Care and raising of rabbits at home. Disease prevention, vaccination, sanitary rules

You won’t find so many ideas for starting your own business these days in the press and on the Internet! Those who have even a modest summer cottage plot (not to mention a spacious rural house with a plot of land) are given a ton of ideas in the form of recommendations - from growing oyster mushrooms in the basement to organizing an ostrich farm.

Among those who are thinking about starting their own business, the rabbit breeding business is becoming increasingly popular. But you should know: for your business to be truly profitable, you need a clear understanding of the specifics of such an industry. In this article we will talk about what features are involved in raising these furry animals, whether it is profitable to breed rabbits or not.

What are the benefits of rabbit meat?

There are mainly three types of meat on the shelves of supermarkets and grocery stores. We are talking about pork, beef and lamb. Meanwhile, rabbit meat has a number of advantages regarding quality, taste and benefits for the human body. That is, this market niche can still be considered relatively free.

The absorption of rabbit meat by the human body is better and more productive compared to beef or pork. This indicator - the percentage of digestibility - in this case reaches 90% against the usual 60% in other types of meat. And thanks to its low fat content, rabbit meat is a wonderful dietary product.

Thus, if you have an excellent, tasty and healthy food product, combined with low competition in this segment, you can confidently predict the high profitability of your chosen business. That is, the answer to the question of whether it is profitable to breed rabbits is definitely positive.

Characteristic signs of business

What features are inherent in domestic rabbit breeding? The main one is the high ability of these animals to reproduce. The female carries the cubs for 30 days, and re-fertilization is possible almost immediately after birth. The productivity of an adult rabbit during the year is about 200 babies. In terms of a useful product, this amounts to about 500 kilograms of rabbit meat.

They are bred for different purposes. Breeds of rabbits for breeding for meat are gray or white giant, as well as ram. In order to obtain fluffy fur, they choose rex, butterfly, and white downy. In addition, it is possible to breed decorative rabbits. There are also universal options. For example, Soviet chinchillas or gray giants are breeds of rabbits for breeding for meat and obtaining skins at the same time.

During the breeding process, good care and proper nutrition are very important. The more comfortable the living conditions, the higher the quality of mating and, as a result, the health of the little rabbits. The number of matings can be increased by minimizing the number of stress factors. And without high-quality, balanced nutrition, talking about animal health is pointless.

Pros and cons of a rabbit farm

What advantages does this business have over other livestock farming options? Its main advantages are high profitability, short payback period, minimal competition and stable demand. The combination of these factors looks very attractive, but at the same time some negative aspects should be taken into account.

So, for the high-quality maintenance of these clean little animals in cages, regular (that is, daily) cleaning is required. Otherwise, the entire livestock may be susceptible to disease. Shy animals grow and reproduce well only in a calm, favorable atmosphere without even minimal stress.

Rabbits require constant monitoring. In the absence of food and even water, a female rabbit is capable of eating her own offspring. Breeding rabbits at home for beginners may seem like a troublesome and difficult task at first.

Getting down to business

Where to start breeding rabbits? In what form is business possible in this area? There are two such varieties: either in the form of individual entrepreneurship, or with the organization of a private farm. The first option is especially popular among those who are starting from scratch. Its main advantage is a reduction in the tax base and a simplified accounting scheme. If you decide to start a farm, you can count on receiving a subsidy from the state.

But in any form of activity, success largely depends on a well-thought-out business plan.

Rabbit farming as a business: where to start?

Before you start creating your own rabbit farm, as in any type of business, you should analyze the potential market, paying attention to a number of important characteristics. We are talking about market saturation, the presence of a potential buyer in accessible proximity, the degree of intensity of competitive activity and the solution of transport issues.

Having clarified the situation for yourself, you can move on to the next step - choosing a land plot. Its area must be at least 15 acres, and your future rabbit breeding farm must be located away from your home.

Having purchased or rented a plot, you can begin setting up your planned business. The initial financial investment can be quite significant, but due to the short payback period and high profitability of this type of activity, this is not a problem.

Is it profitable to breed rabbits compared to, say, chinchillas or nutrias? The capacity of your business can be increased many times over thanks to the high reproductive qualities of the animals, and this is a significant additional advantage. In general, breeding any domestic animals, like other types of agricultural business, is very, very in demand these days.

