Rabbit breeding- an interesting, profitable and profitable activity. This type of activity is very popular in the household. Rabbits are distinguished by high early maturity and growth intensity, increased fertility and the ability to reproduce throughout the year. They unpretentious in maintenance in cages, adapt well to the existing conditions, and pay in full for the food spent on them. Breeding and caring for animals is not a difficult task if you know the most important things about rabbits. From this article you will learn where to start.

Rabbits are born blind, naked and completely dependent on the mother rabbit. Eating exclusively with milk. By the 10th - 14th day in rabbits eyes open, by the 16th - 20th they are already leaving the nest and begin to taste adult food.

At the age of 1 month, cubs can survive without their mother. By this time, their primary hair has reached full development and the milk teeth are replaced by molars. Newborn rabbits have 16 temporary teeth. From the 18th day of life their gradual replacement with permanent ones begins. Primary molars fall out between 20 and 28 days. After the change, animals have 28 of them, less often 26 (a pair of small incisors in the upper jaw may be missing). By 30 days of age, the live weight of rabbits increases 8-10 times.

Rabbits are true vegetarians. They love to eat green grass and prefer high-quality hay in winter. They happily gnaw on branches of trees and shrubs, gobble up grain, vegetables and fruits. In home-keeping conditions, the diet of animals also includes food of animal origin in the form of nutritional and mineral supplements.

The digestive system of rabbits is perfectly suited for eating plant foods. Animals have a single-chamber stomach, has the shape of a horseshoe-shaped bag. Gastric juice contains hydrochloric acid, pepsin and lipase, which quickly dissolve feed proteins, promote the digestion of fats, and protect food from rotting. Intestines 8-10 times the body length. Rabbit urine is alkaline and contains a lot of nitrogen and sulfur. Daytime feces- dry and hard, night - soft and wet. A feature of animal digestion is natural coprophagy.

Rabbits go through puberty early. Animals of medium breeds are capable of reproduction at the age of 3-3.5 months, large ones - at the age of 3.5-4 months. However, without harm to the health, growth and quality of the offspring, they can occur no earlier than 5 - 6 months, when the period of intensive growth ends. The final development of the body in rabbits ends by 8 months.

Females bear numerous offspring. One litter usually produces from 6 to 9 rabbits. The maximum number of newborns is 18. The animals do not have a pronounced seasonal hunt. Females are fertilized all year round, every 5 - 6 days in summer, and 7 - 10 days in winter. Female rabbits perfectly combine lactation and pregnancy; they can receive, care for and feed both their own young and those from another mother, if the rabbits are approximately the same age.

Animals adapt well to living conditions in any climate, but are sensitive to excessively low and high temperatures, drafts, infections and polluted air. Rabbits live up to 10 years, after 3-4 years, the reproductive capacity of females and males drops sharply, which necessitates a change in the reproductive composition. Especially valuable animals are used for 5-6 years.

Rabbits are the only farm animals in which albino parent pairs produce strong, healthy, reproductive offspring.

Rabbit breeding: where to start, choice of breed for breeding - meat or skin

Animals are bred for their meat and skins. Downy rabbit breeding is less common. Rabbit meat is tasty, nutritious and healthy. It contains a lot of easily digestible protein, 90% of which is easily digested in the human body. The tender fat does not harden and does not leave an unpleasant taste in the mouth. Rabbit meat is used in dietary and therapeutic nutrition. Rabbit dishes are considered delicacies worthy of the attention of real gourmets. The most tender meat is obtained from broilers, which are slaughtered at the age of 70 - 75 days when they reach 2 kg.

The following breeds of animals are suitable for meat farming:

• Flanders;

• French ram;

• Californian;

• white New Zealand;

• New Zealand red.

Listed young animals characterized by rapid growth, good gain of live weight, optimal feed costs for growth. Commercial products with intensive fattening are obtained by 4-6 months, the weight of the rabbits at this time can reach 5 kg.

Animals are also raised for their skins. They are used in light industry for sewing hats, fur coats and as trim for the hoods of products made from synthetic and natural materials. Shoes can also be trimmed with rabbit fur. It is also used to imitate more expensive mink, arctic fox, sable, seal, etc.

High-quality skins are obtained from animal breeds:

• Soviet chinchilla;

• gray giant;

• white giant;

• silver;

• Vienna blue;

• black-brown;

• butterfly;

• Russian ermine.

Animals are distinguished thick, soft and beautiful fur with a short awn and strong down. Rabbits produce large, valuable skins. Slaughter is carried out after 6 months, when the first adult molt ends.

When choosing animals for breeding, attention is paid to the health and constitution of the animals. Appearance must match the description of the breed. The male must be energetic, strong, well developed, with a pronounced masculine type. You should not choose small, lethargic, passive animals that are lagging behind in development. The criteria for choosing females are more varied. The expectant mother should have a light head, strong but not rough bones, straight back, wide butt, elastic, non-saggy belly, strong legs. She must have at least four pairs of evenly spaced and normally developed nipples. This is a guarantee that she can feed and raise numerous offspring.

When compiling a breeding core, it is correct to purchase males and females from different breeders in order to exclude inbreeding. Incorrect selection leads to shredding, accumulation of diseases and reduction of livestock.

Home rabbit farm: conditions of keeping, growing and care

In private households, they practice both keeping in a barn and outdoor cage keeping of animals. The place for rabbit houses is chosen to be level, protected from the prevailing winds, with natural or artificial shading. Rabbits do not tolerate overheating, drafts and do not like moisture, so it is worth immediately creating conditions that are comfortable for the livestock. The approach to the site must be free to ensure unimpeded distribution of feed and cleaning of cages. The breeding stock and productive young animals are kept in different sections, although on small farms this is almost arbitrary. There is a separate cage for sick animals and a cage for quarantine, where newly purchased animals that cannot be immediately placed in the main herd will be temporarily kept.

1. The best are considered cages made of metal mesh and wood. The back wall and ends are made of boards, nailing the parts tightly together without gaps. The inside corners are lined with metal to prevent rabbits from damaging the cages. Part of the floor, the front wall and, if desired, the door are made of mesh. Chain-link mesh and fine-mesh construction mesh are suitable for these purposes. The size is selected so that the animals can walk comfortably without their paws falling into the cells. Part of the floor is made of solid boards. This is a resting place for rabbits, they can fully relax there, lie down, chew on a twig, etc.
2. The roofing material is slate, ondulin, corrugated sheet. It is practical to make the roof with a slight slope towards the back wall to allow rainwater to drain if the cages are located outdoors. The hinged and folding design makes it convenient to clean the rabbit's housing when changing livestock.
3. Feeders are made removable or stationary, place them on the front wall inside or outside the cells. Be sure to install a drinking bowl, preferably an automatic one, so that the rabbits have constant access to water.
4. In winter, when there is severe frost, the cages are insulated. They use both available materials and building thermal insulation. At critically low temperatures, the outer perimeter of the cage can be lined with foam plastic, and the façade can be covered with grass mats. In regions where there is a lot of snow, you can simply cover the cages with it, but do not forget to remove it when it thaws. Abundant bedding made of dry leaves, hay or straw, and sawdust will also keep the cages warm.
5. On small farms cells are arranged in one row d. With a large population, for ease of maintenance, they are installed in 3 floors, one on top of the other. Under each tier there is a tray for collecting feces, urine and feed waste.

