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The Transylvanian Giant Rabbit is a new breed in Romanian cuniculture characterized by a normal weight of about 6.0 kg with limits between 4.5 and 9.0 kg. Its color pattern is Himalayan, several shades of black for the fur at the extremities being observed. Although Romania is not a country with a tradition in rabbits' breeding and their meat consumption, a local working team put the bases for its obtaining and homologation. The aim of this paper was review the most important steps in the Transylvanian Giant Rabbit breed obtaining, and to discuss the genetic mechanisms involved in coat color determinism, focused on the parental breeds and this new one. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Temporary pastures throughout their multifunctionality play an important role in rabbit farming due to the both quantity and quality of provided fodder. Temporary or sown pastures, as they are named, can comprise one species (pure crop) or more perennial fodder plants (mixtures of grasses and legumes). Among the pure crops, the most frequently used in rabbit feed in Romania is alfalfa. The alternative of use of mixtures beside pure crops in fodder production for rabbits is interesting to be considered both from nutritional point of view and as agronomical advantages in comparison with pure crops. This paper presents comparative information regarding the production, quality and chemical composition of some species/mixtures of perennial fodder crops. Complex mixtures composed from 6, respectively 7 species (M7 and M8), revealed higher yields but lower values for cell walls content as compared with alfalfa. The same mixtures moderately fertilized (N60P70) can supply phosphorus and potassium needs in herbivorous nutrition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Beside the Transylvanian Giant Rabbit a new rabbit breed, Oryctolagus cuniculus (L.) is currently in forming in Cluj-Napoca, Transylvania, Romania. According to the Standards 2003 for the judgment of the exhibition rabbit acknowledged by European Association, regarding the body weight, the Rabbit of Cluj fits in the medium size breeds, with a minimum of 3.50 kg and a maximum of 5.50 kg limit. Yet, there is no other breed that rake together the Chinchilla color pattern with a New Zealand White show phenotype. Because for commercial meat production, the New Zealand White appears to be the principal breed, the genetic improvement of the Rabbit of Cluj will follow the same means of the commercial rabbits (prolificacy, milk yield, maternal instinct, weaned kits, number of valorified young's/doe, growth rate, forage capitalization, slaughter indicators, advantageousness). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]