What should be on your site

The next step of the rabbit breeder businessman will be to compile a list of buildings whose presence on the site is mandatory. Each of them should be placed on the plan of the site allocated for the future company. What applies to such buildings?

• Sheds. This is the name given to the premises where rabbits will live and breed. Such “industrial” rabbit hutches are made from wood with windows covered with welded mesh. The more comfortable the rabbits are in the sheds, the better the breeding process will be, and the less fear the owner will have for the health of the pets. The minimum number of sheds is from 3 pieces.
• Feed workshop. This is a kind of warehouse where food for rabbits can be stored for the next few months. If you spare no expense and equip your feed shop with a granulator and a grain crusher, the costs will quickly pay off.

• The slaughterhouse premises must have a fully equipped meat shop and a spacious refrigerator. Due to high hygiene requirements, the materials for its construction are metal-plastic and tiles.
• Tools, equipment and necessary building materials should be kept in a separate shed.

A spacious manure pit should be dug not far from the site. With regular replenishment, it is possible to sell manure as fertilizer to surrounding farmers.

What do you need rabbits for?

When starting to breed livestock, decide on the objectives of cultivation, and from here plan methods for breeding rabbits. What is your goal - skins, meat or both? Having understood this issue, choose the desired breed. Let's say your choice is gray giant rabbits. Breeding, growing and caring for them requires certain knowledge.

For beginners, it would be wisest to get one of the local purebred breeds. They usually have an affordable price, ease of acquisition and the ability to consult with other rabbit breeders.

Then start drawing up a business plan with upcoming expenses and income outlined in it. In addition, you should take care of registering your own business.

What is better for a future rabbit breeder - to purchase a plot or rent it? This depends not only on the size of the initial investment, but also on the long-term goals of the future businessman. If you decide to take this profitable business seriously, it is better to purchase the land as your own. When rent is due, monthly expenses to cover it must be provided for in the business plan.

About norms and rules

When breeding rabbits, a number of sanitary requirements must be met to prevent diseases in the rabbit environment. In this regard, there are certain rules according to which premises for rabbit livestock are designed, down to the slope of the roof and the installation of floors.

Other requirements relate to the location of buildings within the site. The slaughterhouse must be at a distance of at least 50-60 m from the rabbit cages. Sick rabbits should be quarantined at a distance of 100 meters from the sheds. The manure storage facility also needs to be moved outside the farm - no closer than 100 meters. All distances are in the direction of prevailing winds.

What and how to feed rabbits

In nutrition, these animals are quite whimsical compared to other types of farm animals. Their daily diet requires a mandatory combination of different types of food - green (herbs, cereals, legumes), juicy, such as vegetables or root vegetables, rough and silage, as well as concentrated, consisting of bran, grain or mixed feed.

To calculate the need for the amount of feed, we proceed from the fact that gaining a weight of 4 kilograms for one animal requires about ten kilos of hay and 15 kg of compound feed. Other elements serve as additives to the diet at different times of the year. In the warm season (spring and summer), be sure to feed the rabbits with green and roughage; in the fall and winter, do not neglect silage and juicy ones.

Breeding rabbits at home for beginners can come with a number of surprises. Monitoring the freshness and balance of the supplied feed is very important. There should not be the slightest trace of rot or mold. Too dry food is also not welcome - animals can choke on it.

About rabbit housing

Do not forget that these animals are rodents, that is, the cages must be constructed of high-quality and durable material.

Compared to poultry or nutria, rabbits are more prone to comfort. The range of temperatures suitable for their normal life is from 2 to 30 degrees, but quality conditions for growth and reproduction require maintaining them in the range from 13 to 26 degrees.

There are several known methods by which the habitats of these animals are developed. Raising rabbits in earthen pits with carefully reinforced floors and walls is the simplest of all. This method is one of the lowest cost, but is used exclusively for meat breeds.

What are cells like?

The most common choice is to raise rabbits in enclosures. The most popular methods for household use include the so-called cellular method. The material for constructing the cages is wooden boards combined with a metal mesh. Female rabbits and offspring are housed separately from male rabbits.

The shed method already mentioned above is a system of several tiers of cells. The main advantage of this option is compact placement, which is important in conditions of a small site area.

It is also possible to keep it according to the so-called Mikhailov system, which is a small farm of three to four cells. Each of the mini-farms is equipped with ventilation, a manure collector, and, of course, drinkers and feeders. This method is most effective for high-quality growth and reproduction. But it also requires the greatest financial costs.