Animal cages are made in different ways, taking into account the specific use of the premises and the needs of the rabbits.

Cages for young animals

Baby rabbits after weaning kept in groups in large spacious cages. Until 3 months, animals are not separated by gender, then they are transplanted separately. Pugnacious animals prone to aggression are isolated from the herd. Fattening and fur young animals contain 6-12 heads in one cage. Replacement animals intended to replace the production team are kept in groups of 3 in one house. The living space for a regular rabbit should be 0.12 m², and for reproductive young animals - 0.17 m².

For summer keeping rabbits use a design with two meshes on the back and front walls. In such a cage, the young animals are comfortable and safe, the animals breathe fresh air and harmful gases do not accumulate inside. In winter, it is correct to keep rabbits in a closed cage., lattice only on the façade.

Queen cells for rabbits

On home farms, a separate cage is allocated for each female. She lives in it and gives birth to offspring. Before the birth of the cubs, the housing is supplemented with queen cell- a closed box with a hole in which the rabbit makes a nest. It is made from wooden slats and covered with plywood. Box size 300 by 500 by 300 mm. The diameter of the hole is 150 mm. The lid is made hinged for easy inspection of the nest. Queen cells are either located inside the cage at the level of the door, or taken outside, providing free passage for the animal. In such an imitation of a mink, it is convenient for the female to raise her rabbits. They grow healthy, strong and strong, and quickly gain weight.

Cages for mating

There are no special facilities for crossing animals at home. Everything is done simply - a female in heat is transferred to the male’s cage during mating. The whole process takes 10-15 minutes. Mating must be observed. Immediately after its completion, the female is removed from the cage so as not to torment the male. After 5 days, a control mating is carried out. If the female rabbit does not allow the male to approach her, she is considered conditionally covered.

Caring for rabbits involves distributing food and cleaning the cages of their waste products. Feed is given 2 or 3 times a day. Hygienic procedures are combined with morning or evening feeding. On a mesh floor, it is permissible to remove feces once a day.

Growth and development of rabbits

Birth in female rabbits occurs at night and lasts from 10 minutes to 1 hour. The female then eats the afterbirth and stillborn cubs. Labor causes a feeling of thirst, therefore there must be constant water in the cells so that the animal does not replenish the lack of fluid through the offspring. The same situation can arise if the mother’s body lacks vitamins and minerals.

Young rabbits can scatter babies, so you need to watch the litter, but do not interfere with the process. The rabbits outside the nest are folded manually. If the situation repeats, the animal is discarded.

Females feed their rabbits once a day, less often twice. Rabbits drink up to 200 grams. milk per day. Well-fed rabbits lie peacefully in the nest, hungry rabbits squeak and try to get out of it. If they leave the nest before the 14th day, this means that they do not have enough food. The maximum level of milk production in a female rabbit occurs on the 20th - 25th day of feeding. The mother herself cleans the nest; a person does not need to make adjustments there unless necessary.

Females are fed ad libitum during lactation, ideally, if there is always food in the feeder, the animal will choose when and what it needs. The mother will teach the grown-up children to eat adult food.

Young animals are killed at the age of 30 days. Breeding animals can be left under their mother for up to 45 days. During this period of life, the weight of babies increases up to 10 times.

The first selection of animals is carried out at the age of 2-3 months. They are assessed according to the degree of development, compliance with the breed standard, health, and desirable characteristics. Valuation consists of inspection and comparison with standard indicators. Sick, frail, weakened, atypical animals are culled. Rabbits with a rough and loose constitution are also subject to exclusion. The most promising young animals are kept for further breeding; the remaining animals are used for meat and skins. The last revision of the future breeding composition is carried out at 6 months.

Rabbits grow rapidly up to 4 months. This is the ideal age for slaughtering meat animals, since subsequently the profitability of feeding livestock drops sharply. To obtain marketable skins, you will have to wait for an adult molt. In rabbits this period is not clearly expressed. Animals usually shed from March to April, and in the fall from October to November. In summer, partial loss of the awn is observed. Approximate time for slaughtering rabbits for skins- after 6 months. It is not recommended to keep marketable young stock for more than 8 months.

What do rabbits eat, proper feeding

A good food supply is the key to the prosperity of a rabbit farm. Animals eat a variety of plant foods. Greens include:

• meadow forbs;
• wheatgrass;
• sagebrush;
• corn;
• sainfoin;
• peas;
• sow thistle;
• burdock;
• yarrow;
• nettle;
• rapeseed.

The green mass is dried before distribution; it is never given wet from rain.. It causes digestive upset in animals, sometimes fatal.

Rough feeds include:

• hay;
• herbal flour;
• twig food;
• dry leaf of fruit trees.

Hay is harvested during the budding period, the best in composition are considered to be forbs and legumes. When it comes to branch food, rabbits prefer aspen, willow, rowan, maple, and acacia. From the garden - apple, pear, raspberry, cherry.

The succulent food menu includes:

• fodder beet;
• potato;
• carrot;
• pumpkin;
• Jerusalem artichoke;
• cabbage;
• fruits.

Sugar beets are fed in limited quantities mixed with bran. Vegetables are a seasonal crop, so your diet can be varied throughout the year.

Rabbits also need grain feed. They willingly eat:

• oats;
• wheat;
• barley;
• corn;
• peas.

Additionally, the diet includes bran and cakes.

The following is given to rabbits as food:

• salt;
• meat and bone meal;
• blood and fish meal;
• milk;
• serum;
• yeast.

Pelleted food also provides a complete diet.. It is bought ready-made at markets or in specialized stores. The pressed lumps contain everything necessary for the rabbit’s body.

Periodic distribution of onions and garlic to animals ensures the supply of additional vitamins, and the phytoncides contained in the products prevent the development of infectious and viral diseases.

In one year a female with an average litter eats up to 1 ton of grass, succulent feed 200 kg, hay 150 kg, concentrates 200 kg and mineral feed 10-12 kg. The data may differ in one direction or the other, it all depends on the climatic conditions in the region, the breed of animals and the diet menu.

Features of rabbit breeding - how to keep, care and feed

Breeding animals are allowed to mate for the first time at the age of 5 - 11 months. Disposable females can be used at the age of 5 - 6 months. In healthy, strong, well-fed animals, heat occurs every 5-6 days, somewhat less often in winter, so it is easy for the rabbit breeder to plan the time of birth of the young. 2 weeks before mating, the diet is enhanced with protein and vitamin feeds.. Males are offered oats, milk, eggs, which increase spermatogenesis and increase the activity of animals. By the time of mating, the breeders should look strong, well-built, in body, but not greasy.

Mating of animals occurs quickly. During one cage, the male secretes up to 2 ml. sperm. 20 minutes after mating, sperm penetrate the female’s oviducts. Fertilization occurs 10 - 12 hours later.

Pregnancy in female rabbits lasts 26 - 35 days. By the time of their birth, the cubs reach a weight of 50 to 90 g. The weight depends on the breed and the number of rabbits in the litter. In multiple litters, the rabbits are born small.

