How to feed rabbits? This issue is urgent for many people, since the breeding of this species of animals is one of the most promising sectors of agriculture. In addition, those who contain these eared animals as pets may be interested in this problem.
Diet
How to feed rabbits? If we consider this issue from the point of view of logical thinking, then it will not seem so complicated. In fact, all living organisms are in need of vitamins, nutrients, as well as high-calorie foods that can maintain the necessary body temperature. Therefore, the diet of rabbits must also be drawn up, taking into account these requirements.
Vitamins - the key to life energy
Vegetables are foods that both humans and rabbits like to eat. On this issue, the opinions of the owners and their furry pets are unusually similar. Of course, hardly anyone would wish to give eared expensive fruits and vegetables, especially if there are several dozen or even hundreds of such animals, as is often the case on farms.
But, nevertheless, such inexpensive crops as cabbage, carrots, potatoes are quite affordable. Their use in food will favorably affect the well-being of your furry wards.
Can rabbits have raw potatoes? This issue is discussed in many articles devoted to the problem of feeding these animals. You can give an affirmative answer to it with confidence. It is only important to remember that root crops must be thoroughly washed. All "eyes" must be cut out, as in these parts of the potatoes contains the most harmful microbes. This vegetable can be put in a feeder, both raw and boiled.
Dental Health Care
Root crops are necessary for pets not only as a source of vitamins and fiber, necessary for life, but also as a means of caring for your teeth. In any other rodents, including rabbits, this part of the oral cavity grows at an unprecedented rate. Teeth can become several millimeters longer in a week. Therefore, so that pets do not experience problems due to the disproportionate jaws, their diet must certainly have such solid foods as raw potatoes, carrots and similar crops. Eating them will contribute to grinding your teeth.
Therefore, when answering the question of whether it is possible for rabbits to cabbage, it is worth noting that this product is not only desirable for the diet, but also required. The reason for this is the high content of various vitamins in this vegetable, as well as its benefits for optimal tooth development. For the last of these purposes, the stump is most suitable. However, it is worth recalling once again the importance of observing hygiene rules.
Finicky cleanroom
It is worth noting that animals of this species are one of the most finicky agricultural species. Therefore, considering the question of rabbits: what to feed and how to care for them, you need to dwell on such a point as control over compliance with hygiene rules, as well as over the freshness of the food served.
The first requirement will be fulfilled if daily, and it is better several times a day, to clean the rabbit's house, clean the feeder, and also ventilate this room. It is not necessary, however, to create excessive drafts in the house.
The air should flow there evenly, and they should always have at their disposal a nook where you can hide from excessively strong winds.
Food requirements
Fulfilling the second paragraph of the above rules, attention should be paid to the freshness of products. You need to periodically check the feeder for food debris. Those that have been lying there for a long time should be thrown away. This requirement is extremely important to fulfill, since the remaining unfinished food can deteriorate, and its use will cause undesirable consequences for the health of your pets. You must always remember that the body of rabbits is very susceptible to various kinds of harmful bacteria, viruses and so on.
Even microorganisms that cannot harm humans can cause long-term illness in rabbits. All intestinal viral infections of rodents are treated extremely difficult and are quite difficult. A large percentage of these ailments result in death. Therefore, it is best to prevent the spread of such bacteria, and thereby protect their shaggy wards from an undesirable risk to life.
Because without water ...
Another important point in answering the question of what to feed rabbits is their drinking. Pure fresh water is the key to their health and longevity. Therefore, it is important to ensure that this vital fluid is always in the drinker. It is especially often necessary to add it when rabbits are fed cereals and dry products, which are sold in specialized stores. A lack of moisture in their body can cause dehydration, which adversely affects digestion and general well-being. Therefore, you need to pour clean fresh water into the drinker at least twice a day. Particular attention should be paid to this in the winter, as the content of rabbits at this time of the year is especially difficult. Some of its subtleties will be considered in the following chapters of this article.
Frost resistant animals
In the cold season, as already mentioned, drinking these animals should be given special attention. If rabbits live in the fresh air, then at sub-zero temperatures, the contents of their drinkers can turn into ice, so you need to transfer them several times a day to a warm room and bring water there, or fill the drinker several times a day. In particularly cold winters, you can heat the liquid before offering it eared. Otherwise, rabbits, feeling thirsty, can begin to lick ice, which often leads to damage to the oral cavity.
