How much does a rabbit kit cost on the market? Improve the survival rate this way

Rabbit is the general term for all genera under the family Leporidae of the order Lagomorpha, class Mammalia. Commonly known as the rabbit, it likes to eat grass. It is a timid animal, startled by sudden noises, strangers and unfamiliar animals.So how much does a rabbit kit cost on the market at present? How to improve the survival rate? According to the Changsha rabbit breeding base, rabbit kits cost about 5-10 yuan each.

How to improve the survival rate of rabbit kits?

Rabbits from birth to 40 days of age at weaning are called kits. This is the stage when kit diseases occur frequently and the mortality rate is high. Management must be targeted according to their physiological characteristics in order to improve the survival rate.

1. Suitable temperature

The first major change newborn kits experience is a sudden drop in temperature. The fetus lives in the mother's uterus at around 39.5°C, and at birth its body is hairless, while the ambient temperature is generally about 20°C lower than body temperature. In rural outdoor rabbit keeping the temperature is even lower, but at this time the kit's ability to regulate body temperature is poor, and if the temperature is too low it will quickly freeze to death. Therefore, on the one hand the temperature of the birthing room should be maintained at around 10°C, and on the other hand the microclimate of the kindling box must be controlled. In winter, bedding straw should be laid down, the kits should be covered with doe fur as a helper, or the kindling box should be moved to a kit nursing room with an ideal temperature and the doe sent to the cage at set times to nurse. Modern rabbit farms have dedicated air conditioners for temperature control, and efforts should be made to keep the kindling box micro-environment at 20°C-25°C at all times. A suitable temperature environment is the key to ensuring kit survival.

2. Sufficient nursing

A sufficient milk supply is the guarantee of kit survival and vigorous growth of young rabbits. After birth, kits suddenly change from receiving nutrients from the mother's body to relying on milk for nutrition, and half a month later they jump out of the nest box and gradually eat grass. At this time the kit's gastrointestinal function is poor, and the slightest discomfort (such as insufficient doe milk or poor milk quality due to mastitis) will cause emaciation, diarrhea, and even death. Therefore, only by ensuring the doe's health so that it has sufficient milk can the rapid growth needs of the kits be met.

When kits have shrunken skin, crawl around the nest, have dry and lusterless fur, and squeak when touched by hand, these are often signs of insufficient milk intake. The cause should be identified, and measures taken to promote lactation or to foster them to a nursing doe. Some does have poor maternal care, especially first-time does; although they have milk, they do not feed the kits. In this case, the doe should be held by hand and forced to nurse, and generally 3-5 days of training will be effective. High-yield angora rabbits generally do best with 5-6 kits; if the litter size is too large, adjustments should be made. Excess kits can be fostered to a doe with a similar kindling date (place the kits in her kindling box for about half an hour before contacting the doe; alternatively, rub the kits with the bedding straw from the nest box before putting them in, and fostering will generally succeed).

When the doe's milk is insufficient, a “dragged nursing” phenomenon can also occur, that is, the kit clamps onto the doe's teat and will not let go (trying to suck more milk), and when the doe jumps out of the nest box it easily drags the kit outside the box; it can also happen that the startled doe suddenly leaves the kindling box, or improper kindling box design drags the kit outside. The doe does not have the instinct to carry the kit back to the nest box, and kits that fall outside are liable to freeze to death, so they should be returned to the nest box promptly. If the kit's body surface is found to be already cold, the head can be held by hand so that the body is soaked in 40°C hot water, and after the kit's limbs kick about and it revives, dry it off and put it back in the original box.

3. Strengthen management and care

Carry out frequent and careful observation and inspection to see whether the kits' body condition is normal, replace wet bedding promptly, and remove dead rabbits. In winter pay attention to cold protection, and in summer pay attention to heat protection and mosquitoes and flies; at ordinary times also pay attention to promptly repairing holes in the rabbit house walls and cages to prevent harm from yellow weasels, wolves, rats, cats, dogs and the like. Angora rabbits should be kept with short fur before kindling, which not only facilitates kit nursing after birth, but also prevents the doe from pulling fur to make a nest, contaminating and wasting a large amount of long fur, and can prevent long fur from forming fur cords that strangle kits' necks and feet to death.

Kits open their eyes about 12 days after birth, and leave the nest to eat grass at half a month. Changing from eating milk to eating grass is an important transition. At this time the kit's gastrointestinal ability to digest grass is still very poor, so it needs to be fed tender green grass that is easy to digest. Kits can be weaned after living for about 40 days. At weaning it is best to move the doe away and leave the kits in the original place, to prevent restlessness and disease death caused by changing the kits' environment. After weaning, the kits' spirit, appetite, feces and so on should also be checked frequently, and any abnormality handled promptly.