Breeding rabbits at home: keeping, reproduction and rearing

Today, rabbits have become champions for domestic breeding due to their fertility and early maturity. In addition, their meat is very dietary. Therefore, it is very important to know all the intricacies of their cultivation.

Meat, skins, fluff and fertilizer are products that can be obtained by breeding rabbits. This activity is less expensive than, for example, raising pigs or cows.

Over the course of a year, a healthy female reproduces 6 times. This will result in over 25 babies and close to 70kg of meat when they grow up.

Breed selection

Rabbits are bred to obtain skins and fur or meat. For every 10 females, 1 male is purchased, while the smallest farm must have at least 2 males. Based on the purpose of the purchase, the breed is selected.

For meat

Rabbit meat is a dietary product, as it is rich in protein and is easily absorbed by the body.

The best meat breeds:

ermine;
gray and white giants;
white New Zealander.

In just 4 months they will grow and produce up to 3-4 kg of rabbit meat.

For skins

Fur coats, vests, hats and other fur products are made from rabbit skins.

These breeds will pamper their owners with thick, shiny and beautiful skin:

Viennese blue;
silver;
downy white;
angora.

For meat and fur

Breeds have been developed that are suitable for breeding in both directions.

The owners will be pleased with dietary and soft meat with high-quality skin:

butterfly;
Flanders;
chinchilla.

Where can I buy

It is better to purchase from large breeders or at least from experienced farmers, as this will provide a choice of high-quality and healthy individuals. Honest breeders are concerned about their reputation, so they provide all the information about the individuals they purchase.

What to consider when purchasing

Before purchasing, you need to make sure that the animals are healthy and meet the standards of a particular breed.

Criterias of choice:

smooth, shiny coat with a sheen;
there are no tangles or signs of baldness on the fur;
agile, strong body;
smooth, without kinks, ears;
the outside of the ears are covered with light hair, and the inside is pinkish;
the teeth on the upper jaw are pushed forward more strongly;
eyes are clean, without redness or discharge;
look without fear;
clean skin near the anus, without fecal residues;
rabbit nose - clean, slightly moist, mobile;
long, without sagging back;
soft abdomen without signs of inflammation and tension;
clean and pink genitals.

Where to begin

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

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

When breeding rabbits for meat sales, choose special meat breeds, for example, New Zealand White, Californian, Burgundy breeds.

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

Preparatory activities

Rabbit breeding at home requires some preparation. It is necessary to take the most careful approach to arranging the habitat of fluffy ears. You need to build a rabbitry in advance so that it is completely ready for the arrival of new residents.

Location requirements

Farmers keep eared pets both in the barn and outside in cages. The place for installing the cages is chosen to be level and protected from drafts and winds, with artificial or natural shade. Rabbits do not like high moisture, so during the preparation stage you should take care of comfortable living conditions for the livestock. Provide a wide, convenient approach to the site to ensure easy access to the cages for cleaning and distributing food.

Installation of cages

Comfortable cages are the key to the comfortable well-being of pets, and as a result, an increase in the birth rate and an increase in the number of livestock.

General tips for constructing and installing cages:

The optimal models will be those houses whose ends and back wall are made of wood more than 1.5 cm thick, and the front wall, part of the floor and the door are made of fine-mesh reinforced mesh.
It is better to lay the roof from corrugated sheets or ondulin with a small slope so that rainwater and snow do not linger on it. For easy cleaning of the cage, loops can be provided.
Feeders are made stationary or mobile and are located on the front wall.
For a small herd, single-tier structures are sufficient, and for a large herd, 2- and 3-tier models are sufficient.
It is important that there are no holes or cracks in the walls.
The volume of the house for one rabbit should be no less than 75x60x45 cm.

Queen cell

A separate cage is provided for each pregnant female. The expectant mother lives there awaiting her offspring. Immediately before the babies are born, the cage is supplemented with queen cell.