Therefore, it is necessary to ensure that the water necessary for the life of the rabbit, as well as for any other creatures, arrives at his table on time.
Sun air and water
This may seem strange, but for the health of rabbits keeping them on the street is much more favorable than living in warm rooms. The fact is that the organism of these eared rodents is capable of acquiring greater resistance to various colds during the hardening process.
It is known that the most hardy is the offspring, which is born in the cold season on the street. Of course, you should not neglect safety measures, including ensuring that pets always have unfrozen water at their disposal. In addition, the temperature of the air must be taken into account. When lowering to -15 degrees, it is recommended to immediately transfer pets to an insulated room. Weather at which the thermometer does not fall below this indicator is considered normal for rabbits.
Greens to the table all year round
Enough has already been said about the benefits of vegetables for furry pets in this article. Therefore, we can move on to another question, namely, to such a favorite dish as greens. In summer, as a rule, the question of how to feed rabbits does not cause much difficulty. Grass of various species grows in huge numbers even in large cities.
Therefore, if you keep such an animal in the apartment, then it will not be difficult to collect several bundles of nutritious plants for it in the territory of a park. Another option for the extraction of such greens, maybe growing it on a home windowsill. Seedlings of these plants are sold in any pet store. You can give this food to rabbits in large enough quantities, without fear of exceeding the norm. Ideally, for a balanced diet of the animal you need greens in the amount of up to 60% of all foods consumed.
Cold season
How to feed rabbits in the winter? If in the summer the extraction of vegetation is not difficult, then in the cold season, so that the rabbit does not end up without food, its owners should take care of the necessary reserves in advance.
You can harvest it already in early summer, or even at the end of spring, when there is a lot of grass. The most favorable for the health of rabbits are varieties such as clover, and the like. However, it is worth remembering that for harvesting you need to choose the time when these plants do not bloom. If you harvest the grass with ovaries, then the pets may refuse to eat it, and even if they eat green food, they risk poisoning, since they are allergic to everything that blooms.
The most favorable month for harvesting greens for the winter is June. The grass is usually dried, while receiving fresh and fragrant hay. If for this purpose plants of hard species are used, then they must be processed in a certain way. To do this, dry the harvested crop, and then grind the greens until fine flour is obtained, which should be stored in specially designated bags. It is best to use those that are made from natural materials. The tips above will help you decide what to feed rabbits in the winter.
Anti-Crisis Nutrition
And if there is no hay, than to feed the rabbits? This question may arise among farm owners in a financial crisis. A similar situation can occur when the hay reserves were not enough for the whole very long winter. In this case, of course, you can give the straw straw, which is not very expensive in price, but it is best to purchase more nutritious food. Flour made from edible herbs is great for feeding rabbits at any time of the year.
If the owners of the animals took care of the stock of this product in the summer, then hunger is clearly not threatened by their wards. Otherwise, the way out of this situation may be the purchase of such food in special livestock stores or in factories engaged in the production of grass meal. If such enterprises are not nearby, then you need to order this product on the Internet. Do not forget that when feeding animals with dry mixtures, you need to provide them with sufficient clean and fresh water.
Contraindications
Animals of this species are strictly prohibited from chewing on branches of plants containing hydrocyanic acid. This substance can cause noticeable harm to the health of rabbits. If it, although dangerous to human health, but still consumption in small amounts can not greatly affect well-being, then it causes an extremely negative reaction in rabbits.
If the animal gnaws on branches of plants such as cherries, plums, and the like, this can even lead to the death of the pet. Therefore, harvesting wood for the training of teeth in rabbits for the winter, it is worth considering these contraindications. Also, it is necessary to remember that it is not necessary to overfeed pets with products such as cabbage, legumes, since the use of these vegetables in large quantities can cause digestion.
Next will be named a few more products that are among the ones that can not be fed rabbits. First of all, it is worth mentioning that it is necessary to be very attentive to various unfamiliar types of herbs, since there are a number of plants that can not only cause poisoning in pets, but also seriously damage their digestive system. The following flowers can be attributed to such greenery: Avran Apothecary, Agrostemma, Aconita, meadow winter hibernation, hemlock and some others. They do not recommend giving the opportunity to eat animals as buttercup and euphorbia, which are often found in our latitudes. In addition, these animals should not be offered plants that were collected near highways, as many harmful substances settle on them, resulting from exhaust emissions.
