Methods and precautions for raising rabbits well in winter
Pay attention to cold protection and warmth
Before a cold snap arrives, apart from leaving the necessary ventilation holes, block up the gaps through which cold air can enter, and normally hang straw curtains on the doors and windows. On sunny and windy days, open the doors and windows to help the air circulate inside the rabbit hutch. At night, rabbits raised indoors in cages can be kept warm with a stove, and the bedding straw in the cages should be changed frequently to keep the temperature inside the cages suitable, dry and comfortable. The room temperature should be kept at 5°C-10°C at all times.
Pay attention to increasing the feeding amount
In winter, because the climate is cold and green fodder is scarce, rabbits consume a lot of energy, so they should normally be fed high-protein, high-energy concentrated feed as well as green vegetable leaves, carrots and so on, and the feeding amount should be 1/3 more than in other seasons. If green fodder is scarce, poplar branches, willow branches and elm branches can be used instead. Soak hay in warm water (it can also be soaked in 0.05% potassium permanganate water) until soft before feeding, and provide plenty of warm water at around 35°C.
Pay attention to shearing wool at the right time
Winter is the season when wool grows fast. When the wool reaches the first-grade standard, choose sunny weather for shearing, and by no means shear when it is rainy, snowing or when a cold snap comes. Generally, only the long wool is harvested while the short wool is kept, and little belly wool is harvested, so as to avoid the rabbits catching cold. After shearing, rabbits are prone to catching cold, so attention should be paid to keeping them warm within 1 week after shearing.
Pay attention to strengthening exercise
Rabbits raised in sheds should be exercised at any time; for rabbits raised in cages, on calm and sunny days each week they should be put in a sunny, wind-sheltered exercise yard with fresh air to move around several times, two hours each time; for rabbits raised in pits, if the light in the pit is poor, good weather should also be chosen to let them exercise in the sunlight, no less than twice a week.
Pay attention to doing a good job of hygiene
Although the incidence of bacterial diseases in rabbits in winter is relatively low, it is often in this kind of weather that parasitic and viral diseases break out easily. In addition, rabbits are also prone to colds, constipation and frostbite. Therefore, the rabbit hutch should be cleaned frequently, the food bowls washed, and the cages, feeding utensils and the inside of the hutch kept clean and hygienic, preventing the rabbit hutch from becoming damp, changing the bedding straw in the cages once every 3 days to 5 days, frequently mixing some garlic or chili powder into the feed, and it is strictly forbidden to feed frozen feed or icy water, snow and so on.
Pay attention to doing a good job of winter breeding
In winter, male and female rabbits must maintain moderate body condition to promote their breeding. Male rabbits should be kept indoors at a room temperature of no less than 10°C, and mating should preferably be carried out at noon on a sunny and windless day. Breeding female rabbits should be fed as much green fodder, germinated barley or vitamin E added to the feed as possible to promote normal estrus in the female rabbits. To increase the survival rate of newborn rabbits, breeding sites such as plastic greenhouses, semi-underground rabbit hutches, indoor sites and separate mother-and-young housing can be used, and the kindling box can be lined with clean, dry chicken feathers (with the large quill shafts cut off). Before weaning, the newborn rabbits should be kept in a greenhouse at around 20°C.