How to Raise Baby Rabbits? Scientific Breeding Methods and Precautions

Rabbit farming is a very common favorite, and it is a highly popular sector within specialty farming. First of all, rabbits can be sold as pets, as meat rabbits, and for their fur, among other uses. However, raising rabbits is not as simple as raising other livestock. It requires the farmer to be extremely careful, especially during the baby rabbit stage. So today, let's follow Qinong Web to learn how to raise baby rabbits.

1. Feeding

Newborn baby rabbits have very weak constitutions, so we need to pay close attention to what they eat. Baby rabbits have fragile intestines and a digestive system that is not very good, so at this stage we can only feed them foods that are easy to absorb and digest. Foods like fruits and vegetables with high fiber content should not be fed to baby rabbits. Usually, we feed them special rabbit pellets along with an appropriate amount of alfalfa, celery, cilantro, and other leafy greens. These are very helpful for the baby rabbits' health. After the rabbits gradually grow up, you can then feed them an appropriate amount of leafy greens and carrots. Baby rabbits absolutely must not be fed these. Finally, note that when feeding, you should provide many small meals rather than large ones, otherwise they can overeat and die.

2. Drinking Water

When feeding baby rabbits, we need to be careful not to give them tap water directly. Their stomachs and intestines are very delicate. If you give them tap water directly, they will get diarrhea. So usually we use drinking water or cooled boiled water to feed them, which is good for their digestive system. Secondly, do not give them too much water. Each time, let them drink at most one water bottle cap's worth. In other words, you do not need to put out too much water in the breeding room, because they like to move around, and the water will wet their fur and cause them to catch a cold, which is not good.

3. Hygiene

Rabbits are naturally clean animals. If the environment they live in is dirty, they are very likely to get sick and stop eating and drinking. First of all, the baby rabbits' breeding room should ideally have a permeable layer for feces to pass through, because the rabbit hutch needs to be cleaned every day. Without a permeable layer, daily cleaning will directly affect the baby rabbits' growth. With a permeable layer, you can ensure the baby rabbits' living environment while making cleaning convenient. Also, you should disinfect the rabbit hutch at irregular intervals and keep the breeding room ventilated and dry.

4. Temperature

Baby rabbits are quite sensitive to temperature. The temperature in the breeding room must not be too high or too low. If it is too high, the baby rabbits are prone to heatstroke, which leads to loss of appetite and, in severe cases, mass deaths. If it is too low, they easily catch colds, which also causes a certain mortality rate. The ideal temperature for baby rabbit growth is around 20 degrees. The maximum temperature must not exceed 30 degrees, and the minimum temperature must not fall below 10 degrees. If abnormal temperatures occur, be sure to promptly carry out cooling and heat preservation management.

5. Disease Prevention

The most common illness in baby rabbits is diarrhea caused by digestive discomfort. It usually shows as not eating, not drinking, and not moving, and their droppings are no longer pellet-shaped. In that case, treatment must be given promptly, otherwise they will die. Secondly, baby rabbits also have a very high incidence of red eye disease, so you should always keep some necessary prevention and treatment medications on hand at the breeding facility.