Chapter 442 Large Breeding Household

Vienna, Schönbrunn Palace.

Franz has been secretly conducting some research over the years, that is, how to breed French and English Angora rabbits into modern German Angora rabbits.

This thing is usually kept as a pet in modern times because it looks good and is extremely docile. Or it is used to obtain fur because its fur production is high and the quality of fur is excellent.

Its fur production is four times that of other Angora rabbits and dozens of times that of ordinary rabbits.

But Franz is interested in its edible value. Yes, like many predecessors, he also has the idea of ​​using rabbits to solve the food problem.

As for the meat-to-feed ratio, Franz is not particularly worried. Because there is a lot of agricultural land in Austria, as long as there is a demand for feed, it is not a problem.

In fact, the meat-to-feed ratio of rabbits is usually 2.8~3.5:1. Although it is not as good as the 2.0:1 of chickens and ducks, it is not much different from the usual 3.0:1 of domestic pigs.

Feed-to-meat ratio refers to the amount of feed consumed by livestock and poultry to gain one kilogram of weight. A high feed-to-meat ratio means that more feed is used, but less meat is grown. Conversely, a low feed-to-meat ratio means that less money is spent, but more meat is grown.

So generally speaking, the lower this number, the better.

The feed-to-meat ratio of German Angora rabbits is 3.1:1, which is actually very close to that of domestic pigs, but high-quality fur is something that domestic pigs do not have.

Franz has found professional leatherworkers and tailors to make rabbit skins into clothing, and the finished products can be sold at a very good price.

Laymen cannot tell the material at all, and even insiders think that this fur is of extremely high quality.

Of course, Franz understands the principle that things are rare and expensive. Once the output is increased to a certain level, the price will inevitably drop sharply. But isn't it what people are pursuing to get a higher quality experience with a small amount of money?

Franz is more concerned about the impact on its upstream and downstream industries. First, the leather industry will definitely be revitalized. Secondly, raising giant rabbits in large numbers will inevitably increase the demand for feed. Thirdly, due to the decline in fur costs, the pattern of the clothing industry will definitely change.

So far, Franz has not actually eaten the rabbits he raised. This is not because he feels that he can't eat them, but he is afraid that this kind of thing may carry hidden diseases.

Every time, people make dishes and send them to the prison for the prisoners to eat, but it is unknown whether the rabbit meat is eaten by the prisoners or the jailers.

In short, so far, there has been no news of sudden death or special mutations in a short period of time.

As for the problem that Europeans don't eat rabbits, there is no need to worry at all, because that is simply a rumor. The French eat about 20 million ducks and 1 million geese every year, and also eat more than 30 million rabbits.

Other aspects such as breeding environment and diseases are also very advantageous. This kind of rabbit does not like exercise and has strong disease resistance.

According to Franz's breeding experience in four major regions of Austria, this kind of rabbits rarely get sick, at least no case of death has been reported so far.

They have strong adaptability to the environment, as long as it is not too hot. But there is no way, Angora rabbits are afraid of heat.

However, after dozens of generations of reproduction, Franz still has not found the variety he wants.

In order to speed up this research, Franz actually gave Mendel a batch of breeding rabbits, hoping that this great scientist can create some miracles again.

In fact, Mendel has a lot of experience in cultivating flowers and plants, but it is the first time to cultivate rabbits. But both sides think that it should be similar to cultivating flowers and plants.

Franz has collected most of the giant rabbit species in the world, but it seems to be a little worse than what he has seen in his previous life, and either the growth cycle is too slow or the body is too small.

It can't achieve the dual-use effect of skin and meat required by Franz.

As for the natural disasters that this kind of rabbit may bring, let alone Franz's plan for large-scale industrial breeding, let's talk about the living standards of Europeans in the 19th century.

If someone saw a bunch of rabbits outside the city, they would definitely kill them with a stick without saying a word to improve the family's food.

You have to know that the population of Europe began to expand at this time, and every famine or economic crisis would cause species extinction.

That's right! Eaten up!

Franz's sister Maria screamed excitedly when she saw the rabbits he raised.

"Rabbit!"

To be honest, Franz didn't like this sharp cry, so he had to give her a few, but he still told her just in case.

"I gave you female rabbits, don't let them run around, if they give birth to too many little rabbits, I will deal with them."

"Why? Little rabbits are so cute, the palace is so big, can't I raise a few rabbits?" Maria shook Franz's arm and tried to get away with it.

"This thing can give birth very well. Thousands, tens of thousands, can this Schönbrunn Palace also raise them?"

Maria had to lower her head, looking like she was about to cry. It was obvious that the little girl was going to make a fuss if Franz didn't give in. If Franz didn't give in, she would make a scene and call for her mother.

Of course, Franz wouldn't let things get that bad. Maria didn't dare to do that either, because her brother would hit people like a devil. She rubbed her butt subconsciously.

In fact, Franz knew this would happen, so he had left room for it in advance.

"Well, then, do you know how to add and subtract within 100?"

"Yes!"

"99-65 = how much?"

"34!" Maria answered readily.

"Not bad." Franz praised and then asked, "How about multiplication within 100?"

"I know! One plus one equals one, one plus two equals two." Maria began to recite the multiplication formula, which was okay for an eight-year-old girl.

"How about division?"

"Yes," Maria whispered, obviously not confident this time.

"100, no more."

"Why?" Maria shouted unwillingly.

"Trigonometric functions."

"No."

"Isn't that enough?"

Maria rubbed her head and felt that Franz's words made sense, but there was something wrong. In short, the rabbit was in hand, this was the key.

So the little girl jumped away.

Franz didn't care too much about this episode, he was still thinking about his livelihood.

The domestic pig species in Austria have degenerated too seriously, not only in Austria, but also in pigs throughout Europe. Rather than degenerating, it is better to say that they have evolved a strategy that is more suitable for survival.

But the future navy needs more brushes, and the soft bristles of European pigs are naturally not good enough.

So he also brought back pigs from Asia for breeding, but of course this kind of animal was not suitable for raising in Schönbrunn Palace.

After several generations of hybridization, the ideal breed was finally obtained, but this was considered a completely abnormal behavior by people at that time.

People speculated whether Archduke Franz had a special fetish for hybrid species, or whether he had a grudge against animals.

In addition, the carp breeding plan was not successful. At that time, there were a large number of ferocious freshwater fish in the main rivers in Europe. The carp that Franz put in not only failed to reproduce on a large scale, but were swept away by predators.