Breeding rabbits in the subsidiary farm: rules and advice. Preparing for winter

Today, rabbits have become record holders for breeding at home due to their fecundity and precocity. In addition, their meat is very dietary. Therefore, it is very important to know all the subtleties of their cultivation.

Meat, skins, fluff and fertilizer are products that can be obtained by breeding rabbits. This occupation is less expensive than, for example, raising pigs or cows. During the year, a healthy female reproduces offspring 6 times. The result will be more than 25 cubs and close to 70 kg of meat when they grow up.

Biological features of rabbits

Three rabbits in a cage

Rabbit is a rodent mammal belonging to the Zaitsev family. The domestic rabbit is descended from the wild South European. By mating a domestic and wild rabbit, you can get good offspring. Crossing a rabbit with a hare is impossible, because they have different biological characteristics.

Cubs can do without the help of a rabbit at 3-4 weeks of age. They begin to eat food on their own, without stopping drinking milk. The time that the rabbits spend in the mother liquor depends on the amount of milk the mother has. You can determine milkiness by the type of cubs. If they have smooth skin, without wrinkles, they lie quietly, then milk production is high. The highest happens after 4 births.

Obesity and low physical activity of the animal can reduce milk production. An obese female cannot get pregnant. To avoid this problem, you need to reconsider her diet: increase the amount of greenery, limit the use of grain and animal feed. And give her more space to move around.

Rabbits see much worse than they distinguish smells. If the rabbit throws someone else's cub, then she will determine it by smell, regardless of color. She will not accept strangers. Rabbits also get used to new foods by sniffing for a long time.

Breeding rabbits at home

The rabbit gnaws exclusively on plant foods, so it has a peculiar structure of teeth. He has molars and incisors that grow throughout his life. The animal has no fangs. The incisors in front are covered with a ball of enamel, and in the process of eating food they are sharpened.

The digestive system in rabbits is well developed. The stomach is voluminous and is characterized by high digestibility of food due to the high acidity of the gastric secretion. Feed can be in the animal's stomach for 3-10 hours. The intestines of a rabbit are 10 times longer than the length of the animal (up to 6 meters).

Another feature of rabbits is that they eat their nightly excrement. They have a large amount of protein and vitamin B. So the rabbits have adapted to replenish the required trace elements by the body.

Growth and development of rabbits

The cubs are born blind, and after 10 days they are already able to see. Down in rabbits appears on the 7th day. They are completely covered with full-fledged wool closer to a month. Then they start eating on their own.

Replacement of milk teeth with permanent ones occurs from the 18th day. It ends in a month. Rabbits shed all year round. In the first month - the first, at 4 months - the second, at 7.5 - the third. In addition, there are seasonal molts.

At birth, the cub has a weight of 40 - 60 g, and after 2 days it is already twice as much. In a month it already increases 10 times. This is due to the high content of useful components in rabbit milk.

After 3-5 months, the weight of a healthy rabbit becomes 2-3.5 kg. The most accelerated growth occurs between 3 and 4 months of age.

Rabbits have a delicate backbone and thin tubular bones of the limbs. This feature leads to injuries, especially rabbits. A spinal injury or a broken leg can paralyze a rabbit.

On average, a rabbit lives 8 years. For divorce, the animal can be used for a maximum of 4 years.

Even before the rabbits appear, they already need to be taken care of. In advance, you should take care of the organization of the premises for cultivation, the necessary equipment.

Breeding preparation

The essence of preparing for mating is to select healthy rabbits with high milk production for it. Individuals that eat rabbits are taken from the herd.

If there are a lot of rabbits, then all the information about them is difficult to keep in mind. To do this, on each cage it is better to nail a plate with the date of birth of the rabbit, and from which parents she was born. This information is important to prevent mating of related individuals. It is necessary to record the dates of mating, the number of cubs, including stillborns. On the male’s plate, all the necessary records are also made (date of birth, parents, whether the rabbits eat).

Male and female, which are intended for mating, must have good fatness. Weakly well-fed females are poorly fertilized, and cubs are born weak and develop slowly. In order for underweight animals to become well-fed, 3 weeks before mating they are fed with oats, hay, bran with potatoes. But individuals with obesity become less active in the genital area and are poorly fertilized. They, on the contrary, need to reduce the amount of feed.

A pregnant female needs to be well fed. Feed should be the same as in the diet ordinary rabbit, only its quantity is greater.

Before preparing rabbits for mating, all individuals with defects are culled. One male is assigned to 8 females.

Features of reproduction in rabbits

There is no seasonal breeding in rabbits. They can produce offspring all year round. An unfertilized female rabbit shows signs of estrus every 5-6 days. In summer, estrus lasts about 9 days, in winter - about 6. During the hunting period, females have a poor appetite, they are in an excited state. At mating, 3-9 eggs are released from each ovary. The number of cubs during birth can be 6-12 pieces. A day or two after giving birth, the female can already be fertilized.

Male spermatozoa are produced in the testes. When the testicles are retracted into the abdominal cavity, if they do not descend into the scrotum, the rabbit is considered infertile. During mating, the male produces up to 1.5 cm 3 of sperm. In the genital tract of a rabbit, sperm is active for no more than 24 hours.

The first mating in rabbits is best done at 4-6 months after birth. Previously, it is not recommended so as not to harm the health of parents and their future offspring.

Cages for young animals

The cage for young animals should consist of 2 compartments: the first is for walking, the second is as a shelter where the animal gets through the manholes. The flooring should be mesh with cells 18x18 mm. You can make it wooden from slats. Feeders, drinkers and nurseries are placed in the cage. The roof can be made single-pitched. On the front wall, the height is 60-70 cm, on the back - 30-40 cm.

