Rabbit farming knowledge

1. Overview of the world’s rabbit industry.

Rabbits are herbivorous livestock, and their feed is mainly grass. It has low cost, short cycle and quick results. It has attracted the attention of countries around the world in the adjustment of agricultural industry structure. Raising rabbits is especially suitable for rural areas, old, young and border areas. It is a good industry for developing rural economy and alleviating poverty. Using hillside grass to raise rabbits not only protects the ecological environment, but also produces nutritious rabbit meat. It really kills two birds with one stone. Many countries have adopted rabbit raising as an effective way to solve food shortages.

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations believes that "rabbit raising is an industry for the poor" and "rabbit raising is a new way for poor countries to solve the problem of famine." With the development of the economy and the continuous improvement of people's living standards, the market has a strong demand for rabbit products (meat, wool, The growing demand for rabbit skins and products has promoted the rapid development of the world's rabbit raising industry. The number of rabbit raising countries in the world has increased from 106 in 1992 to more than 190 in 2000. The annual number of domestic rabbits raised in the world has exceeded 1.5 billion, of which meat rabbits account for about 94%, wool rabbits account for 5.8%, and rex rabbits account for about 0.2%. In 2005, the number of domestic rabbits raised in my country reached 596 million (including 218 million rabbits in stock and 378 million rabbits for sale). The ratio of meat rabbits to fur rabbits and rex rabbits in my country is about 70:25:5.

(1) Rabbit meat production and sales: The annual rabbit meat production in the world has now reached 2.1 million tons, which is double the total rabbit meat production of 1 million tons in 1984.

my country is a big country that raises rabbits. In 2005, the annual rabbit meat output reached 510,600 tons, accounting for about a quarter of the world's total rabbit meat output. Before 1985, my country's annual rabbit meat output was only about 50,000 tons. In the past 20 years, rabbit meat output has increased 10 times. my country's rabbit breeding industry is developing rapidly. Currently, in addition to China, the main countries that produce rabbit meat in the world include Italy, France, Russia, Ukraine, Spain, Nigeria, Indonesia, Egypt, the United States, Germany, etc. The rabbit meat production of the above countries accounts for 80% of the world's total rabbit meat production. above.

Rabbit meat sales: The traditional rabbit meat consumption market is mainly in EU countries, especially Italy, Belgium, France, the United Kingdom, Germany, the Netherlands and other countries. The domestically produced rabbit meat is insufficient and needs to be imported in large quantities. In recent years, the demand for rabbit meat in Japan, South Korea and Southeast Asia has surged, and the import volume is also large. Entering the new century, my country is not only a big rabbit-raising country, but also a big rabbit meat consumer. It produces more than 500,000 tons of rabbit meat annually and exports less than 10,000 tons of rabbit meat annually. The rest is domestic consumption. China's annual per capita rabbit meat share is 385. grams, exceeding the world's annual per capita rabbit meat share of 350 grams, but compared with some European and American countries, such as Italy's annual per capita rabbit meat share of 5.3 kg, Spain 3 kg, France 2.9 kg, Belgium 2.6 kg, etc. There is still a large gap.

(2) Rabbit fur production and sales: Affected by market fluctuations, rabbit fur output changes greatly. At its peak, my country's annual rabbit fur output reached more than 20,000 tons. Currently, the annual rabbit fur output is about 10,000 tons, accounting for the world's total rabbit fur output. (83% of 12,000 tons).

Countries that produce more rabbit fur annually include: Chile with 500 tons, Argentina with 300 tons, the Czech Republic with 150 tons, France with 100 tons, Germany with 50 tons, etc. Regarding rabbit fur sales, how much rabbit fur can be sold in the international market in a year? This is a variable number that changes with the advancement of wool spinning technology and changes in consumption levels.

From the perspective of historical development, the average annual sales volume of rabbit fur in the international market was about 400 tons in the 1950s, 880 tons in the 1960s, 2,000 tons in the 1970s, 5,000 tons in the 1980s, and 5,500 tons in the 1990s. The sales volume of rabbit fur has not changed in the 21st century. Large, still stuck at around 5,000 tons. my country's average annual rabbit fur export volume in the six years from 2000 to 2005 was 3,592 tons. Countries and regions that import a large amount of rabbit fur every year include: Japan 3,000 tons, Italy 600 tons, Germany 500 tons, my country's Hong Kong and Macao regions 450 tons, and South Korea 400 tons.

