Analysis of coat quality of Chinchilla rabbit breed

Abstract

Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License Between breeders, Chinchilla rabbit is very popular as it has standard body shape and high quality of typically coloured fur. The aim of this study was to analyse quality of Chinchilla rabbit fur. Coat samples were gathered at the National Animal Exhibition in Nitra. We collected samples from three different body areas-those being scapula, back and thigh. Altogether, we obtained 153 samples of different individual animals. We observed different parameters of the fur. Those were-thickness and length of coat, height and width of the undercolour, ticking and height of the guard hair. We found out that average thickness of coat in the examined population was 0.106 mm in the area of scapula; 0.104 mm in the thigh area and 0.113 mm from the back area. Length of the guard hair from area of scapula was 35.8 mm; 37.9 mm in the thigh area and 36.4 mm in the back area. Height of the undercolour was 26.9 mm in the back area, 26.4 mm in area of scapula and 27.6 mm in the area of thighs. Observed width of intermediate colour was 5.1 mm in thigh area; 4.3 mm in back area and 4.8 mm in scapula area. Measured height of terminal black line of hair was 4.7 mm in area of scapula; 5.3 mm in the back area and 5.3 mm in thigh area. The differences among the evaluated body areas were not significant.

Rabbits – their domestication and molecular genetics of hair coat development and quality

“…The typical length of the single hair fiber of the Rex rabbit is 1.79–3.79 cm, with no statistically significant differences between hairs on various parts of the body (Tao 1994; Neirurerová et al . 2017). The diameter of the fiber is about 18–19 μm, and the hair density is 15 000–38 000 fibers/cm 2 (Tao 1994).…”

Comparison of exterior traits in selected giant and medium rabbit breeds

“…The undercolour is deep blue slate, as dark as possible from the skin to at least half the length of the fur (excluding black guard hairs). This is followed by a clear pearl white intermediate colour, which does not exceed a quarter of the length of the fur (Covrig et al, 2013;Neirurerova et al, 2019;Šimek et al, 2020).…”

“…According to Neirurerova et al (2019), chinchillas in this position must have a broad head and optimal body frame. However, presently, many chinchillas have broad flat heads.…”

“…In one study, Neirurerova et al (2019) analysed the coat length and quality of chinchilla rabbits. From 153 samples of different individual animals, the optimal coat quality scored was 26.4%.…”

“…According to Covrig et al (2013) and Neirurerova et al (2019), the important part of the chinchilla's coat colouring is the white intermediate colour, which creates a ring typical of the breed. Out of the total rabbit count, 5.7% cases of brighter undercolour were detected.…”