For growing young on skins, the cage design may differ. Its dimensions reach 3x0.7m. It is divided in half by a wooden partition. In each half, 12 individuals are kept up to 3.5 months of age of the same sex, age and weight. Then they make more partitions so that each rabbit has a separate compartment. The width of each is 25 cm. Animals are kept in such compartments until slaughter.

Queen cells for rabbits

During birth and during the period of rearing the cubs, a mother liquor is placed in a cage with the female, the dimensions of which are 50x30x27 cm. The dimensions of the loophole are 18x18 cm. It also maintains a constant temperature. The lid of the mother liquor should also be easily removed and fixed with locks so that the female cannot open it.

It is necessary to provide for the possibility of warming the floor in winter. For this, a special film is laid with built-in heaters of low power. You can install a temperature control sensor. If it is not there, then you need to carefully heat the floor, since an excessive increase in temperature can lead to the death of the cubs.

Cages for mating rabbits

The cage intended for mating must be disinfected and cleaned in advance. From it you need to remove the feeder, drinker and other items. Basically, mating takes place in the morning on the territory of the male. If you place him in the female's cage, he will develop the territory for a long time, which will delay the mating procedure.

When the male rolls off the female rabbit to the side or back and purrs, the mating can be considered successful. It is necessary to make an appropriate entry in the notebook about the time of mating, and which male it was produced.

Feeding rabbits

Rabbits need to be fed in a balanced way so that they can produce good offspring, meat and wool. A rabbit can eat continuously throughout the day. First, it is better to feed the animal with ready-made compound feed, in which all the necessary trace elements are balanced.

rabbits eat

In summer, the basis of the diet is greens - branches, foliage, grass, etc. Branches of fruit trees, acacia, birch, and willow are especially useful for rabbits. You can also give tops of garden crops. The animal loves bitter and fragrant herbs: wormwood, chicory, dill. In addition, they protect against worms and improve appetite. For young animals, dried garlic stalks are recommended for the prevention of stomatitis and gastrointestinal diseases.

Nettle is rich in vitamins, which is collected before flowering and dried in the shade. It is recommended to give it as the first spring greenery. Since it can sting an animal, it must first be crushed and chopped. Willow branches are also useful for young growth, as they protect against diarrhea. They are fed to rabbits before switching to greens.

In winter and early spring, rabbits are given fortified top dressing., which are contained mainly in root crops. This is especially important for lactating rabbits. Rowan berries are rich in vitamins.

In late autumn, rabbits can eat vegetable tops, dry flower stems. In early November, when the green leaves, the animals are transferred to mineral feed in granules. During this period, rabbits are fattened, giving a lot of compound feed and feed grains.

In winter, tree branches can be added to hay for forage. They replace half of the hay in the diet. Grain can be replaced with potato peelings or grain waste.

It should also be borne in mind that rabbits have difficulty adapting to new foods. Therefore, they need to be accustomed to it gradually, increasing the dose over time.

Annual feed requirement per adult rabbit

To determine the annual feed requirement of rabbits, a number of factors must be taken into account:

• duration of feeding in summer and winter;
• the number of rounds per year;
• age of sale of young animals (slaughter, sale or replenishment of the herd);
• live weight of rabbits;
• diet in different seasons.

Average amount of feed per year in kilograms for adults:

• rough: for a female 35-40, for a male 23-35;
• juicy: for a female 50-60, for a male 40-50;
• green: for a female 200-250, for a male 150-160;
• concentrated feed: for a female 35-35, for a male 22-25.

Vaccinations for rabbits at home

To eliminate possible infections, rabbits are vaccinated. The most common diseases And . They are not treated and in almost 100% of cases lead to death. It is necessary against them. Before, you need to make sure that the animal is completely healthy, otherwise it may not survive the vaccination. In addition, it is necessary to carry out prevention from worms. To do this, use means that are harmless to the body of a rodent: Parasicide-suspension or Dirofen-paste.

Vaccinate a rabbit

A vaccinated rabbit retains immunity against infection for 6-9 months. The best age for vaccination is the seventh week of life, when rabbits tolerate the procedure most easily. Body weight must be more than 0.5 kg. It is better not to vaccinate a pregnant or lactating female.

A vaccinated rabbit must be isolated from others for 2 weeks to avoid catching an infection from a sick animal. After this time, the risk of infection disappears. Feeding remains the same, it is only necessary to increase the amount of water.

Conditional vaccination scheme:

• the first (for viral hemorrhagic disease) is carried out in 45 days;
• the second (from myxomatosis) after 14 days;
• the third (repeated from myxomatosis) after 3 months (not earlier) from the previous one;
• the fourth (for viral hemorrhagic disease) 14 days after the third.

Re-vaccinations are carried out throughout the life of rabbits every six months. Alternately vaccinated against myxomatosis, and after 2 weeks from viral hemorrhagic disease.

The animal grows and gains weight quite quickly, reproduces without problems, and rabbit breeding products: meat and skins, are consistently in demand. What else do you need for a novice farmer? And you need information in order to avoid mistakes and build, albeit small, but profitable business.

Rabbits are a profitable business

general description

The genus of Rabbits is a representative of the Zaitsev family. This genus is divided into two independent groups. One of them includes wild rabbits that live freely in nature. And the second group is domestic rabbits, which are bred by people to meet their needs for meat, furs and down.

Man has bred dozens of species of rabbits with different characteristics. Not all breeds are of economic importance, there are also decorative species for keeping in apartments, and laboratory ones for research.

