Rabbits have amazingly delicate and tasty meat. This is the only dietary product that is almost completely anti-allergenic. At the same time, their breeding is not difficult, and animals reproduce surprisingly quickly. It is difficult to find a more competitive way to quickly get quality meat. Unfortunately, there is a public opinion that these animals are very painful. Experienced rabbit breeders know that if rabbits are properly looked after, then almost all diseases can be avoided. One of the keys to health is quality nutrition. Before you start rabbit breeding, you should carefully study what can be given to rabbits and what is strictly prohibited.
Animal Care Features
Rabbits are not very whimsical, it is enough to follow the following recommendations for content:
- Animals need space. Required minimum: 0.5 - 0.7 m per head.
- Rabbits are afraid of drafts and hypothermia.
- You must regularly monitor your teeth and claws.
- Offer food only in feeders to avoid the growth of bacteria.
- Water for animals should be warm.
- The room should be dry and well lit. Regular cleaning is required.
Rabbit digestion
In nature, rabbits live in deep burrows and feed exclusively on plant foods. Their digestive system has important features that differ from other herbivores. The stomach muscles of the animal are very weak, and at the same time they have a very long intestines. Unlike ruminants, they adapted to achieve complete digestion of food. These animals differ in that they eat their own feces. When choosing a diet, it is worth considering this.
First stage
Digestion begins in the oral cavity. Well-developed incisors grow all their lives and are adapted to gnaw coarse feed - branches, bark. The lack of such feed leads to increased growth of the incisors, and they begin to interfere. The molars of the animal are adapted for grinding food, while the salivary gland is constantly working. In order for the body to get enough moisture and enzymes from saliva, coarse components must be in the feed: grass, legumes, cereals - corn, rye, wheat are very useful. Is it possible to give rabbits juicy foods with a high moisture content? It all depends on the balance of the overall diet.
Gastrointestinal tract
Once in the stomach, the feed continues to be digested under the influence of saliva and is gradually saturated with gastric juice. Here, swallowed feces begin to play their role - microorganisms mixed with the remnants of undigested feed particles. Further digestion already occurs in the intestine under the influence of the formed microflora. The main role is played by cellulolytic bacteria. Hard and soft feces are formed. The first is rich in amino acids, it is immediately swallowed by rabbits, even without chewing. The second is much poorer in nutrients, eaten only in exceptional cases.
Obviously, with such a digestive system, the balanced composition of the feed and the state of the microflora in the acidic environment of the digestive tract are of great importance. This must be taken into account. Knowing what kind of food you can give rabbits, you will provide the animal with a comfortable existence.
Types of feed
Modern rabbit manufacturing plants use exclusively dry, multi-component feeds. The menu consists of more than ten components. Not only the type of plant component is taken into account, but also the place where the crop is harvested. For example, when deciding whether barley and wheat can be given to rabbits, it is important to know what components it will mix with when raising rabbits in a specific area. For farms and private farms, everything is simpler, but you need to have at least a general understanding of the various feeds. Rabbits can be kept in cages, or in pits, which means that feeding conditions will vary.
Succulent feed
In the summer, for most animals, it is green feed that is the main source of nutrition. Rabbits with them get everything they need. It is important to consider that all types of green feed are harvested only at the stage of their growth. With age, the fiber content in plants increases, and the animals digest them poorly, be sure to consider the age of the grass.
An important role in the nutrition is played by legumes. Plants are rich in one of the most important amino acids - lysine. Clover, alfalfa, vetch have proven themselves well. A useful mixture of wiki and peas with oats.
Recommendation: before feeding the green mass, it is worth slightly drying it, otherwise bloating may occur.
In autumn and winter, cabbage and carrots are good, it is useful to add beets. Potatoes are allowed, but better when boiled. Animals with pleasure eat melons, among which: watermelon, zucchini, pumpkin. But is it possible to give them to rabbits? Here the answer will be in the affirmative.
