New Zealand Giant Rabbit Breed, Lifespan, Size, Meat, and All Information

New Zealand giant rabbit are a type of rabbits, whose origin is America. They are loving, caring, and also very smart pet animals that’s why these rabbits are very popular among the different people. Their beautiful white color coat attracts most of the people. Not only this but also, they are available in many different colors i.e; red, back, blue, white, and broken. The scientific name of these rabbits is Oryctolagus cuniculus. 4-5 kg is the size of these rabbits and their total life span is 7 to 10 years. Due to all these features, these types of rabbits require good care.

New Zealand giant rabbit

 New Zealand giant rabbit
New Zealand giant rabbit is very smart pet

This type of New Zealand Rabbit was developed in Europe in the sixteenth century. The weight of male Giant rabbits is 6.4 kgs and 6.8 kgs of the female giant rabbits. The doe (female rabbit) takes 12 to 14 months to undergo mating. After the crossing of giant rabbits with the smaller breeds, the overall size of these rabbits reduced and they were used for trade purposes.

New Zealand black rabbit

A doctor from California named Dr. Alfred  De Castro created this type of rabbit in 1924 after the efforts of so many crosses. Giant Chinchilla was used in many of these crosses. In addition to this, the eye color of these types of breeds is dark brown. The pure black color is present all over the body. This new breed of New Zealand Rabbits was accepted by American Rabbit Breeders’ Association in 1958.

New Zealand white rabbit

 New Zealand white rabbit
New Zealand white rabbit is a famous breed for trade

While talking about New Zealand rabbits, the white rabbits are the most famous breed of them which appeared in 1916 for the trade of fur and meat. These rabbits are called an albino because of the lack of melanin pigment. This is the pigment due to which the skin, hair, and eye of the animals show color. Therefore, this albino characteristic gives these rabbits the pure white color. The average weight of these types of New Zealand rabbits is about 4 to 4.5 kgs.

New Zealand Red rabbit

 New Zealand Red rabbit
New Zealand Red rabbit is a big rabbit who have brown eyes

The red New Zealand rabbit is a big rabbit whose average weight is almost 3 to 4.5 kgs. These rabbits have brown eyes. These types of rabbits are very social, caring, and adoring with the children but also are a little aggressive. These rabbits are also called healthy rabbits because they have not shown any type of hereditary and breed-related disease yet.

New Zealand blue rabbit

New Zealand blue rabbit
New Zealand blue rabbit is a breed of rabbit

BRC and the United Kingdom accepted these types of rabbits. Whereas these blue New Zealand rabbits have been accepted by the American Rabbit Breeders’ Association since 2016. 

New Zealand rabbit breed

 New Zealand rabbit breed
New Zealand rabbit breed is a big breed

As their name is showing that these rabbits have no origin from New Zealand but they have originated from America. The American breeders crossed many famous types of rabbits to develop new breeds. If someone wants to get a rabbit, the New Zealand rabbits are the best choice which also requires big space because they are big breeds. Their are many small “Rabbit Breeds” also available which you can get as a pet.

Different breeders along the world have tried to make the qualities of these breeders better for many important and essential purposes. 

New Zealand rabbit breeding

Rabbits have different reproductive systems than other animals. These New Zealand rabbits usually have short pregnancies. The female rabbit called Doe has a fertility period of 8 to 12 weeks and can, therefore, be bred at about the age of 16 to 17 weeks. Their gestation period is about from 28 to 35 days and can also be rebred after 31 to 32 days. Talking about young ones, they are born blind, deaf, and hairless. Also, a female rabbit can again become pregnant within 24 hours only after giving the previous birth.

New Zealand white rabbit breeding

As we discussed earlier, the New Zealand White female rabbit can undergo breeding at the age of almost 16 to 17 weeks because it becomes fertile after 8 to 12 weeks. The breeders of these white rabbits are as follows:

 

  1. Last frontier Rabbitry in Alaska
  2. Ashley’s Bragging Rights in California
  3. NEFF’S Feather Pines Farm in Florida
  4. Hasen Pfeffer’s Rabbitry in Florida

New Zealand red rabbit breeding

The New Zealand Rabbits are very good breeds and therefore, make good friends. Due to their loving nature, they are safe not only for children but also for other pets. These rabbits are a little frustrated but become calm immediately after handling them in our hands. Like the other rabbits, New Zealand rabbits are sensitive to heat but we can also keep them inside. 

