by Rabbit breeding is a fairly popular type of business. The fertility and precocity of these animals are a significant advantage. Dietary meat is in demand.
However, in order to raise healthy offspring, it is necessary to become familiar with the intricacies of this process. When breeding mammals, the owner of the animals receives not only meat, but also skin, fluff and fertilizers that can be sold.
If you take proper care of the animals, the female will be able to reproduce 5-6 times a year. Below you can find information about how rabbits are born and how to properly care for the female and her offspring.
Animals with high fertility
Rabbits are considered to be one of the most prolific mammals in the world. In the wild, they reach sexual maturity at 3 months.
The female rabbit is ready for mating when she barely reaches 2 kg of live weight. The pregnancy process lasts for 26-35 days. This directly depends on the number of future rabbits, the quality of nutrition, the temperature regime and the health of the female herself.
Young females give birth to 6-8 babies, and older animals give birth to up to 10-12 rabbits at a time.
The very next day, the rabbits that have given birth are ready to mate again, which is what happens in the wild. In a favorable climate, where the air temperature is consistently warm, and there is enough food, one female is capable of giving birth up to 9-10 times a year, bringing about 100 or more babies.
Considering that her young reach sexual maturity by 3-4 months, the total number of rabbits obtained from one original female per year can be up to 600 individuals.
What is the name of the birth in rabbits?
Mammals have the ability to reproduce frequently. Beginning livestock breeders are interested not only in the question of how rabbits give birth, but also in the correct name for this process.
Veterinarians call the birth of rabbits okrol (second name – lambing). The duration of pregnancy of a female rabbit can reach 40 days.
The birth process occurs only in the absence of people near the cage with the mammal. If the birth occurs without complications, then no assistance is required during the birth.
Important! Several weeks before the birth, the female is placed in a nest box, which is filled with a large amount of hay and straw, which the animal uses to build a nest.
A pregnant rabbit is a female rabbit that is pregnant.
How often do rabbits give birth? If the pregnant female is healthy, then it is possible to get up to 5-6 litters per year (weaker females give birth twice or three times a year). High precocity is a distinctive feature of mammals.
The birth of a female rabbit may begin not on the 40th day, but on the 32nd, so it is better to start preparing for the kindling in advance. During pregnancy, the behavior of the animals remains the same.
However, some individuals may become aggressive, like wild hares, or start looking for a secluded place to hide from humans. During this period, it is better not to disturb the animal often and provide it with a comfortable and calm environment.
How to deliver a baby?
Depending on how the rabbit gives birth, we can say whether human intervention is required in this process or not.
Quite often, the livestock breeder is required to exclusively control the kindling. It is important that the female gives birth on the straw, and not on the bare floor of the cage. The rabbits may die from hypothermia.
This is why, before the rabbits are born, the breeder must cover the entire cage with a thick layer of straw.
Providing assistance is advisable in cases where the female gives birth to giants (large-sized rabbits). That is why it is so important to periodically enter the room and double-check that everything is in order. Most often, the duration of labor does not exceed 20-40 minutes (in nature).
Important! In case of any complications, the kindling can last for a whole day. As soon as the birthing process comes to an end, the female begins to lick the offspring. At this point, it is important to count the babies and transfer those that have fallen from the nest to the straw in the nest.
Before picking up the babies, you should remove the human scent and take the doe out of the cage for 10 minutes (otherwise there is a risk that she will refuse to feed the offspring).
To do this, rub your hands with fluff and straw located in the nest. After 10-20 minutes, you can bring the female into the nest.
The rabbit gave birth, what to do next? If the birth was successful and the rabbits feel well, it is better not to disturb the mother and children for a couple of days.
How many rabbits does a doe give birth to?
This question worries every beginning livestock breeder. The number of offspring may depend not only on the breed, but also on personal reproductive characteristics.
In the first litter, a mammal is capable of bringing forth about 3-5 rabbits. Only in rare cases will a female bring forth slightly more rabbits.
Representatives of different breeds can produce different numbers of rabbits. However, the average number is the same for all mammals.
Starting from the second litter, the number of babies increases. Now the female can give birth to 7-10 rabbits. If there are more individuals in the litter, this can cause weakness of the newborns, because the mother is not able to fully feed such a crowd.
It is also important to know what age of a female is best for giving birth to rabbits at home.
It is advisable to use breeding individuals for the first three years of their life, and industrial females are not used longer than 12 months, despite the fact that the average life expectancy of mammals can reach 7 years.
