Breeding rabbits is possible in various directions: as favorite pets or for the sake of obtaining meat and skins. In any case, rabbit breeding requires some effort from the owner. Before you get rabbits, it is advisable to familiarize yourself with the theoretical rules for caring for animals, how and what to water and feed them, what conditions are required for their maintenance. After learning the technology of rearing, breeding rabbits for beginner breeders can turn into an exciting activity.

In a household environment, a cage system is more often used for keeping and breeding rabbits.

Breeding rabbits at home is a very profitable home business, as animals are characterized by high reproductive ability and precocity. During a calendar year, one healthy rabbit can produce up to six litters, with an average of 6-8 rabbits per litter, resulting in about 60 kilograms of meat, as well as about 20 skins. It all depends on which one to choose.

The decision on how to breed rabbits is made by the breeder, based on their capabilities. In a household environment, a cage system is more often used for keeping and breeding rabbits, which should provide the animals with sufficient space, lack of dampness and good lighting. It is necessary to link the simplicity of the design with the convenience of giving food, cleaning the cages, access to the animal and other factors. In the practice of domestic rabbit breeding, a wide variety of cage systems are used, which often depend on the availability and cost of materials. Often, commercial production waste, plywood, boxes are taken. To make it convenient to serve, they are installed on stands at a height of 70 cm from ground level.

Video about breeding rabbits

Some amateurs use a combined method: they place cages with animals in the spring, summer and autumn in the yard, and in winter they are transferred to the premises for the period of mating and birth.

This old, long-forgotten method is gaining more and more popularity today. Rabbits, breeding, rearing, feeding which is greatly simplified, feel much freer and calmer. It will be possible to keep them in this way in almost any area. The main task is to dig a hole in the right place. To maximize the safety of the home from flooding, the pit should be placed on a hill, even with a low level of groundwater. Flooded pits are a threat to the death of rabbits and the occurrence of diseases.

It is impossible to arrange a pit on a land plot that is flooded with spring floods.

Having chosen a place for the construction of the future housing of rabbits, you can begin to build it. The size of the pit largely depends on the territory of the existing plot of land and the planned number of heads. The most optimal size is 2 x 2 meters. A pit of this size will be easier to clean, and it can contain up to two hundred rabbits.

Sometimes rabbits dig rather long and very intricate holes, which always go down at a slight angle or horizontally. At the same time, as soon as the animal has the slightest sense of the possibility of escape, it will be able to dig a hole to the surface. Given this nuance, the pit should be at least a meter deep, and preferably one and a half. It is also necessary to strengthen the walls in the pit. They can be overlaid with slate or bricks. This will prevent them from collapsing and will also prevent the rabbits from burrowing in all directions. One of the walls must be left unprotected - in it the animals will build their nests.

Video about the secrets of breeding rabbits

Industrial rabbit breeding is a single system characterized by high economic efficiency and minimal costs. A powerful rabbit-breeding complex combines a feed mill, several dozen buildings that house several thousand females, a replacement and breeding herd, males, and a slaughterhouse. As a rule, the breeding of rabbits in the technological cycle includes all the necessary conditions for keeping the broodstock, raising livestock, slaughtering, cutting carcasses, storing meat, as well as selling finished products in a retail network. In some cases, it even provides for the production of animal feed, veterinary drugs and artificial insemination.

To enhance sanitary safety and minimize transport costs, the entire complex is located in one area. To ensure year-round operation, the farms are constantly maintained at temperatures up to 25 degrees and a relative humidity of 68%. For keeping rabbits on an industrial scale, special metal cages are used, equipped with feeders and drinkers. Feeding is carried out with granulated feed, which includes grass flour made from alfalfa. The industrial technique in rabbit breeding, due to its scale, gives a significant economic result.

Wild rabbits are well known for their fertility. Since in nature they are the object of prey hunting, it is extremely important for them to have a large offspring in order to survive. However, breeding domestic rabbits requires a lot of effort and is therefore not suitable for everyone. If you look at rabbits solely as pets, then breeding them may not be the best idea for you. However, if you want to raise rabbits for meat, or if you want to become a breeder of a particular breed, then you will need a good breeding pair, the morale to succeed (or fail), and an understanding of all the work that you have to do.