The queen cell is a closed box with a hole where the female rabbit sets up a nest, and then the newborn babies will grow for the first month of their lives. The box is constructed from wooden slats and lined with plywood sheets. The approximate size of the queen cell is 30x50x30 cm. The hole in diameter should be 15 cm. This imitation of a hole is very cozy and excellent for the birth of offspring.

Cages for mating

At home, special premises for mating rabbits are not built. To produce offspring, the female is simply placed next to the male for 10-15 minutes. Immediately after the end of mating, the female is removed, and if necessary, mating is repeated after 5 days. If the rabbit does not allow the gentleman to approach, she is already considered covered.

How should newborn rabbits be cared for?

After birth, about 7 new little rabbits are born. They look very tiny, as evidenced by their weight: about 60 g. It can also be said that at first newborn babies are completely defenseless, as they are born completely blind and without fur. In order for the rabbit to have enough milk, she needs to have constant access to water. If this is not done, there is a high probability that the young will be eaten by their own mother.

During breastfeeding, you need to minimally interfere with the natural process, because a rabbit that has the smell of a person on it can most likely be rejected by the rabbit, after which it will inevitably die. After the rabbits reach the age of 1 month, they need to be taken away from their mother and placed in separate cages. At this age, the stocking density can be about 12-18 birds per cage.

Cellular content

Caging is the most popular way to keep rabbits.

Advantages

Raising rabbits in cages has many benefits.

Pros of cellular content:

it is easy to visually assess the health status of the animals;
helps to more clearly control reproduction;
makes cleaning and feeding much easier;
makes it possible to automate part of the work.

Most importantly, keeping rabbits in cages helps prevent the spread of infectious diseases and the death of the entire livestock if they occur.

Keeping it clean

Cleaning rabbit hutches is not a pleasant task, but there are ways to make the process much easier.

Recommendations:

Disinfection is extremely important to maintain the health of the livestock. You need to treat the cage by removing the animal and removing any remaining droppings and food. Suitable remedies include burnt lime, a solution of iodine in alcohol, and alkali.
Queen cells are disinfected after the offspring emerge from them, and also shortly before the female rabbit gives birth.
You should remove leftover food and change the water daily.
Feces are removed once every 2 days maximum. This task can be made easier if the floor is lined with mesh and the cage is equipped with a tray.

Features of winter care

Breeding, raising and feeding rabbits during cold weather does not cause any particular problems. Animals can easily withstand cold temperatures because their skin is covered with thick fur. In some cases, the following may be observed: weight loss of individuals, colds and frostbite of the ears.

Recommendations for keeping rabbits in winter:

Raise the cell level to a height of 90-100 cm above the ground, as frosty air circulates below.
The temperature in the barn should not fall below 5 °C.
For warmth and comfort, lay an additional layer of bedding, change it once every 5 days.
In winter, problems arise with cleaning cages, since in cold weather waste products quickly freeze and are difficult to remove. Provide a mesh floor to allow feces to fall into a removable tray.
It is better to close the door to the cage with a piece of plywood to prevent drafts from getting inside. However, it is best to install a glass frame on the door instead of a grille, so as not to reduce the light life of your pets.
Insulate the rabbit house, caulk all the cracks and holes.

Cages for young animals

Simple cell diagram.

It is best to keep them in cages. Designs can be very diverse. The main criteria for evaluating rabbit hutches of any design and type are low cost, ease of manufacture, ease of maintenance and hygiene.

For young animals, cells are usually chosen that consist of two compartments: the first is for walking, the second is a shelter, where the rabbit enters through special holes. Equip the cages with feeders for concentrated food, mangers and drinking bowls. Hay feeders are made in the shape of a triangle with bars on the sides.

Considerable attention should be paid to the floor design.

Usually the floor is made of mesh. You should be aware that if pets are kept in cages with this gender for a long time, they may develop paw rash and pododermatitis. Therefore, you should use removable shelves that you clean daily.

Healthy and big male.