Please note: By providing proper care and attention, you can increase the lifespan of a decorative rabbit to 12 years.
Methods of fertilization of rabbits
The process of mating rabbits is simple. To do this, you need to put the female in a cage with a mature male and keep them together for 2-4 hours.
In summer, it is better to do this in the evening and morning hours, when it is not too hot. In winter, on the contrary, the best time for mating is 11.00:16.00-:, when the air temperature in the barn is at its highest.
Next we will tell you what to do if the female rabbit is not fertilized after mating. This sometimes happens, and the breeder should move the female to another male’s cage after a week.
Some farmers immediately transfer the female from the cage with one producer to another. If fertilization has occurred, the female rabbit will not allow another male to approach her.
In winter, the pregnancy period lasts longer than in summer (up to 35 days). At this time, the female eats and drinks a lot of water, the size of her belly increases, and the milk nipples swell.
Preparing the cage and nest for kindling
Approximately 2 weeks before the expected kindling, the farmer must disinfect the premises in which the animals are kept. The cage is cleared of old bedding and covered with fresh hay or sawdust.
You can use well-dried moss, which females like to use to build their nests.
Make sure that your animal has free access to purified and disinfected water, which it will drink constantly.
The behavior of a female rabbit before kindling is very peculiar. It is absolutely forbidden to frighten her or put her into a stressful state. If the animal has not started to pluck fluff from her chest and line the nest with it, then you need to help her do it.
The plucked fluff is used to line the bottom of the cage, and the doe herself places it in the nest.
When plucking the fluff, don’t forget to say kind words to the rabbit and gently stroke the back of its head.
It is strictly forbidden to put the down of another animal into the cage in which the rabbit is giving birth.
Signs of behavior of a pregnant rabbit
It is very easy to determine the approach of the rabbits’ kindling. Already on the second day after mating, you can feel the belly of the rabbit.
If you can feel small cherry-sized lumps in the lower part, which are located in two rows, this may indicate the formation of fertilized eggs.
The rabbit’s behavior gradually changes. She becomes anxious and restless. She may react aggressively to the approach of the owner and other animals.
The rabbit’s food preferences change, and her actions are unpredictable. She becomes picky about her food and may rake through fresh hay in search of the tastiest plants.
The rabbit begins to gain weight quickly. At first it seems that she is simply gaining weight. Only 1,5-2 weeks before the birth, her belly begins to grow. This indicates the approach of birth and the approximate number of future rabbits.
Stressful situations
Rabbit births are significantly complicated if the animals are stressed. To prevent this from happening, surround the female with attention and care. It is necessary that there is plenty of food and fresh water in her cage.
It is strictly prohibited:
- allow other pets, especially cats and dogs, near the cage.
If you need to get the female out of the cage, you should carefully grab her by the scruff of the neck, holding her from below with your other hand.
Remember that animals do not tolerate drafts, direct light sources and abnormally high temperatures. In the summer heat, put a plastic bottle with ice in the cage.
In winter, make sure that the air temperature does not fall below 14-16 degrees Celsius. If necessary, install a heater near the cage with the mother to warm the air, but do not allow it to dry out under any circumstances.
Kindling in winter
The healthiest and most resilient rabbits are born in the cool season. Kindling of rabbits in winter is easier.
Cool air helps them to harden and also reduces the sexual activity of females, who pay more attention to their offspring.
If the rabbit breeder does not install a cage with a sexually mature male closer than 2 m to the rabbitry, then the vast majority of females behave calmly.
When cages with animals are close, the mother rabbit may become depressed after giving birth. She becomes aggressive, loses her appetite and drinks little, throws and bites her babies and may even stop feeding them with milk.
Some females, in a state of affect, eat their offspring. They are not suitable for further reproduction and should be culled after gaining industrial weight. Giant rabbits and other varieties of meat breeds never eat their offspring.
How to choose a female for fertilization?
Winter kindling has its own characteristics and differs significantly from summer kindling. Due to feed shortages, there is no point in getting a large number of offspring in winter, and the farmer should place greater emphasis on the quality of the offspring and the health of the babies.
Winter kindling is best tolerated by large females that have already given birth several times, as well as the strongest breeding rabbit.
After the female rabbit has given birth, pay special attention to the number of working nipples. For better survival of the offspring, leave exactly as many healthy babies as the female has working nipples.
