Bunny rabbit is responsible, it requires attention from the farmer. Rabbit breeding is a fairly common type of animal husbandry, since these animals differ in simple maintenance requirements. However, here, too, it is necessary to have certain information, in particular, when and how the home care should be taken.
Okrol rabbit
What factors should be taken into account in order for the rabbit to successfully bear and give birth to healthy offspring? It is better to cover the long-eared so that rabbits will be scoured in the winter. Usually puberty in rabbits occurs by 3-4 months. However, this does not mean complete readiness for mating in a few days. In rabbits, the optimal age for the first mating is 5-6 months, for males it is 7-8.
How long it takes for a rabbit to have an okrol may depend on the breed and on the body weight. The average readiness for mating is the achievement of animals weighing 3.5-4 kg, which is about 60% of the total weight. By following simple and tried-and-true rules, you can avoid contingencies and achieve better productivity and, therefore, farm prosperity.
Preparing for the mating
To okrol went as smoothly as possible, you need to carefully consider the planning of mating. In order to get large and healthy litters, you should not allow sick and weak individuals to mate, which could affect the quality and reproductive capacity of the entire herd. It is necessary to be able to accurately determine the readiness of the female for mating before putting her in the cage with the male. In terms of behavior, the period of sexual hunting in females is usually manifested by excitement, aggressiveness, and “nesting” (the rabbit begins to pluck down fluff on her chest and abdomen, prepares a nest for future offspring).
Physical signs are also present: the sexual loop and nipples turn bright pink, appetite decreases, and ear temperature may rise. On the 14th day before the planned mating, it is recommended to introduce concentrated mineral and vitamin feeds into the diet, and feed the males with potatoes, steamed oats or other grains. In rabbits, ovulation is provoked, which means that their estrus period depends on the diet, the mating process and the season. That is why, for the most successful mating, you can also artificially increase the length of daylight hours, stretching it up to 16 hours.
Mating area
For mating, it is important that the male is on its territory, and not vice versa. The rabbit will need time to get used to an unfamiliar place, sometimes the female behaves aggressively. So if for some reason you have to put the male with the rabbit to mate, you should give him time (about a day) or even a few days and carefully monitor their behavior. The couple is left together for 2-4 hours. For mating and in order to re-cover, it is better to choose an early morning or evening in the summer and afternoon in the winter.
How to understand that the territory is chosen correctly and the male makes plans for the rabbit? It can be determined by the behavior of the male: after mating games and mating, he falls on his side and publishes a characteristic squeak or rumbling.
Overexposing a young rabbit with a male is not useful. Fertility will again be less, the female is able to refuse to feed the offspring, the period for breeding is also reduced. In addition, after reaching the age of six months, rabbits begin to rapidly gain weight, which is why rabbits lose their ability to reproduce.
Seasonal features of okrol
Since in rabbits ovulation is provoked, seasonal (winter or spring) changes in temperature, daylight hours, and diet are important. There are periods most favorable for reproduction and even a certain day. Depending on the season, rabbits will be born, different in degree of endurance, resistance to disease, and ability to reproduce. Sometimes there are dead rabbits. How much and what will turn out is not known in advance. The farmer needs to know what season the compacted okrol allows, and when it is ineffective and even harmful to the economy.
Rabbits breed in both winter and summer. However, seasonal animal care has its own characteristics that directly affect the quality of the litter and the health of the female. Oddly enough, but it is in winter and early spring that stronger and healthier rabbits with thick fur are born, and pregnancy is less likely to complicate. The best breeders grow out of winter rabbits, although the number of cubs in the litter in summer is greater, animals are often born weak.
The first round of the rabbit Chamomile
Okrol or giving birth to a rabbit.
Inspection of the mother liquor. Okrol rabbits
The autumn period is considered the most unfortunate time for okrol, therefore, with the beginning of molting, which takes a lot of energy from the animals, it is worth taking a break for rest (40-60 days) to allow the rabbits to recover for the most critical winter season. When breeding in winter, cages or a house for animals should be additionally insulated (for example, with plywood or plexiglass). And yet, despite the cold, it is in winter that hunting and (with proper care) pregnancy in rabbits proceeds with the least risk of complications, so this time most happily leads to mating.
Training
A week after the first mating, a second control should be carried out to make sure that it is successful. The pregnant rabbit will try not to let the male approach her: she runs away from him, issuing a characteristic squeak. This path does not always allow to reliably determine pregnancy, therefore, in the second week, another procedure is usually carried out: the female is laid with her muzzle towards herself and, gently holding her by the ears and withers, gently palpate the abdominal wall. If the rabbit is pregnant (sucrol), the uterus will be enlarged, embryos are probed, similar to elongated soft peas.
If the result is positive, it’s time to prepare for a baptism. Pregnancy in rabbits lasts an average of 30 days. The number of baby rabbits in one litter can vary greatly: from one to two dozen. However, extremes are undesirable and females that gave such offspring should not be left for breeding. An average of 5-7 pups is the most optimal. It is preferable to give food to a pregnant rabbit in a larger volume (up to 30%), it is important to monitor the volume of drinking water. For pregnant females, it is better to equip comfortable insulated nesting boxes.
If there is a built-in queen cell, it must be prepared and disinfected in advance, and the litter must be replaced with a new one so that no difficulties arise during childbirth. The nest for future rabbits can also be additionally insulated with a fresh portion of hay for comfort. However, all these manipulations must be carried out very leisurely and without sudden movements, so as not to frighten the rabbit and thereby not provoke an abortion or miscarriage. It is very important that the pregnant rabbit feels safe.