In regions with a temperate climate, it is advisable to make slatted (lattice) floors from hard wood (oak, beech, maple), metal, and plastic.

Cages with a solid plank floor are often used, which should be inclined (slope 5 cm).

The best option for flooring is considered to be a double floor - a plank floor is placed on a slatted or mesh floor. The most hygienic cage is obtained in the second case. Read more in the article DIY rabbit cage.

There are several housing systems: the outer cage system (outdoor), the shed system (in sheds) and in rabbit hutches (heated rooms in the cold season).

With an external cage system, they are kept all year round in external single-tier or multi-tier (two or more tiers), portable or stationary, installed in the open air or under a canopy.

The shad system is mainly used on farms with large livestock. A shed is a rectangular shed. Accommodation can be in one or two tiers. The length can vary, but most often there are shads 50-60 meters long and 2.5-3 meters wide. The longer the shad, the lower the cost of one cell in it.

A rabbitry is a structure for closed keeping. Protects rabbits from direct sunlight and predators. It is important to constantly monitor the temperature in the rabbitry, humidity and regular ventilation.

Yamnoye content

The most ancient, but nevertheless good method of raising eared pets is in pits. To raise rabbits at home, the number of which is 20 individuals, you need a basement or cellar 2x2 m and 1 m deep. Three walls are reinforced with wood panels, and the 4th remains free so that the rabbits dig a hole there.

It is better to organize lighting inside, otherwise the animals will breed much worse. You need to clean up as the pit gets dirty.

Advantages and disadvantages

Pit content has both advantages and significant disadvantages.

Pros:

no expenses are required for the construction of cells;
saving space;
the influence of the natural environment on the immunity and health of rabbits: they are born strong and get sick less often.

Minuses:

the wool in the pits is wiped off, so the method is suitable if you plan to raise rabbits for meat;
Rabbits that are closely related begin to mate more often, so the breed becomes smaller;
owners cannot control the mating process;
It is much more difficult to bring food into such a home.

Growing in a pit

This method involves constructing a hole at least a meter deep and an arbitrary area within the walls of which the rabbits will dig their holes. This method has a lot of positive aspects:

Minimum financial investment.
A small pit can accommodate a lot of rabbits.
Excellent ventilation with absolutely no drafts.

Rabbits in a pit
Disadvantages include a low growth rate due to frequent diseases, fights between males, difficulty in detecting sick animals, more frequent deformities and stillbirths due to uncontrolled sexual intercourse between close relatives.

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Waste and profit

Let's consider the main expenses for a rabbit business for an average herd of 60 pieces:

the price of arranging cages is 50 thousand rubles;
cost of 60 individuals - 30 thousand rubles;
food for a year - 100 thousand rubles;
buy a vaccine - 30 thousand rubles;

Total about 210,000 rubles.

Of course, if you make a breeding plan in advance, you can save on seasonal purchases.

Profit calculation:

The weight of one adult individual is at least 2 kg.
The cost of 1 kg of meat is 250 rubles.
1 skin costs 50 rubles.
If offspring are produced at least twice a year, then after a year the number of livestock can increase to 1000 heads.
By selling them as meat, you will earn 500,000 rubles in profit.
Skins - 50,000 rub.
In total, you will receive 550,000 rubles in income per year.

Similar article: You can read about the benefits chinchillas can bring here.

Raising rabbits is quite profitable. They produce good offspring and are in high demand among buyers, and within a year your business will pay off. What advice can you give to novice owners? Let readers know in the comments below.

Proper feeding

A proper diet allows an animal to quickly gain weight, which is especially important for meat production.

Summer diet

In the summer, concentrates become the basis of rabbit nutrition - 30-40% of the total feed per day. 30% - green food, 20% - succulent, 10% - roughage.