Steps

Part 1

Preparation for breeding rabbits

Decide why you chose to breed rabbits. Raising rabbits is a huge responsibility and requires a lot of time, effort and patience. Before embarking on this business, you need to understand why you need it. Will you sell rabbits? Do you want to keep them as pets? Or will you raise them for meat? Try to understand whether you are really ready to devote yourself to this cause. If you don't have enough time, if you can get bored with all this, and you subsequently allow yourself the opportunity to give your rabbits to an animal shelter, reconsider your plans.

Learn about the different breeds of rabbits. Rabbit breeders have a wide variety of breeds to choose from. Before you decide to buy a rabbit because of the appearance you like, make sure that its breed is right for you. The following is information on several fairly common breeds of rabbits (but the complete list of breeds is by no means limited to them).

Select suitable rabbits for breeding. The breed of rabbits will depend on its availability, cost and your preferences. The purpose of breeding rabbits will also influence the breed you choose. Some people want to raise rabbits for sale and show, while others prefer to keep them at home as pets, and still others plan to raise them for meat.

Use for breeding rabbits of suitable age. Use for breeding females must begin from the moment they reach puberty. For rabbits of small breeds, this age is 5-6 months. Larger breeds can be bred from 8-9 months. Males usually become breedingable at about 6 months for small breeds, 7 months for medium breeds, and 9 months for large breeds.

Even before breeding, take care of the selection of future owners for your rabbits. Make sure that you have enough cages to keep the rabbits from the moment they are weaned, and that you are able to bear all the expenses that will accompany the process of breeding rabbits. Decide what you will do with the rabbits after weaning.

Part 2

Mating rabbits

1. Allow only healthy and prosperous rabbits to breed. The physical condition of mated rabbits is extremely important. Have your rabbits checked by a veterinarian first to make sure they are in optimal breeding condition.

   Place the female with the male. If you plant a male with a female, then her scent will be present everywhere on her territory, which will distract the male and may make him start marking the territory. Because of this, rabbits can fight. Therefore, always seat the female with the male.

   Leave the breeding couple alone for half an hour. You need to give the rabbits time for 2-3 matings. Several matings will contribute to the numerical increase in offspring, as well as increase the chances of a successful outcome.

   Feel the female's belly to establish the fact of pregnancy. The best method for determining the pregnancy of a rabbit is palpation. At the same time, the belly of the female is felt with fingers for the presence of embryos inside. If you are pregnant, you will be able to feel embryos the size of grapes in the rabbit's belly. It is best for beginner breeders to resort to this method 10-14 days after mating animals.

   • Pregnancy lasts about 28-33 days, depending on the specific breed. After 34 days of pregnancy, the offspring is usually born dead, however, there are cases when live rabbits were born on the 40th day of pregnancy.
   • If the fact of pregnancy is not confirmed, then the rabbit can be immediately mated again.

Part 3

Caring for a pregnant rabbit

1. Provide the rabbit with extra hay and bedding. By about the 22nd day of pregnancy, a nest box must be placed in the female's cage. In it she will make her nest. The nest should contain soft straw, hay or pine shavings. Leave some extra building material next to the nest box so that the female rabbit can build the nest of her choice. To fill the nest, the rabbit will also pluck the fur from her chest and abdomen.

   Provide the rabbit with peace and quiet. A pregnant rabbit needs to provide a calm environment. Do not take it into your hands without a real need. Otherwise, you may harm the developing embryos in her belly. If you need to lift the rabbit, then in no case do not lift it by the stomach.

   Expect labor to occur 32-33 days after mating. The rabbit will begin to prepare the nest around the 29th-32nd day of pregnancy, and will give birth on the 32nd-33rd day. If you find her in labor, give her the opportunity to cope on her own. It is highly likely that the birth will occur at night, while you are still sleeping. Rabbits tend to give birth before dawn.

   Use the services of a veterinarian. At your discretion, you can provide a pregnant rabbit with regular veterinary check-ups. The veterinarian will be able to assess her health and the progress of her pregnancy.

Part 4

Caring for a rabbit and her offspring after childbirth

Feed your rabbit more than usual. After giving birth, provide the rabbit with dry food in unlimited quantities, as feeding rabbits will deprive her of nutrients very much. Do not stop giving her vegetables, but do not increase their volume. If you increased the volume of vegetables in feeding immediately before childbirth, then a second increase in the volume of vegetables given can be made no earlier than 3-4 days after childbirth. If the rabbit's feces begin to liquefy, immediately stop giving vegetables.