2 - 3 days before giving birth, the female rabbit becomes restless, runs around the cage, builds a nest and lines it with down. Signs of impending birth are and the female’s drooping belly, as well as swollen nipples in which milk resides. At this time, the supply of succulent feed is limited and the animals are offered hay. A few days after giving birth, the diet is restored. The lack of milk can be stimulated by giving vegetables and fruits.

Female rabbits can give birth 4 times a year. With compacted births combined with feeding - up to 6 - 7 times. Animals that give birth often wear out quickly and have to be replaced more frequently.

In case of multiple births, it is recommended to transfer some of the cubs to females who have few rabbits in their litter. To do this, it is better to isolate the foster mother for a while, place other people's rabbits in the nest mixed with her own, and after a while return the rabbit to the nest.

Disease prevention, vaccinations

Rabbits are susceptible to disease. Vaccination of animals helps strengthen the body's immunity and resistance to infections.. Vaccinated livestock get sick less often, and disease outbreaks never end in epidemics.

Vaccination against myxomatosis carried out when the young animals are 28 days old. Live vaccine B 82 is used. The form of administration is intramuscular injection in a dose of 1 cube per head. Repeated vaccination is given at the age of 120 days.

Vaccination against VGBV done when babies are 45 days old. Hydroaluminum fabric formol vaccine is used. 0.5 cc of the drug is administered intramuscularly to animals. At 6 months the procedure is repeated.

Another option to rid rabbits of diseases is to use an associated vaccine. It works immediately against myxomatosis and VGBK. Rabbits are vaccinated at 45 days. Use 0.5 cubes of the drug per head. Form of administration: intramuscular or subcutaneous injection.

The fight against pasurellosis begins at 2.5 months. They give piperazine, which is administered through the mouth. The dose of the medicine is 0.5 g per kilogram of rabbit weight.

At 3 months the time comes take measures against coccidiosis. They use Baycox, Amprolium. Amprolium is diluted in 1.4 g of the drug in a liter of water. Baycox dosage is 1 cube per liter. Take the medicine at one time.

These measures help reduce the risk of developing contagious diseases and maintain the health of rabbits throughout their lives.

Vaccination is carried out only in healthy animals. The frail, sick and weakened are first treated and then vaccinated.

Breeding and raising rabbits is an addictive business. Doing them is interesting and instructive. For some, it becomes a lifelong passion. It's not difficult to learn everything. For beginners, the main thing is to try, delve into it, and experiment. And then everything will work out.

Rabbits are very cute animals that are easy to breed. Caring for and watching these cute animals helps relieve stress and improves your mood.

Where to begin

First of all, you need to decide why you are breeding rabbits. There are meat breeds, there are meat-skin breeds and skin-breeds.

If you breed animals to provide yourself with meat, you should pay attention to breeds such as, Russian Ermine,. They are quite unpretentious to the conditions of detention.

When breeding rabbits for meat sales, choose special meat breeds, for example, California, Burgundy breeds.

Breeds that produce high-quality skins are Chinchilla, Vienna Blue, Silver, downy rabbits - Angora and White Downy.

How to choose the right rabbits

Once you have decided on the breed, you need to choose healthy animals. A person just starting to breed rabbits may make a mistake and purchase a sick or rejected animal.

Signs of healthy specimens:

This method of keeping is considered the most optimal, as it allows you to monitor the health of animals, their reproduction, and helps to properly breed and feed rabbits.

The advantages also include ease of maintenance, the ability to automate many processes, ease of care.

However, a number of requirements must be met to ensure that rabbits are truly comfortable and happy in their cages.

It is better to install cages in a shed called a shed (read:). Being in the open air does not protect you from wind, frost, or precipitation. The walls and floor of the shed can be made of bricks, logs, or wooden boards. The main condition is that there should be no cracks or holes in them in order to avoid drafts that have a detrimental effect on rabbits. In this case, the room should be well ventilated and lit. Lack of light and fresh air causes deterioration of the hairline.

Cell requirements:

• Slatted or mesh floor.
• Size for a female rabbit with her babies: length - 890mm, width - 780mm, height - 420mm.
• Cage size for individual housing: length – 720mm, width – 600mm, height – 420mm.
• The front wall is mesh, the sides and back are solid, wooden.
• The cage is equipped with a feeder and drinking bowl.
• In cages intended for cubs, a mother house made of plywood or thin boards is placed.

This method is suitable for those who want to breed rabbits for meat, while spending a minimum of effort and money. This method is not used at all for breeding breeding animals and obtaining high-quality skins. Giant rabbits are also not kept in pits.

Pits can be made both in villages and in cities. Soils with low groundwater flow and the absence of rocks and stones under a thin layer of soil are suitable. Pits can be installed in a basement or cellar, even in a city apartment building.

The approximate size of the pit is 2 meters long, 2 meters wide, 1 meter high. The size is given for approximately 20 rabbits. The floor can be left earthen or made of slats or mesh, under which a slope or tray for feces and urine is placed. Straw is spread on the earthen floor, which must be removed after a few days and will have to be replaced with clean straw.

Along the walls there are feeders in different directions and drinking bowls. They try not to place them near the entrance to holes dug by rabbits, otherwise they will quickly and heavily get dirty.

The hole definitely needs a window that lets in sunlight. The norm for artificial lighting is 40 watts per 10 square meters. For rabbits, the length of daylight is much more important than the brightness of the lighting.

Pros of pit housing:

• Low costs - one pit can serve for a very long time, it does not wear out, unlike cages.
• No problems with pregnancy and childbirth.
• Various diseases rarely develop.
• Great space saving.
• Ease and convenience of feeding.
• The reproduction process goes well - often, easily. Rabbits are born and develop stronger and more resilient than when kept in cages.
• In winter, the floor and water in the drinking bowls do not freeze.

Minuses:

• Inbreeding. It causes shrinkage and congenital deformities of animals.
• Inability to control reproduction.
• Animals become wild over time and become difficult to catch for vaccination.
• The skins become damaged, especially in males who constantly fight with each other.
• It is more difficult to clean up manure.

Mating

A pair of rabbits is selected - healthy and at puberty . The female must be in a state of sexual heat, otherwise she simply will not allow the male to approach her. How to determine sexual heat?

In a normally developing female, heat occurs approximately once a week. In summer, the interval is reduced to 5-6 days, in winter it increases to 17-20. October and November are the most unfavorable months in this regard.

During the hunt, the female becomes restless, begins to rush around the cage, pluck out her fluff, carry a bunch of hay in her mouth, her appetite sharply decreases or disappears completely. If a female is stroked on the back, she will instinctively lie down on the floor and raise her hindquarters. To more accurately determine the period of sexual heat, the genitals are visually assessed (popularly called a “loop”).

In its normal state, the loop has a pale pink color, but during hunting it becomes a bright pink color. In addition, it swells somewhat. The duration of the hunting period can be 3-5 days.

The male must be young enough, not obese, not emaciated. It is not advisable to allow more than 4 coats per day on a male.

In summer, mating is best done in the morning or evening, in winter - in the daytime. This is due to the most suitable air temperature. In hot and cold weather, animals are less active.

For mating, the female is placed in the male's cage. Otherwise, he will be confused and instead of having sexual intercourse, he will get accustomed to the new room. First you need to remove feeders, drinking bowls, and any other items from the cage. Cages are usually cleaned and disinfected before mating.

