Different rabbit breeds exhibit various qualities and characteristics. It is upon these characteristics and qualities that one may choose a breed for various purposes. Very often farmers would prefer a rabbit breed for their size. However, the purpose of keeping rabbits aside meat is for skin, as pets, for research, etc. The farmer must define the purpose to make the best choice of rabbit breed.
We have 47 distinct rabbit breeds world over according to the American Rabbit Breeders Association ARBA. Farmers only rear just a few of them. The most common are New Zealand White, Californian white, Chinchilla, French lop, Dutch, Checkered Giant, Giant Flemish, Angora and Rex. These breeds can be cross bred to get a combination of prefered characteristics.
Californian white
This breed was developed in the United States of America. It has broad shoulders and meaty back and hips. Also, it is shorter and stockier and is white except for its ears, nose, feet and tail which are either dark grey or black. It is an ideal sire breed for interbreeding with other rabbit breeds for purposes of meat production.
Flemish giant
It can weigh 7 kg in live weight. It has a high bone to meat ratio and it has slow growth and so not an ideal meat breed. You can improve its characteristics by interbreeding. It has large ears that droop around the head. They have short and stocky legs but are heavy. They can weigh over 5kg.
New Zealand white
It has a good growth characteristic, capable of attaining slaughter weight of 3kg live weight within 12-14 weeks depending on feeding regime. The New Zealand White is one of the best commercial breeds that grow to a weight of about 5Kg and has all-white colour making its fur marketable. We consider it a dam breed because of its excellent mothering instinct.
Chinchilla rabbit
They are originally bred for meat. They are short and stocky with a nice rounded back. There are 3 chinchilla breeds: Standard, American and Giant Chinchilla. Chinchilla is similar to the California White in bone/meat ratio.
The Dutch rabbit
The Dutch rabbit breed is a fairly small but compact rabbit with shorter forelegs. An outstanding characteristic of this breed is the large ears. They have short and stocky legs but are heavy with weight over 5kg.
This breed is largely pitch black with a white stripe running from the back to the stock all-round the rabbit. It does not have a high bone/meat ratio suiting the description.
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