Rabbit breeders choose the main direction for themselves and select breeds that correspond to their goals:

• meat, to obtain carcasses and eat them;
• meat-and-skin, for obtaining high-quality fur and carcasses;
• downy breeds, to obtain down, which is the main raw material in the production of felt and expensive types of velor.

But when choosing breeds of the right direction, the main thing is always the acquisition of healthy livestock.

Rabbit meat breed

How to understand that the animal is healthy?

Before you go shopping, you need to study the breed's exterior standards. This will help you find out if the rabbit is large and well-fed enough. But despite the obvious differences in breeds, the characteristics of a healthy animal are always the same.

A healthy rabbit eats with appetite and is agile. His muzzle is dry, and his teeth are without pathological changes. Eyes must be clean, and the look is clear. The coat of a healthy individual is uniform and shiny.

No matter what the breeder tells you, do not agree to buy from him animals with sloppy dull hair, festering eyes, no appetite, even at the lowest prices.

Healthy rabbits are active and curious.

home content

Industrial complexes have more high profitability than households, but here you can also get your benefits. After all, your family will be provided with a healthy dietary product and carcasses of rabbits after slaughter can be sold on the market or through a network of outlets.

One healthy rabbit creates 6 births annually. According to rough estimates, this is 26-30 rabbits. This means that from several pairs of rabbits per year you can get a mini-farm.

The owner needs to choose a content method. It can be group or individual.

Cage for several rabbits

The group option involves keeping several animals in cages. The selection of rabbits in each cage is done according to the following parameters: age, sex, development, weight and purpose. Young growth is distributed by 6-7 heads, repair rabbits and rabbits by 4 individuals. When the replacement female is pregnant (pregnant), she is placed in a separate cage. Replacement males are removed at three months of age to maintain the quality of the fur.

Groups are constantly monitored and removed from them sick, lagging behind in development, or pugnacious rabbits.

The individual version of the content has a good effect on the quality of the fur. The rabbit has no one to fight, and its skin does not suffer from bites. It is better for the owner to control the end of the molt, and to select individuals for slaughter.

Choosing a breeding method

Rabbit breeders use two main breeding principles:

• purebred breeding method, which is aimed at enhancing the characteristics of the offspring of the most striking qualities of the breed;
• method of interline crossing, which allows hybridization by mating the best representatives of families of different breeds.

The first method requires the selection of matching pairs and matching family lines. A line in rabbit breeding is a productive group of individuals descended from one male. There is such a thing as a "family", which means individuals whose common ancestor is a female. For mating, nephews and nieces, as well as grandchildren and great-grandchildren, are considered the optimal pair.

Purebred silver rabbits

However, fans of the first method are required to be careful, since erroneous mating causes the appearance of deformities and deviations.

The hybridization method allows you to breed breeds with demanded economic qualities. With this crossing, you can get rabbits with a rapid increase in mass, or with especially valuable fluff and fur. However, these rabbits are not suitable for a tribe, since the characteristics of their offspring are inferior to those of their parents.

The methods are closely related and are often applied simultaneously. This combination allows you to breed breeds with optimal qualities.

Breeding. First steps

To start breeding rabbits, you need to take care of the availability of a sufficient amount of housing. You will need cells with two compartments. One will be nesting, and the second will be feeding. The stern room can have a mesh floor with 2x2 cm cells. A litter tray is installed below. The fastenings of feeders and drinkers must be especially strong, as animals will try to turn them over. It is impossible to make a mesh floor in the nesting part. It is made from tightly fitted boards.

Hosts may prefer cages of different models, but several requirements are considered common to all types. The cages should have an inflow of fresh air, but without drafts, cleaning should be convenient and accessible, the cage should be adequately lit. You can arrange rabbit dwellings in several tiers to make it easier to care for them.

After you have prepared the required number of cages, you need to decide on the readiness of the pets for mating. Remember, because this information is quite important:

• small breeds of rabbits are ready for breeding before their larger relatives. The female is five months old and the male is 6 months old;
• rabbits of medium breeds are ready for mating at 6 months, and rabbits at 7;
• females of large breeds are ready to breed from 8 months, and males enter the required period at 9 months.

Each rabbit can bring normal offspring up to three or four years.

Only healthy individuals are allowed to breed

For mating, the finished female is planted in a cage with a male. In its territory, the female will be more aggressive.

Before mating, carefully observe the animals. They must be healthy, mobile, and free of genetic defects. The cage floor is clean. If you have fixed the presence of loose stools, then the rabbit is most likely sick. And when choosing animals for mating, the characteristics of their parents are important. We must consider how fertile and healthy they were.

The rabbit's pregnancy lasts up to thirty days. So you need to have time to prepare a nest for newborns.

A male should not be allowed near a female with rabbits. She can become pregnant immediately after the birth of offspring.

If the female has not made a normal nest of hay and her fluff, and the rabbits lie one at a time, then they can become cold and die. In this case, gently pull the fluff on the rabbit's tummy and help her with the arrangement of the nest.

What and how to feed rabbits?

The digestive system of rabbits has some peculiarities. They have weak stomach muscles, so it must be constantly filled with food and water. Otherwise, the food will not move into the small intestine. It is for this reason that rabbits often eat, and there should always be food in their feeder, at least hay.

Rabbits should be given hay

The diet of rabbits consists of plant foods. From them, animals receive the necessary components, minerals and vitamins. The food system includes coarse, juicy and concentrated feed options.

In the season of forbs, it is very useful to enrich the diet with green fodder. It can be young tree shoots and a variety of herbs, namely:

• nettle;
• plantain;
• wheatgrass;
• shepherd's bag;
• dandelion;
• colza;
• burdock;
• horse sorrel and other herbs.