Where to sell?

Let's now talk about selling the resulting products. Its directions should be considered based on the volumes of the future economy. If they are small (about 500 rabbits annually), the meat can be sold for sale or sold independently, subjected to a sanitary and epidemiological inspection.

For large farm volumes, you will need to obtain some additional documents. We are talking about a farm certificate, the same phytosanitary one, and a GOST-R declaration. If you complete all of the above, at the same time as trading at the market, you will have the opportunity to sell meat to a network of supermarkets and grocery stores.

Indicative business plan for rabbit breeding

Let's draw up and analyze a sample business plan for setting up a small farm for one hundred livestock. What are the costs?

The process of building rabbit cages will cost about 50,000 rubles; to buy one hundred heads of young animals, add another 30,000 rubles. (the exact amount depends on the breed), from 70,000 to 150,000 rubles. will have to be spent on purchasing feed. Add another 20,000 rubles. for veterinarian services, utility costs and other small items. Total: the expenses part of the business plan can contain a figure from 170,000 to 250,000 rubles.

Now about income

100 rabbits will yield about 200 kilograms of meat. At a wholesale price of 200 rubles. per kilo and retail - 400 rubles. It is actually possible to sell all products for an amount of about 400,000 rubles. For the proceeds of the skins - an additional 250 to 300 thousand rubles, let's take an average of 280,000. Total: the level of expected income is about 600-800 thousand rubles.

Even within the framework of the small farm given as an example, during the first year it is possible to receive about half a million rubles as profit. In the future, this figure will increase further, since there will be no more need to spend money on building new cells. As a result, the profitability figure for such a business ranges from 60% to 80%.

Things to remember

Of course, the above business plan for breeding rabbits is very conditional. The numbers can vary significantly, depending on the breed and number of specimens purchased, as well as the amount of initial investment. Much also depends on the region where the business is planned.

Among other things, this plan does not include rental costs (if any). Such expenses can also vary greatly by region and area. Equipment depreciation should also be taken into account. But in general, the above calculation gives a general idea of ​​the profitability of the business in question.

Conclusion: such an activity is quite profitable and attractive in terms of money. And yet, despite the confident “yes!” in response to the question whether it is profitable to breed rabbits, it should only be done by those who are not afraid of the specifics of this business and the associated difficulties in the form, for example, of the need to slaughter furry pets.

Wild rabbits are well known for their fertility. Since in nature they are hunted by predators, it is extremely important for them to have numerous offspring to survive. However, raising domestic rabbits requires a lot of effort and is therefore not suitable for everyone. If you only see rabbits as pets, then breeding them may not be the best idea for you. However, if you want to raise rabbits for meat or want to become a breeder of a particular breed, then you will need a good breeding pair, the mental commitment to success (or failure) and an understanding of the amount of work that lies ahead of you.

Steps

Part 1

Decide why you decided to breed rabbits. Raising rabbits is a huge responsibility and requires a considerable amount of time, effort and patience. Before you start this business, you need to understand why you need it. Will you be selling 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 matter. If you don't have enough time, if you might get tired of all this, and you later consider the possibility of surrendering your rabbits to an animal shelter, reconsider your plans.

Research information about different rabbit breeds. 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 suits you. The following is information about 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 rabbit will depend on its availability, cost and your preferences. The purpose of breeding rabbits will also influence the choice of the breed you need. Some people want to raise rabbits for sale and for exhibition, while others prefer to keep them as pets, and still others plan to raise them for meat.

Use for breeding rabbits of suitable age. Use of females for breeding must begin from the moment they reach sexual maturity. For small breed rabbits this age is 5-6 months. Larger breeds can be bred from 8-9 months. Males are usually breedable at around 6 months in small breeds, 7 months in medium-sized breeds and 9 months in large breeds.

Even before breeding begins, take care of selecting future owners for your rabbits. Make sure you have enough cages to house your rabbits from the time they are weaned, and that you can bear all the costs that come with raising rabbits. Decide what you will do with the rabbits after weaning.

Part 2

Rabbits mating

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

   Place the female with the male. If you place a male with a female, her scent will be present everywhere in her territory, which will distract the male and may cause him to start marking his territory. This can cause rabbits to fight. Therefore, always place the female with the male.