And what else can not feed rabbits? There are many foods that, although not banned for use by rabbits, are in the conditionally permitted category. Such food most often does not bring tangible harm, but, as a rule, there is no benefit from it either. A number of cereals, such as rice, millet, millet, rye, can be classified as such products. These cereals significantly increase the proportion of mucus in the stomachs of animals, but at the same time their digestion is extremely difficult by the body of rodents.
Useful gourds
Many are interested in the question - is it possible for rabbits to pumpkin? Experienced breeders respond in the affirmative. This vegetable is not only not contraindicated in serving these cute animals, but its presence on the menu is highly desirable. How can this be explained? Firstly, pumpkin contains a large number of vitamins that are useful for growth.
Everyone knows the great love of rabbits for carrots, but only a few know that carotene is much more found in pumpkin. This type of melon brings its harvest in the fall, and it is very easy to stock up for the winter. Vegetables do not require any special preservation, they can simply be put in a dark, fairly cool place. By doing this, you can be calm that your pets are provided with tasty and wholesome food for the cold season.
As for the preparation of these melons, the product can be offered to rabbits in a wide variety of forms, from raw to boiled. It is very useful for improving well-being, increasing the immunity of animals, adding pumpkins to various nutrient mixtures. For many farm owners, the question is how to feed the little rabbits. One of the products shown for young animals of this species is pumpkin. It is only necessary to grind it strongly, after opening it slightly. However, speaking about this representative of the melon family, it is necessary to mention that such vegetables cannot make up the bulk of the diet, since they completely lack the proteins necessary to maintain vital energy.
And how to feed the little rabbits? Next, we will talk about a product that people call "the head of everything." In this, they are fully in solidarity and eared, since it is bread that contains the necessary acids and vitamins that facilitate the digestion of food containing a large proportion of protein. Therefore, when asked what to feed rabbits for rapid growth, we can confidently answer that in addition to vegetables, cereals and other necessary products, their menu must necessarily consist of pieces of bread.
Opponents of bread
However, there are many who believe that the question of whether rabbits can get bread should only be answered in the negative. How do they motivate their point of view? Firstly, these breeders say that rabbits, in their natural habitat, as a rule, do not go further than 100 meters from their holes. Therefore, the appearance of bakery products in their diet is impossible. Secondly, the eared have a constant need for grinding their teeth, and eating soft foods, they gradually lose their ability to chew solid food.
How to feed rabbits for weight gain? Experts say that one should not exclude the possibility of eating bakery products by these animals. However, along with such goodies in their menu, it is necessary to include hard vegetables every day, such as pumpkin, carrots and so on, as well as to give pets the opportunity to bite plant branches that are not contraindicated to them.
How to feed those who bring posterity?
How to feed breeding rabbits? To feed the individuals that are left for breeding future offspring, all those tips that were given in this article are valid. It should only be remembered that in order for animals not to lose the ability to actively reproduce, they should not be overfed. Therefore, such nutritious foods as various compound feeds, legumes, and bread should be given to them in reasonable quantities.
We should not forget about the need to include vitamin-rich vegetables and fruits. As for the latter, if possible it is necessary to give pets such tasty and healthy fruits as apples, carrots, beets, and so on. Experts warn that rabbits should not be offered any exotic fruits, such as citrus fruits and the like. When feeding them apples, you need to peel the fruits and cut the core with seeds.
Experienced rabbit breeders say that obese individuals are either completely incapable of breeding, or they bring an extremely small offspring. Therefore, you should follow the diet of eared pets.The main part of the diet should be hay and dishes made on the basis of greens. Among them can be called such as feed, with a large percentage of the vegetable component and grass meal. It is only necessary to ensure that only grass that is suitable for rabbits is harvested for hay, and also that its collection does not occur at the time of flowering.
Finally
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It is also necessary to take into account all the above hygiene requirements for keeping rabbits and feeding them. Experts recommend, if possible, to equip a home for these fluffy animals in the fresh air, even in the cold season. Since hardening is extremely beneficial for the well-being of these animals. But, even if the rabbits live indoors, they will be healthy and strong, if there is always only fresh food in their feeders, and clean, unfrozen water in the drinkers.