Learn how to properly handle a rabbit after giving birth. If the rabbit doesn't mind being stroked and reacts well to it, if you have a good relationship with her, then it's a good idea to let her out of the cage for a little workout. If the rabbit is accustomed to walking, then you should let her walk for about an hour every day. This will give you the opportunity to check the nest and remove dead young from it.

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 characteristic features 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 the wild, 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 an interesting feature is only in 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.

A sedentary lifestyle and obesity 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 a rapid development of 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 the start of the 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 queen cell of certain sizes is inserted into the cage to the rabbit: 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.

This entry is unique. There are no similar ones.

Rabbits are very cute animals that are easy to breed. Care and observation of these cute animals helps relieve stress and improves mood.

Where to begin

First of all, you should decide why you breed rabbits. There are meat breeds, there are meat-skin and self-skin.

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 the sale of meat, choose special meat breeds, for example, California, Burgundy breeds.

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

How to choose the right rabbits

After you have decided on the breed, you need to choose healthy animals. A person who is just starting to breed rabbits can make a mistake and acquire a sick or rejected animal.

Signs of healthy specimens:

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

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

However, a number of requirements must be met in order for rabbits to really be comfortable and well in cages.

It is better to install cages in a barn called a shed (read:). Being outdoors does not protect from wind, frost, precipitation. The walls and floor of the shed can be made of bricks, logs, wooden planks. The main condition is that they should not have slots and holes in order to avoid drafts that have a detrimental effect on rabbits. At the same time, the room should be well ventilated and lit. The lack of light and fresh air causes a deterioration in the condition of the hairline.

Cell requirements:

• Slatted or mesh floor.
• Size for a rabbit with rabbits: length - 890mm, width - 780mm, height - 420mm.
• Cage size for individual content: length - 720mm, width - 600mm, height - 420mm.
• The front wall is mesh, the side and back are deaf, wooden.
• The cage is equipped with a feeder and drinker.
• In cages intended for with cubs, a uterine house is placed, made of plywood or thin boards.

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

Pits can be made both in villages and in the conditions of the city. Soils with low groundwater penetration and lack of rocks and stones under a thin layer of earth are suitable. Pits can be arranged in the basement or cellar, even in an urban 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 slatted or meshed, under which a ramp or a feces and urine tray is placed. Straw spreads on the earthen floor, which should be removed after a few days, it will have to be replaced with a clean one.

Along the walls there are feeders of different directions and drinkers. They try not to put them near the entrance to the holes dug by rabbits, otherwise, they quickly and heavily get dirty.

In the pit, you definitely need a window that allows sunlight to pass through. The norm of artificial lighting is 40 watts per 10 square meters. For rabbits, the duration of daylight is much more important than the brightness of the lighting.

Advantages of pit content:

• Low cost - one pit can last for a very long time, it does not wear out, unlike cages.
• No problems with pregnancy and childbirth.
• Rarely develop various diseases.
• Great space saving.
• Ease and convenience of feeding.
• Remarkably passes the process of reproduction - often, easily. Rabbits are born and develop stronger and more resilient than when caged.
• In winter, the floor and water in the drinking bowls do not freeze.

Minuses:

• Inbreeding. It causes smallness and congenital deformities of animals.
• The inability to control reproduction.
• Animals eventually run wild, it becomes difficult to catch them for vaccination.
• The skins are damaged, especially in males, which are constantly fighting with each other.
• Difficulty cleaning manure.

mating

A pair of rabbits is selected - healthy and puberty . The female must be in a state of sexual hunting, otherwise she simply will not let the male near her . How to define sexual desire?

In a normally developing female, hunting occurs about 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 respect.

During the hunt, the female becomes restless, begins to rush around the cage, pluck out her fluff, carry a bundle of hay in her mouth, her appetite sharply decreases or disappears altogether. If a female is patted on the back, she will instinctively lie down on the floor and raise her rear part of her body. For a more accurate determination of the period of sexual hunting, the genitals are visually assessed (popularly they are called a “loop”).

In the normal state, the loop has a pale pink color, during the hunt it becomes a pronounced pink color. In addition, she is somewhat swollen. The duration of the hunting period can be 3-5 days.

The male must be young enough, not obese, not emaciated. It is undesirable to allow more than 4 coatings per day in 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 heat and cold, animals show less activity.

