No wonder there is a saying: "They are fruitful, like rabbits." People start breeding these animals precisely because of their unusual fecundity. Every beginner rabbit breeder should know everything about how rabbits reproduce, how much they walk pregnant, what are the features of their rounding.
Entry into puberty, mating rabbits
When creating a breeding herd, it should be taken into account that 10 females should be per male. It is advisable to keep two males in the breeding herd, because there should always be an understudy. At the most crucial moment, the main producer may become ill, or several females should be covered in a day.
Rabbits enter puberty early, but it is advisable to let them into a mating no earlier than 5 months, and males can be used as producers from 8 months.
In order not to miss the time of mating, it is necessary to periodically check whether the female has come to the hunt. To do this, remove the rabbit from the cage, put it on a flat surface and, lifting its tail, inspect the sexual loop. When the rabbit is in the hunt, the loop is swollen, red. Since rabbitry is usually poorly lit, it is better to use a flashlight. The rabbit in hunting happens only 3 days, during this time you need to have time to fertilize her.
For mating, the rabbit is always seated to the male, and not otherwise. While she sniffs at a new place, the male quickly does his job. It is better not to leave them alone, mating occurs quickly, so it is better to observe that the act of reproduction took place. When the act took place, the male falls from the rabbit on its side and makes a characteristic sound. After mating, the female should be immediately taken and returned to her cage. You can let the rabbit perform several acts, only on this day it is advisable not to plant anyone else. If you leave the rabbit for a long time with the male, this can exhaust him as a producer, and they can fight.
If the rabbits missed the hunting time, it's okay, after about a week she will come back to the hunt.
The rabbit is pregnant: how to prepare for childbirth?
Ten days have passed since the mating, and if the rabbit does not come back to the hunt, then she is pregnant. Large rabbits walk pregnant? In both large rabbits and dwarf succulence lasts the same.
Pregnancy of rabbits does not last long, on average 30 days. To be precise, how many days a female rabbit walks pregnant, then this happens from 28 to 34 days. The duration of pregnancy depends on the number of rabbits. The more rabbits in the litter, the shorter the gestation period. If more than 10 rabbits are to be born, then the female can rabbit on the 28th day, and if she is pregnant with 5-6 rabbits, then the pregnancy can last 34 days.
On the 27th day after the mating, you need to put the nest for childbirth in the cage to the rabbit. Rabbits are burrowing animals and freely give birth deep in the hole. Therefore, the optimal conditions for newborn offspring are darkness and the absence of drafts. Therefore, a nest box is placed in the cage, which can be opened from the side so that, without disturbing the female, newborn offspring can be checked. More hay should be put in the feeder, even if it is summer. The female herself will drag the hay into the house and build a nest out of it. Then, a day before the birth, she will begin to pluck down the fluff from her skin and cover it with a nest.
At this time, you can not disturb the rabbit. It is necessary that there are no harsh sounds and other irritants that can lead the female into a stressful state.
It is important to know
- If you are late create favorable conditions for childbirth, the rabbit can give birth directly to the net. She will pinch fluff and rush around the cage. Newborn rabbits can trample or eat. As a result, if the rabbit gives birth for the first time, she will have a habit of eating her offspring, and she will have to be discarded. Therefore, it is very important to create favorable conditions for childbirth. You need to take care of this in advance, during pregnancy. Therefore, it is important to know when your rabbits will give birth, how many are pregnant.
- The rabbit’s pregnancy cannot be determined by eye, but in the last week of this period you can feel the rabbits in the stomach, and also, with your hand on your stomach, feel how they move.
Birth of a rabbit
Rabbits give birth mainly at night. They always do this on their own, they don’t need to help, so it’s not necessary to watch the night in rabbitry. Bunny rabbit timed takes no more than 30 minutes.
They give birth to naked, blind, helpless rabbits. The weight of the rabbits is not more than 90 grams. Their weight depends on the number of newborns. The more rabbits in the litter, the smaller they are. The smallest - 40 grams.
Sometimes rabbit rabbits can be bathed for an entire hour. Very rarely, childbirth stretches for 2 days and takes place in 2 stages. When newborns are born, the rabbit licks them and lays them in a nest, covering them with down. If everything went well, the mother feeds the cubs and warms her with warmth.
- It is important to know that when the rabbit is born, there must be water in her cage. After giving birth, the newly minted mother has a strong thirst. Not finding water, the rabbit can eat her rabbits.
When to let a rabbit into a mating again
Now there is an answer, how rabbits give birth, how much they walk pregnant, it remains to fully understand their uniquely fast breeding.
High fecundity is due to their physiological characteristics, of which there are several.
- Rabbits reach puberty in 5-8 months.
- Pregnancy lasts 30 days.
- The day after the birth, the rabbit enters the state of hunting again. Feeding some rabbits, she can bear a new offspring. At 28 days, the first offspring are taken from her, and after a couple of days she gives birth to new rabbits. Theoretically, a rabbit can bring 11-12 offspring per year.
- Rabbits give birth for some birth 6-15 rabbits.
- For rabbit meat, you can slaughter in 5 months, the weight will be at least 3 kg.
Rabbit breeding is profitable
With the intensive use of females, they can get up to 200 kg of meat per year, and the cost of rabbit meat is 350 rubles per kg. Yes, and rabbit skins are used for sewing fur products.
At the same time, the feed consumed is very cheap: grass, hay, twigs, animal feed, barley, crackers and root crops.
So think about how quickly they breed and how profitable it is to engage in rabbit breeding.