Let it dry a little before serving. The ideal option is to make mixtures of herbs, and not feed them with one species.

When harvesting green herbs, care must be taken to ensure that poisonous plants do not get into the feed. Datura, celandine, tansy, hemlock and other dangerous types of herbs grow freely on our territories. Wormwood may be present in the diet of animals, but its amount should not be too large.

When raising rabbits, one cannot do without hay, which, as already mentioned, should be in the feeder all the time.

And besides green grass and hay, the diet contains:

• zucchini;
• potato;
• carrot;
• pumpkin;
• beet;
• watermelon and melon peels.

Of the cereals, oats, barley, wheat and corn should be present. Legumes, beans, peas, lentils and soybeans do well. It is important that rabbits receive cake, meal, bran and feed. They also add fish and meat and bone meal.

Legumes are a good addition to a rabbit's diet.

Preparing for winter

Despite the warm skin, rabbits require additional warming of their homes in winter. A second roof is installed on the cages, the approaches are covered with shields or covered with a film. And the lattice front wall can be closed with temporary window frames. In severe frosts, it is worth using an electric heater.

If rabbits are kept in a special room, then it must be protected from drafts and temperature changes, but provided with sufficient ventilation.

Finally, I would like to give one more important advice. When you decide that your herd needs to expand and start acquiring new animals, do not rush to put them into common cages. Replenishment must pass a kind of quarantine for one month. This will allow you to be sure that all individuals are healthy and have no deviations. Thus, it is possible to protect the main livestock from infectious and other diseases.

Rabbits have always been of practical interest for breeding due to their nutritious and dietary meat, hide and high-quality fertilizer as manure.

Rabbits have a double womb. This promotes the birth of rabbits at intervals equal to the interval between two matings.

Rabbits can bear fruit throughout the year, but there is a slight decrease in frequency in autumn. In unfertilized rabbits, estrus occurs every 5-6 days in summer, and becomes more frequent in winter up to 8-9 days, has a duration of 3-5 days.

During the hunt, the rabbits eat little, the appearance of the genitals acquires a bright pink color with swelling. A rabbit can bring from 6-12 rabbits. In rabbits, the period of lactation and pregnancy is combined, which allows you to be pregnant 1-2 days after the birth of the rabbits.

Development of rabbits by day

At birth, rabbits are blind and naked, which makes them rather helpless. But already at this stage they have sixteen milk teeth. The hairline will appear in 5-7 days.

After 10-14 days after birth, the eyes of the rabbits open, and after another 5-6 days they will be able to move and eat on their own. On the eighteenth day of life, milk teeth fall out, which are replaced by day 20-2.

At birth, the weight is 40-65 grams, after 6 days the mass doubles, and when the rabbits reach one month of age, their height increases tenfold. A further increase in body weight depends on the feeding conditions, because by the 25-30th day the rabbit's lactation level drops sharply. The highest rate of development and growth falls on 3-4 months and is finally formed by the end of the first year of life. Rabbits are capable of breeding at 4-5 months.

Rabbits have a rather weak spine, so you should avoid frightening the animal, which can damage the spine, or the lumbar nerve, which will lead to paralysis of the hind legs. Lifespan Weight 6-8 years.

How to keep rabbits?

Young animals need cages that must be clean and disinfected, they must also be dry and light. These can be free cages for group keeping or intended for group individuals. The number of rabbits in one cage depends on the destination and on the volume.

When raising rabbits for meat and skins, it must be taken into account that one rabbit should have 0.12 square meters of cage. For breeding young animals, the rate increases to 0.17.

In the cage of adults, 6-7 rabbits can be placed. If they are breeding, then no more than 4 individuals of three months of age are allowed to be kept together. It is necessary to separate rabbits by gender. Two females or one male are placed in one cage. If rabbits are prone to fights, then they must be kept in separate cages. Several times a month, rabbits should be examined to monitor growth and development, as well as to identify diseases. It is worth paying attention to the mobility of rabbits, to the disheveledness and shine of the coat, to the condition of the nasal mucosa.

Do-it-yourself mother liquor for rabbits

It must be inserted into the cage over eaten by the rabbit. The size is 30x30x27, and the manhole is 18x18 cm. It should be easily pulled out in order to complicate the inspection of the rabbits. It is important to maintain an even temperature.

DIY rabbit cages

Breeding rabbits at home has its own difficulties, but it also provides not only pleasure, but also practical benefits.

Breeding rabbits at home is a very good and profitable business. Because rabbits have high fertility and precocity. In a year, one healthy female rabbit gives about six births, more than 26 rabbits or about 60-70 kilograms of meat (live weight), and about 20 pieces of skins.

Rabbit meat is very healthy, it is considered dietary. It has a low calorie content and contains protein with a low cholesterol content. It is advised to use it for people who are overweight and prone to fullness, as well as for children, the elderly and people with diseases of the liver, heart, blood vessels and stomach.

Before breeding rabbits, it is also necessary to classify productivity. There are more than 200 breeds, but each breed is bred for a specific purpose.

Breeds of rabbits by productivity are classified into:

1. meat;
2. meat-skin;
3. skins.

For breeding, it is necessary to acquire healthy animals that have characteristics for a particular breed:

• body length;
• hair color.

A healthy rabbit has a strong body, clear eyes and a shiny coat.
For breeding do not choose rabbits with such flaws:

• unsatisfactory physique;
• protruding hips;
• malnutrition or obesity;
• elongated head;
• sagging back or stomach;
• crooked paws;
• tousled or falling pile.

Biological features of rabbits

Rabbits are plant-eating rodents.

IN wild nature rabbits live in colonies in burrows.

They reach sexual maturity at about 4 months.