For a more guaranteed result, you should wait until the female is covered twice, and then move her back to her home cage.

Determination of pregnancy in rabbits

Experienced rabbit breeders carry out control mating 5-6 days after the first covering. Most often, an already pregnant female is not given to the male for repeated mating.

After 2 weeks, you can try to palpate the belly of the coated female. The animal is taken out of the cage, turned towards itself with its head, holding the female by the skin in the sacral area with one hand. Another one at this time is palpating the belly; in a pregnant rabbit, in the back half, you can feel the embryos as one or two chains parallel to each other. The size of the embryo at this time is 2-3 cm. Palpation is done very carefully so as not to harm the babies or cause artificial birth.

When there are 5-7 days left before giving birth, the female begins to prepare a nest and bedding for the cubs. To do this, she uses straw and grass from the manger. A day before giving birth, the female rabbit plucks her own down and lines the nest with it.

Feeding before mating

A nutritious diet provokes increased sexual activity in animals. Undernourished or obese females most often do not fertilize, and males develop low-quality seed.

Mandatory feed before mating will be legume hay, silage, oats, carrots, a mixture of cake with bran, salt, meat, bone and fish meal. You can give tree branches, sprouted grains of barley and oats.

In winter, females are given high-quality hay, silage, root vegetables, grain mixtures (corn grains, legumes, oats), bone and meat meal, bran, salt, boiled or raw potatoes. Fish oil is also included in the diet - 2g per day, chalk - 2g. Number of feedings – 3 per day.

Feeding pregnant and lactating females

At this time, proper varied nutrition is especially important, because underfeeding causes disruptions in the normal development of embryos and reduces milk production in a lactating female.

In summer, the female is given a large amount of dried grass, in winter - high-quality hay. In addition, the diet includes silage with the addition of meat and bone meal and concentrated feed, and root vegetables. Nursing mothers are given daily milk - 100g, chalk - 2g, salt - 1g.

Do not feed moldy or frozen food to avoid causing a miscarriage.

5-10 days before birth, they reduce the amount of roughage (dry leaves, hay) and completely stop producing silage. There must be water or snow in the cage in winter! Otherwise, the female, experiencing a lack of water, may eat her entire litter.

The number of feedings for a pregnant and lactating rabbit is from 3 to 5 times a day. When the rabbits begin to leave the nest, increase the amount of food.

When breeding rabbits, novice rabbit breeders are capable of making mistakes that can have catastrophic consequences. Lack of experience and lack of knowledge are the main reasons.

• A pregnant female may experience a spasm of the uterus, which will cause the death of the animal. The provocateur is often severe fear and stress. Therefore, an experienced breeder approaches the nest, trying to make as little noise as possible.
• If the location of the uterine house is incorrect, the female will drag the rabbits from corner to corner, ultimately causing their death. The area of ​​the house should be reduced.
• If the mother rabbit has an excess amount of milk, the babies may die of starvation due to the fact that the glands become very dense and the rabbits cannot grasp them. In this case, massage of the mammary glands and timely expression of excess milk is necessary.

Increasingly, you can see domestic animals in the courtyards of private households and even summer cottages. Breeding rabbits is attractive due to the unpretentiousness of this species, the rapid growth of the animals, their active reproduction and the quick return on investment.

The costs of keeping rabbits are low, and in exchange for care and attention, the animals will provide their owners with 4–5 kg of meat per carcass, fur skins and down.

What are the features of breeding, raising and feeding rabbits in a private backyard?

There are descriptions of several animal housing systems in the literature. The historical ones used earlier include controlled grazing with keeping in pens. Some are mastering the now popular breeding of rabbits in pits, but most experienced rabbit breeders are inclined to use cages.

Thanks to such opportunities, which make life easier for experienced and beginner rabbit breeders, keeping rabbits in cages has become widespread throughout the world. - detailed article!

Comfortable rabbit cage

One of the significant advantages of using cage housing is the long, almost year-round exposure of livestock to the air, which:

• has a good effect on the body's defenses;
• gradually improves the quality of fur and fatness of animals;
• has a positive effect on productive qualities;
• prevents the proliferation of pathogenic microflora and the spread of diseases.

If there are portable cages, livestock or individual rabbits, for example, in winter, when the temperature approaches -25 ° C, or during mating and litter, they can be moved under the roof.

Having decided to start breeding rabbits at home, a novice rabbit breeder must take care of arranging housing for his charges.

To save space, stationary rabbit hutches are made tiered, placing 2–3 cages on top of each other. Adult livestock and young animals are kept separately, placed in their own or group cages at the age of three months.

Permanent and temporary structures must meet the requirements for the safety and convenience of long-eared guests.

The most important thing for pet rabbits is to keep them clean, warm and dry. This is taken into account when choosing the design of rabbit houses and their future location on the site. For breeding and keeping rabbits outdoors, insulation is provided inside the houses. And to make it easier to maintain cleanliness, the floor in the cage is made of mesh or slatted with small gaps for dropping droppings and debris.

Cleanliness and other conditions for successful rabbit breeding

Rabbits living in cleanliness and comfort are not susceptible to diseases, quickly gain weight, grow good fur and reproduce willingly. How to keep rabbits in a private yard? What conditions are best suited for furry animals?

Unpretentious, hardy animals survive in the open air in frosts of thirty degrees, and in the summer they endure the same unbearable heat. However, the task of a rabbit breeder is not to test the animals, but to raise them. Both heat and severe frosts make their own adjustments to the breeding, raising and feeding of rabbits, therefore:

• in winter, it is imperative to protect the cages from frost and icy wind, which is destructive for animals, and put more straw inside;
• In summer, portable cages are placed in partial shade, and stationary structures are protected with canopies and awnings, and moisture irrigation is used for the animals to prevent overheating.

Branches, freshly cut grass and hay can be used as natural shelter. On the hottest days, the roofs of the cages are doused with water to quickly and effectively reduce the temperature inside and slightly increase the air humidity.

If breeding rabbits is carried out indoors, then the animals need long daylight hours, ventilation, comfortable temperature conditions and air humidity in the range of 60–70%.

Rules for caring for rabbits when breeding at home

There are several rules, following which experienced, and especially those starting to raise rabbits at home, livestock breeders can achieve consistently high results:

1. Cleaning cages, drinkers and feeders should be daily and very thorough.
2. The cells, as well as all equipment in them, are disinfected at intervals of 10–14 days.
3. Ventilation and maintaining acceptable humidity are as necessary as cleanliness and balanced food.
4. When bred in cages, rabbits must be protected from drafts.
5. Constant availability of clean water and fresh feed, selected according to age.
6. Animals are regularly examined; if a disease is suspected, a weak rabbit is quarantined.

Breeding rabbits at home cannot be done without mandatory vaccination of the livestock, as well as without adding vitamin supplements to drink and food, especially necessary for pregnant females, young animals and all individuals in the winter.

Hay and water must be present in the rabbit hutch at all times. In addition to feed, animals are offered fresh grass, root vegetables, grain, and apples. If you mow succulent forage yourself, you should not choose areas near roads or industrial enterprises.

Feeders, hay mangers and drinking bowls located in cages must be clean and stable so that moving animals do not overturn them.

How to breed rabbits and get offspring from them?

