heads. Being multiple mothers, rabbits of this breed have a high milk yield. But it happens that for some reason the nursing rabbit has little milk and the rabbits remain hungry. In this case, some of the rabbits are placed on another rabbit, who has few cubs.
Cases can be carried out compacted and ordinary. In a normal mating, a rabbit is allowed to approach the uterus a month after birth. When compacted 2 – 3 days after birth. But you need to know that compacted mating greatly shortens the life of the rabbit and worsens the quality of the offspring. If, under normal mating, a rabbit can live up to culling for at least 4 years, then with compact mating, it will need to be culled after 2 years.
On rabbits, such dense rounds are also reflected very poorly. In order for the rabbit to carry the next brood, the rabbits must be transplanted at the age of 1 month, when their gastrointestinal tract is still poorly developed. This increases the percentage of death of rabbits. With normal birthing, rabbits are weaned at 45 days.
Where to buy and prices for white giants
The Soviet breed “white giant” is domestic and its cost is not too high. How much a rabbit costs often depends on the class of the parents and the greed of the breeder. It is best to look for rabbits on specialized sites. However, the chances that they will be deceived when buying a white giant are small. Today, white pannons of the Hungarian selection are in fashion. Pannons are expensive, and unscrupulous sellers are more likely to pass off a giant as a pannon than vice versa.
“And how to distinguish a white pannon from a white giant?”
Reviews of owners of white giant rabbits
Conclusion
In relation to foreign breeds, our white giant wins primarily in terms of endurance and ability to survive in the climate. This reduces the cost of building a farm and keeping rabbits. But for growing for meat, which is now the most profitable, this breed is not very suitable, as it has a rather long growth and is significantly inferior to the recently bred broiler breeds of rabbits.