Features of keeping and breeding rabbits at home

Rabbit breeding- an interesting, profitable and profitable occupation. This kind of activity in the household is very popular. Rabbits are characterized by high precocity and intensity of growth, increased fertility and the ability to reproduce throughout the year. TheyAre unpretentious at the maintenancein cells, adapt well to the existing conditions, fully pay for the food they have spent on them. Breeding and caring for animals is not difficult task, if you know about rabbits the most important thing. From this article you will learn where to start.

Biological and physiological features of rabbits for beginners

Rabbits are born blind, naked and completely dependent on the rabbit-mother.They feed onexclusively milk. By the 10th - the 14th day of the rabbitseyes open, by the 16th - 20th they alreadyleave the nestand begin to taste the taste of adult food.

At the age of 1 month, the young can do without a mother. By this time, their primary development reaches their primary hair cover and the milk teeth are replaced by indigenous teeth. In newborn babies 16 temporary teeth.From the 18th day of lifetheir gradual replacement with permanent ones begins. Milk molar teeth fall out on days 20-28. After a change in animals, there are 28, less often 26 (there may be no pair of small incisors in the upper jaw). By the age of 30, the live weight of rabbits increases 8-10 times.

Rabbits are true vegetarians. They like to eat green grass, in winter they prefer high-quality hay. With pleasure gnaw on twigs of trees and bushes, weave grain, vegetables and fruits. Under the conditions of domestic maintenance, animal feed in the form of nutritious and mineral supplements is included in the diet of animals.

The digestive system of rabbits can not be better adapted to eating plant foods.Stomach in single-celled animals, has the form of a horseshoe-shaped bag. Gastric juice contains hydrochloric acid, pepsin and lipase, which quickly dissolve the proteins of the feed, promote digestion of fats, and protect food from decay.Intestines8-10 times the length of the body. Rabbit urine has an alkaline reaction, it contains a lot of nitrogen and sulfur.Day time feces- dry and hard, night - soft and moist. A special feature of digestion of animals is natural coprophagy.

Sexual maturation of rabbits early. Medium-sized animals are capable of reproduction at the age of 3 -3, 5 months, large - at the age of 3, 5 - 4 months. However, without harm to the health, growth and quality of the offspring, they can happen no earlier than 5 to 6 months, when the period of intensive growth will end.The final development of the body in rabbits ends by 8 months.

Females bring numerous offspring.In one litter, usually from 6 to 9 babies. The maximum number of newborns is 18. Animals have no pronounced seasonal hunting. Females are fertilized all year round, every 5 to 6 days in the summer, and 7 to 10 days in winter. Bunnies perfectly combine lactation and pregnancy, can take, look after and feed both their young and other mothers, if the age of the rabbit is about the same.

Animals perfectly adapt to living conditions in any climatic conditions, but are sensitive to excessively low and high temperatures, drafts, infections and polluted air.Rabbits live to 10 years, after 3-4 years the reproductive capacity of females and males decreases sharply, which necessitates a change in the production composition. Especially valuable animals use 5 - 6 years.

Rabbit breeding: where to start, breed choice for breeding - meat or skin

Animals are bred for meat and skins. Downy rabbit breeding is less common.Rabbit meat is delicious, nutritious and healthy. It contains a lot of easily digestible protein, 90% of which is easily digested in the human body. Gentle fat does not freeze and does not leave an unpleasant aftertaste in the mouth.Rabbit is used in dietary and therapeutic nutrition. Dishes from a rabbit are considered delicacies worthy of attention of real gourmets. The most tender meat is obtained from broilers, which are slaughtered at the age of 70 - 75 days when reaching 2 kg.

For meat breeding the following breeds of animals are suitable:

• flander;

• the French ram;

• Californian;

• white New Zealand;

• red New Zealand.

Listed youngcharacterized by rapid growth, a good set of live weight, optimal feed costs for growth. In case of intense fattening, commercial output is obtained by 4-6 months, the weight of rabbits at this timecan reach 5 kg.

