What basic knowledge is needed to raise rabbits?

Raising rabbits is a fairly common undertaking these days, and generally you can get started as long as you have grasped some basic knowledge. This basic knowledge is very important for later breeding, and all of it is based on choices made according to the habits of rabbits. So what basic rabbit-raising knowledge do you need to master? Let's take a look below and round out what a rabbit raiser should know.

1. Feeding frequency

The first key point is of course feeding. Whether rabbits are raised well or poorly, feeding accounts for most of the factors. Young rabbits and female rabbits are at times when they need supplemental nutrition, so the emphasis is on more meals and less food each time, which maximizes their nutrient absorption; feeding three times a day is enough. Rabbits in the fattening stage need to eat their fill, as this is what makes them put on weight quickly, and at this time a rabbit that has eaten its fill takes about 8 hours to digest, so generally 2-3 times a day. The specific number of feedings can change with the situation; those that can eat more can be given more food.

2. Hygiene

The immune mechanism of rabbits being raised is somewhat weaker, so more attention needs to be paid to hygiene. The main hygiene concerns are, first, cleaning up the droppings in the rabbit hutch, and second, cleaning up leftover food; these two are what rabbits come into contact with the most. The rabbit hutch should be cleaned about 2-3 times a week, while leftover food needs to be cleaned up after every feeding. Do not leave the food fed to them overnight; fresh food, aside from giving a better fattening effect, also reduces the probability of illness.

3. Mating

Mating is relatively difficult for rabbit farmers to control, yet raising rabbits means this situation must be faced. If a rabbit does not come into heat when it reaches the estrus period, you can separate the male and female for a period of time to stimulate estrus, and then carry out mating, which gives a better effect. In addition, each mating session for rabbits lasts about 20-30 minutes, so do not be impatient. A single female rabbit can be mated multiple times each year to increase the number of offspring, with the number of times being 5-8; high-quality breeding rabbits should be mated more, while poorer ones can appropriately be given up on somewhat, which ensures the quality of the rabbits.

4. Vaccines

Vaccines are key to preventing disease in rabbits, as they give them a certain immunity to some commonly occurring diseases. Generally speaking, meat rabbits need about 2 vaccine injections, one when they are young rabbits, and then another during the period when disease occurs frequently. Breeding rabbits, on the other hand, need to be raised long-term, and their immunity is very important, as it will affect the young rabbits produced later; vaccine injections should be kept to once every half a year, and do not inject vaccines frequently, otherwise it will affect the quality of the breeding rabbits.

5. Time for separating into cages

Separating rabbits into cages is also fairly important; if the density is too high, rabbits will fight, and there will be many more injured rabbits. The first separation into cages is to raise the female rabbit and the first litter separately, at around 2 weeks after the young rabbits are weaned. The second separation into cages is when they have grown somewhat larger and the current rabbit cages are no longer suitable, generally at around 3-5 months after the first separation into cages. Some breeds of rabbits are relatively docile and can be kept several to a cage, while others are not suitable for this; it is best to find this out clearly when buying the young stock.

The above is some basic knowledge for raising rabbits. I hope it can help everyone. Raising rabbits is actually fairly simple, as long as you learn more about their habits.