For a male to impregnate a female, she must be in heat. Regardless of the season, this condition lasts up to five days with a break of 8–9 days. Just a day after the birth of a new generation of rabbits, the female is ready for a new fertilization.

A signal that the female is ready to go into the male’s cage can be considered restless behavior, loss of appetite, and the surest sign is a rush of blood and swelling of the genital loop.

Adult males are no less active. During the day, the rabbit covers up to four females, coming into heat literally within minutes after the previous mating. To prevent the breeder from weakening from exhaustion, the females are placed in the cage with a break of two days.

Rabbits for breeding are selected based on external characteristics, age and breed characteristics. Sick, weak, or too young animals are not allowed to mate.

A nest is prepared in advance for a female rabbit expecting a litter. When baby rabbits appear, they need special care and attention.

If the animal is not intended for breeding, rabbits are castrated at the age of 3–4 months, which leads to rapid weight gain and improved meat quality. Livestock are slaughtered starting at 4 months of age. But to obtain thick, strong fur, it is better to wait until the animals molt. This happens in six months or a little later, depending.

A video about breeding rabbits and all the nuances of their feeding, keeping and reproduction will be useful for both beginners and experienced rabbit breeders. Such information helps to replenish knowledge and avoid annoying mistakes, sometimes leading to undesirable consequences for the entire economy.

Keeping rabbits in an open enclosure - video

The topic of rabbit breeding is discussed by a successful Russian entrepreneur who has been professionally involved in various areas of agribusiness for more than 15 years. Participated in the creation and development of both his own and third-party projects. Has extensive knowledge in many areas of agricultural production. The article contains a short but very comprehensive business plan for breeding rabbits (up to 1000 animals per year) with specific figures for income and expenses.

Surely you know the saying: “ The surest way to throw money away is to invest it in agriculture" Well, the time has come to completely refute this saying and forget about it once and for all. After all, we will talk about one of the most stable and profitable areas - rabbit breeding as a business. Namely, about creating your own rabbit mini-farm, which will provide you with a constant source of income all year round.

Firstly, rabbit meat has exceptional dietary properties. In addition to the fact that rabbit meat contains all the essential amino acids, it is absorbed by the human body by 90% (pork, beef and lamb by only 60%) and helps regulate metabolism. And you can play well on these properties of rabbit meat. Agree that there are now more than enough people on a diet for one reason or another.

Secondly, the rabbit meat market is practically empty, and it won’t be difficult to break into it. This is primarily due to the fact that no one can compete with rabbit meat: neither poultry farms, nor pig farms, nor livestock complexes, i.e. this niche is actually empty. And ask yourself, how often do you see an abundance of domestically produced rabbit carcasses on supermarket shelves?

Organizational and legal aspects of running a rabbit breeding business

Before opening a mini-farm, let’s consider the two most acceptable forms of doing business: peasant farms and individual entrepreneurs.

Peasant farm (peasant farm).

In fact, the activities of a peasant farm are the same as an individual entrepreneur, but with only one difference: it may include citizens who jointly own the property of the enterprise and have the right to carry out any economic activity. At the same time, the peasant farm does not have its own statutory documents, constituent agreement and its own name. By registering a peasant farm in your own name, you become its head, or more precisely, an ordinary individual entrepreneur.

But whether it is worth accepting new shareholders or not depends on the situation, but I would answer this - no. Since, if successful, problems will inevitably arise with partners (shareholders), which can lead to the complete liquidation of the enterprise. In addition, according to the law, you have the right to manage a peasant farm as one person. The advantage of a peasant farm is that it can count on government support in the form of all kinds of subsidies and tax benefits.

IP (individual entrepreneur).

To be honest, in my opinion, this is the most acceptable form of business organization for a rabbit mini-farm. The fact is that the legal field of peasant farming does not have clear boundaries, and there have been constant disputes around this for a whole decade. And the so-called advantage of peasant farms in receiving government benefits and subsidies is completely smashed against the bureaucratic wall.

For example, to get a preferential loan for agricultural producers, you need to submit an application to the local district administration. The commission that considers such applications will include good men and women who are vitally interested in receiving these very loans. Now guess who will win the tender for a soft loan?

Tax form for rabbit farming

As a taxation system for this type of activity, it is worth choosing from two forms of taxation: Simplified taxation regime, income minus expenses or the Unified Agricultural Tax.

Economic activity type code

OKVED with coding - A.01.25.2 will suit you. What does it mean: breeding rabbits and fur-bearing animals on a farm. This group has restrictions prohibiting the production of skins and hides of animals obtained as a result of hunting and trapping.

Organization of material and technical base

In order to mechanize as much as possible the entire process of raising and keeping rabbits, it is best to use a shed system. A shed is a shed with a wood or metal frame that houses rabbit cages under one roof.

Place for a mini farm

To build a mini-farm, no special permission is required. All you need is to have a plot of land outside the city, owned or leased. The only catch is the permissible distance of the mini-farm from residential buildings. Such things are regulated by local governments, so find out in advance where you can install a farm and where it is unacceptable.

The place for the farm itself should be on a hill or on a piece of land with a slight slope.

Try to avoid low areas, as rabbits cannot tolerate high humidity. Ideally, the entire site for the farm should be asphalted, concreted or filled with gravel, and a storm drain and water drainage system should be installed.

So, the mini-farm project will allow producing 700-1000 rabbit carcasses per year, and the farm area will be about 800-1000 m² of land.

• Sheds - 3 pcs. Total area - 360 m².
• The feed shop and the car access to it are 200 m².
• Room for equipment and spare building materials - 40-50 m².
• Premises for slaughterhouse and refrigeration equipment - 40-50 m².
• Manure collector - 30 m².
• The rest of the area is passages and passages for a mini-tractor.

Sheds.

Sheds for rabbit breeding

Due to the fact that the cages in the sheds are located in one place, this significantly saves building materials and time for their maintenance. Cages in sheds are installed in two tiers, on both sides of a covered passage. To allow more light and fresh air into the cages with rabbits, windows measuring 20x100 cm are made on their back walls, with removable boards on hinges. The length of the shed can be arbitrary (in our case it is 20 m), the height is 240 cm, the width of the passage is 120-140 cm. The floor in the passage is concreted or asphalted with a slope towards the cages.

Rabbit cages

The cage for the main herd has a length of 100-130 cm, a width of 60-70 cm, with a front wall height of 55 cm, a back wall of 35-40 cm. For ease of manure removal, the roof of the lower tier cages is made with a slope back and is a second solid bottom for upper tier cells. There should be a similar tray for the cells of the lower tier.

All cages are best made from galvanized welded mesh(cell size 18X18, 20X20, 16X48 mm).

The cages in the sheds are divided into two compartments - feeding and nesting, and mesh nurseries are placed between them (cell size 35X35 or 25X50 mm), but feeders and drinking bowls are located under the nurseries, which significantly saves space. Thus, one shed can accommodate 60 cages, in which up to 400 young animals can be raised in a year.

Feed shop

A feed shop is a room where an impressive supply of concentrated feed (compound feed, grain) will be stored, which should be enough for 2-3 months. If desired, the feed mill can be equipped with a professional grain crusher (production capacity of at least 500 kg/h) and a granulator to independently produce feed and save on this cost item.