The duration of pregnancy in a rabbit is 29-31 days.

In the first week of their life, the rabbits are covered with fluff, on the 10th day their eyes open.

Somewhere in the third or fourth week, they begin to eat on their own, but at the same time they continue to drink mother's milk almost until they are deposited. It depends on the milkiness of the rabbit how many rabbits will stay in the nest.

Already on the first day after birth, the rabbit can be fertilized again. Such interesting feature only into the hands of rabbit breeders, they use it for compacted rounds.

Milk teeth in rabbits begin to change to permanent ones at the age of 18 days. In a month, the change of teeth in rabbits ends.

Moulting in rabbits occurs throughout the year. The first ends in a month, the second - at about 4 months, the third - at 7.5 months. Do not forget about seasonal molting - in spring and autumn. All this must be taken into account when setting rabbits for fattening and slaughter. At the time of slaughter, the animal must end all molts.

During the molting period, the fluff in rabbits falls out very easily. For those who breed downy rabbits, this is useful to know. By the way, fluff from them must be plucked every two months.

At four months, a well-fed rabbit weighs about 3-3.5 kilograms, which is about 60 times the weight of the animal at birth.

The eyesight of rabbits is not as well developed as the sense of smell. By the way, this fact is confirmed by the fact that when strangers and their own rabbits are planted with the rabbit, she will accurately determine her own by smell, not paying attention to their color. She can destroy strangers. Rabbits also distinguish food by smell. New food for them always causes alertness, they sniff it for a long time. It will take a lot of patience to accustom animals to it.

In the wild, before birth, rabbits dig holes in the lowest dark places. At home, it is necessary to make a maternity ward with a blank door, the floor grate must be installed lower than in the bright ward, or it can simply be removed just before the birth.

The condition of newborn rabbits will help the rabbit breeder determine the milkiness of the rabbit. If the cubs lie quietly in their nest, their bodies are rounded, the skin is smooth, without wrinkles and folds, then the female is high-milk. Naturally, the kids in this case will grow rapidly.

There is another method of how to determine the milkiness of a rabbit: you need to turn the rabbit on its back, press the mammary gland with two fingers. If the female is high-milk, then the milk will come out in a rather large drop, and possibly even a trickle.
Naturally, the rabbit's milk production is affected by nutrition: the quality of the feed itself, feeding conditions, as well as the time of year, breed, and so on. For example, in the summer, when the female has the opportunity to eat green juicy food, her milkiness increases.

After four rounds, the rabbit has the greatest milk production.

Sedentary lifestyle and obesity- these are two reasons that reduce the milk production of rabbits to a minimum.

An obese female cannot reproduce with rabbits. In order to prevent this disease, it is necessary to reduce the percentage of feed with a high level of protein - compound feed, grain, and also to introduce more green and succulent feed, and, of course, give the animal more freedom to move.

Growth and development

At birth, the eyes of rabbits are closed, they open around the second week of life. Somewhere on day 7, their body is overgrown with a hairline about 6 millimeters long, which consists of guard and guide hairs.

Closer to the month, about 20-25 days, the hairline of the rabbits is completely formed. At the same time, they begin to eat on their own.

Teeth begin to change by the end of the third week of life and finish changing at about 20-28 days.

A newborn rabbit weighs only 40 - 65 grams, after two days their weight doubles. In a month, their weight is already 10 times more than at birth.

Such fast development rabbits is due to the fact that their mother's milk contains a large amount of concentrated nutrients, namely (indicators are taken on average):

• 20% fat;
• 15% protein;
• 2% milk sugar;
• 0.44% phosphorus;
• 0.64% calcium;
• vitamins and other substances.

Usually a rabbit has 4 pairs of mammary glands. During lactation, the female secretes from 50 grams to 270 grams of milk per day. The maximum secretion of milk occurs in the 2nd and 3rd decade after birth, by the 30th day lactation decreases sharply.

At 3 - 5 months, the rabbit weighs from 2.2 to 3.5 kilograms.

The maximum intensity of growth in rabbits is observed at the age of 3-4 months.

Sexual maturity occurs at about 4 months.

It must be remembered that rabbits have a relatively weak spine, which consists of 46 vertebrae, as well as thin tubular paw bones. This structure leads to the fact that they often break limbs, especially small rabbits. From an unexpected fright or awkward movement, they can damage the spine and hurt the lumbar nerve, and this can already lead to paralysis of the animal's paws.

Rabbits live for about 8 years. The maximum use of rabbits for breeding is no more than 4 years.

Reproduction features

Due to rapid puberty, rabbits of different sexes are almost immediately separated into different cages. In order to determine the sex of the animal, it is necessary to pull off the skin on the abdomen near the genital organs - in females a triangle with a longitudinal incision is visible, in males - a tube with a hole. The type of uterus in rabbits is double, that is, its two horns open into the vagina with an independent hole, so it happens that the embryo from the first mating is formed in one horn, and from the other - in the second.

The most suitable age for the first mating is 4 - 6 months. Previously, it is not necessary, as this may affect the health of the parent rabbits themselves and their offspring. Rabbits breed at any time of the year, the season is not important here.

The duration of estrus in rabbits is 3-5 days. In summer, it is repeated every 6 days, in winter a little less often - about every 9 days. The resumption of estrus after childbirth occurs very quickly - somewhere on the second day. Mating is permissible immediately after childbirth, that is, in the first days.

Before mating, it is necessary to check the presence of hunting in the female: the genital loop should be pink and enlarged, only after that you can put the female to the male. The first mating for a female should be with an older male. Older females are picked up by younger males. Before mating, the nutrition of rabbits should be enhanced, but you can not overdo it so as not to lead to obesity.