Rules for feeding Eared Ears:

Give concentrates first, and then greens.
From the period of weaning until old age, rabbits are fed 3 times a day.
Pregnant female rabbits and females with babies up to 2.5 months are offered food 4 times a day.
Daily feed requirements: good concentrate feed – 55 g, grass – 600 g.
At 6-7 o'clock in the morning, give ½ of the daily norm of concentrate, and 1/3 of the norm of grass. At lunch 15 o'clock another 1/3 of greens. In the evening at 19:00, offer the rabbits the rest of the concentrates, 1/3 of the greens and some roughage.

Winter nutrition

Not only the quality of meat, but also the condition of the animal’s skin depends on the diet in winter.

Winter feeding recommendations:

If the air temperature outside reaches -15 °C degrees, then you should remove frozen food debris in a timely manner, since animals cannot eat them.
You can add hay, twigs, silage, heated mash, and pine needles to your diet.
The average daily doses for one animal are: feed – 80 g, hay – 400 g + additives.
Watering of the animals is carried out in the morning and evening. For sub-zero temperatures, use warm water or purchase drinking bowls with a heating function.

Vitamins and mineral supplements

Vitamin complexes are used for feeding in late winter, when feed reserves are depleted. Animals need vitamins A and D. To do this, they are added to the diet in the form of concentrate or fish oil.

The amount of fish oil per head depends on the activity and age of the animal:

baby rabbit – 0.3-0.5 g;
adult rabbit – 1 g;
pregnant and lactating rabbits – 3 g.

The lack of vitamin E is compensated by good meadow hay, sprouted grain, and silage. You can add a little bone meal, chalk or bone ash to the food.

It is mandatory to feed your pets salt - 1-1.5 g per day.

Feed for slaughter

Feeding rabbits for breeding requires a balance between carbohydrates and proteins.

Tips for accelerating weight gain:

Feeding with silage. This is a valuable source of vitamins and minerals, especially in the winter and spring.
The daily dose of feed is 80 g, and hay is 400 g.
For intensive growth of young individuals, branch feed is used: willow, willow, and aspen twigs.
Root vegetables and melons: potatoes, pumpkin or zucchini. They are boiled and mixed with feed granules.
In veterinary pharmacies you can buy vitamins and minerals and feed young animals according to the instructions to accelerate growth.

Annual feed requirement

At each life stage, rabbits' food needs are different.

Annual requirement (average):

Breeding rabbit or rabbit in the period between matings: feed - 4.46 kg, silage - 3.2 kg, hay - 1.2 kg, greens - 4.5 kg.
During the mating period: concentrates - 4.2 kg, hay - 1.5 kg, silage - 3.8 kg, greens - 5.6 kg.
For a pregnant rabbit: concentrate – 16.8, meadow hay – 6 kg, root vegetables – 15.6 kg, green grass – 23 kg.
Nursing mother: feed - 62.4 kg, silage -57 kg, green grass - 83.4 kg, hay - 21.1 kg.
For a young rabbit: concentrated granules - 10.1 kg, silage - 40 kg, greens - 12 kg, hay - 3.1 kg.

What not to feed

Young animals under 3 months should not be given complementary foods in the form of grass and succulent feed. The first time, give new types of food a little at a time and monitor the condition of the livestock and the type of feces.

Rabbits should not be fed:

wet herbs (given dried or dried);
milkweed, datura, celandine, tansy, wormwood, aloe, arisema, beans, cornflowers;
seeds and mushrooms;
any bakery products;
sugar;
figs;
milk;
avocado;
nuts and peanuts;
corn and pea husks.

Benefit

This business is quite profitable, which is primarily due to the fact that rabbit meat is not yet so common; you won’t find it on the counter next to pork or beef. It is not publicly available; it is often purchased directly from breeders.

Despite the small popularity of rabbit meat, it is considered very healthy and dietary. There will always be buyers for the product because this type of meat is not only perfectly absorbed by the body, but is also an excellent replacement for the usual pork or beef. “Proper nutrition” is very popular now, and not only among those who go on a diet, so rabbit meat is very popular among PP adherents.