Also on the territory of the mini-farm there should be a room for spare equipment (feeders, drinking bowls, etc.) and building materials (mesh, boards, fasteners, etc.).

Slaughterhouse and refrigeration equipment

In case of mass slaughter of rabbits, it is necessary to build a separate room, or rather an extension to the building where the refrigeration equipment will be located. In the slaughterhouse, a separate place for slaughter is allocated, which is equipped with a blood flow and special equipment. oven for burning offal (heads, paws, entrails, illiquid skins, etc.). This approach allows you to create a continuous process for processing rabbit carcasses. That is, they killed it, cut it up, immediately packaged it and froze it.

Manure collector

A manure pit is an ordinary pit with concrete walls and an open roof (canopy). The depth of the pit is at least 3 meters, the width and length are arbitrary. The manure collector is located in the farthest corner of the farm and as far as possible from the shads, feed shop and refrigeration equipment.

Business process: raising and feeding rabbits.

Let's consider business processes for raising rabbits for meat.

What breed of rabbits is it profitable to breed?

Since the main product of a rabbit mini-farm is meat, the breeds of rabbits must be meat accordingly. There should be no downy, meat-skinned, and especially crossbred rabbits. At first glance, there is no difference in weight between adult rabbits of meat and skin breeds, but the latter already reach a live body weight of up to 3.5 kg by the age of 3 months. There are only three of them: New Zealand red, New Zealand white and Californian.

• New Zealand red. Adult rabbits reach a live weight of 4.5-5 kg. They are characterized by high growth energy, especially at an early age.
• New Zealand white. These rabbits are also distinguished by high growth energy, meatiness and early maturity. The live weight of young animals already at three months of age is 2.7-3.5 kg.
• Californian. The average daily growth of young animals of this breed is 40-45 grams. per day until two months of age, as a result of which these broiler rabbits reach a weight of 4.5 kg by 5 months.

My advice to you: do not buy breeding young animals at poultry markets. The best place to buy is specialized agricultural supplies. Exhibitions. Here you can find good suppliers of purebred rabbits, evaluate their products on the spot and compare the rabbits offered with breed standards.

Feeding organization

I very often heard the opinion that rabbits are herbivores and you can get tons of rabbit meat from grass alone. Believe it or not, this is not true.

Succulent and herbaceous food (grasses, hay, straw, etc.) in the diet of rabbits in terms of nutritional value is only 15-20%, the rest is grain flour feed. At the same time, there are a huge number of diets for feeding rabbits, as well as the characteristics of the feed given to them. In order not to confuse you in all sorts of comparisons, below I will provide a table of the combined type of feeding. Be aware that succulent and grassy foods in this table are interchangeable.

Table No. 1: Maximum daily yields of basic feed for rabbits in grams.

But the following table will help you understand not only the annual feed requirement for each category of rabbits, but also calculate the feed requirement for each day.

Table No. 2: The annual feed requirement of rabbits with a combined type of feeding.

In the morning, rabbits are given succulent feed and greens, and in the afternoon and evening - concentrates (compound feed, grain). At the same time, rabbits must be provided with clean drinking water around the clock.

Rabbit breeding

When breeding rabbits, I use the following scheme. Shed has 60 cells, the upper tier of cells is occupied by females (14 cells) plus one male (1 cell). The remaining 45 cells are used to raise young animals. From each rabbit I get 3 litters: spring, summer and autumn. I keep young rabbits with a female together until they are 2 months old, and sometimes more (in late autumn). One female produces about 25 rabbits per year, which in total amount to 300-350 young animals (14 females multiply 25 rabbits).

It is impossible to determine the exact number of young animals, since mortality among rabbits is inevitable, so we will take a minimum of 300 pieces. This number of young animals is freely placed on the remaining tiers with cages (7-8 pieces per cage). As a result, we have the following data: 3 sheds multiplied by 300 pieces. rabbits and the output is 900 rabbit carcasses per year.

But I would not advise you to keep a separate herd for purebred breeding. If you calculate the maintenance of such a herd in terms of time and money spent on feed, then it will be easier to buy breeding replacement young stock every two years.

How to save on feed

As you understand, the main expense item in rabbit farming as a business is feed. It is very expensive to feed rabbits with purchased feed, it is impossible to grow grain on your own, and it is also impossible to reduce the amount of feed given, as this will lead to a sharp decrease in productivity. Therefore, the only way to reduce this expense item is start your own feed production.

All you need is a powerful grain crusher and a feed granulator, since rabbits are reluctant to eat ground grain. And, of course, raw materials in the form of grain and grain waste. This is precisely the essence of saving, because grain waste costs two times less than compound feed.

Below I will give 3 recipes for concentrated feed for rabbits of all ages.

1) Recipe No. K-92-1 concentrate feed for adult rabbits.

2) Recipe No. K-91-1 concentrate feed for young animals.

3) Recipe for concentrated feed for rabbits of all ages.

Do not try to prepare such succulent food for the winter yourself as silage and root crops. It’s one thing when you keep 20-30 rabbits, and a completely different thing when their number exceeds 1000. Procuring and growing such food will not only take a lot of time, but will also require significant investments in paying hired workers. The only exception is hay, since it is quite difficult to buy well-leafed and vitamin-rich hay.

Try as much as possible mechanize all manual labor. A good option in this case is a mini-tractor, which can be used to transport feed to the shads and remove manure. Also take care of automatic water supply for rabbits.

Ways of implementation

So we come to the main component of our rabbit business - the sale of meat. And here you need to consider all possible ways.

Own customer base

Creating your own customer base can be a good start. That is, acquaintances, relatives, acquaintances of acquaintances, and so on. This category of people should not be underestimated. There were times when I lost almost the entire batch of rabbits right from the yard. Some took live ones, others took ready-made carcasses, but something else is important, how to quickly and efficiently create this database?

With friends and relatives everything is clear, they called, came, bought, but strangers are attracted through advertising. Use any advertising: ads in newspapers, on the street, etc. The main thing is an acceptable pricing policy. Don’t raise the price of meat to the skies, make it affordable for all categories of buyers, and those who want to taste tender, homemade rabbit meat won’t have to wait long.

You can sell meat directly from the farm without any permitting documents. The exception is resellers who need a regular certificate from the veterinarian about the presence of rabbits.

Sales of rabbit carcasses through restaurants

Selling rabbit carcasses through restaurants seems very attractive at first glance. However, be prepared for the fact that almost every restaurant will refuse you. And all because most restaurants do not have rabbit dishes on their menus.

Therefore, you should not directly contact the administration of such establishments with an offer to buy rabbit meat. It’s better to contact the chef, with an offer not to buy meat, but simply to cook it and present him with 2-3 rabbit carcasses. For many, this approach will seem ridiculous, but believe me, it works great. Of course, not all restaurants will become your clients and at first you will lose some profit, but those who agree will become a stable sales channel.

However, here, unlike selling meat from the yard, you you will need a veterinary certificate form No. 2. In addition to the local veterinary department, be sure to contact the local SES, regional center for standardization and metrology. The fact is that all sorts of regulations governing the sale of meat are constantly changing, so you should get advice from the authorities described above.

