Incident: According to media reports, a man in Zhangjiakou, Hebei Province picked up three unwanted rabbits because he liked raising animals. He usually fed them vegetables from his own field. He originally planned to raise the rabbits to be eaten. I didn't expect that these three rabbits would breed nearly a hundred rabbits in the 7 months they were raised.

#A man picked up three rabbits and they bred nearly a hundred rabbits in 7 months#

Three rabbits bred nearly a hundred rabbits in 7 months, which shows that rabbits have super reproductive capabilities. It’s what we usually call “being able to give birth”.

How fertile is a rabbit?

The gestation time of each rabbit is 31 days. Generally, rabbits can produce 4-6 litters a year, with each litter containing about 6-10 rabbits.

What is even more frightening is that a baby rabbit can mature and acquire the ability to reproduce within 2 months after birth.

Some experts have calculated through data that with the super reproductive ability of rabbits, if no measures are taken to restrict their reproduction, it will only take 90 years for every square meter of land on the earth to stand on one rabbit. Rabbit.

The most typical example of rabbit disasters is Australia. According to official data, the number of local rabbits in Australia once reached tens of billions. They have been hunted down many times, but they are still overrun. It can be seen that the reproductive ability of rabbits is limited. How strong.

Rabbits are not only capable of giving birth, but also grow very quickly. Meat-eating rabbits specially used for fattening can be put on the market in 70-80 days, with a daily weight gain of 45g and a feed-to-meat ratio of 3:1.

Maybe you have no idea about these professional data. Let’s compare rabbits with pigs, which have the largest domestic consumption and breeding volume.

If there is a 120-square-meter pen, the breeding area required for each pig is 1.2-1.5 square meters. According to the maximum density, a 120-square-meter pen can breed 100 pigs.

The breeding area required for each rabbit is 0.06-0.07 square meters. Also according to the maximum breeding density, more than 2,100 rabbits can be raised in a 120-square-meter pen.

Pigs grow fastest when they weigh 120-200 kilograms and can reach 800-900g. The average daily weight gain of 100 pigs is 80-90kg, while the daily weight gain of rabbits is 45g. The average daily weight gain of 2100 rabbits was 94.5kg.

That is to say, under the same breeding area, the total daily gain of rabbits is higher than that of pigs.

You must know that rabbits eat mostly roughage and only a part of concentrated feed. In this way, the feed-to-meat ratio can be controlled at about 3:1, while pigs need concentrated feed throughout the process, and their feed from weaning to slaughter The meat ratio is also around 3:1.

It can be seen that in terms of feed conversion rate, the data of rabbits are better than that of pigs.

Based on the above two points, rabbits can not only give birth, but also grow quickly.

Why has such a “perfect” meat producer failed to become a mainstream meat producer? We also compare rabbits with domestic pigs, and then we know that it is very wise for the older generation to choose pigs as the main producer of meat.

1. Comparison of survival rates of cubs

Rabbits are very delicate animals. Improper management can easily cause large-scale death of rabbits, especially the stress resistance of young rabbits. Worse, with higher morbidity and mortality.

Even sometimes the cause of acute death of rabbits cannot be found. In current large-scale breeding farms, the survival rate of rabbits is only about 80%.

Although the mortality rate of piglets is higher than that of piglets in other stages, their survival rate is much higher than that of rabbits. In large-scale pig farms, the survival rate of piglets can reach 95% in the nursery stage and 95% in the fattening stage. The survival rate is 98, and the overall survival rate can reach more than 93.

2. Comparison of meat yield

Under normal circumstances, the meat yield of rabbits is only about 30. A 5-pound rabbit can only provide 1.5 kilograms of meat. The gross ratio is 0.3:1.

The meat yield rate of pigs is about 75. A 240-pound pig can provide 180 pounds of pork, with a meat-to-gross ratio of 0.75:1.

Although the feed-to-meat ratio of rabbits and pigs is both 3:1, if the meat production efficiency is considered, pigs are significantly higher than rabbits.

3. Nutritional comparison

Meat consumption in developed countries such as Europe and the United States is mainly chicken and beef, while in my country it is mainly pork. In 2021, my country’s total pork consumption is 5667 million tons, the total beef consumption was 9.31 million tons, and the total poultry consumption was 25.28 million tons.

The formation of this consumption habit has historical origins.

In ancient times, cattle, as the main labor force in agricultural production, had a very high status. Ordinary people could not kill cattle privately to eat beef without permission. Only those who were old and infirm could not continue farming. Cattle can only be slaughtered and must be reported to the local government before slaughtering. They can only be slaughtered after inspection.

In addition, it is related to our country's eating habits. Since the Tang and Song Dynasties, the "stir-fried" cooking method has frequently appeared in various books. Compared with beef, mutton, and chicken, pork It has a higher fat content and is more suitable for "frying" cooking, so it was naturally recognized, and this cooking and eating habit is still used today.

Compared with cattle and sheep, pigs grow faster. Even with the support of modern breeding technology, the fattening time of cattle and sheep takes about a year, while pigs grow from birth to slaughter. It only takes about 6 months.

Study found that every 100g of pork contains 14.59g of fat, 18.73g of protein and 211.65kcal of calories.

Every 100g of rabbit meat contains only 0.4g of fat and 20.3g of protein.

Although the protein content of rabbit meat is higher, the fat content is much lower. During the shortage of materials in the 1950s and 1960s, people had greater demand for fat, and the fat content of rabbit meat was too high. If it is low, it will naturally not be recognized by people.

4. Comparison of taste and cooking difficulty

Pork, beef, mutton, and rabbit are easy to distinguish by taste without being cooked. Pork is not mixed with harmful substances. Other miscellaneous smells, while rabbit meat has a unique earthy smell and requires special treatment before cooking.

The Sichuan region is where the most rabbit meat is eaten in my country. Because Sichuan cuisine is heavy on oil and seasonings, and has a strong texture, it can completely cover up the earthy smell of rabbit meat, while other cuisines, such as Shandong cuisine, rely on the umami flavor to win. , not suitable for cooking rabbit meat.