Some rabbit breeders believe that newborn rabbits should be left with one less nipple during the winter, believing that this ensures reliable feeding.
Do not forbid the female to eat the placenta, but make sure that she does not show aggression towards the babies and allows them to come to her breast.
In winter, it is better to overfeed an animal than underfeed it, so make sure that there is always fresh hay and compound feed in the cage, as well as heated and purified water.
Summer kindling of females
In summer, the birth of a female rabbit is somewhat more difficult, due to excessively high temperatures. Heat has a depressing effect on animals, so even for mating, morning and evening hours are preferable.
Most often, birth occurs in the evening and at night, when the heat subsides and the rabbit feels comfortable.
Make sure that there is not a lot of fluff in the cage where the pregnant female is kept. If the nest is too hot, the babies will start to crawl away. They can get injured and even die as a result of subsequent hypothermia.
Give the rabbit more green grass, which stimulates milk production.
Some professional rabbit farmers specially make thermally insulated cages in which a constant temperature is maintained.
Regardless of when and how rabbits give birth, the animals feel comfortable, the females quickly recover after kindling, and the rabbits grow up strong and healthy.
Caring for a doe after giving birth
Some farmers in the southern regions of the country prefer to keep rabbits outside during the winter, but it is better not to do this.
Rabbits can withstand temperatures from -30 to +30 degrees Celsius, but for babies even +24 degrees can become critical and lead to death.
Under favorable conditions, the birth of rabbits occurs without complications. It takes about 10 minutes for each baby to emerge, as they emerge from each horn of the uterus in turn.
Immediately after the birth, the doe eats the afterbirth. This is normal and do not stop her from doing this.
If there is not enough water in the cage or the birth is difficult, the mother becomes stressed, begins to bite and may eat the offspring.
Take emergency measures to protect the babies. In this situation, you can separate the babies from her or send the female to mate again, after which she calms down.
If this does not help, you need to separate her from the queen cell and allow her to be near the babies only during the feeding period.
Don’t forget to feed her fresh vegetables, green and juicy grass, and also feed her milk. Preferably goat’s milk, which is most similar in fat content to rabbit’s.
What to feed a rabbit after giving birth during lactation?
Once the female has stopped littering, it is important to ensure that she provides a balanced diet to allow her to produce sufficient milk.
It is impossible to guess how much milk a particular individual will produce, which contains a large percentage of protein. However, on average, a mammal is capable of producing 180-210 g.
Important! The animal’s feed must contain sufficient protein – 20 g for every 100 g of feed.
In the first 28-30 days after kindling, it is necessary to include in the diet of the individual grass that stimulates lactation:
- parsley;
- dill;
- elecampane.
It is also important to fill the feeders with plenty of freshly cut grass and fresh hay (in winter). A small percentage of: is added to the feed:
- raw potatoes;
- fresh carrots;
- fresh cabbage;
- fish oil;
- meat and bone meal;
- salts;
- chalk.
It is important to provide a nursing mother with a varied diet. In the cold season, it is recommended to give mash every day, which includes oats, bran and mineral supplements.
How rabbits give birth, video:
Caring for baby rabbits
Carefully inspect the nest and remove any stillborn or defective babies. Do not allow the mother rabbit to eat them.
Be sure to put the babies on the mother’s breast, which produces colostrum in the first hours after birth. Feeding this product strengthens the immunity of the rabbits, allowing them to grow quickly and be resistant to pathogens of various infections.
If the mother refuses to feed her offspring, use special milk formulas for this, as well as fresh goat’s milk.
Remember that cow’s milk is absolutely not suitable for rabbits due to its chemical composition. It can cause gastrointestinal diseases, intestinal obstruction and bloating. Without timely treatment, this will lead to the death of an adult animal, and baby rabbits will definitely die.
Prevention of abortions in rabbits
In order to prevent abortions in mammals, the following recommendations should be followed.
- The free space standards for keeping each female must be strictly observed.
- Animals should be fed according to a schedule.
- The diet may only include good quality food.
- Matings are carried out according to the terms recommended by specialists. Too frequent matings have a negative impact on the health of animals. The offspring are born weakened, and sometimes die during childbirth.
- The cages of pregnant individuals should be clean and spacious.
- Timely vaccination is an excellent preventative measure against the development of most diseases.
By following all the rules and recommendations, you can get healthy offspring from females. In addition, it is important to observe the mating periods of individuals. In this case, the rabbit breeding business will quickly pay for itself and bring the desired profit.