The shops

Wholesale centers, shops and supermarkets are not an option within our project. It’s just that everything depends on the volume of meat produced, and our volumes are small - 2 tons of meat per year, which are made up of the following indicators: 1 rabbit carcass - 2 kg, 1000 carcasses - 2000 kg. It's all about certification of the farm itself, the slaughterhouse, the processing shop, etc. The annual registration and confirmation of all these documents will eat up the bulk of the profit. But if you decide to use this option, then I advise you to contact the sales points directly and resolve such issues individually.

When trying to sell rabbit meat through retail chains, you will encounter large wholesale suppliers, and these will mean extremely low prices for your product. And they are low to such an extent that they can completely ruin your enterprise. Such a sales route is appropriate only when the volumes produced exceed 5-6 tons of meat per year and additional sources of income are added to this.

Additional sources of income

Let's look at how to use by-products to generate additional income.

Rabbit skins

For the majority of the population, rabbits are not only tasty and dietary meat, but also fur. However, the situation with the sale of skins is terrible, but not a dead end.

When slaughtering rabbits, be sure to preserve the skins, and it does not matter what they are, summer or winter, since there is a buyer for each product. It’s just that the price for them is quite low, about 30-40 rubles. a piece. They are purchased mainly by large enterprises producing leather and fur products. Therefore, in your free time, be sure to look for those in your region. Of course, on this income item you won’t earn much, but at least you’ll pay back part of the same feed.

Litter

Natural organic fertilizers have always been and will be in price, but you can’t make a lot of money from manure due to the small volumes. Vermicompost is another matter. Biohumus is a liquid, highly concentrated fertilizer obtained as a result of fermentation of manure in special biogas plants. Surely you have heard about this, when natural methane gas is obtained from animal waste, but vermicompost is a by-product of processing. I saw a similar fertilizer, bottled in plastic bottles, in stores for summer residents, and people readily bought it. So no one is stopping you from doing this kind of business, and vermicompost has a long shelf life.

Inventory

Hopper feeders, rabbit watering systems and cage batteries are always in demand. Many owners of country houses prefer to raise small animals for their own needs in the warm season. For example, a 3-cell cell battery made of galvanized mesh and metal. profile, as well as equipped with feeders and drinkers, costs about 5-8 thousand rubles on the market.

Income and expenses of a business raising rabbits

Initial investment.

But here, dear rabbit breeders, I cannot give exact figures for the initial investment, even if I wanted to. And I won’t take them from the ceiling to paint a beautiful picture (as is done everywhere), looking at which one gets the impression of easy and multimillion-dollar earnings. After all, everything depends on the specific situation.

Firstly, prices for building materials are different in each region. Secondly, some already have the necessary equipment, supplies of building materials, the same mini-tractor, etc., while others will have to start from scratch. Therefore, I will simply provide a list of the necessary equipment and building materials, based on which you can easily calculate the initial costs for yourself.

• Building materials - metal profiles, galvanized mesh, roofing and lumber.
• Preparation of documents for a land plot. Owning it is expensive, renting is almost free.
• Improvement of a mini-farm - storm drainage, water drainage, asphalt, concrete or crushed stone.
• The costs of building a farm are payments to hired workers or your own labor costs.
• Equipment - mini-tractor, freezers, grain crusher, feed granulator.
• Breeding rabbits - at least 50 pieces at the age of 3-4 months.
• Possible expenses include purchasing equipment (I don’t recommend it, it’s better to do it yourself).

Income per month and per year

Annual expenses.

• Feed consumption per 1 production unit is 340 kg, multiplied by 5 rubles. per kg, we get 1700 rubles. and add 300 rubles to this amount. for other expenses: paperwork, fuel, etc. As a result, one unit of production costs us 2 thousand rubles. in year.
• In a mini-farm of 3 shads, we have 42 production units (14 females in each shad), multiply 42 units by 2000 rubles, and the annual expense will be 84 thousand rubles. But, as you know, everything is beautiful on paper, but in reality it’s different, so let’s add a couple of force majeure events to this figure and round it up to 100 thousand rubles. in year.

Annual income.

• One production unit is 50 kg of rabbit meat (25 carcasses of 2 kg each). Let's be realistic, since most of your customers will not pay any attention to the dietary and beneficial qualities of rabbit meat. For them, the main thing is the price of the product, so we will set it within 200 rubles. per kg. And we get the following figure - 10 thousand rubles. from one production unit.
• Then everything is simple, from 10 thousand rubles. we take away our expenses - 2000 rubles. and we get net profit - 8 thousand rubles, which we multiply by 42 production units - 336 thousand rubles. in year. This is about 30 thousand rubles per month.

Of course, these are not petrodollars, but also not a meager salary at some municipal enterprise. This income will be fully consistent with your labor costs on the mini-farm, which will be 3-4 hours a day.

Last argument: no one is stopping you from expanding production over time. As soon as the system works and proves itself, and you realize that you are capable of more, then boldly move forward, exploring more and more new markets.

Each of us knows that “rabbits are not only valuable fur...”, they are also dietary meat that has been, is and will be in great demand on the market. Breeding these pets is very simple, and at the same time profitable.

That is why most novice entrepreneurs prefer this type of business.

You can raise useful furry animals both in your country house and in your apartment by equipping a balcony or a separate room for this. In the summer, naturally, it is better to move your mini-rabbit farm closer to nature - to the country house or to the village.

Animals can be kept in free-standing cages outside the premises, a special hole can be dug for their maintenance, or cages can be mounted in a special barn.

Wherever you keep rabbits, it is important to remember a few simple rules. Firstly, animals need to be provided with a constant flow of fresh air. Secondly, when keeping rabbits, it is necessary to exclude large temperature changes, extreme heat and cold. These animals do not like direct sunlight. The cages should have enough space for both adults and young animals.

You need to start breeding eared pets by purchasing 1-2 males and several females from the market (this depends on the planned size of your farm). One male covers 15-18 females. Rabbits are extremely fertile: on average, one litter can contain from 12 to 15 rabbits. Of these, we recommend that you leave 8-10 for the rabbit to feed. Rabbits are also precocious: after 4 months, the female will be ready for mating. The gestation period for offspring is 28-32 days. It turns out that one female gives birth up to 5 times a year, which is 50-60 rabbits. From this we can draw a very important conclusion: the cage with the rabbit should be as spacious as possible.
Caring for a rabbit farm takes a little time. So, if you have 10-20 rabbits, then it will be enough to devote 2 hours of free time to the farm after work. Caring for rabbits is simple, but it has many subtleties that need to be taken into account, otherwise instead of profits you will face only losses.

We select a male and a female

When breeding rabbits, you need to carefully select both the male and the female - the health of the offspring directly depends on this. Only healthy rabbits that do not have any defects in breeding condition should be kept. The male must be active, have a good appetite, and not be picky about his diet. Here's how to select a breeding male based on external characteristics: a wide, rough head, a straight and long back, powerful muscles on the hips and lower back. Paws – correctly placed in relation to the body and well lowered.
Individuals that have a light and delicate head, a fold on the neck, as well as a long and thin neck are not left for reproduction.

Naturally, when selecting males for breeding, you must examine their genitals, especially the testes. The male must have 2 strong and elastic testes; in no case should they be loose or soft.
If the male is young, his testes may be poorly visible. In this case, you need to massage the back of the rabbit's abdomen, and the testes become visible again.