During the period of sexual hunting, the rabbits are excited, the appetite worsens. Mature eggs are released from the ovaries of rabbits during the mating process itself. 3-9 eggs are released from each female ovary. Usually her litter is 6 - 12 cubs, although sometimes there are more.

Bunnies born in large litters are low weight and need more care.

First, in a newborn male rabbit, the testes are located in the abdominal cavity, and after some time they descend into the scrotum. If the testicles remain in place and do not fall, such individuals are considered infertile. The formation of spermatozoa in males occurs throughout the year, but they retain their activity in the genital tract of the rabbit for no more than a day.

Usually before starting production year rabbit breeders draw up a plan for mating and birthing.

When all rabbits are prepared for mating, those that have some kind of flaws are culled. Each male is assigned to certain females at the rate of one in eight.

Caring for young rabbits must begin long before they appear. No less attention should be paid to the selection and preparation of premises for cultivation: repair, construction of a new one, procurement of queen cells and other necessary equipment.

Young animals should be, firstly, easy to use and clean, and secondly, they should be light enough and always dry. Rabbits must be kept outdoors, in closed buildings (cages).

Adults should be kept in separate cages, inside which are equipped with feeding compartments, drinking bowls and a nesting compartment. Cells need to be cleaned periodically.

Cages for young animals

For young animals, cages are selected, consisting of two compartments: one is for walking, the other is a shelter into which young animals enter through special manholes. The floor throughout the department is made of mesh. The cages are equipped with nurseries, feeders for concentrated feed and top dressing, as well as drinkers.
Hay feeders are made in the shape of a crate triangle.

• frostbite;
• freezing;
• feeding only dry food.

Queen cells for rabbits

During the birthing period and during the rearing of young rabbits, a mother liquor is inserted into the cage to the rabbit certain sizes: 50x30x27 centimeters with a hole 18x18 centimeters. The mother liquor can be easily removed from the cage, which is especially convenient for examining small rabbits. In addition, it is in it that a more uniform temperature is maintained.

Cages for mating rabbits

The cage in which mating is planned to be carried out must be cleaned and disinfected in advance. You also need to remove unnecessary items from the cage, drinkers, feeders.
Usually mating is carried out in the morning and in the cage of the male. If you plant a male with a female, then he will be distracted by the development of a new territory (cell), and then the mating process will be delayed. After mating, the female immediately ovulates. The female rabbit is considered covered after one cage of the male.

If the male falls from the female to one side or back with a slight rumbling, then it is considered that the mating was successful. After that, it is necessary to write down in a special notebook when the female was covered and by which male. In one day, the male can cover no more than two rabbits.

Video: the activist rabbit covers the rabbit, but does not fall away from her, unlike the usual one.

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One of the most promising areas for development Agriculture In Russia - rabbit breeding, which is successfully engaged in both the largest livestock complexes, and small private farms, and even individual families living in villages and cities. Many villagers raise rabbits in their own backyard. Recently, the townspeople, permanently living on summer cottages right in the heart of the city.

Rabbit breeding has become so popular for a variety of reasons. The most important thing is that their maintenance does not require special expenses, and they are fairly easy to care for. Rabbits are unpretentious in nutrition, eat well and grow quickly, gaining a lot of weight. They multiply rapidly, constantly increasing the number of animals, which makes it possible to recoup all initial expenses in a short time and receive considerable net profit. Delicious tender rabbit meat is an excellent dietary product. And the fur and fluff obtained from rabbits are of excellent quality and are valued not much lower than the famous furs of chinchilla, arctic fox or mink.

Many rabbit farms keep animals according to the method of the St. Petersburg scientist I.N. Mikhailov is the so-called acceleration animal husbandry. This modern technology breeding and keeping of rabbits served as a powerful impetus for the rapid and widespread development of this highly profitable industry National economy. Small family farms, using the technique of the Russian scientist, also easily set up a business that significantly strengthens their material base.

Thus, rabbit breeding as a business activity of both large livestock structures and small farms is an equally cost-effective and expedient occupation.

Breeding methods

In rabbit breeding, two methods are used, which have long been known and have proven themselves well, purebred mating of rabbits and crossing them.

Purebred breeding aims to strengthen the valuable qualities of a certain breed in the offspring, therefore, mating is carried out only with the best representatives of one breed. When selecting a female and a male, one should strictly take into account their compatibility, as well as the compatibility of the main family lines. A line is a very productive and numerous group of animals that has one common male ancestor. A related group that shares a common ancestor with a female is called a family. Lines are the most important link in livestock work, because allows you to get individuals who steadfastly pass on to subsequent generations the economically necessary useful signs. The most effective pair formations in the purebred rabbit breeding method are the mating of grandchildren and great-grandchildren, nephews and nieces.

tribal work high level thanks to this method enriched domestic animal husbandry with the production of many excellent breeds. Of course, at a lower level of rabbit breeding, this method must be used with caution, since improper inbreeding leads to the resistance of unnecessary and even harmful genes. The resulting series of deformities, a decrease in vitality, and a deterioration in commercial qualities may be the result of closely related breeding of rabbits (inbreeding).

The second method of breeding rabbits is interline crossing (hybridization). Representatives of highly productive lines are crossed in order to obtain and consolidate the necessary economic traits. This method helped breed rabbit breeds with excellent vitality, intensive growth, significant weight gain, and wonderful fur (down). Crossing is divided into different types, the use of which is narrowly focused and is suitable mainly for breeding work. On commodity farms industrial crossing is used: rabbits are mated - representatives of two various breeds. This type of crossing has a purely practical significance: for example, in connection with the specific need for a large amount of meat, fur, fluff, it is required to obtain early-ripening rabbits, with heavy carcasses, with especially large skins. It is impossible to leave such animals for the tribe: the offspring received from them has sharply deteriorated productive qualities. Variable crossbreeding is also used on commercial farms - up to three-breed, which gives good results.

