What are the taboos in raising rabbits? Keep these precautions in mind

What taboos do rabbit farmers have when raising rabbits?

1. Avoid dampness and contamination. Rex rabbits are small in size and love dryness, and have weak disease resistance. Therefore, the rabbit cages and rabbit houses must be cleaned regularly every day, feces removed, feeding utensils washed, and disinfection carried out regularly. The rabbit house should always be kept clean and dry so that pathogenic microorganisms cannot reproduce and parasitize, thus preventing the occurrence, spread and death of rabbit diseases.

2. Avoid disturbance. Rex rabbits are timid and easily frightened, and are quite sensitive. Do not easily catch them or make loud noises. Do not allow crowds to gather and watch; keep the environment quiet. At the same time, attention should also be paid to intrusions by cats, dogs, yellow weasels, rats, snakes, etc.

3. Avoid extreme heat. Because Rex rabbits have underdeveloped sweat glands and are covered with downy fur all over the body, they are afraid of heat. Therefore, in summer the rabbit house should be shaded and ventilated, direct sunlight should be prevented, and attention should be paid to temperature control and heatstroke prevention.

4. Avoid a single type of feed. A single feed cannot meet the Rex rabbit's need for nutrients, affects appetite, and may even cause nutritional deficiency diseases. Therefore, the food given to Rex rabbits should be diverse, mainly green and roughage, and reasonably matched.

5. Avoid overfeeding Rex rabbits. When feeding rabbits, feed at fixed times and in fixed amounts, give less and add frequently. In principle, let the rabbits eat their fill and eat well, and do not let the amount vary suddenly. Never let Rex rabbits eat while stepping on the feed, as this not only wastes feed but also makes them prone to infection.

6. Avoid suddenly changing the feed. If the feed is suddenly changed, it can easily cause loss of appetite in Rex rabbits, or overeating, resulting in gastrointestinal diseases and other adverse phenomena. When changing feed, transition gradually so that the Rex rabbit's digestive function has a process of gradual adaptation, which is beneficial to the rabbit's digestion and growth.

7. Avoid spoiled and contaminated feed. Do not feed rotten, moldy, trampled, contaminated, or feed of unknown origin, nor green fodder covered with dew or sprayed with pesticides before the safe interval has passed, and certainly do not let them drink contaminated water. The feed given to Rex rabbits must be fresh and high quality, and the water must be clean.

8. Avoid feeding only by day and stopping at night. According to the rabbit's habit of hiding by day and moving at night, the feed given to Rex rabbits at night should be more than during the day. In particular, roughage should be fed once at night. This is beneficial to the rabbit's health and fattening.

9. Avoid water shortage. Rex rabbits are small and lively, with vigorous metabolism and a very large water requirement. Therefore, water should be supplied in a timely manner according to the Rex rabbit's age, physiological condition, season, climate and the nature of the feed, etc.

10. Avoid inbreeding. Among specialized rabbit farmers, the phenomenon of mating and breeding between full siblings from the same litter, and between mother and son or father and daughter, is widespread. Due to too close blood relation, this kind of inbreeding often leads to weak offspring, poor disease resistance, slow growth and development, and degeneration of productivity, viability and fur quality.

11. Avoid breeding too early. Rex rabbits reach sexual maturity earlier than physical maturity. It should not be assumed that breeding can begin as soon as there are signs of estrus. Generally, female rabbits need to start mating at 5 to 6 months; the breeding age of male rabbits is best one month older than that of female rabbits.

12. Avoid indiscriminate mating and random pairing. Generally, a male rabbit should not mate more than 2 times a day, and after 3 consecutive days of mating, it should be given 1 day of rest. It is best for one male rabbit to ejaculate no more than 60 times a year. When mating again, it is strictly forbidden to pair rabbits with the same serious defect or opposite serious defects. Mating between old and old, old and young, and young and young rabbits is prohibited. Old and young female rabbits should be mated with prime-age male rabbits. Young male rabbits can only be mated with prime-age female rabbits. Usually, when prime-age male and female rabbits are mated, their offspring have the most stable heredity and the best viability and production performance.

13. Avoid breeding in summer. Summer is hot and rainy. Female rabbits are not in normal estrus and are not easy to conceive. The few that do conceive and give birth, due to loss of appetite in hot weather, produce insufficient milk, and the young rabbits develop poorly. Poor management can cause young rabbits to fight over the nest and die. Even if they survive, due to poor development and weak constitution, they are prone to coccidiosis after weaning and die in large numbers. Some pregnant rabbits often suffer heatstroke due to high temperatures, resulting in miscarriage and difficult birth. Male rabbits often suffer testicular atrophy due to high temperatures, with poor semen quality and more dead sperm, resulting in mating without conception. Therefore, breeding should be stopped in summer.

14. Avoid weaning young rabbits too early or too late. In general, the earlier the weaning, the higher the mortality rate of young rabbits. If weaning is too late, the young rabbits rely on the mother rabbit's milk for nutrition for a long time, which affects the formation of various enzymes in the digestive tract and leads to slow growth of the young rabbits. At the same time, it also has a direct impact on the health of the mother rabbit and the number of litters per year. Therefore, young rabbits should be weaned at 40-50 days.

15. Avoid blindly raising mixed groups. When Rex rabbits are raised in mixed groups, infection is difficult to control and biting and fighting are likely to occur. Generally, young rabbits should be raised in groups according to sex, growth speed and body size. In cage rearing, 4-5 young rabbits can be placed in each cage. During the growing period, male and female rabbits have begun sexual maturity. Female rabbits begin estrus, and male rabbits can already produce sperm. Therefore, male and female rabbits should be raised in separate cages, preferably one rabbit per cage.

16. Avoid imperfect rules and regulations. Rabbit raising should be based on their living habits, different feeding methods, different types, different seasons, etc., and establish technical rules and regulations for feeding management, disease prevention, such as fixed time, fixed amount, fixed temperature, fixed quality, regular preventive injections and other management.