How to Raise Rabbits So They Won't Die? Breeding Methods and Precautions
When it comes to little rabbits, I believe everyone likes them very much. They have a cute appearance and are easy to raise, but if you don't pay attention, they can easily be raised to death. So, how do you raise rabbits so they won't die?
1. How to raise rabbits so they won't die?
When raising rabbits, you must choose healthy young rabbits free of any disease, and the breeding site must be kept dry and well ventilated. Secondly, the feed used, such as tender grass and tender vegetable leaves, must be dried of moisture before being fed, and then just give them some clean cool boiled water every day. Finally, avoid making noises that startle the rabbits, and keep cats, dogs and others out of the rabbit hutch.
2. Types of Rabbit Feed
1. Concentrate feed: Concentrate feed mainly provides rabbits with the energy, protein and fat they need daily, followed by minerals, amino acids and so on. Most rabbit pellets on the market today are complete foods, meaning all the nutrients rabbits need are mixed in certain proportions into pellets, which in theory can meet most of the nutrition rabbits require.
2. Roughage: Roughage mainly provides rabbits with the crude fiber they need daily, followed by protein, amino acids and so on. Forage grasses of different families also differ in nutritional composition and palatability. Legume grasses are generally more palatable than grass-family grasses, and fresh forage is generally more palatable than green hay. In terms of nutritional value, forage in its young and tender stage has high nutritional value and low crude fiber content, while forage at maturity has low nutritional value and high crude fiber content.
3. Succulent types: Succulent feed mainly provides rabbits with the vitamins, water and so on they need daily. Different vegetables and fruits differ in nutritional composition, but their vitamin content is generally equal to or higher than that of forage.
3. Breeding Precautions
1. Timid and fond of quiet: Rabbits are very timid. On suddenly hearing a noise they show a “startled” reaction, and their appetite decreases. A doe that is kindling, when disturbed, often has a difficult birth or refuses to nurse the young rabbits. Apart from moving about and eating, they like to rest and sleep, and they become alert at the slightest sound.
2. Cold-tolerant and heat-fearing: A rabbit's fur is very dense and can resist severe cold. Adult rabbits can withstand temperatures below zero, and can breed in winter at around 5°C. Rabbits are very afraid of heat, because their sweat glands are underdeveloped and they cannot regulate body temperature by sweating.
3. Resting by day and active by night: During the day, apart from eating, rabbits like to rest or sleep in the hutch, but once night comes they are unusually active and eat frequently. Their food intake at night accounts for about 75% of the total daily ration, so rabbit keepers must insist on feeding night grass.
4. Fond of burrowing: Rabbits like to dig burrows to live in. When kept free-range, they dig burrows even more frequently before each breeding period. This should be noted in the design and materials when building a rabbit hutch. Based on this habit of rabbits, hilly and mountainous areas with good climate can be used for burrow raising.
5. Same-sex aggression: When adult male rabbits meet, they chase and bite each other, and female rabbits kept together also bite each other. When males and females are together, they mostly get along harmoniously. Therefore, when managing them, try not to keep adult male rabbits or adult female rabbits together.
Rabbits are relatively sensitive small animals, so everyone must pay close attention during the raising process. I hope the above content can help everyone raise big, plump rabbits.