Both methods are closely related and often complement each other in breeding breeds with the best productive and breeding qualities.

Industrial breeding

Large complexes have always been more profitable than disaggregated, dispersed farms, so the state pays great attention to their creation. The modern livestock industry tends to work in a closed loop. Production capacity allow you to breed rabbits using the latest technologies. Special facilities are adapted for keeping tens of thousands of rabbits in clean rooms, with an influx of fresh air, with automated lines feeders and drinkers. There are convenient housings designed for separate maintenance of the replacement and grandparent herd; young, dairy females, males. maintenance staff, including veterinarians, around the clock keeps under supervision the entire rabbit population. There are also huge factory workshops that produce animal feed from natural raw materials and sanitary and veterinary preparations; own production areas, providing cutting of carcasses and storage of meat. working hard marketing services, whose concern is the profitable sale of products through a network of shops, restaurants, workers' canteens, individuals - at retail and wholesale, as well as enterprises producing food products. Many such rabbit-breeding organizations independently produce a variety of canned products from rabbit meat with its subsequent delivery to the trading retail network. Technical services monitor the smooth operation electronic systems that ensure the normal functioning of the livestock enterprise.

This is how a fully automated modern rabbit-breeding complex looks and functions. Meat and skins - the main products of such enterprises - the highest quality, environmentally friendly, certified by the state. The future of rabbit breeding is only behind such specialized giant complexes under the management of professional specialists.

home breeding

Keeping rabbits at home is a great opportunity to provide the family with excellent quality meat, and by selling the surplus, strengthen the family's well-being, as this is a good profitable business. One strong, healthy female rabbit annually brings an average of 26 rabbits for 6 rounds; gives 60 - 70 kg of live weight and about 20 skins. When purchasing rabbits, it is preferable to take meat breed: there will be a lot of meat, and care is easier, because. This breed has a calm demeanor. A family living in a village or in a country house may well arrange their own full-fledged rabbit mini-farm.

On the backyard territory, it is more expedient to keep rabbits in the air, and not in a stuffy barn. A piece of land for them must be chosen dry, on a hill. Animals should be protected from direct sunlight. Location rabbit cages it is more reasonable to fence off with a lattice and plant it with climbing flowering plants: greenery will be an additive to and protect them from excessive extraneous attention.

It is better to make cages bunk from wood: if you use chipboard, it will soon crumble, because. absorbs moisture and swells. The inner corners of wooden cages must be covered with iron strips, otherwise the rabbit's sharp teeth will quickly gnaw everything. The ceiling and walls of the cages must also be wooden. The floors are made double: the upper part is a lattice, but with such cells that the paws of rabbits do not fall through; the lower part of the floor is a pallet from which all dirt is regularly removed. IN winter period it is necessary to keep the rabbits in a warm room and especially to ensure the heating of the mother liquor, otherwise half of the rabbits may die; you also need to protect rabbits from drafts.

It should be carried out only with the use of high-quality mixed fodders. The diet should include fresh green fodder, vegetables and plenty of hay. In drinking water, the addition of drops of iodine or potassium permanganate is necessary, which will protect against coccidiosis. For female rabbits, apple cider vinegar is added to the drink (1 liter of water / 2 - 3 drops) - to increase fertility. Animals should have free access to water and food: the rabbit begins to absorb food up to 80 times a day. Dishes for feeding and drinking must be constantly washed.

In a city apartment, it is also possible for the purpose of obtaining meat. But they need to ensure a stress-free life: they should not be intimidated by other pets or curious children. It is necessary to arrange cages with two compartments so that there is a place for walking, and a mesh floor with a pallet. A nesting compartment for females can be made using a partition, only a 20x20 cm hole must be left in it at a height of 10 - 14 cm above the floor. Feeders and drinkers need to be constantly filled and kept clean. You can feed rabbits with high-quality compound feeds with vegetables, greens and even a small amount of fruit. If the goal is fast fattening for meat, this can be achieved most quickly by introducing grain food. should be mandatory. The feeder for him can be made as a crate triangle.

In summer, rabbits should be kept on the balcony - fresh air is vital for them. In winter, animals must be brought indoors. Simple, but regular care for rabbits, even in a city apartment, will provide a steady income.

Where to start breeding

First you need to determine for what purpose the rabbits are purchased, and accordingly make all decisions. If the task is to grow rabbits only for meat or for skins, then you need to choose the right breed for this. However, most often, novice rabbit breeders opt for a meat-and-skin breed. When starting to breed rabbits for the first time, you do not need to chase rare, exotic breeds. The process of breeding rabbits of well-known local breeds, moreover, purebred ones, is economically justified and profitable - at the beginning of a rabbit breeder's career, you should not crossbreed. By taking the choice of animals seriously, the owner will then appreciate the advantages of buying local rabbits: they are easier to buy and their cost is lower, which will facilitate the repair of the herd; it will also be easy to exchange breeding stock and consult with more experienced rabbit breeders.

Naturally, you need to buy healthy mobile rabbits that have all the signs characteristic of a particular breed. Animals should be purchased with a well-fed, strong, knocked-down body; clear clear eyes; shiny thick fur. Rabbits with disturbed body proportions are absolutely unsuitable for breeding; elongated head; drooping ears; sagging back and stomach; balding tousled pile. For rabbit breeding to be successful, you need to have some knowledge in the field of breeding. Using the methods of purebred mating and crossing individuals of different breeds, there is a real opportunity to quickly achieve, for example, excellent breeds from medium breeds. Knowing the basics of rabbit breeding, it will be possible to achieve a significant increase in the number of livestock, get rid of shortcomings and highlight the advantages of the breed, etc.

