Key Points for Safe and Efficient Feeding and Management of Domestic Rabbits in Autumn

I. Scientific Feeding

In early autumn, it is hot at noon, and domestic rabbits often have a poor appetite. Therefore, feeding should be done early in the morning and late in the evening each day, with more green fodder given at the midday feeding, along with a sufficient supply of drinking water, and 1% salt and 2% bone meal or flour added to supplement the salt lost from the body.

II. Heat and Moisture Prevention

Domestic rabbits do not dissipate heat well and are sensitive to heat and dampness. The transition from summer to autumn is rainy, with high temperatures and high humidity. A shade shelter should be set up, and the rabbit house should be shaded and ventilated to prevent direct sunlight. For rabbits kept in cages, cool water can be sprinkled to lower the temperature. It is best to plant loofah, Trichosanthes kirilowii, grapes, fruit trees and other plants around the rabbit house and cages, letting the vines spread over the cages and house for shade. Early autumn weather is still hot; ***remove the outer shade shelter of the cages and house.

III. Feed and Drinking Water

In autumn, mornings and evenings are cool, and the rabbits' appetite increases. The mixed concentrate feed should be given in the morning and evening, with the evening concentrate feed accounting for 2/3 of the daily ration, and clean drinking water should be provided; at other times, high-quality green and coarse fodder should be fed. After the rabbits regain body condition, feed more protein-rich feed such as soybeans, wheat bran, fish meal, sprouted barley and silkworm pupa meal. Do not feed rotten, moldy, foul-smelling or toxic feed, or green grass and leaves carrying dew or rainwater, and do not let them drink dirty water, so as to avoid gastrointestinal diseases in domestic rabbits.

IV. Careful Management

In the high-temperature season, the testes of breeding bucks shrink by 60%. Even after the temperature drops, it generally takes 45 days for them to recover, while does can recover and be ready for mating in about 7 days. After the beginning of autumn, breeders should strengthen ventilation in the rabbit house and keep the house clean and quiet. If three-tier cages are used, breeding bucks should be kept in the lowest tier, because the temperature in the lower cages is lower than in the upper ones; breeding bucks can also be housed in a semi-underground room.

V. Mating and Breeding

In autumn, does come into estrus normally and bucks are in strong estrus, making it the best season for domestic rabbit breeding. Therefore, the breeding rabbit flock should be adjusted, selecting does with strong reproductive capacity, high production performance and good mothering ability to remain as breeding stock; excellent reserve breeding rabbits should be selected to replenish the flock. After the beginning of autumn, it is necessary to grasp the estrus period of does (does come into estrus once every 7-15 days, each lasting 3-4 days) and mate them at the right time; frozen estrus can be used to advance mating. High temperatures have a great impact on the sexual function of bucks, and the conception rate of natural mating is low. After the beginning of autumn, artificial insemination using frozen estrus can increase the conception rate. Before insemination, each doe should be given an intramuscular injection of 50-100 units of chorionic gonadotropin. Insemination is performed 4-6 hours after injection, with an insemination volume of 0.3-0.5 milliliters. Does are thirsty after giving birth; to prevent them from eating their young, after kindling is completed, the afterbirth, stillborn kits, and bedding straw and rabbit hair contaminated with blood should be cleaned up promptly, and bran water with a little salt or warm rice soup should be provided; newborn kits should also be promptly placed in the doe's cage to suckle.

VI. Strict Epidemic Prevention

In the hot and rainy season, prevention and treatment of common diseases of domestic rabbits should be strengthened. Rabbit houses and cages should be cleaned and disinfected regularly, and domestic rabbits should be dewormed regularly. At the same time, preventive work against infectious diseases such as rabbit plague and rabbit pasteurellosis should be done well, and outbreaks of coccidiosis must be strictly guarded against, while prevention and treatment of mange should be strengthened. Eliminate mosquitoes and flies, wash feed bowls once a day, frequently clean the cages and houses, disinfect frequently, and prevent feed from becoming moldy.