Wheat and other hard foods
Rabbits need fiber. The main source can be twigs, hay, straw. It is useful to give herbal flour. Any grass can go to the hay. It is good if its variety coincides with the summer menu. Rabbits do not tolerate a change in diet. Straw is usually obtained from legumes or crops. At the same time, unlike grass, it is worth answering negatively to the question of whether it is possible to give rabbits green wheat with other cereals. Their stem in the growth stage is poorly digested. Another thing is young sprouted shoots. This is a very useful food, especially for young rabbits.
Expert advice: the diet necessarily includes legumes, oilseed wastes, ripe oats, corn, barley. The most popular cereals are rye and wheat.
Can rabbits be given different branches of trees and shrubs? Not only possible, but necessary. It has already been noted that the welfare of the incisors depends on their presence. Fruit trees, willow, willow, maple are well suited. Rabbits are happy to gnaw pine and spruce.
How to feed a rabbit
Of particular importance to the diet should be given when carrying rabbit cubs. This is the period when the immunity of the future offspring is formed, their proper development takes place, and how much milk the mother will have depends on the diet. Even the number of individuals born depends on the menu.
In the initial period, the nutritional value of the feed is increased . To have more protein, minerals and vitamins. But at this time it is worth reducing the amount of feed. Before the appearance of rabbits, they reduce the total consumption of roughage, completely exclude silage, and increase the amount of grain.
The menu includes: feed, oats, various legumes, sunflower meal, soybean meal will be useful. It is very useful to add carrots. Chalk with meat and bone meal is used as additives. They give fish oil as a vitamin supplement.
Obesity of the rabbit is strictly not allowed.
First rabbit menu
The newly born offspring of rabbits begins to grow rapidly. In four weeks, the young growth in weight 10 times. There are no animals that can be compared with them in this indicator. Naturally, the most important nutritional element in the early days is breast milk. But bait also starts very early. Here are some feeding tips:
- Is it possible to give wheat to rabbits that have just been born? No, because in newborns the digestive system is not yet fully formed. Any solid food is unacceptable.
- While there is breast milk, it is better that rabbits only eat it. Usually this period takes up to 14 days.
- It is not recommended for babies to immediately give a wide variety of feeds. It takes three days to get used to each component. At the first stage, abstain from juicy food. It’s good to start with dried grass.
- Babies are fed 4 times a day.
- Monthly rabbits can already be accustomed to hay.
- At 2 months old, rabbits are already being separated from their mother and gradually accustomed to adult food. You can begin to give a little succulent feed.
- For young animals need vitamin supplements.
Typical Seasonal Menus
The green grass should be the main food for young rabbits in the summer. At least 2/3 of the total volume. Barley and wheat - 15%, oilcake - 10%, bran - 5%. Be sure to add fishmeal, fodder yeast, salt, tricalcium phosphate. The daily rate until the ninetieth day of development is 370 grams.
In winter, root crops — 50%, hay — 15%, cereals — 10%, bran — 5%, and sunflower cake — 10% —are the main source of nutrition. The proportion of fishmeal and yeast supplements is increasing. Salt and tricalcium phosphate are present.
Fattening for meat
In modern rabbit breeding, it is customary to attribute all breeds to one of three types:
- Meat.
- Decorative.
- Fur
The most popular are meat breeds. As already noted, rabbits gain weight very quickly. Many breeds by the 90th day reach 5 kg. Moreover, the yield of pure meat is at least 55%. Fattening animals are determined at two months of age. The process lasts for 30 days. This period can be divided into three stages:
- The preparatory course lasts no more than 5 days. Choose the most high-calorie feed. Can rabbits be given wheat at this point? Yes, this is permissible. While maintaining the green mass increase the proportion of grain - barley, wheat. In winter, they reduce the consumption of hard feed - branches, hay. The main thing is that the level of vitamins in the body does not fall. Combined feeds, corn, and legumes are excellent. It is good to include wheat bread in the diet.
- The formation of body fat lasts about 7 days. The diet includes boiled potatoes, pome crops, cake. You can give boiled porridge. The share of hay and root crops is reduced.
- At the final stage, animals are most stimulated by the appetite. It is useful to add dill, cumin, celery. Some rabbit breeders salt water. The amount of feed is maximized and greens and hay are almost completely eliminated.
With a serious approach to feeding rabbits, you can achieve very good results, and pets will rarely get sick. The main thing is to know how to feed rabbits.