What are the causes of newborn rabbit deaths? How to effectively prevent and control them
Rabbit farming is a highly profitable livestock business, but newborn rabbit deaths often occur during the breeding process, especially in 20-day-old newborn rabbits, which are extremely prone to death once mismanaged. So what are the causes of newborn rabbit deaths? How should they be handled? Let's take a look at the detailed introduction below.
1. Improper warming and cold protection
In winter, temperatures are relatively low, which can easily cause rabbits to suffer frostbite, and newborn rabbits that have just been born have weak constitutions and basically no ability to regulate body temperature, so once they are exposed to cold they are extremely likely to die. For example, when a female rabbit gives birth, if the newborn rabbits are delivered outside the nest and no warming measures are taken at all, the newborn rabbits will generally freeze to death after two hours.
Countermeasures: Strengthen the management of the rabbit hutch. During the low-temperature seasons of winter and spring, cold protection and warming measures should be well carried out. When the female rabbit is giving birth, check every 1-2 hours to prevent the newborn rabbits from being left exposed outside.
2. Stress response
Like many animals, rabbits are timid and relatively sensitive to smells. After many female rabbits give birth, if other animals enter the nest, or if the female rabbit does not have strong maternal instincts, abnormal reactions may occur in the female rabbit, causing it to bite the newborn rabbits to death and eat them. Some female rabbits mate immediately after giving birth, and after becoming pregnant again they refuse to nurse the newborn rabbits, and may even bite the newborn rabbits to death.
Countermeasures: When the female rabbit is giving birth, pay attention to the harm caused by animals such as cats and rats, and strictly prohibit them from entering the rabbit hutch. For female rabbits with weak maternal instincts, methods such as foster nursing or artificial nursing can be used to feed the newborn rabbits. After the female rabbit gives birth, it should not be bred immediately; wait until the newborn rabbits can feed freely before breeding the next litter.
3. Starvation and death from illness
If the female rabbit has weak lactation and produces little milk, while the number of newborn rabbits is relatively large, the newborn rabbits will not get enough to eat. Some weak and small newborn rabbits will starve to death under long-term inadequate feeding. And if the female rabbit itself has a disease, the pathogens may be transmitted to the newborn rabbits through nursing, but the newborn rabbits have weak resistance, making them extremely prone to illness and death.
Countermeasures: After the female rabbit gives birth, improve the feed and nutritional level, feed more green grass feed and protein feed, and ensure sufficient nutrition so that more milk can be secreted and the newborn rabbits can eat their fill. At the same time, carry out daily observation. If it is found that weak small ones cannot get milk, artificial nursing methods can be adopted. The environmental sanitation of the rabbit hutch should be well maintained, with regular cleaning and disinfection, and diseases and pests should be prevented and controlled in a timely manner.
The above is an introduction to the causes of newborn rabbit deaths and countermeasures. We hope it can help you. To learn more related knowledge, please stay tuned to us.