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

   Feel the female's belly to determine if she is pregnant. The best method for determining whether a rabbit is pregnant is palpation. At the same time, the female’s abdomen is felt with fingers to determine 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 beginning breeders to resort to this method 10-14 days after mating the animals.

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

Part 3

Caring for a pregnant rabbit

1. Provide your rabbit with extra hay and bedding. Around the 22nd day of pregnancy, a nest box must be placed in the female's cage. She will make her nest in it. The nest should contain soft straw, hay or pine sawdust. Leave some extra building material near the nest box so she can build the nest as she pleases. To fill the nest, the female rabbit will also pluck fur from her chest and abdomen.

   Provide the rabbit with peace and quiet. A pregnant rabbit needs to be provided with a calm environment. You should not pick it up unless absolutely necessary. Otherwise, you may harm the embryos developing in her belly. If you need to lift the rabbit, then under no circumstances lift her by the belly.

   Expect labor to occur 32-33 days after mating. The female rabbit will begin to prepare the nest on about 29-32 days of pregnancy, and will give birth on days 32-33. If you find her in labor, give her the opportunity to cope on her own. There is a high probability that labor will occur at night while you are still sleeping. Female rabbits tend to give birth before dawn.

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

Part 4

Caring for the rabbit and her offspring after birth

Feed your rabbit more than usual. After giving birth, provide the rabbit with dry food in unlimited quantities, since feeding rabbits will greatly deprive her body of nutrients. Don't stop giving her vegetables, but don't increase them either. If you increased the volume of vegetables in your feeding immediately before childbirth, then the volume of vegetables given can be increased again no earlier than 3-4 days after birth. If your rabbit's excrement begins to liquefy, stop feeding vegetables immediately.

Learn how to properly handle your rabbit after giving birth. If your rabbit doesn't mind you petting her and reacts normally to it, and you have a good relationship with her, then it's a good idea to let her out of the cage for a little exercise. If your rabbit is used 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 any dead babies.

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

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

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

Animals can be kept in free-standing cages outside the premises, a special pit can be dug to house them, or cages can be mounted in a special barn.

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

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

We select a male and a female

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

What will we feed

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

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

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

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

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

Disease Prevention

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

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

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

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

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

Force majeure situations

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

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

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

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

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

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

The most unpretentious and useful pets are rabbits, because they provide not only valuable fur, but also healthy dietary meat. Breeding rabbits at home is popular today. Although it is low-cost, you can not only provide food for your family, but also make a profit. Caring for rabbits does not require any special skills. You can even breed them in an apartment or on a balcony.

You can even raise rabbits on the balcony

Where to begin?

Breeding and caring for rabbits is not a complicated science that takes years to master. For new farmers, rabbit farming is an excellent practice. Breeding a farm begins with the acquisition of a female and a male for rapid development, or young animals, which will be cheaper, but it will take longer for the first offspring to appear. Before purchasing animals, it is necessary to equip cages or boxes for their maintenance.

Where to buy rabbits?

Today the sales markets are quite extensive. Eared pets can be bought at farms, pet markets, through an advertisement in a newspaper or on the Internet. A better option for buying rabbits would be a rabbit farm, since there you can see animals of different breeds, get advice from breeders and learn about the advantages of each breed individually.

Rabbits on the farm

Choosing a breed for breeding

Thanks to the development of selection, today you can find rabbits of various breeds. The following breeds are popular:

• Flanders;
• Risen;
• white and gray giants;
• New Zealand red and white;
• Californian;
• European silver (beautiful breed);
• rexes.

If you are going to engage in rabbit breeding for profit, then you should opt for such breeds as the gray giant, Risen, and Californian.

Rabbit breeds are divided into the following types:

• meat;
• meat skins;
• sandpaper.

Therefore, you should decide for what purpose to breed rabbits, and then decide on the choice of breed. Care and maintenance of meat breeds is simpler and less expensive.

Skin rabbit

Mating and breeding

To achieve healthy and strong offspring, you need to familiarize yourself with the basics of breeding these animals. The female and male begin to mate at the age of six months. During the period of readiness, the female rabbit becomes active, and her genitals swell. At this time, she is placed next to the male. Once fertilized, the rabbits will be born in 28-30 days.

The birth process in rabbits takes an hour. The babies are born bald and blind. During the first week of their life, they become twice as large and overgrown with fur. In the first three weeks, they are fed exclusively with mother's milk, and she also takes care of them. They should be introduced to an adult diet gradually. When the young rabbits reach 35-40 days of age, they are transplanted into separate cages, and the female rabbit is sent for re-mating. In female rabbits, the reproductive period lasts up to 3 years, and after that they are slaughtered.