In advance, you should think about a room for keeping rabbits. If they are kept outdoors, then it is necessary to equip individual cages with two compartments: nesting and feeding. In the aft compartment, the floor is made of mesh; cell size - 2x2 cm; tray required. Feeders and drinkers are fixed so that animals do not turn them over. In the nesting compartment, the wooden floor is made of boards well fitted to each other so that there are no gaps. To keep rabbits indoors in winter, cages with a double ceiling and dense walls are carefully insulated. Cell models can be different levels difficulty and out different materials- the main thing: the cells should be clean, light, without drafts, but with a constant supply of fresh air. The arrangement of cells in several tiers with a passage between them is the most convenient. Lighting should be moderate and no more than 8-16 hours a day. If the rabbits are intended for meat, then when they are fattening, the light intensity is reduced.

Then you need to consider which method of keeping rabbits to choose so that it best fits the existing conditions. For example, in areas with a low level of groundwater and the absence of a rock under the soil layer, the breeding method is perfect. If a city dweller does not have a lot of space, but he has a basement or cellar, then it will be quite possible to keep several dozen rabbits using a hole method. In a 2x2 m pit, 100 - 200 individuals feel great at the same time, while different ages. There is no need to spend money on cages, which significantly reduces the cost of keeping animals. The Mikhailov method is widely popular - a method of raising rabbits, in which they are cared for with little or no owner, because. it is successfully replaced by the MIAKRO automatic machine. Thanks to this method, the so-called accelerated rabbits are grown - they are not sick, growing 3 times faster than usual, multiplying exponentially, etc. The use of the Mikhailov method contributes to the rapid development of the rabbit business.

Breeding rabbits in winter

Preparation for the winter period provides for additional insulation and electric lighting of the place where the rabbits are kept, if they are on the street. The cells are covered with a collapsible roof (gable); the passages are closed either with collapsible shields, or covered with a film. You can also insulate the cages with glazed frames by hanging them on lattice doors. With hooks, the frame can be lifted and kept ajar if the weather is fine. On frosty days, electric heaters should be used to protect animals from hypothermia. But you don't have to constantly apply heat. infrared devices- Only in emergency situations.

You can also keep rabbits in winter in a special room - always plastered and having a window on the south side of the entire wall. It is necessary to ensure the absence of drafts, normal humidity and to prevent sudden changes in temperature in the room. The best humidity is 60-70%, with it there will be neither a runny nose nor drying out of the surface of the body of rabbits. The optimum air temperature is from 10 to 20 Celsius - in such conditions, the heat transfer of the body of animals is only 20-25%. These animals tolerate an increase in indoor temperature even worse than its decrease. At a stable temperature of +35 degrees, they overheat greatly, especially in still and humid air, and die. Lighting in winter - no longer than 10 hours a day at an intensity of 30 - 40 lux. Closed winter indoors there is a danger of increasing the concentration of harmful vapors of ammonia and hydrogen sulfide, so proper ventilation and regular cleaning will remove this problem. Constant heating will help create an even microclimate.

Feed in winter should be distinguished by a large amount of vitamins, carbohydrates, minerals than usual. Everything you need is fully contained in high-quality mixed fodders. In winter, the diet of rabbits must be vegetables (juicy food). It is permissible to feed sauerkraut sprinkled with mealy food: for an adult rabbit - up to 200 grams per day, for young animals - up to 100 grams per day. We must not forget to harvest green branch fodder in the summer, which is to be eaten in the winter. Coniferous branches can also be fed to rabbits at the rate of 100 - 150 grams per day. Should also be added to their diet table salt, bone meal, chalk. In winter, boiled potatoes mixed with bran, red carrots, fodder beets will also go. Feeding rates for some products (per day for 10 days):

• grain feed: rabbit - 3.2 kg; rabbit - 1.7 kg
• potatoes: rabbit - 4.0 kg; rabbit - 3.6 kg
• hay: rabbit - 4.2 kg; rabbit - 3.2 kg

Perseverance and patience will help the rabbit breeder to cope with all the difficulties of the winter period.

Good books on the topic

1. L.I. Ulikhina, "Handbook of the rabbit breeder", "Phoenix", 2004.
2. Yu. Zhitnikova, "Rabbits: breeds, breeding, maintenance, care", "Phoenix", 2004.
3. N. Tinaev, “Breeding rabbits. Practical Tips", "Delta M", 2004.
4. S.N. Aleksandrov, T.I. Kosova, "Rabbits: breeding, rearing, feeding", "AST", 2006.
5. Yaroshitsky, "Rabbits. Growing and processing”, 1999.

These books, like many others, provide accurate, time-tested information that is useful not only for beginners, but also for experienced rabbit breeders. The pages of this literature cover in detail the issues of the characteristics of specific breeds and the specifics of their breeding; talks about the technology of breeding and keeping rabbits; advice is given on correct selection diet and diseases associated with feeding rabbits. Fascinatingly written books with the help of photographs and drawings that complement the articles simply and clearly help to understand all the facets of such an interesting occupation as rabbit breeding. Advice from veterinarians; drawings of cells and premises; recipes for rabbit meat dishes - the variety of contents of the books is amazing: many years of practice and invaluable knowledge are behind every word written in them. Any of these books will be an indispensable tool for rabbit breeders.

A small and interesting video report from one of the Ukrainian farms about raising rabbits.

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