(3) Rabbit skin production and sales: Rabbit skins include meat rabbit skins and rex rabbit skins. The annual output of meat rabbit skins in the world reaches more than 1 billion pieces, and the annual output of rex rabbit skins is about 110 million pieces. In 2005, my country produced nearly 400 million meat rabbit skins and about 4 million rex rabbit skins.

Regarding the sales of rabbit meat: According to fur market statistics in Chongfu Town, Tongxiang County, Zhejiang Province, a total of 4.62 million rabbit skins were sold in 2004, worth 115.5 million yuan; more than 140,000 rex rabbit skins, worth 12.49 million yuan; 203 rabbit skin blankets More than 10,000 pieces worth 159.4 million yuan. There is still a lack of statistical data on other fur markets, including Shangcun, Liushi, Daying, Xinji in Hebei Province, and Dahongmen and Yabao Road markets in Beijing. Since the 1990s, with the rapid development of the country's economic construction, some people who took the lead in becoming rich have driven domestic fur consumption, and China has rapidly changed from a fur exporting country to a fur consumer and importing country. By 1994, my country It has become an important importer of fur raw materials and products in the world. According to statistics: my country imported 18,532.31 tons of rabbit skins (including rex rabbit skins) in 2004, valued at US$16.2781 million; exported 412.38 tons of rabbit skins, valued at US$10.562 million. my country's rex rabbit breeding industry and fur processing industry are growing, but we are determined to We cannot be complacent. At present, our country is only a big country in the breeding, processing and consumption of fur animals such as rex rabbits, rather than a powerful country. Compared with some strong foreign players, there is still a certain gap in hide quality, processing technology, clothing design, etc.

2. Development trends of rabbit breeding industry in the world.

(1) The rabbit meat industry is developing towards the production of pollution-free green rabbit meat; rabbit meat processing, transportation and storage is developing towards cooling rabbit meat. “Green rabbit meat” refers to clean and hygienic rabbit meat that is disease-free, drug-free (such as antibiotics and pesticides), and pollution-free. It does not mean that the rabbit meat is green in color.

As animal epidemics continue to occur around the world, including mad cow disease, foot-and-mouth disease, avian flu, etc., and a recent death from "rabbit flu" in the UK, people are highly vigilant about meat consumption. After my country joined the WTO, importing countries have increasingly higher quality requirements for rabbit products. The European Union has detected residual antibiotics in rabbit meat exported from China. The content is 200 mg of chloramphenicol per kilogram of meat. Such low detection data It cannot be detected domestically, and the EU refuses to import Chinese rabbit meat. More than 80% of my country's rabbit meat (mainly produced in Shandong Province) is exported to the EU market, with a small amount exported to Japan, Singapore, South Korea and my country's Hong Kong and Macao regions. Therefore, after the EU market refused to import my country's rabbit meat, my country's rabbit meat exports suffered a serious decline.

Please see: In 2001, before joining the WTO, my country exported 32,998 tons of rabbit meat. However, in the four years from 2002 to 2005 after joining the WTO, the total exports of rabbit meat were only 28,828 tons, and the average annual rabbit meat exports were only 7,207 tons. The rabbit industry suffered heavy losses. Therefore, with the rise of green consumption in the world, it is imperative to develop the green rabbit industry. The Ministry of Agriculture has formulated standards for the production and sales of pollution-free food (including rabbit meat) and has promoted the "Pollution-free Food Action Plan" nationwide. Guangdong, Shanghai, Beijing and other cities have also implemented food access permit systems.

Therefore, we must change our concepts and continuously improve our green awareness. In addition to banning antibiotics as additives, we must also pay attention to hygiene and nutrition from site selection for farm construction to daily rabbit feed collection and feeding management to ensure the quality of rabbit meat. "Cooled rabbit meat", also called "cold fresh rabbit meat", refers to fresh rabbit meat that is kept at 0-4℃ throughout the entire process from cutting, transportation, storage, circulation to consumption after the rabbit has been inspected and slaughtered. . The characteristics of cold fresh rabbit meat are hygienic, safe, tender and rich in nutrients. At present, chilled rabbit meat has gradually expanded its market share in large and medium-sized cities in China. 80% of the foreign market is chilled meat. For example, in France in 1994, chilled rabbit meat only accounted for 9% of the total import volume, which increased to 43% in 1999. It has now reached more than 60%. my country's export of rabbit meat used to be frozen rabbit meat, but now it has also begun to export chilled rabbit meat according to the needs of different markets.

