Content
The German Risen (German giant), considered today the largest rabbit, descends in a straight line from Belgian Flanders. After the Flanders arrived in Germany in the 19th century, German breeders began breeding their own line of giants, focusing on weight gain. The Germans achieved their goal. Moreover, the result was so good that a new rabbit breed. If the blood of another breed had been added to the Flanders, there would be no controversy today. But the German Risen is a pure Flanders rabbit by blood, which is why many breeders do not recognize the Risen as a separate breed, considering the German Risen a branch of the Flanders rabbit.
In fact, there are now three large breeds of rabbits bred in Germany: the German Riesen, white giant and a butterfly.
The white giant is the same Flanders rabbit, but smaller in size than its colored counterparts - the German giants, which is why white rabbits were identified as a separate breed.
Of these three breeds, the German Riesen is the largest, with an average weight of 7 kg. The white giant weighs half a kilogram less. And the smallest one is a butterfly. Only 6 kg.
German Risen standard
Rizen has a head proportional to the body with large cheeks (in males), while rabbits have more graceful and elongated heads. The ears must be no less than 13 and no more than 20 cm long. Narrower at the base and wider in the middle, Risen's ears resemble bowling pins turned upside down.
Like any meat breed, Risen has well-developed muscles. The body is massive with a wide back and deep chest. Rabbits are distinguished by the fact that the bulk of their muscle mass is located on their hind legs. Therefore, the sacral section of Risen should be wide and powerful.
The front legs are massive, widely spaced to support the weight of the body.
Smaller rabbits are culled for meat. The average body length of Risen is 70-75 cm, weight is 7-8 kg. Breeders continue to work on the size of the German Risen and today rabbits weighing 9-10 kg are no longer uncommon. And record holders can reach almost 12 kg. Today's German Rabbit Breeders' Association standard allows an upper weight limit for German Riesens of 11.8 kg.
Trying to raise a rabbit of record weight may result in a fat animal that is incapable of reproducing. In obese males, there is an inability to fertilize female rabbits, and in obese females, the number of babies in the litter decreases. Often an obese female rabbit dies during birth.
Risen rabbits are theoretically classified as meat-hide breeds. The length of their coat is 4 cm. Initially, the colors determined by the agouti gene predominated among the German Risen. That is, zone-gray and zone-red. White is a spontaneous mutation of the genes responsible for color.
The inconspicuous “hare” color was the main obstacle to the use of this breed for the manufacture of fur products, although the large skin is of greater interest to furriers than the skins of smaller rabbits. The situation was corrected when Risen rabbits of blue and black colors were bred.
"Standard" color.
In the video there are rabbits of the German Risen breed of standard color
Blue color.
Black color.
The standard also allows a red color, which on Russian-language sites can be called “gold”, using tracing paper from the English language. When searching for Rizens based on an ad, you must take into account that the exotic “gold” is just a red rabbit and its productive characteristics are no different from other rabbits of this breed that have a different coat color.
The calm and easy-going nature of German Risen cats allows them to be kept as pets.
Features of the content of German Risen
This breed of rabbit is not very adapted to the Russian climate, so the Rizens require either insulated cages when kept outdoors, or placing the cages in a building with a controlled microclimate.
Giants also require a cage area one and a half times larger than normal. And for a female rabbit with a litter, twice as much. The height of the cage must be at least 60 cm when keeping German Rizens in cages.
But such housing is suitable for rabbits fattened for meat, and is not very convenient for maintaining breeding stock.
It is better to keep the breeding herd in individual enclosures with a floor area of 1 - 1.5 m².
When keeping shad, bedding for rabbits is usually not provided, except for queen cells.But due to their heavy weight, Risen too often get so-called “corns” - pododermatitis, damaging the soles of their paws on the floor grating. Therefore, for giants, the presence of hay bedding in the cage is a prerequisite for the proper maintenance of this breed of rabbit. But then the function of the lattice through which the rabbit droppings falls out of the cage is lost.
You can make a special retractable tray on which the bedding will lie and which can be removed from the cage. But this will require reworking ordinary cells for Risen.
For this reason, it is often convenient to simply keep giants in an enclosure, where it is enough to remove the rabbit from its premises and then remove all the dirty bedding with a shovel.
If you put sawdust under the hay, then the rabbits will sit on dry hay, since the urine will be absorbed into the sawdust lying under the hay. You need to clean such enclosures as needed, but do not delay this procedure, as otherwise the rabbit will trample the pellets of droppings and will live on manure, as in the photo, and this adversely affects the condition of the fur and skin on the animal’s paws.
After removing the bedding, the cage must be disinfected.