In addition to this, a huge number of different recipes are known, which are based on rabbit meat, which cannot be replaced, since the dish will instantly lose its special taste. In some cases, when manufacturers do not want to engage in sales themselves, it is possible to conclude contracts for the supply of goods either to points of sale, or to a cafe or restaurant whose menu includes rabbit dishes. This option may be more profitable than direct sale.

Reproduction

At first glance, breeding rabbits at home may seem difficult for beginners, but in cage conditions, tracking the process is quite simple.

Nutrition during mating

Animals should eat a balanced diet, not lose weight or gain fat, otherwise breeding rabbits will be problematic. Add a pinch of salt and 2 g of fish oil and chalk. Give food three times a day.

Conducting mating

Puberty of rabbits occurs at 3.5 months, but mating should be carried out no earlier than the 5th month.

How to properly breed rabbits:

The female must be in heat. Signs: loss of appetite, pinching down, genitals swell and turn bright pink. The male is active, young and of average fatness.
The maximum number of coats per day for a male is 2 times.
Remove all accessories from the cage. Place the female in the cage with the male. The ideal temperature for the process is 24-25 degrees.
The end of the covering is when the male falls on his side and purrs. Immediately remove the female and do not allow repeated coverings of the same rabbit.
After 5 days, place the animals together again. If the female avoids intimacy and does not allow the male to approach, it means that the first mating was successful.

Definition of pregnancy

The entire period of gestation of a female rabbit requires special attention from the breeder to her condition.

Signs of pregnancy:

Refusal of mating.
On the 15th day, in the back of the rabbit’s abdomen, you can feel a couple of chains of small bulges, 2-3 cm in size.
A week before giving birth, the female makes a straw nest.
During the day, she plucks her down and puts it in the nest.
During the entire pregnancy, the rabbit eats heavily and quickly gains weight.

Pregnancy and childbirth

The gestation period for cubs is 28-35 days, on average about 1 month. The time depends on the size, health and breed of rabbits. The more embryos a rabbit has in her belly, the sooner they will be born.

It is better to isolate a pregnant female from stress: noise, din, bright light source. During childbirth, there should always be a lot of water in the cage, since the new mother can eat her babies from thirst.

During pregnancy and after giving birth, treat your rabbit to carrots, cabbage and beets, herb hay, and vitamins.

Features of winter breeding

In winter, mating is not very active; instead, pets gain weight in order to warm themselves by increasing body weight. The actual coating procedure is planned on a day when severe frosts are not expected.

Pregnant females do not suffer in winter if you carefully take care of the arrangement of their home: insulate it, provide artificial lighting in the queen cell.

Biological characteristics of rabbits

The rabbit is a rodent mammal belonging to the Zaitsev family. The domestic rabbit is descended from the wild South European one.

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 manage without the help of a female rabbit at 3-4 weeks of life. They begin to eat food on their own without stopping drinking milk.

The time that the rabbits will spend in the queen cell depends on the amount of milk from the mother. Milk production can be determined by the appearance of the cubs. If their skin is smooth, without folds, and they lie quietly, then the milk content is high. The highest occurs after 4 births.

Obesity and low physical activity of the animal can reduce milk production.

An obese female cannot become pregnant. To avoid this problem, you need to reconsider her diet: increase the amount of greens, limit the consumption of grain and mixed feed. And give more space so she can move.

Rabbits see much worse than they smell. If you give someone else's baby to a rabbit, she will identify it by smell, regardless of color. She will not accept strangers. Rabbits also get used to new food by sniffing for a long time.

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

The digestive system of rabbits is well developed. The stomach is voluminous and is characterized by high digestibility of food due to the high acidity of gastric secretions.

The food can remain in the animal’s stomach for 3-10 hours. The rabbit's intestines are 10 times longer than the length of the animal (up to 6 meters).

