What precautions are there for hare farming? These several issues deserve attention
Regarding the technical issues of artificial hare farming, there is currently little research material, so it is very unsystematic, and many areas remain blank. Some accounts differ, and some are even wrong. At present, there is also a certain amount of hype in society. Therefore, everyone is reminded to pay attention to the following issues:
1. Identify true and false hares. Some people take advantage of people's familiarity with the similarity in appearance between hares and domestic rabbits, and sell young domestic rabbits with similar coat colors (such as Belgian rabbits) as hares. Besides differences in ecological characteristics and anatomical characteristics, the two also differ somewhat in appearance. Domestic rabbits have longer and thicker ears, smooth fur, and shorter hair fibers. Although the coat color is similar, it is relatively uniform; when people gather around to watch, they appear gentle and calm and can move freely. Hares, however, have short, thin ears, large protruding eyes, and an uneasy spirit. Their fur is hemp-colored, with complex coat made of multiple mixed colors (one hair fiber has 3 to 5 colors), with obvious dead hair tips, longer than the coat fibers of meat rabbits; the coat has poor attachment and sheds easily; in an environment where people are watching, they appear frightened and uneasy.
2. Investigate before investing. Some people blindly invest after trusting advertisements or publication publicity without carefully investigating. If you are interested in this project, you can visit the relevant rabbit farm to investigate. First, look at the breeding livestock production and operation license; second, look at the breeding scale; third, look at the state of the hares to distinguish true from false. If they are hares bred at one's own rabbit farm, there should be young rabbits of different ages in the breeding rabbit nests. If they were captured from the wild, then the rabbit farm will only have adult rabbits, young rabbits, and subadult rabbits, with no newborn baby rabbits. If they are hares that have undergone long-term domestication, they will appear relatively calm and docile in cages. Conversely, hares just captured from the wild are frightened and uneasy in cages, running wildly and bumping around.
3. Bionic simulation is the key to successful farming. Whether artificial farming can succeed depends on whether a bionic environment and bionic feed are provided for the hares. The so-called bionic environment refers to the space in which hares live. Hares live in the wild, have a large activity area, can move freely, freely seek feed, have shelters, and eat and rest according to a regular pattern (hiding by day and coming out at night). They mainly feed on the stems, leaves, and seeds of plants. Raising hares in the same way as domestic rabbits cannot succeed.
4. Scientific feeding, with a good transition. Practice shows that captured adult hares kept in cages are very difficult to breed successfully; hares domesticated from a young age also have a very low reproduction rate. Generally, after giving birth to 1 to 2 litters, they no longer breed. The author believes that adult hares cannot reproduce because the environment has changed greatly. When domestication starts from young rabbits, most can reproduce; the main reasons for reproductive obstacles or low reproduction rates are: first, insufficient exercise; second, excess nutrition. Due to insufficient exercise and feeding with artificial feed, body fat accumulates, causing fatty infiltration of the ovaries, affecting physiological functions and causing reproductive hormone imbalance. Therefore, gradual domestication of hares, scientific feeding, and appropriate exercise are the key to increasing the reproduction rate of hares.
5. Prevent escape, prevent harm, and prevent disturbance. Hares have a very strong ability to survive in the wild and strong stress resistance, with few diseases. Therefore, the possibility of large-scale disease outbreaks in normal times is not great. Especially under low-density free-range conditions, the disease incidence rate is relatively low, while under cage-raising conditions the incidence rate may increase somewhat, which should be taken seriously. The focus of prevention is first to prevent escape, second to prevent animal harm, and third to prevent disturbance. Free-range raising in the wild must use metal mesh as a fence, about 2.5 m high, with no gaps. Pay attention to corrosion of the metal mesh after long-term wind and sun exposure, and even more attention should be paid to abnormal damage (such as man-made destruction, mechanical damage, etc.); hares have many natural enemies, including eagles flying in the sky, carnivorous beasts running on the ground (such as yellow weasels, foxes, wild dogs, wild cats), and snakes crawling on the ground, all of which cause certain harm to hares and should be taken highly seriously. Under cage-raising conditions, hare farms should prevent non-farming personnel from entering, and pay attention to a quiet environment to prevent disturbance. Under free-range conditions, because nests are set up and feeding is done at fixed points, hares have a relatively high frequency of activity in these areas. Attention should also be paid to reducing the entry of non-farming personnel and avoiding the intrusion of other animals. Especially in the spring and autumn breeding seasons, even greater care should be taken.
Artificial hare farming is a new thing, and many technical links need to be explored and practiced. The above is only my humble opinion, for reference only.