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

For a more guaranteed result, it is worth waiting for the female to cover twice, and then move her back to her native cage.

Definition of pregnancy in rabbits

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

After 2 weeks, you can try to feel the belly of the covered female. The animal is taken out of the cage, turned to its head, holding the female by the skin in the area of ​​the sacrum with one hand. Another at this time, the stomach is probed, 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. Probing is done very carefully so as not to harm the babies and not cause artificial labor.

When 5-7 days remain before 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 birth, the rabbit plucks her own fluff and lines the nest with it.

Feeding before mating

A complete diet provokes the activation of the sexual activity of animals. Undernourished or obese females most often do not fertilize, 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 branches of trees, germinated grains of barley and oats.

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

Feeding pregnant and lactating females

At this time, proper varied nutrition is especially important, because underfeeding causes disturbances in the normal development of the embryos, reduces the production of milk 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, root crops. Nursing women are given daily milk -100g, chalk - 2g, salt 1g.

You can not feed moldy and frozen food, so as not to provoke a miscarriage.

5-10 days before birth, the amount of roughage (dry leaves, hay) is reduced and silage is completely stopped. There must be water or snow in the cage in winter! Otherwise, the female, experiencing a lack of water, can 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 breeders can make mistakes that can cause disastrous 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. Strong fear and stress often act as a provocateur. Therefore, an experienced breeder approaches the nest, trying to make as little noise as possible.
• With the wrong location of the uterine house, the female will drag the rabbits from corner to corner, eventually causing their death. It is necessary to reduce the area of ​​the house.
• With an excess amount of milk in a rabbit, the cubs can die of starvation due to the fact that the glands become very dense and the rabbits cannot grasp them. In this case, it is necessary to massage the mammary glands and timely decanting excess milk.

2017-01-25 Igor Novitsky

A business based on rabbit breeding requires the farmer to organize optimal conditions for keeping animals, depending on the preferred place for their breeding - in an aviary or pit, as well as the correct preparation of a business plan for a rabbit breeding enterprise.

To date, the development of rabbit breeding in Russia has not yet reached the peak of popularity and production efficiency. Although it should be noted that in rural areas, raising rabbits at home - as part of the household - is a fairly widespread phenomenon.

However, domestic breeding of rabbits does not usually occur in large volumes. In order to meet their needs for rabbit meat, people do not need large-scale production. Rabbit meat has a number of beneficial (in comparison with the meat of other animals) properties. Basically, rabbit meat is of interest to people because of its high calorie content with its digestibility by the body of 90%, the content of lecithin, nicotinic acid, and proteins in it. At the same time, the cholesterol level in rabbit meat is very low, so it is recommended for people with diseases of the gastrointestinal tract, cardiovascular system.

Growing rabbits: features and subtleties

Despite the fact that rabbit meat has a number of advantages over any other, rabbit farms throughout the Russian Federation can literally be "counted on the fingers." Experts argue that the problem lies neither in the lack of climate and environmental conditions suitable for rabbits (moreover, it is believed that these animals are the most unpretentious to the conditions of detention, the most prolific), nor in the low demand for meat (according to a social survey, more than 60% of people claim that they are ready to eat rabbit meat on a regular basis, but they do not always find it on store shelves). What then is the problem of domestic rabbit breeding? After some thought, only one assumption remains: inability, an approach without due responsibility and preparation.

In fact, raising rabbits is considered far from being a difficult task. But this does not mean that you need to take it on without having any idea of ​​\u200b\u200bwhat rabbit breeding is. Before starting any business, it is recommended to read literature about it in order to confirm your decision, or, conversely, to lose faith.

Rabbits are unpretentious to the conditions of detention - they can live both in specially equipped sheds or rabbitries, as well as in certain equipped rooms, even in cages or aviaries installed in open spaces. Rabbits are unpretentious to feed: it is enough that there are three main types of feed in the rabbit's diet: coarse (hay, straw, tree branches), succulent (various herbs and root crops) and concentrated (nutritious feed: fish or meat and bone meal). Concentrated feeds are more effective in winter. It is also possible to feed rabbits with vitamin complexes in winter.

It is important to carry out prevention against diseases. In practice, this is often expressed in the fact that from time to time farmers give the rabbits "silver water", which disinfects the animal's body. As a rule, it is obtained by passing through silver electrodes that are in water, poured into a dielectric (non-conductive), for example, a glass container. As a result of the passage of current, a precipitate remains in the form of silver ions Ag + . Water with silver ions has a bactericidal effect, while it is absolutely non-toxic to animals.

