A considerable number of rabbits live on the land, but among them there is one species that deserves, in our opinion, special attention - this is the blue ram.
History of the breed
The blue ram appeared in France around 1850year as a result of the crossing of the English Fold and Flemish giant. In record time, the breed won and neighboring countries - Germany, Belgium, Holland. The blue sheep has gained incredible popularity.
After the war in 1870-1871, between Prussia andIn France, the Germans began to breed rabbits of this breed on their own, adopting the experience of their breeding from the French. In Germany, such rabbits were known as Patagonian sheep or Andalusian. German breeders improved the breed, later it came to Holland. If at the beginning of its appearance the French blue ram was considered some kind of exotic, then after a while the representatives of the breed settled on all continents.
Breed description
Rabbit french ram (blue) has onedistinctive feature is hanging ears. In addition, representatives of this breed grow quite quickly, and therefore legally occupy the first place in size and weight among lop-eared rabbits. Females reach a weight of more than five kilograms, while males, by contrast, have more modest parameters - 4.5 kilograms.
Rabbits have characteristic protruding frontal lobes.bones on rather wide muzzle with plump big cheeks. The paws of animals are strong, and the body is elongated, with a deep chest and a broad back. Rabbit's hanging ears reach 45 centimeters in length. However, the blue ram is known not only for its ears, but also for very thick and incredibly soft to the touch fur. It is due to the presence of such characteristics the animal has received an incredibly wide distribution on all continents.
Initially, rabbits had the color of agouti, but now there are a variety of different colors: white, black, chinchilla, blue, all sorts of shades of gray. But the most common is motley color.
Features of breeding
Кролик французский баран (голубой) – это весьма unpretentious in breeding creature, which is propagated mainly because of good and high-quality meat. For comfortable living, animals need a spacious cage or an aviary, inside of which there should be no foreign objects that can injure their delicate ears. Also for rabbits it is worth buying drinkers and feeders adapted for this breed (long ears should not fall into them).
Animals grow incredibly fast, for examplenine months after birth, females are able to breed. Cubs are hatched in the womb of mummies for 30-32 days. The first litter of the rabbit appears even before it reaches the age of one year. At one time, the female is able to give offspring consisting of twelve baby rabbits.
An interesting fact is that animals haveanatomical absurdities, in the year of the pelvic bones of rabbits are connected in such a way that in the future during childbirth she can not do without outside help. And at the age of three, females are generally not allowed to go to the males, since the anatomical features make subsequent birth very dangerous for their lives.
Feeding and care
Breed a blue ram (photos are given in the article) bylongevity refers to the champions. Such animals can live for more than seven years. Their greatest activity is observed at night and lasts until the morning. In the daytime, the rabbits are very sluggish and just sleep.
It is worth noting that the large size of animalsuniquely imprint on their entire lifestyle. They are rather reluctant and little move. But with all this, they have a great appetite, so the owners need to ensure that pets do not overeat. Otherwise, animals may become obese.
Hay and dry food must be given incertain ratios. In order for the rabbits to have no health problems, it is recommended to remove any fresh vegetables and fruits from their diet, as they provoke the development of diarrhea.
For such large pets worth buyingheavy metal bowls, since they easily turn over the usual dishes and even bite. Drinking tank should look like a bottle; water from it should not flow into the cage.
Types of sheep
In the world there are various types of sheep:English, French, German, Dutch, dwarf, Meissen, fleecy, plush (velveteen), fleecy. Each of them has its own distinctive features. For example, the English ram is quite different from other species. He has, perhaps, the longest ears - 60-70 centimeters, which even hamper his movement. The representative of this breed is even inscribed in the Guinness Book of Records, as the owner of the longest ears - 79 centimeters.
But the Dutch rabbits have quiteminiature size, while their weight is not more than 1.7 kilograms. The Netherlands is considered their birthplace. In the West, they are very popular because of their playful and friendly nature. Such animals are very quickly tamed and play with children with great pleasure. They are bred exclusively as decorative creatures.
Meisinsky ram got as a resultcrossbreeding french and english species. It has more modest parameters, unlike the progenitors. In their homeland, animals are on the verge of extinction, and therefore protected by law.
The pygmy ram is a very small creature weighing 1.2-2 kilograms. Such rabbits are incredibly playful and fun, easy to train. But at the same time have a proud character.
These are these cute creatures - dwarf sheep. For some, they are cute pets, like a plush toy, and for someone - a source of tasty and juicy meat.