Animals are grown and for the skins. They are used in the light industry for sewing hats, fur coats and in the form of finishing hoods made of synthetic and natural materials. Shoes can also be trimmed with rabbit fur. It is also used to imitate the more expensive mink, Arctic fox, sable, cat, etc.

Quality skins are obtained from animal breeds:

• Soviet chinchilla;

• gray giant;

• white giant;

• silver;

• Viennese blue;

• black-brown;

• butterfly;

• Russian ermine.

Animals are distinguisheddense, soft and beautiful fur with a short awn and strong podpushkom. From rabbits receive large valuable skins. The slaughter is carried out after 6 months, when the first adult molt ends.

When choosing animals on the tribe, they pay attention to the health and constitution of animals. The appearance must match the description of the breed.The male must be energetic, strong, well developed, with a pronounced masculine type. Do not choose small, sluggish, passive, lagging behind in the development of animals. The criteria for choosing females are more diverse.A future mother should have a light head, a strong, but not a rough bones, straight back, wide ass, elastic unresponsive stomach, strong legs. It should have at least four pairs of evenly spaced and normally developed nipples. This is a guarantee that she can feed and grow a large number of offspring.

Home rabbit farm: conditions of maintenance, cultivation and care

In the conditions of private households, both the maintenance in the barn andstreet cellular maintenance of animals. Place under the rabbit houses choose an even, protected from the prevailing winds, with natural or artificial shading. Rabbits do not tolerate overheating, drafts and do not like moisture, so it's worth creating conditions that are comfortable for the livestock. The approach to the site should be free to ensure unhindered distribution of feed and cleaning of cells. The pedigree skeleton and productive young stock are kept in different sections, although on small farms it is almost conditional. Separately have a cage for sick animals and a cage for quarantine, which will temporarily contain newly purchased animals, which can not be immediately placed in the main herd.

General recommendations for cell design are as follows:

1. The best are consideredcells made of metal mesh and wood. The back wall and the ends are made of boards, nailing the parts without gaps, tightly to each other. From the inside, the corners are covered with metal, so that the rabbits do not damage the cells. Mesh make part of the floor, the front wall and, if desired, the door. For these purposes, suitable mesh-netting and fine-meshed construction mesh. Size is selected so that animals can walk comfortably, without falling into the cells.Part of the floor is made of solid boards. This is a resting place for rabbits, they can fully rest there, lie down, chew a twig, etc.
2. Roofing material is slate, ondulin, corrugated sheet. It is practical to make a roof with a slight bias towards the rear wall, to drain rainwater if the cells are placed under the open sky. The hinged and reclining design makes it convenient to clean rabbit housing when changing livestock.
3. Feeders make removable or stationary,place them on the front wall inside or outside the cells. Be sure to put a drinker, it is better to automatically, so that rabbits have constant access to water.
4. In winter, in severe frost, the cells are insulated. Use both improvised materials and building thermal insulation. At critically low temperatures, the outer perimeter of the cell can be polished with foam, and the facade is covered with grass mats. In regions where there is a lot of snow, you can simply overlay the cells, but do not forget to take it away to a thaw. Keeps heat in the cells and abundant litter of dry leaves, hay or straw, sawdust.
5. On small farmscells have onee. With a large number of livestock for ease of maintenance, they are installed in 3 floors one on the other. Under each level there is a pallet for collection of feces, urine and fodder wastes.

Cages for animals are made different, given the specification of the use of the premises and the needs of rabbits.

Cages for young animals

Baby rabbits after weaningcontain groups in large, spacious cells. Until 3 months, animals are not divided according to gender, then transplanted separately. Pugnacious, aggressive animals are isolated from the herd.Fattening and fur youngcontain 6-12 heads in one cage. Repair animals intended for replacement of the producing compound contain 3 in one house. Residential space on an ordinary rabbit should be 0.12 m², and for reproductive young - 0.17 m².

For summer maintenance of rabbitsuse a design with two grids on the back and front wall. In such a cage, young animals are comfortable and reliable, animals breathe fresh air and harmful gases do not accumulate inside.In winter it is correct to keep rabbits in a closed cage, grated only from the facade.