When choosing a rabbit for breeding, you need to pay attention to her appearance. In breeding females, the exterior should be especially feminine. Thus, the head should be longer and lighter than that of typical representatives of this breed. Unlike males, females are allowed a skin fold in the neck area. A breeding rabbit must have the correct physique: she must have a wide and long back, a wide croup, a wide and deep pelvis.

Oddly enough, when selecting rabbits for breeding, you need to pay attention to the character of the individual. Wayward and angry female rabbits may well lead to problems when maintaining the nest. That is why, when selecting rabbits for breeding, it is better to cull these individuals. While cleaning the cage, the rabbit may attack you, scratch and bite you. Quite often, such female rabbits attack males during mating. The result is deplorable: the male gets scared and then refuses to fertilize other females. In addition, an evil female rabbit will most likely be a bad mother, and the litter will die.

When choosing a rabbit, look at her mammary glands: they must be healthy, normally developed, and have at least 4 pairs of nipples. If the female rabbit has enough milk, she will feed at least 6-8 babies.

The health of the rabbit population depends not only on the feed itself, but also on the feeding order. The rabbit digests root vegetables in 2-3 hours, grass in 3-4 hours, silage in 4-5 hours, to digest concentrated feed it takes from 5 to 8 hours, coarse feed from 8 to 12 hours. Taking into account the above, we conclude that in the morning you need to feed the rabbits with succulent food, then give them concentrated food, and at night - roughage.

Adults, as well as young rabbits after 3 months, need to be fed 2-3 times a day. Lactating rabbits, as well as young animals up to 3 months, are fed three times a day.

Feeding rabbits depends on the time of year. In winter, in the morning, rabbits are given root vegetables and silage, as well as half the daily norm of hay and concentrates. In the summer morning, animals should be given less than half the daily norm of concentrates and grass, and in the evening the rest of the feed is given.

If rabbits are given different foods at the same time, then the order in which they are given should be as follows: first concentrates, then succulent food, and at the very end hay or grass. If you break the sequence, you can cause digestive upset in rabbits. Digestive upset can also be caused by feeding too much silage. Therefore, before giving silage to rabbits, you need to feed them root vegetables, which neutralize excess acid in the animals' stomachs.

When feeding grass, you must be sure to monitor its composition - if you come across grass that is poisonous to the animal, it usually ends in death. The list of poisonous plants is quite large, so rabbits should only be fed plants that are familiar to you. For example, you cannot give ivy, spurge, caladium, periwinkle, meadow saffron, etc. Steamed feed, wet mash, and boiled vegetables should be given immediately after preparing these feeds. Thus, in summer, bacteria in feed are diluted in just a few hours.

Separately, mention should be made of how to accustom rabbits to new foods. It is necessary to transfer rabbits from the “summer” diet to the “winter” diet gradually, over about 5-7 days. If you are not sure about the quality of the feed, then it is better not to risk the entire livestock, but test the feed of more than a few animals. If these rabbits feel well, then the food can be introduced into the diet of other animals.

What will we feed

In the diet of rabbits, concentrated feed should make up at least 50-70%. A separate type of concentrated feed is compound feed - they contain the same components, but only in a crushed state. It has been scientifically proven that rabbits absorb compound feed much better than each of its components separately. Compound feeds consist not only of grain crops, but also of vitamins and minerals, that is, they are nutritionally balanced.

There are two types of combined feeds: granulated and loose. Complete feeds that can replace the main diet can only be granulated.

If you have a small number of rabbits and have your own plot of land, then it is much more profitable to feed the animals grain and root crops, and add compound feed to the mash. You can feed rabbits with any feed, but not the one intended for birds (since it includes shells).

In a mechanized farm, granulated feed is the main source of nutrition. The amount and composition of feed must correspond to the age of the animals and their physiological state, and the animals must have a sufficient amount of water. Granular feed should be nutritious and contain 16-20 g of protein per 100 g.

The approximate composition of the feed is as follows: 40% - alfalfa flour, 15% - soybean or sunflower cake, 15% - wheat bran, 30% - barley, 15% - oats. The feed should also contain chalk (1%) and premix (1%).

Disease Prevention

A very important point in breeding rabbits is the prevention of diseases of these animals. Sick animals waste feed uneconomically and produce weak offspring. Treatment of sick animals requires a lot of time, effort and money. So the motto of any rabbit breeder should be disease prevention, which consists in preventing the conditions for their occurrence.

The first thing you need to pay attention to is the maintenance of animals. The cages should be placed in a dry place, where water does not stagnate. Stagnant pools under cells are ideal for the development of viruses and bacteria. Cages need to be well ventilated, but this does not mean that there may be drafts in the habitats of rabbits.

When buying rabbits on the market for breeding, they must first be kept “in quarantine” for at least three weeks, in separate cages. If no signs of the disease are found, the “newcomers” can be transplanted to the “old-timers.”
The cages in which rabbits are kept must be kept clean at all times. Mice or rats should not be allowed to appear in the barn where the cages are located - they carry dangerous infections. Thus, cleaning the premises alone will not be enough: you need to periodically disinfect the cells. It must be remembered that the metal parts of the cells are not treated with aggressive liquids: alkalis and acids. To do this, use a blowtorch or boiling water.

When an infection occurs, it is urgent to disinfect the cells and the room where they are located. The choice of a specific product depends on the type of infection - not all bacteria and viruses react equally to disinfectant solutions.

In case of animal illness or death, it is recommended to contact a veterinarian. If the disease is contagious, then it is better to slaughter the infected rabbits - this measure is the most effective.
Artificial feeding of baby rabbits

Force majeure situations

When breeding rabbits, you need to be prepared for a variety of force majeure situations. What to do if a female rabbit died after giving birth, or suddenly ran out of milk? It is not necessary to kill the entire litter or part of it: the offspring can be artificially fed.

Rabbit milk is more nutritious and valuable than goat milk, and even more so cow milk. However, this does not mean that cow's or goat's milk is unsuitable for feeding rabbits. The longer the rabbits have lived with their natural mother, the greater your chances of saving them and resulting in healthy young animals.

So, get fresh cow's milk (preferably fresh milk). For a liter of milk you should add Vitasol, or instead vitamins A, D3 and E. The mixture should be warm, about 37-40 degrees. For feeding, you need to use a bottle with a nipple, from which you feed the rabbits once every 4 hours, or 6 times a day. 5-6 days after the start of “soldering” the rabbits, you need to add oatmeal to the nutritional mixture.

Slowly teach your kids to drink from a saucer - this will only make your task easier. Keep the dishes in which you prepare the mixture clean, as well as the cleanliness of the drinking bowl and nipple. The mixture cannot be prepared for future use - it is allowed to be prepared for one day. Store food for rabbits in the refrigerator, and warm it up before feeding your “wards”. After about 16-18 days, you can begin to switch the rabbits to regular food.

Let's watch the video on how to feed orphaned rabbits.

To artificially feed rabbits, some owners use condensed milk, slightly diluted with water. The advantage of condensed milk over regular milk is that it can be given to rabbits not after 4 hours, but after 6. Baby food also shows good results in feeding rabbits. Such mixtures contain vitamins and microelements. The concentration of nutrients in the mixture is adjusted by adding water. Baby food contains a large amount of sugar, and this must be taken into account when feeding rabbits.