New Zealand rabbit lifespan

The New Zealand Rabbits were developed for meat and trade purposes as we discussed earlier, so the expected life span of these rabbits is about 5 to 6 years. In addition to this, their life span can extend up to almost 10 years.

New Zealand white rabbit lifespan

The Newzealand White Rabbits also called albino rabbits are very famous because of their friendly and calm nature. They can be easily trained. The life span of these rabbits is about 7 to 10 years if they have been given a proper diet.

New Zealand red rabbit lifespan

These rabbits are of big size and have a greater weight of almost 9 to 12 lbs. Giving them a proper diet and taking care of their health can extend their life span from 5-6 years to 10 years which is very long.

New Zealand rabbit size

 New Zealand rabbit size
New Zealand rabbit size is 4.54 to 5.44 male and female 4.08 4.99

As we know, New Zealand rabbits are considered to be the largest rabbit breeds. The buck (male rabbit) has a size of 4.54 to 5.44 kgs whereas the doe (female rabbit) has a size between 4.08 and 4.99 kgs. The show line rabbits are generally smaller than the New Zealand White rabbits.

New Zealand white rabbit size

We know that the diet can greatly affect the size. If we give the New Zealand White rabbits proper diet and take care of their health, we can maintain their size which is 4 to 5 kgs. And also, on the average, these white rabbits can live for almost 7 years.

New Zealand red rabbit size

The New Zealand Red rabbits are also very big and their size is about 3 to 4.5  kgs. These rabbits are also used for meat purposes and have been bred for many years for getting little weight purposes. “Flemish Giant” is another kind of New Zealand rabbit.

New Zealand white rabbits for sale

The cost of New Zealand white rabbits is not so high. The cost of white rabbits is about 10 dollars.

New Zealand rabbit colors

The colors recognized by Arabian Rabbit Breeders’ Association are five i.e; black, blue, white, red, and broken.

New Zealand meat rabbit

The requirements for meat production totally depend on our farming methods. So, before choosing the breed, this method must be kept in mind. The New Zealand white rabbit meat and red rabbits meats are described below:

New Zealand white rabbit meat

The New Zealand white rabbits have been proven to be good meat producers. They are good mothers who can raise between 5 to 8 babies. They can produce good meat which can also be used for trade purposes.

New Zealand red rabbit meat

The New Zealand rabbits are called the excellent meat rabbits because of their high feed to meat ratio. This ratio matters a lot. These rabbits have fine bones and are also the best meat producers.

New Zealand Rabbit Facts

  • There are very good facts about the New Zealand Rabbits including one that they can grow up to be big bunnies.
  •  As these rabbits are good meat producers, they are greatly used for trade purposes.
  •  They require a large space which means large cages. 
  • These rabbits do not bite, that’s why they are said to be friendly and calm.

New Zealand Rabbit weight

The different colored New Zealand Rabbits have different weights. The New Zealand Red rabbit has a weight of 3 to 4.5 kgs, a white rabbit has a weight of 4 to 5 kgs, and the blue rabbit has a weight of 5 kg. The diet greatly affects weight.

New Zealand Rabbit care

Like all other rabbits, New Zealand rabbits also require great care. We can take care of them in the following ways:

  • By keeping them away from the rain, wind, and sunlight because these rabbits are sensitive to heat.
  • To keep them worm-free, we must use the De-worming paste.
  • They enjoy it when we handle them. So handle them carefully, otherwise, they will become aggressive. 

Conclusion

As we discussed, New Zealand Rabbits are very good pets, they can also be sued for various essential purposes. They are also excellent meat producers, hence, they can be used for trade purposes also. They don’t cost so high, so we can buy them easily. We can use them for our basic requirements. So, handle them carefully, otherwise, they will get aggressive.

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