Quartermasters for rabbits

For each female, a separate cell is isolated on the home farms. In it she lives and gives offspring.Before the birth of the cubs, housing is supplemented with a mother liquor- a closed box with a hole in which the rabbit arranges a nest. Make it from wooden racks and ply with plywood. The size of the box is 300 by 500 by 300 mm. The diameter of the hole is 150 mm. The lid is folded for ease of revision in the nest. The queen cells are located either inside the cage at the level of the door, or carried out, providing free passage to the animal. In this imitation mink female is comfortable growing rabbits. They grow up healthy, strong and strong, quickly gain weight.

Cages for mating

Special facilities for crossing animals at home do not exist. Everyone does simply -the female in the hunt for the time of the mating is transferred to the male cage. The whole process takes 10-15 minutes. It is necessary to observe mating. Immediately after its termination, the female is removed from the cage so as not to torment the male. After 5 days, a control breeding is performed. If the rabbit does not admit the male to itself, it is considered conditionally covered.

Care for rabbits is to distribute food and cleanse the cells from the waste of their vital functions. Feed is prescribed 2 or 3 times a day.Hygienic procedures are combined with morning or evening feeding. On the mesh floor it is permissible to remove feces once a day.

Growth and development of rabbits

Births in rabbits occur at night, lasting from 10 minutes to 1 hour. After the female eats the latter and stillborn calves. Generic activity causes thirst, thereforethe cells must be constantly water, so that the animal does not fill the lack of liquid at the expense of the offspring. The same situation can arise if the mother's body lacks vitamins and minerals.

Young rabbits can scatter babies, sofor osrolom need to observe, but do not interfere with the process. Outside the nest, the rabbits are folded manually. If the situation repeats, the animal is discarded.

Females feed the rabbits once a day, less often twice.Rabbits drink up to 200 grams. milk per day. Well-fed rabbits peacefully lie in the nest, hungry squeak and try to get out of it. If they get out of the nest before 14 days, it means that they do not have enough food. The maximum level of milk in a rabbit is 20 to 25 days of feeding. Removes the mother in the nest, without the need for a person to make adjustments there is not necessary.

Feed females during lactation in full, ideally, if the food in the trough is always, the animal itself will choose when and what he needs. Mother will teach grown-up children to eat adult food.

The first selection of animals is carried out at the age of 2-3 months. They are assessed by the degree of development, compliance with the breed standard, health, desirable characteristics. Bonitation consists in examination, comparison with normative indicators.The sick, feeble, weakened, atypical animals are culled. Rabbits with a coarse and loose constitution are also subject to exclusion. For further breeding leave the most promising young growth, other animals are allowed to meat and skins. The last revision of the future tribal staff is carried out at 6 months.

Rabbits intensively grow up to 4 months. This is the ideal age for the slaughter of meat animals, since later the profitability of feeding the livestock falls sharply. To obtain commercial pelts, you will have to wait for an adult molt. In rabbits this period is not pronounced. Animals usually moult from March to April, in the autumn from October to November. In the summer, there is a partial loss of awn.Approximate period of slaughter of rabbits on skins- after 6 months. To keep commercial youngsters for more than 8 months is not recommended.

What rabbits eat, proper feeding

A good fodder base is the key to the prosperity of the rabbit farm.Animals eat a variety of food of vegetable origin. To green carry:

• meadow motley grass;
• wheat grass;
• sagebrush;
• corn;
• sainfoin;
• peas;
• sow;
• burdock;
• yarrow;
• nettle;
• rape.

The green mass before drying is dried, wet from rain is never given. It causes indigestion in animals, sometimes with a fatal outcome.

To rough forages include:

• hay;
• herbal flour;
• Edible feed;
• dry leaf of fruit trees.

Hay is harvested during the budding period, the best in composition are mixed herbs and leguminous crops. Of the fodder, rabbits prefer aspen, willow, mountain ash, maple, acacia. From the garden - apple tree, pear, raspberry, cherry.

The menu of juicy feed includes:

• fodder beet;
• potatoes;
• carrot;
• pumpkin;
• Jerusalem artichoke;
• cabbage;
• fruit.

