Soviet Chinchilla

a breed of rabbits raised for meat and fur. The breed was developed at animal-breeding sovkhozes in Moscow, Saratov, Perm’, Novosibirsk, and other oblasts by crossing the Chinchilla breed (a breed raised in the USA, Great Britain, Denmark, the Federal Republic of Germany, the German Democratic Republic, and other countries) with the White Giant breed. The breed was confirmed in 1957. Adult rabbits weigh about 5 kg; three-month-old individuals weigh 2.5 kg. A litter contains seven or eight young. The silvery gray-blue pelt resembles that of the chinchilla, a South American rodent. The pelt is darkest on the breast, back, sides, and croup; the neck, abdomen, lower part of the tail, and inside of the legs are almost white. There is a characteristic light gray wedge with a dark base on the back of the head. The Soviet Chinchilla is raised in various zones of the USSR.