Young rabbits have weak constitutions and poor disease resistance, and are prone to death: an analysis of key points in feeding and management

     Rabbits from weaning to 3 months of age are called young rabbits. The young rabbit stage is the period of fastest growth in a rabbit's entire life. During this stage, young rabbits have a strong appetite and often develop digestive tract diseases from overeating; combined with low disease resistance, improper feeding can lead to disease outbreaks and death. To improve the survival rate of young rabbits, several points must be achieved:

Rabbit

    (1) Get through the weaning stage well.Newly weaned young rabbits have just left mother's milk, and their gastrointestinal digestive function is weak; if they eat food that is too hard or difficult to digest, they will die of bloating. Therefore, in feeding and management, attention must be paid to hygiene, and they should be fed fresh, easy-to-digest, highly nutritious concentrate and green feed. The concentrate is best cooked, with concentrate fed 2 times a day and green feed 3 times a day, feeding small amounts frequently, and never letting them overeat.

    (2) Ensure good feed quality.Ensuring good feed quality is the key to preventing digestive tract diseases in young rabbits. Feeding young rabbits a complete-price feed from supplementary feeding to 3 weeks after weaning can increase their survival rate and reduce digestive tract diseases.

    (3) Raise them in groups.After a short period of adaptation, young rabbits should be raised in groups according to age in days, strength, and size. In cages, 3 to 4 per cage; in group housing, 10 to 20 per group; the group must not be too large.

    (4) Ensure a good environment.Young rabbits are rather delicate and sensitive to environmental changes, especially sudden climate changes such as cold waves. They should be provided with a good living environment, kept clean and hygienic, with a quiet environment and moderate stocking density, and protected from fright, wind and cold, heat, foul air, and predators.

    (5) Ensure good epidemic prevention.The young rabbit stage is prone to many infectious diseases, so epidemic prevention is crucial. After weaning, young rabbits must be vaccinated to prevent coccidiosis.

    (6) Prevent and treat coccidiosis.The young rabbit stage is the age at which coccidiosis occurs in young rabbits, with high incidence and mortality rates. To prevent coccidiosis, 1% sulfadimidine can be added to the feed of young rabbits. At the same time, keep the rabbit hutch clean, hygienic, and dry.

    (7) Strengthen the constitution and conduct regular checks.Young rabbits need more exercise and more sunlight to strengthen their constitution. At the same time, regular weighing and growth assessment of young rabbits should be carried out.