Another peculiarity of rabbits is that they eat their excrement at night. They contain a large amount of protein and vitamin B. This is how rabbits have adapted to replenish the required microelements by the body.

Slaughter

The slaughter process is the most unpleasant action, but if you keep rabbits for meat, you need to study the intricacies of the process. Experienced rabbit breeders advise starting slaughter no earlier than the animal is 4 months old and never slaughter pregnant or lactating rabbits.

Procedure:

Before the scheduled day, place the animal separately and do not feed it so that the stomach and intestines are cleansed.
Remove the rabbit carefully, holding it by the hind legs.
Using a stick wrapped in rags, deliver a precise blow to the back of the head.
Place the carcass on spacers, pierce the artery through the mouth, remove the eyes and wait until the blood drains completely.

General recommendations for arranging a rabbitry

Regardless of which method the farmer chooses, the following recommendations for keeping rabbits must be followed:

It is advisable to place rabbits at a certain distance from other pets and birds as well.
If you choose outdoor rabbit breeding, you need to make sure that the area with rodents is surrounded by trees. Of course, this recommendation applies not to small home farms, but to industrial farms. The most suitable tree is birch. If the territory and budget allow, then trees should be planted on the territory of the farm itself. All this is necessary in order to create the necessary climate for animals. The crown of the trees will serve as protection from the scorching sun in the summer, and also protect from the cold in the winter.

Taking care of your health

Diseases of eared pets can lead to the death of an entire herd, so you should respond in time to any changes in the appearance and behavior of pets.

Basic diseases and prevention

All diseases are divided into contagious and non-contagious.

Main diseases of rabbits:

Pneumomycosis is a fungus of the respiratory tract. Manifested by sneezing, heavy breathing and yellowness of the mucous membranes. It is necessary to monitor the cleanliness of cages and feeders and change food on time. The disease cannot be treated, sick individuals are killed, and the cage after the animal is filled with formaldehyde to kill microorganisms.
Scabies is caused by a mite. The skin peels around the ears, nose, eyes, spreading to the whole body. Only disinfection and lubricating the affected areas of the skin with turpentine will help.
Ear scabies - sores and blisters on the skin. The treatment is the same, but the cage is disinfected with creolin.
Bronchitis. Occurs from drafts and sudden temperature changes. It is treated with Tromexin, Brovaseptol and Brovafom, and the cage is additionally insulated.
Worms are accompanied by weight loss. For prevention purposes, you should systematically clean your pets' houses, change drinking bowls and feeders, treating them with steam. “Naftamon” helps sick animals.
Conjunctivitis B - appears due to mechanical damage to the eyes and a lack of vitamin A. Visually, it is redness and swelling of the eyes, constant production of tears and the appearance of eye pus. Animals' eyes should be washed with 2% boric acid.
Mastitis. The rabbit's udder becomes hard and red. Wounds and ulcers appear on it. The house must be kept clean and be sure to call a veterinarian for an inspection.
Myxomatosis is the most dangerous disease. Tumors appear in the form of nodules on the head, near the anus and genitals; drooping pet ears also signal a disease. It is necessary to administer the vaccine to animals in a timely manner, to disinfect rabbit household items and the premises where they are kept.

The purchased rabbit must be kept in quarantine for 3 weeks before being placed with other animals.

Vaccination

In order for rabbits to get sick less often in the future, timely vaccination should be carried out.

Approximate vaccination schedule:

at 45 days – from hemorrhagic disease;
at 2 months – from myxomatosis;
3 months after the previous one – from myxomatosis;
repeated against hemorrhagic disease - 2 weeks after the third.

Castration

Veterinarians advise castration of rabbits between the ages of 4 and 25 months. It is not recommended to castrate individuals over 4 years old, and it is prohibited for those over 6 years old.

Pros of castration:

increased life expectancy, improved health;
reducing the risk of genital diseases;
stopping “marking” of territory;
reduction of conflict between males;
acceleration of weight gain;
improving the condition of the skin.