Why Do Female Rabbits Miscarry? A Comprehensive Analysis of Common Causes
Rabbits are animals with relatively high profits in artificial breeding; whether in terms of meat or fur, the returns are quite ideal. Nowadays, quite a few people are breeding rabbits, and those who need to breed and raise their own stock especially need to pay attention to raising female rabbits. So if miscarriage occurs, what causes could be behind it? Let's take a look below at the causes of miscarriage in female rabbits!
1. Lack of Nutritional Elements
There are many details to pay attention to when raising female rabbits, and feeding is a major issue. Many female rabbits suffer miscarriage because feeding problems were neglected during breeding. One of the common feeding factors is an unbalanced diet. Pregnant female rabbits need not only a high level of nutrition but also a fairly balanced supply of trace elements, which play a big role in embryo formation. If these trace elements are lacking, the female rabbit is very prone to weak fetuses and stunted fetuses, which ultimately lead to miscarriage. A lack of nutrients such as carotene, protein and minerals is quite significant, and when feeding female rabbits it is best to balance the combined use of these.
2. Improper Feeding
Next is miscarriage caused by improper practices during feeding. On one hand there is the issue of feed quality, and on the other hand there is the issue of handling during feeding. In terms of quality, the main problem is that the feed is unclean or not properly prepared; if food that is half-cooked or expired but not obviously spoiled is fed to them, the female rabbit can easily get sick from eating it. Feeding handling mainly refers to the food being too cold and the like, or the methods used during feeding being too rough; all of these can cause miscarriage.
3. Diseases of the Female Rabbit Itself
Rabbits themselves suffer from quite a few diseases, and female rabbits are relatively more susceptible to infection because in many respects their own resistance is not as good as that of meat rabbits. Moreover, some reproductive diseases of female rabbits are inherently difficult to detect, and these diseases first affect fertilization, then affect conception, and finally lead to miscarriage. Female rabbits with these diseases are difficult to breed again within a short time, so before mating it is best to have some examinations done in this regard to avoid frequent miscarriages later.
4. Contracting Disease During Pregnancy
During pregnancy, the female rabbit's own resistance basically drops to its lowest, and this stage is one in which female rabbits suffer more diseases; some external factors that would normally have little effect can now lead to disease. Contracting disease during pregnancy is a major cause of miscarriage in female rabbits. Rabbit plague, pasteurellosis, enteritis, heatstroke and other diseases that occur relatively easily are key ones for female rabbits to prevent. Once these diseases appear, the female rabbit herself cannot hold up, let alone the unborn fetuses in her belly; at this point miscarriage is only a minor problem.
The above are some common problems related to miscarriage in female rabbits. When raising female rabbits, it is best to pay more attention to these aspects, especially when miscarriage becomes increasingly obvious, and to focus on checking these points to avoid excessive losses.