Carrying out an okrol
The behavior of the female before giving birth changes, sometimes the rabbit breathes heavily. She is also worried and is warming the nest for rabbits about a week before the offspring. All the necessary preparations must be carried out in advance: cleaning and disinfection of the cell, installing the mother liquor, insulating the nest. The first homely bunny rabbit has the most difficult time for the rabbit breeder.
The optimal conditions will contribute to a successful round-up:
- clean and dry bedding;
- fencing from bright light;
- comfortable temperature conditions;
- quiet environment.
Nest or cage dimensions
- Miniature individuals - 25 * 25 * 35 cm.
- The average size of the rabbits is 30 * 30 * 45 cm.
- Large individuals - 35 * 35 * 55 cm.
Childbirth most often begins at night, but you should not lose your vigilance during the day. The whole process takes from 10 minutes to an hour. If after this time the round has not occurred, it is worth calling the veterinarian. After giving birth, the rabbit eats the afterbirth to restore the lost trace elements. You can understand that the okrol is over by the behavior of the rabbit. If she is calm, her belly has fallen, everything went well. At home, the rabbit gradually recovers after birth and moves to the usual rhythm of life.
Most often, this is where the difficulties end, but sometimes it happens that the rabbits refuse to feed the offspring. Mom may even start biting her babies (especially if the birth was difficult). In this case, the female should be carefully examined and the problem identified. Most rabbits are very kind to their offspring.
They insulate the nest with the feathers plucked from the chest and abdomen, then they cover the newborn rabbits with it and after a few days make a hole in the nest for ventilation. And if the rabbit refuses to feed the cubs, she doesn’t eat and drink herself, there must be a reason for this.
What if this continues for several days? The most common cause is hardened or cracked nipples. In this case, the animal needs to be carefully examined, massage its nipples and, holding, attach each baby. Gradually, the animal will get used to it and will feed the cubs. If the rabbit does not eat herself, but feeds the cubs, then it may be worth improving her diet. Before any procedure, hands must be rubbed down and hay from the nest so as not to scare away the female with extraneous odors.
Productivity after childbirth
Immediately after giving birth, the female first puts herself in order, she always eats the afterbirth and licks herself. After this, the turn of rabbits will come: she will lick everyone and feed her. The female, if this is her first round, is able to get confused. Then you need to make sure that the rabbits are covered with down and do not freeze. If there was a natural winter fencing in rabbits, the place of birth must be insulated.
The first birth of a rabbit requires close attention of the breeder, since for the future breeding work of the female, it is necessary to determine her maternal qualities and milk production. It is important for the baby that there is plenty of milk.
Milkiness can be determined by the state and behavior of the cubs. If the young are calm, they have firm skin, they are full. If the cubs squeak, and the skin looks shriveled, milk is clearly not enough. Is it necessary to either plant it with another individual or feed artificially? If the female (or her mother) had mastitis, it is better to keep her out of mating. In addition, cannibalism can be characteristic of young rabbits.
If the rabbit was okrol and she ate the young, the reason for this was:
- fright;
- improper feeding;
- lack of vitamins;
- lack of fluid;
- obesity.
If the rabbit eats kids, she is no longer allowed for breeding, so it is important to maintain a comfortable environment. Sometimes it may happen that the rabbit had a scent, and the young growth is born outside a warm nest or crawls out on its own. In this case, you need to rub your hands with hay and down from the nest and put the cubs back, covering them with down. The animal for this procedure is lured from the nest, and then launched back after 20 minutes, when the odors of others disappear.
Useful Tips
After the bunny rabbits should be counted immediately. If there is a suspicion that there are stillborn individuals in the litter, there are blood stains, it is better, again, to lure the rabbit out of the nest with a treat, rub your palms with fluff and hay and examine the nest. During lactation, intervention from the breeder should be minimal.
During regular cleaning and inspection of the nest, care must be taken not to irritate the rabbit with odors. Feeding should still be large compared to normal volume. Sometimes, if one rabbit has 2-3 little bunnies in the litter, and the other has more than a dozen, equalization is performed to protect the female with excess offspring from exhaustion. However, this procedure is not always possible, because females rarely take alien cubs.
After the young are placed in a new nest, they should be wiped with the hay that is in this nest so that the new female recognizes them. It is worth preliminarily observing and evaluating the maternal qualities of the host female and the milk production of an individual with excess offspring. Perhaps you should just cut back on the frequency of breeding for the second and let her feed her little rabbits on her own.
Twin pregnancy
Double pregnancy is a rare phenomenon associated with the physiological characteristics of rabbits. Females have a two-horned uterus, which theoretically allows her to be fertilized with eggs from one ovary at the first cover, and with a control mating - again from another. In this case, one rabbit can bear cubs of different ages at the same time. A second fertilization can also occur when females and males are kept together, which is highly undesirable for a variety of reasons. In the case of a double pregnancy, the breeder may find out a week after birth that the female has delivered a second litter.
Is this good or bad? For two reasons, this can be regarded as a negative phenomenon. Firstly, if a twin pregnancy remains undetected, the necessary preparations are not made for a repeated birth, which occurs after the same period of time as the second fertilization. Secondly, double pregnancy depletes the female very much, and the offspring are born weak and painful. We must remain vigilant. If the female is thin again, do not neglect the additional manual check of the rabbit's fertility.
Mating after okroli
When can a male be allowed to attend a rabbit after an okrol? Physiologically, the time for re-mating after mating is calculated based on the condition of the individual. If she is not sick, she is ready for mating on the second day after. Some breeders practice such a tight schedule of incidents, but experts unanimously speak out in favor of the most optimal regimen, in which at least 2 months pass between mating. The calculation is simple: after mating, a month of pregnancy follows, then the female feeds the rabbits for about 3 weeks. For a year with this mode, you can get 6 offspring. More frequent okroli deplete the female, the quality of the offspring is deteriorating, the term of breeding of the animal is reduced.