Sugar beet is fed in limited quantities in a mixture with bran. Vegetables are a seasonal crop, therefore the diet can be varied throughout the year.

We need rabbits and grain forage.They eagerly eat:

• oats;
• wheat;
• barley;
• corn;
• peas.

In addition, the diet includes bran, oilcakes.

As a top dressing rabbits are distributed:

• salt;
• a piece of chalk;
• meat and bone meal;
• blood and fish meal;
• milk;
• serum;
• yeast.

A full ration provides and granulated food. They buy it already ready in the markets or in specialized stores. The pressed lumps contain everything necessary for a rabbit organism.

In one yearA female with an average brood eats up to 1 ton of grass, juicy forages 200 kg, hay 150 kg, concentrates 200 kg and mineral forages 10-12 kg. The data may differ in one or the other direction, it all depends on the climatic conditions in the region, the breeds of animals and the menu of the diet.

Features of reproduction of rabbits - how to maintain, nurse and feed

For the first time, pedigree animals are allowed to mating at the age of 5 to 11 months. Disposable females can be used at the age of 5 - 6 months. In healthy, strong, well-fed animals, hunting manifests itself every 5-6 days, in winter it is somewhat less frequent, therefore it is easy for the rabbit breeder to plan the birth time of the young.2 weeks before the start of the mating, the ration is strengthened with protein and vitamin foods. Males are offered oats, milk, eggs, which increase spermatogenesis, and increase the activity of animals. By the time of mating, the producers must look strong, knocked down, in the body, but not precipitated.

Mating of animals passes quickly.For one cage, the male releases up to 2 ml. sperm. 20 minutes after the mating, the spermatozoa penetrate the female oviducts. Fertilization occurs 10 to 12 hours later.

Pregnancy in rabbits continues 26 - 35 days. By the time of their birth the cubs reach a weight of 50 to 90 g. Weight depends on the breed and the number of rabbits in the offspring. In multiple litters, rabbits are born small.

2 - 3 days before the birth, the rabbit becomes restless, runs around the cage, arranges a nest and lays it down.A sign of approaching births serveand the lowered abdomen of the female, as well as the swollen nipples in which the milk resides. At this time, they limit the dacha to juicy fodder and offer the animals hay. A few days after the enrollment, the diet regimen is restored. The lack of milk can be stimulated by giving vegetables and fruits.

Bunny can bring offspring 4 times a year. With compacted lobes, combined with feeding - up to 6 - 7 times. Often, giving birth to animals quickly wear out, and they have to be replaced more often.

Preventive maintenance of diseases, inoculations

Rabbits are susceptible to disease.Vaccination of animals helps to strengthen immunity and resistance of the body to infections. Grafted livestock is sick less often, with outbreaks of illnesses never ending with an epidemic.

Inoculation from myxomatosisspend when the youngest turns 28 days old. Use a live vaccine B 82. Form of administration - intramuscular injection at a dose of 1 cube per head. Re-inoculation is done at the age of 120 days.

Vaccination against LGBTDo it when the kids turn 45 days old. A tissue is used for the hydroaluminum molded vaccine. 0, 5 cubes of the drug are administered to the animals intramuscularly. At 6 months, the procedure is repeated.

Another option to save rabbits from disease is to use an associated vaccine. It works right away from myxomatosis and VGBC. Inoculation to rabbits is done in 45 days. Use a cube of the drug on the head. The form of administration is intramuscular or subcutaneous injection.

The struggle against pasurellosis begins in, months. Give piperazine, which is injected through the oral cavity. The dose of the drug is 0, 5 g per kilogram of rabbit mass.

At 3 months time comestake action against coccidiosis. Use Baikoks, Amprolium. Breed Amprolium in a liter of water 1, 4 g of the drug. Dosage Baikoksa - 1 cube per liter. Solder the medicine at a time.

These activities reduce the risk of developing contagious diseases and preserve the health of rabbits throughout their lives.

Divorce and the cultivation of rabbits - a thing that delays.It is interesting and instructive to study them.For some, it becomes a passion for life. Learning everything is not difficult. For beginners, the main thing is to try, to delve into, to experiment. And then everything will turn out.