How to raise domestic rabbits so they get sick less often? Feeding and management methods

There are many situations that cause domestic rabbits to become ill, and diet, environment, hygiene and infection are the main routes. Therefore, to prevent domestic rabbits from becoming ill, the first thing is to start from the basics and do well the things usually considered trivial; to a large extent this can effectively suppress the occurrence of disease in domestic rabbits. Domestic rabbits like cleanliness and dislike dirt, and they are most averse to dampness and noise, so it is best to choose a relatively quiet location for raising rabbits, and often maintain suitable temperature and humidity, with plenty of sunlight and air circulation, thereby creating a good living environment for the domestic rabbits. In addition, to keep domestic rabbits from getting sick or getting sick less often, the following points should also be achieved:

1. The health status of domestic rabbits is closely related to feeding and management. Many people mistakenly think that disease prevention means giving injections and medicine, but in fact scientific feeding and management is the main means of disease prevention. For example, reasonable matching of feed, effective control of the environment (including temperature, humidity, ventilation, density and light, etc.), and feeding at fixed times, with fixed quality and fixed quantity. Only when feeding and management work is done well and the domestic rabbits' physique is strong can disease resistance be enhanced, and having good living habits is also of great help in improving the rabbits' physique.

2. When purchasing rabbits, attention should already be paid to the rabbits' health status; rabbits with poor spirits, foreign matter around the eyes, rear end and other positions, or relatively dirty bodies are not recommended for selection.

3. Usually be sure to do a good job of hygiene and cleaning, and regularly disinfect feeding utensils, cages, kindling boxes, etc.; this is an effective measure to reduce environmental pathogens. Arrange a disinfection cycle well, as this is of great help to disease prevention, though it is not recommended to do it too frequently. In addition, wash food bowls and drinkers daily, and disinfect once a week; clean up droppings and bedding daily; disinfect rabbit cages once a week in summer, and as appropriate in winter; before each kindling and group transfer of domestic rabbits, the rabbit cages should be disinfected.

4. Carry out preventive vaccination according to the immunization program. For some highly virulent infectious diseases, such as rabbit plague, Clostridium welchii disease, Bordetella bronchiseptica disease, etc., the most effective method is to vaccinate with vaccines (bacterins) in advance. For other diseases of domestic rabbits, such as coccidiosis, mange, pasteurellosis, enteritis, mastitis, etc., timely administration of medication for prevention according to the patterns of occurrence has an obvious preventive effect.

5. For rabbits whose health status is uncertain, do not raise them together with healthy rabbits, to prevent disease transmission. Self-breeding and self-raising should be adhered to, and a healthy rabbit flock should be obtained through the following methods: select and retain excellent individuals as breeding rabbits, carry out quarantine repeatedly many times, eliminate sick rabbits and bacteria(virus)-carrying rabbits, and gradually achieve relative freedom from disease; carry out deworming repeatedly many times to achieve basically no worms; strengthen general preventive measures and strictly control the invasion of any source of infection.

Chang Fojun, Changzhuang Livestock and Poultry Institute, Qingxu County, Shanxi Province