Viennese
blue are the middle in size rabbit. This breed was shown out at the end of 19
century in Austria
by the method of crossing of Flemish Giant with the local moravian rabbits. For
reproducing abandoned animals possessing clean dove-colored-blue fur. At that
time
they
weighed 3,5-4 kg,
differed in good meat, for slaughter output and precocity.
For us
the Viennese blue was exposed to breeding work by sent to the improvement of
quality of fur, to adaptability to the forage and climatic terms of middle
stripe.
A size
and form of build the rabbit of this breed inherited mainly from Flemish Giants:
a dense, compact, slightly extended trunk (thus more hammered together, than at
Flemish Giants) arrives at a 57
cm, strong skeleton, wide back, direct, wide ears of
average, but not thick. Eyes for them are darkly-blue. Head is easy, breasts
are wide and deep (a circumference is a 37 cm).
The
Viennese blue possess a hair cover
dove-coloured-blue colouring without a zonality, homogeneous on all body,
without black hair and grey hair. Thick, magnificent and soft fur excels fur of
rabbit of all other breeds. The hides of
the Viennese blue rabbits are used in fur industry for an imitation under a
fur-seal.
The small
rabbits of this breed are grey. Peculiar to the breed blue color they acquire
after the second age-related molting. In summer sometimes an easy brown tint
appears on wool, but it disappears after molting to the winter.
In the good terms of maintenance young animals
in age 90 days is weighed by 2,5-2,6
kg, in 4 months their weight arrives at 70% mass of
adult rabbit. The separate representatives of breed arrive at mass more than 7 kg.
In
further pedigree work basic attention must be spared to the improvement of such
signs as precocity and productivity, improvements of quality of hide
(brilliance, typicalness, homogeneity).