To achieve maximum profitability of the product, it is recommended to buy exclusively meat breeds of rabbits. Rabbits of such breeds reach marketable mass already at the age of four to five months, while a female rabbit is able to give up to 10 births, each of which has at least four rabbits, per year. However, of course, these are approximate numbers. Depending on the conditions and breed, the rabbit can give, according to statistics, from 4 to 12 rounds per year. So, according to approximate calculations, one female and her annual offspring give approximately 100 kilograms of marketable meat.

Is the rabbit breeding business profitable?

The profitability of such a business is calculated quite simply. For example, if rabbits are slaughtered at the age of four or five months (with an animal weighing about three kilograms). On average, one kilogram of rabbit meat costs 300 rubles. From a three-kilogram rabbit, one and a half to two kilograms of meat are usually obtained. So, the wholesale price of one rabbit meat is approximately 450 rubles. But it is recommended to calculate the costs.

Thus, the cost of buying or renting land, registration, marketing and other organizational costs can be up to one million rubles. Also, the expenses include the purchase of feed, the cost of funds for the repair of equipment and premises. Basically, that's what the cost is. Let's say the farm has 1000 rabbits. Of these, 500 are rabbits. With proper care, the female can produce from 25 to 60 offspring, which will be from 40 to 120 kg of meat.

So, for a year you can get, on average, 80,000 rubles, which in the second year of work will cover the costs of starting production. Of course, it is worth considering that part of the young will die due to many factors, the main of which are: illness and uncomfortable conditions. You should not forget that in order to effectively increase the number of young, it is necessary to change females that produce new individuals. If one individual constantly produces offspring for a long time, it will quickly lose its fertility.

As soon as the female's fecundity fades, she is slaughtered, and another female produces offspring. As a rule, males are replaced every two years, while females are replaced once a year. Subject to all the rules for the care of rabbits, you can get about seven tons of rabbit meat only at the expense of the offspring of 100 females. Therefore, it is very important for an enterprise to establish sales channels and a sales market for products. It turns out that the rabbit breeding business is profitable if you follow a few simple rules.

Rabbit breeding as a business: from start to finish

The first thing to do when creating any business is to settle the legal and regulatory side of the issue. To do this, you must at least register your company. This is where the question arises of how. How exactly is a company registered? A rabbit farm can be designed in three ways:

Optimal conditions for keeping rabbits

Plot of land:

1. Location of the site: suburban areas, at a distance from residential buildings up to 2 kilometers.
2. The area of ​​the site should not be less than fifteen acres.

Room:

1. It should be possible to maintain a constant warm temperature in the room in the conditions of its decrease in the environment.
2. The walls, floor and roof of the room should be made so that there are no gaps in them: the room should not be damp, there should be no drafts in it.
3. The room must have electricity.
4. There should be a large water tank in or near the room.

Breeding rabbits in aviaries

Breeding of rabbits in open-air cages is carried out in open space. The aviary is a space fenced around the perimeter with a fence. It is not recommended to keep more than 30 individuals on the territory of one enclosure, and most often a female and her offspring are kept in enclosures. At the same time, males are not kept in enclosures: they are kept separately from all individuals in a special room, and they are placed in enclosures only during the mating period.

Aviaries are arranged on a hill to protect against drowning. The walls of the enclosure are made of any materials, while one must be made of mesh. The height of the wall can reach one or two meters. They should be buried in the ground at an average of half a meter. The floor in the enclosures is usually earthen, which allows the owners to rarely clean it, and the rabbits to dig holes and develop physically.

Breeding rabbits in a pit

Pit device algorithm:

1. Buy a plot for the arrangement of the pit.
2. When choosing a site, look at the number of hills, because it is on them that the pit is built.
3. The pit should be dry, there should be no rivers, swamp lakes nearby, there should be no groundwater.
4. Keeping a large number of rabbits in pits is undesirable. The maximum allowable size of the pit is 3x3 meters. Up to 300 rabbits can live in such a hole.
5. The pit should be square, three of its walls should be covered with durable material.
6. The fourth wall should have a recess at a height of up to 15 cm. This recess should be wide enough to accommodate at least two rabbits.