(2) The rabbit fur industry is developing towards high-yield and high-quality coarse wool; rabbit fur processing is developing towards pure rabbit fur knitted products.

Angora rabbits (commonly known as long-haired rabbits) are divided into coarse-haired types (referring to long-haired rabbits with a coarse hair content of more than 15%) according to the proportion of coarse hair (meaning that the fiber diameter of the hair is more than 30 microns, with an average of 47 microns). Rabbits such as French rabbits) and fine-haired rabbits (meaning that the coarse hair content in rabbit skin does not exceed 15%, such as German rabbits). Generally, coarse-haired rabbit hair is mostly used for knitting coats, and fine-haired rabbit hair is mostly used for knitting shirts. At present, international markets such as Japan, South Korea, Southeast Asia and other places require coarse-haired rabbit hair, and the price is about 30% higher than ordinary fine-haired rabbit hair.

Germany used to only raise fine-haired West German long-haired rabbits. Now, in order to win the market, they have also begun to raise coarse-haired French long-haired rabbits. They raise both types of rabbits. Whatever hair is popular in the market, they breed rabbits with that type of hair in large numbers. . my country is a big country in rabbit breeding and rabbit fur processing. New rabbit varieties bred in the 1980s, such as Tangxing series long-haired rabbits and Anhui series long-haired rabbits, are all coarse-haired and high-yielding long-haired rabbits. On December 9, 2005, the Henan Provincial Department of Science and Technology released the newly bred "Henan line of long-haired rabbits" which are also high-yielding coarse-haired long-haired rabbits. Farmers in Anhui, Shandong, Zhejiang and other provinces in my country have the habit of raising rabbits, and there are also markets. The largest rough rabbit fur market in the country is in Xieqiao Town, Yingshang County, Anhui Province.

How is rabbit hair processed and digested? Generally, rabbit hair is mixed with wool, nylon, etc. in a certain proportion and coarsely spun into "rabbit wool yarn", and then processed into "rabbit wool sweaters" and put on the market. Why are rabbit woolen sweaters sold in the market called "wool sweaters" and not "rabbit woolen sweaters"? Because rabbit woolen yarn generally contains 70% wool, 20% rabbit hair, and 10% nylon, which is the so-called "721" Blended yarn; a small amount of "541" blended yarn (50% wool, 40% rabbit hair, 10% nylon). Because it contains a large proportion of wool, the woven clothing is called "wool sweater". Rabbit woolen sweaters have a strong three-dimensional effect and are elegant to wear. Some wealthy people have bought them one after another. However, the hair loss and shrinkage deformation have caused people who wear rabbit woolen sweaters a lot of trouble. They no longer wear them, which has caused the popularity of rabbit wool products to ebb. Not long ago, the "Leiwo" brand 100% pure rabbit fur fabric produced by Haotian Industrial Company in Puning City, Guangdong Province, which does not shed, shrink or pill, was unveiled at the 4th China (Dalang) International Woolen Fabrics Fair This has aroused the attention of people in the industry at home and abroad. Everyone believes that this is the development direction of rabbit hair processing and hopes to put it into mass processing and production as soon as possible.

(3) The rex rabbit industry is developing towards high-quality fur-led rex rabbit skins; fur processing is developing towards fashionable fur garments.

Rex rabbits are raised mainly to obtain high-quality fur. The quality of rex rabbit meat is also very good, but it is a secondary product compared with the skin. The value of the meat only accounts for 10%-20% of the total value of the skin and meat. Rex rabbit skins can be divided according to their uses: fur collar, clothing, weaving, and mattress. The quality and price of leather vary greatly. The price of a piece of Lingzilu raw leather has always remained above 60 yuan, while low-grade raw leather has a low price (around 10-25 yuan) and is still difficult to sell. Brand men's and women's clothing use high-quality rex rabbit fur as fur collars, and demand is strong.

Most of our country's exports to Korea and Japan are furry Rex rabbit skins. In recent years, the Russian clothing market has proven that low-quality Rex rabbit skin clothing is not wear-resistant and has a high repair rate. The market has strong demand for high-quality furry Rex rabbit skins, so In addition to strengthening breed selection and full-price feed nutrition, rex rabbit breeding must also pay attention to the impact of seasons on skin quality, do a good job of breeding and breeding in autumn and winter, avoid harvesting skins during the bad coat season from June to August, and strive to achieve more Produce high quality fur collar skins. As long as the rex rabbit fur clothing processing is novel in style and meets the hobbies and needs of consumers, there will be no problem in selling it.