Despite the fact that raising rabbits at home is not a difficult process, it is still not worth taking a large number of animals at once. It is better to increase them gradually. To begin with, it is better to try caring for a couple of rabbits.

Every rabbit breeder must have basic aspects, such as the room where the animals will be kept, cages, food, hay, etc.

It is better to start breeding rabbits with one pair

Room for rabbits

Rabbits are unpretentious animals. Therefore, the room for them can be either simple or insulated. There should be no drafts in the room. It is necessary to ensure that the air humidity is 60-70%. In winter, cages with animals should not be taken outside, and in summer they must be kept outdoors at all times.

In winter, it is necessary to install dim lighting in the room; the light should work for at least 8 hours.

If you have taken breeding rabbits, then the room where you will keep them must be insulated. Some breeds are very heat-loving. The room temperature must be constant. A barn where the cages are located is usually used as a room. If there are warm winters, keeping eared pets is possible right on the street. Cell care must be constant.

Feeding

The diet of animals at home should not be very different from their natural diet. The main food used is root vegetables, fresh hay, dried wild plants, as well as grain crops, among which rabbits prefer oats, carrots, cabbage, lettuce, and apples. It is also necessary to give them branches of fruit trees every day to prevent dental diseases.

Twigs are needed for grinding teeth

In the summer, pets are grazed. To do this, they build enclosures on the street so that they do not run away. You can release them as soon as the dew disappears. Before serving them fresh grass, it must be dried, as wet greens are harmful to them.

For rabbits, three proper meals a day. Be sure to add chalk and salt to your food. Everything must be carried out according to schedule: food, maintenance, and care. Do not forget that clean water must always be present in the cells.

Usually, female rabbits are excellent and caring mothers. They arrange the nest themselves, where they then give birth to their offspring. But even among female rabbits there are cases when they abandon their babies. But little ones need care and feeding. Therefore, they are given to another rabbit, or fed independently using a syringe or a bottle with a nipple.

Caring for young animals is easy, the main thing is to do everything on time. As the young grow older, they are gradually tamed to roughage.

Caring for baby rabbits is quite simple

The main mistakes of novice rabbit breeders

Beginning rabbit breeders have problems with offspring and keeping animals. This happens due to the following errors:

• The principle “in crowded conditions but not in any way offended” is not about rabbits; they don’t like crowding. There are no more than 3-4 individuals in one cage.
• Give preference not to metal cages, but to plywood boxes that you can make yourself. Caring for pets in such a cage is a little more difficult, but they are the safest for animals. They are quite often injured by the cut. There are cases when pets freeze exposed soft tissues to the wire. If rabbits are kept in an apartment, then metal cages are also suitable.
• After the female rabbit has given birth and fed them for the first time, she should be placed in another cage for a while. Sometimes a female rabbit eats her offspring.
• Mating is systemic in nature, so females and males should be kept separate from each other.
• You can’t slaughter all the rabbits at once; a couple are always left behind.

Raising rabbits at home is a simple task. The main thing is to stock up on everything you need, regularly care for your pets, and feed them properly and fully. Even in an apartment it will not be difficult to keep several rabbits, and proper care will prevent the smell from appearing.

Rabbits are one of the most successful objects for domestic animal husbandry. If you provide these animals with proper care, they will reproduce beautifully and quickly. In addition to the fact that rabbit meat is an excellent dietary meat, rabbit fur, although not very valuable, is widely used. Therefore, in order for you to succeed, you need to know how to properly breed rabbits. Let's look at 4 basic rules you need to know.

Rule 1. Recognize the disease in time

Today there are many different breeds of rabbits. Each has individual characteristics, but there are also behavioral norms common to the entire family. Caring for the health of animals is extremely important; the ideal option would be. A rabbit breeder should learn to identify the initial stages of the disease, otherwise one sick individual can infect the entire herd.

Having noticed the first alarming signs, you should isolate the animal and call a veterinarian. It is not difficult to identify the first symptoms of the disease - the rabbit becomes inactive and hides in a corner. He may have a cloudy look, uneven breathing, and the color and appearance of stool will change. It is better to vaccinate the entire herd for prevention, since rabbits are prone to many diseases.