Features of feeding
Rizens eat the same food as other breeds of rabbits, but it must be taken into account that all feeding standards in the tables are based on rabbits weighing 4-5 kg. For Risen, the amount of feed increases in proportion to its weight.
Ideally, it would be rational to use complete factory-made food for rabbits for Risen, since these foods are balanced in vitamins and minerals, plus they do not cause bloating, which can be obtained by feeding succulent food from the garden to rabbits.The disadvantage of these feeds is that few people produce them in Russia, except for imported feeds for decorative rabbits in pet stores.
Therefore, when raising rabbits for meat, you either have to make feed for them yourself or feed them grain. In addition to hay and grain feed, rabbits can be fed succulent feed. But it is succulent food that causes digestive problems in rabbits, so they must be fed carefully.
When you create your own diet, it is difficult to balance it with vitamins and minerals. But you need to know that most vitamins are produced in the rabbit’s intestines by the bacteria living there, so in the absence of dysbacteriosis, the rabbit almost does not need vitamins.
The table shows the vitamins that are produced in the rabbit's intestines.
In case of dysbiosis, for example, during a course of antibiotics, these vitamins must be added artificially and restore the microflora in the rabbit’s intestines as quickly as possible.
Three vitamins, although essential, are not produced: A, D, E.
Vitamin A responsible for regulating the reproductive and nervous systems, as well as physical development. Can accumulate in the liver. Hypervitaminosis symptoms are similar to signs of poisoning. Contrary to the belief that red vegetables contain the most vitamin A, fresh nettle contains more of it than carrots.
Vitamin E necessary for the development of muscle mass, the reproductive system and normal functioning of the cardiovascular system.
Vitamin D prevents the development of rickets and promotes proper bone development.But we must take into account that hypervitaminosis of vitamin D causes calcium deposition on the walls of blood vessels.
Even with an increase in the diet, the proportions of food for Risen rabbits remain the same as for other breeds. In winter, hay is at least 15%. You can feed hay up to 25%. Concentrates from 40 to 60%. Juicy feed from 20 to 35%. In summer, hay is often removed, leaving grass, which is usually classified as succulent or green fodder. In this case, herbs give from 35 to 60% and concentrates from 40 to 65%. Maximum concentrations of concentrates are usually given to fattening rabbits.
Breeding
The German Risen is a late-maturing rabbit. If meat breeds can be mated as early as 5 months, then with Risen you will have to wait up to 8-9 months. Due to their late maturation, giants are now losing ground to broiler, early-maturing rabbit breeds. On average, a female rabbit brings the same number of babies as smaller breeds. At the same time, young females have small litters, to the point that they can give birth to only one baby rabbit.
There are 5-6 female rabbits per male. With a larger number of females, fertility may decrease.
After mating, the rabbits are transferred to an enhanced diet. If there is a lack of minerals, feed of animal origin is added to the feed, as well as chalk and feed phosphates. In winter, the diet must contain tricalcium phosphate, 5 g per head per day.
How to choose a breeding rabbit
To raise a breeding stock, you need to buy young animals from spring litters. Rabbits born in the spring had the opportunity to receive maximum vitamins and nutrients.Although some believe that winter litters are stronger and better suited for breeding use, although the animals from these litters grow smaller than their spring and summer counterparts.
It is best to take 4-month-old rabbits from a breeding farm with a good reputation.
When choosing a baby rabbit, you need to take a closer look at its behavior and appearance. Although, according to the description of the breed, Rizens are very calm animals, nevertheless, a rabbit that is too motionless should alert you. If at the same time the animal tries to hide under a wall or hide in a corner, it is better not to take rabbits from this litter at all.
Upon external examination, the baby rabbit should be “smooth”, meaning there should be no bones sticking out under the skin. If the owner claims that the animal is thin because it is growing, it is better to buy breeding stock from another farm. But the baby rabbit shouldn’t be too fat either.
The fur of a healthy animal lies evenly on the body and usually makes you want to stroke it. Dishevelment indicates health problems. The eyes should be clean and shiny, and there should be no discharge from the nose.
If there is matted fur on the paws, it means that the rabbit was cleaning its eyes or nose with its paws. You should not buy such an animal.
A smooth, wide back and smooth, powerful paws will indicate the absence of rickets. Rabbits should also have a wide croup.
It's also worth looking into the mouth. It is better not to buy a baby rabbit with an incorrect bite. Such an animal will soon begin to have problems with its teeth and, as a result, with eating and assimilation of food.
Reviews from owners of German giants
Let's sum it up
German Risen are well suited for breeding in the southern regions of Russia, where winters are similar to European ones. In colder regions, rabbits of this breed will have to build an insulated rabbitry.
