Key Technical Points for Summer Feeding and Management of Meat Rabbits

In summer, the temperature is high and the humidity is great. Meat rabbits have underdeveloped sweat glands and are prone to various diseases, which seriously affects their growth and production performance. Therefore, the summer management of meat rabbits must be done well. So what should be noted in the summer management of meat rabbits?

Cooling and heatstroke prevention: plant trees or vines around the rabbit house to keep it ventilated and shady. When the temperature exceeds 30°C, water should be sprinkled promptly to lower the temperature.

Rain and moisture prevention: there is a lot of rain in summer. When feeding, do not feed fresh grass with dew on it. On the ground of the rabbit house and exercise yard, some plant ash and lime-type dry materials should often be scattered.

Provide sufficient drinking water: because summer is hot, rabbits should be promptly supplied with sufficient drinking water. To prevent digestive tract diseases, rabbits can be given a 0.01% potassium permanganate solution once a week. 

Prevent coccidiosis: the high temperature and high humidity of summer make large-scale coccidiosis outbreaks likely, so preventing coccidiosis well is crucial. First, control it from the environmental aspect; second, strengthen drug prevention. Young rabbits should begin prevention from 20 days of age. When young and adult rabbits are kept together, disease prevention must be carried out for both young and adult rabbits together. 

Scientific feeding and management: use a reasonable feed formula, feed early in the morning and late in the evening, and feed more succulent green grass.

Six measures to prevent heatstroke in rabbits in summer:

1. Shade and heatstroke prevention

1. Greening to lower temperature: around the rabbit house, plant many kinds of broadleaf trees and vine plants such as grapes, and plant low-growing forage grass between the houses to block sunlight and reduce direct sunlight on the rabbit house.

2. Shade shed cooling: for outdoor frame-type rabbit houses, use local materials such as branches to build a shade shed to block sunlight and create shade to lower the temperature. For farmers using asbestos tiles as roofs, a layer of straw, wheat straw and shade netting can be added on top.

2. Heat dissipation and heatstroke prevention

1. Ventilation cooling: in hot seasons, place rabbit cages in shaded, ventilated places to facilitate air convection and heat dissipation and cooling. Open doors and windows, make ground windows, install fans, etc., and also add wet curtains to strengthen the ventilation and cooling effect.

2. Wall whitening cooling: different colors have different absorption and reflection rates for sunlight. Black has the highest light absorption rate, while white has a very strong reflection rate, so the inner and outer wall surfaces of the rabbit house top, south side and west side, which are directly exposed to sunlight, can be whitened with lime to reduce heat absorption by the rabbit house and play a role in heat insulation and cooling.

3. Reduce stocking density: reducing stocking density is an effective way to reduce heat stress. The stocking density should not be too large, and each rabbit should be left room to move. The stocking density per square meter of rabbit cage is preferably about 10 rabbits. At the same time, lactating female rabbits should be kept in separate cages from young rabbits and suckled at fixed times, which is more conducive to heatstroke prevention for both young and female rabbits.

3. Water use for heatstroke prevention

1. Sprinkling water to lower temperature: at hot noon and evening, cool water can be splashed on the ground, walls, roof, dropping board and other places of the rabbit house to lower the temperature. The amount of water sprinkled should be based on being moist without accumulating water.

2. Provide sufficient drinking water: in summer, rabbits' demand for water is twice that of winter, so rabbits should be supplied with sufficient clean drinking water. To improve the heatstroke prevention effect, 1% salt or baking soda or vitamin C should be added to the drinking water.

3. Wet brick cooling: take 1-2 ordinary new bricks and soak them in cold water (well water is best) for several minutes. After the bricks have absorbed enough water, place them in the rabbit cage. Because the brick temperature is lower than the rabbit's body surface temperature, it can help the rabbit's body dissipate heat and lower its temperature.

4. Melons for relieving heat

1. Watermelon rind and cucumber relieve heat and summer heat: watermelon rind and cucumber are sweet in taste and cool in nature. In hot summer, adding some fresh and clean watermelon rind or cucumber to rabbits' feed in appropriate amounts every day not only has good palatability, but after rabbits eat it, it has the effects of relieving heat, dispelling summer heat, promoting urination and quenching thirst.

2. Bitter melon juice quenches thirst and relieves summer heat: bitter melon is slightly bitter with a sweet taste. In hot summer, an appropriate amount of fresh bitter melon juice can be added to rabbits' drinking water. After rabbits drink it, it can effectively stimulate saliva and gastric juice secretion, and has the functions of promoting fluid production and quenching thirst, relieving summer heat and heat, and promoting rabbits' appetite.

5. Herbs for relieving heat

In summer rabbit raising, often gathering an appropriate amount of wild herbs to feed rabbits not only provides nutrition but can also prevent and treat the occurrence of heatstroke in rabbits. Common herbs that can prevent and treat heatstroke in rabbits include: verbena, goosegrass, plantain, houttuynia, cow vine, honeysuckle and other herbs. These herbs all have effects such as dispelling heat, relieving summer heat and lowering rabbits' body temperature.

6. Treatment of heatstroke

1. Comprehensive treatment: when the temperature in the rabbit house and cage exceeds 30°C, rabbits of all types and ages are prone to heatstroke. After heatstroke, the symptoms of rabbits are: increased body temperature, rapid breathing, accelerated heartbeat, complete loss of appetite, often lying down, drooling saliva, congestion and redness of the oral mucosa and conjunctiva; severely affected rabbits lie stretched out with legs extended, limbs showing clonic convulsions, and soon die. Comprehensive rescue method: once a rabbit is found to show signs of heatstroke, quickly move the rabbit to a cool, ventilated place, pour cool water on its head, and in coordination administer cold water or light salt water orally, or drench with 2-3 milliliters of Huoxiang Zhengqi Shui, or drench with 3-5 drops of Shidishui, or feed a small amount of Rendan, or drip a little garlic juice or ginger juice into the nose. For severely affected rabbits, needle the ear vein and choose the tail tip for bloodletting. Using both acupuncture and medicine gives better results.

2. Folk remedy treatment

1) Take 5 grams of Litsea cubeba root, grind it into fine powder, add a small amount of salt, and take it with boiling water (drench it).

2) Take 50 grams of houttuynia, wash it, mash it and extract the juice, mix it evenly with boiling water, and drench the affected rabbit with it.

3. Traditional Chinese medicine treatment

1) Take 10 grams each of gardenia, forsythia, golden chicken foot, Aristolochia debilis and Centella asiatica, decoct the juice and drench it. Each rabbit is given 20-30 milliliters each time.

2) Take 10-15 grams each of golden chicken foot, Centella asiatica and honeysuckle, decoct in water and feed. Each rabbit is given 20-30 milliliters each time, 2-3 times a day.