A novice rabbit breeder needs to keep in mind that rabbits have very delicate skin; cages for keeping them should not have sharp protrusions and corners. If the animal does get injured, immediately disinfect the wound.

Rule 2. The right cage for rabbits

Unfortunately, one of the common mistakes of novice rabbit breeders is a careless attitude towards the living conditions of the animals. This issue should be taken more carefully. Although rabbits can be raised in kennels, cages, and pits, cages are best suited for indoor rabbit farming.

There are special standards for rabbit cages. The sensitivity of animals to colds requires the absence of drafts in their homes. There should also be no sudden changes in temperature; the average temperature that is suitable for rabbits is 12-18 degrees, with a humidity of 60-70%. The illumination of the cells should be close to natural, but without direct sunlight.

It is especially important to keep rabbits clean. Animal waste products must be regularly cleaned from cages, and the sanitary cleanliness of the home must be maintained. Rabbit feces and urine, when decomposed, release substances that can lead to illness and even death of the animals.

It is very important to know about the peculiarities of keeping them during the cold season. Frosty winters place special demands on the insulation of premises for breeding rabbits. The indoor rabbitry is heated more or less simply. But cages located outside need to be carefully insulated. Cover the floor with a thick layer of hay or straw, and cover the walls with plywood, not forgetting about ventilation. Without the threat of colds, rabbits quickly gain weight and grow healthy.

You can easily make a rabbit cage with your own hands, video below

Rule 3. Proper nutrition for rabbits

The basic rules for proper breeding of rabbits must include adequate nutrition. It doesn’t hurt for new rabbit breeders to immediately learn that rabbits are not at all unpretentious animals, including in relation to food. A monotonous diet will certainly lead to metabolic disorders, diseases and possible death of the animal. In any guide for a novice rabbit breeder, you will find that the diet of rabbits consists of hay, grain, fresh grass, various roots and branches. Of course, it is better to arrange food for rabbits according to a schedule, at the same hours. Regular nutrition is great for growth.

Today you can purchase specially developed feed for rabbits, enriched with microelements and vitamins. Starting from spring, fresh, slightly dried grass must be introduced into the animal’s diet. However, not all grass is suitable for feeding rabbits, because there are also herbs that contain toxic substances. Dry grass, hay and straw no longer contain poisons. An experienced rabbit breeder makes complex dishes for his pets from mixed feed, vegetables, grains with vitamin supplements.

Vitamins are of great importance for active growth and the formation of high-quality fur in animals. Vitamin supplements are of primary importance in winter, when there is no fresh, vitamin-rich grass. Fish and meat and bone meal are used as vitamin supplements. A little table salt should also be added to the rabbits' diet; without it, animals develop poorly. Under no circumstances should rabbits be allowed to eat foods with mold or the slightest signs of rotting - this is fatal for rabbits.

Rule 4. Breeding rabbits is unthinkable without healthy offspring

There is an opinion that the number of rabbits is increasing extremely quickly and the herd can grow tens of times in a year. Rabbits, indeed, reproduce actively, but achieving such an increase requires high labor efficiency from the farmer. General advice for beginners is this: you need to start rabbit breeding by purchasing several females from different litters; one male is enough. It is better to mate animals when they have already grown up and become stronger, that is, not earlier than 7–8 months of age, although sexual maturity occurs already at the age of 4 months.

Pregnancy in rabbits lasts from 27 to 33 days. Naturally, you need to take every possible care of the female so that she does not experience any stress. It is necessary to equip a nest out of hay. Just before giving birth, the female rabbit plucks fluff from her belly, thus preparing a nest. It is extremely important that there is always fresh water in the cage, otherwise the rabbit may eat the droppings.

They are blind, without hair, weigh about 50 grams. Due to the high fat content and nutritional content of mother's milk, after a week their weight doubles, and by the age of a month it already reaches 500 grams. They need special attention and care from their owners. For the first few weeks, it is necessary to ensure that all the rabbits are fed and that no one is outside the nest, as this is fraught with hypothermia and, as a result, the death of the baby. Although baby rabbits begin feeding at 3 weeks of age, it is advisable to keep them with their mother for a couple of months.

For young animals, a special diet should be provided - nutritious, light feed. Be sure to include vitamins, raw and boiled vegetables, and milk powder.

Instructive video about the correct purchase of rabbits. This is the personal experience of a person who encountered unscrupulous sellers.