Hycole-type hybrid

Hycole, Hyplus and Hyla are not breeds but hybrids produced by crossing several specialised lines. They look like white, red-eyed rabbits, sometimes with dark Californian-style points. Parent does weigh 4–5.5 kg and have large litters (usually 8–12 kits). Broiler offspring are slaughtered at 70–80 days.

The advertised 55–60 g of daily gain comes from industrial farms. On small farms, Hycole broilers averaged about 2.3 kg at 77 days. Even that requires a complete feed with 15–17% protein and 14–16% fibre. On grain and hay, hybrids grow poorly and ordinary breeds overtake them.

Uzbekistan climate. Hybrids are designed for ventilated buildings that are cooled in summer and heated in winter: the breeding company specifies at least 16–17 °C indoors in winter. In outdoor cages, 35–40 °C heat and −15 °C frost cancel out their advantage.

Buying locally. There is no authorised Hycole or Hyplus distributor in Uzbekistan, so “hikol” and “Italian hikol” labels cannot be trusted. Some ads list “hikol”, “Pannon” and “Termon” together, which are three unrelated genetics; the word has simply come to mean “big white meat rabbit”. Hybrids bred to each other produce smaller, uneven offspring, so selling “hikol offspring” as breeding stock is close to fraud. If you want to breed your own replacements, choose pure breeds.