How should a hare hutch be built to meet the requirements?

In hare farming, the hutch environment is closely related to the growth, development, health and reproduction of hares. Many factors affect the hutch environment, such as temperature, humidity and so on.

Temperature

Hares have extremely underdeveloped sweat glands and a dense coat on the body surface, so they are quite sensitive to ambient temperature. According to experiments, the optimum temperature for young hares is 30-35 °C, for juvenile hares 20-25 °C, and for adult hares 15-20 °C. Ambient temperature should be taken into account when building the hutch. Hares have a fairly strong tolerance to low temperatures; healthy hares can still survive normally at -40 °C, though they need to consume more nutrients to maintain body temperature. 

Humidity

Hares by nature prefer a dry environment. The most suitable relative humidity is 60%-65%, and generally it should not be lower than 55% or higher than 70%. High-temperature and high-humidity as well as low-temperature and high-humidity environments are harmful to hares: they are unfavorable for heat dissipation in summer and for heat preservation in winter, and they also make hares prone to internal and external parasitic infections.

Production practice shows that excessive air humidity often makes the cages and hutches damp and filthy, contaminates the coat, and favors the reproduction of bacteria and parasites, causing the spread of mange and eczema. Conversely, if the hutch air is too dry and humidity remains low for a long time, it causes the respiratory mucosa to dry and crack, leading to bacterial and viral infections.

In view of the above, humidity inside the hutch should be kept as stable as possible. The feces and urine excreted by hares, the water vapor they exhale, and the water used to wash the ground are the main causes of rising humidity in the hutch. To reduce humidity inside the hutch, ventilation can be strengthened, or quicklime, plant ash and the like can be spread; during rainy and damp seasons, water should be used for washing as little as possible when cleaning the hutch.

In addition, ventilation, lighting, noise, dust and so on also affect the normal growth and development of hares; these will not be discussed one by one here.