How Do Baby Rabbits Get Through Winter? Key Points for Winter Warmth and Feeding Management
At the mention of baby rabbits, many people are fond of them; some keep them specifically as pets, while others raise them to sell for money. But rabbits are sensitive to cold, so management techniques must be done well in winter. So how do baby rabbits get through winter?
1. Cold protection and warmth
Winter temperatures are relatively low, so the primary management task in raising rabbits is to do a good job of cold protection and warmth. In winter, the temperature of the rabbit hutch should be kept at around 20 degrees; if the temperature is too low or too high, it will have a certain effect on the physiological functions of baby rabbits, so try to keep the temperature within the range of 12-28 degrees. Appropriately increasing the breeding density, raising the body temperature of the baby rabbits, and reducing the number of ventilation times can effectively increase the temperature of the rabbit hutch. You can also cover the rabbit hutch with plastic film to improve the use of sunlight. If conditions permit, heating equipment such as stoves and electric blankets can be added inside the rabbit hutch.
2. Supplemental lighting
Sufficient light of appropriate intensity is the key to ensuring the robust growth of baby rabbits. The daily light time for baby rabbits should be maintained at around 14 hours, and their growth capacity and production performance will both be improved. But in winter, the light time decreases, and the natural light time is less than 10 hours, which is not conducive to the growth of baby rabbits or the secretion of reproductive hormones in female rabbits. Therefore, in order to improve the production performance of baby rabbits, we should carry out artificial supplemental lighting work for them in winter and extend the light time to an appropriate level. Artificial supplemental lighting is needed at around 6 a.m. and around 6 p.m. every day to lengthen the light time.
3. Feeding management
Baby rabbits are a kind of herbivorous animal. In artificial breeding, feeding fresh grass every day is completely unable to meet the nutritional needs of baby rabbits. Therefore, in the daily feeding in winter, in addition to feeding fresh feed, it is also necessary to appropriately increase complete feed. Complete feed has strong storage capacity and comprehensive nutrition, making it very suitable for baby rabbits to eat. In addition, in winter baby rabbits consume a lot of heat energy, and the production of energy is much greater than in other seasons. So in winter, increase the feeding amount and pay attention to raising the proportion of vitamins in the feed. When feeding powdered feed, be careful to mix it with warm water, mainly feed more but in small amounts, and do not leave residual feed in the trough, so as to prevent the feed from freezing and the baby rabbits from accidentally eating it.
4. Disease prevention and control
In winter, the temperature is low and the activity of pathogens declines, especially some infectious bacteria, so the diseases of baby rabbits are also somewhat reduced, and the survival rate of young rabbits will rise greatly. Therefore, we only need to ensure that temperature fluctuations are small, and off-season winter breeding can be carried out.