Decided to purchase a decorative rabbit? They are very cute, harmless and easily tamed. All that a pet needs is a cage, a feeding trough and a drinking bowl.
Having traveled to many pet stores, finally chose a pet. The seller vowed that the rabbit was very young. He is only two months old - this is a rabbit. Believe, bought. Favorite lived a little more than six months. With an average life expectancy of 6-8 years.
One of the causes of his death is old age. It is possible that the seller himself did not know the age of the animal. How to determine the age of the rabbit when buying? Let's talk about this in more detail.
What do you need to know?
Decorative rabbits are ordinary and dwarf. The latter weigh from 900 grams to 1.5 kg. The weight of an adult "classic" decoration reaches 3 kg.
Dwarf rabbits are often given out as ordinary rabbits. How to determine the age of a dwarf rabbit and not only? About it in the following subsections.
Feeling the ribs
There is a special set of measures designed to determine the age of the pet.
It all starts with ribs. When probing, the rabbit's ribs are very soft up to six months. If your rabbit is the owner of such ribs, then you can be sure that it is still small.
Teeth
How to determine the age of the rabbit? Experienced rabbit breeders are advised to pay attention to the eared teeth. A pet of one year old and older is yellow in color. The older the rabbit, the brighter the yellowness on the teeth. It begins to appear only from a year.
Claws
How to determine the age of a decorative rabbit? Another indicator is the length of the claws. The claws of rabbits grow throughout life. If the animals are kept in a cage, then the claws also bend.
This method is bad in that when the ears are kept in special enclosures or pits, the claws grind on their own.
Unscrupulous breeders and sellers in pet stores trim their claws hare-like. But the cut line is very clearly visible, it can be used to determine that the rabbit has “manicure” on its paws.
Eyelids
How to determine the age of the rabbit? For centuries. In an adult animal, they are swollen and saggy. The surface of the eyelids is rough, uneven. Rabbits have no such signs, respectively.
What about ordinary rabbits?
Are the answers to the question of how to determine the age of the rabbit suitable for those who decide to purchase several ordinary individuals in their own household? Yes, these methods have been proposed by experienced rabbit breeders to determine the sex of domestic rabbits.
Learning to determine gender
With how to know the age of the eared, we figured out. Now let's talk about the age at which you can determine the gender of the rabbit.
Starting from one month it is already possible to understand whether the male is in front of us or the female. If you are going to breed eared, then it is advisable to find out their gender until 3 months. The fact is that at this age, rabbits are already ready for mating. Irregular mating will begin, which will not bring anything good, except for inferior offspring. Why inferior? Because from close inbreeding only this is born.
How to determine the sex of a domestic rabbit? Now explain the points:
The rabbit is laid back up on a solid base.
Hold with the left hand at the withers. You need to hold tight, but do not dig your fingers into the skin. A similar position with subsequent retention at the withers is most comfortable for the animal. And it’s safe for the owner, because when the rabbit is frightened, he hits his hind legs very hard. From such a blow, severe damage from the eared owner is quite possible.
With your right hand stretch the skin between the hind legs. The index finger is placed just above the anus, but not touching it. The thumb of the right hand lies below the primary sexual characteristic. The fingers are parallel to each other.
Gently push with your fingers on both sides and examine what appeared.
If the owner is holding a female, the distance between the genital fissure and the anus is very small. In males, the distance is much greater, in addition, the genital organ is clearly visible.
This method is universal for all rabbits, from ordinary domestic to decorative.
Secondary symptoms
Breeders can determine the sex of an adult animal by barely glancing at it. But this requires experience, and the methodology does not give a 100% guarantee. Talk about it, you never know, come in handy:
The male is larger than the female. He has a more rounded head, and the proportions of the body are angular.
Females are smaller, more rounded. The head is small. On the stomach you can feel the nipples.
Males are quite aggressive and sexually active. The female is active only during the hunting period.
Content of the decorative rabbit
We found out how to determine the age of the rabbit and its gender. Now let's talk briefly about the content of the animal.
There should be a manger for hay in the cage. In pet stores you can buy a special cage for a rabbit with this attribute.
It is better to get a large drinker. Rabbits - lovers of some water.
Two feeders. Choose heavy ceramic or pendant metal. One for the main feed, the second for vegetables.
Tray. There the pet will go to the toilet. Rabbits are very clean animals, the tray will have to be washed daily. Give preference to a corner tray, it is more convenient for placing in a cage.
Filler. Here, opinions are divided: some eared lovers recommend laying paper on the bottom of the cage, and pouring wood filler on top of it. Others against this filler recommend filing. Note that sawdust does not absorb moisture well and smells strongly. Wood filler also produces not the most pleasant amber. The ideal option is corn filler for animals. It does not cause allergies, and if the pet wants to taste it, then nothing bad will happen. The rabbit will not rebound.
They feed the pet with special food. Zucchini, cucumbers, greens (dill) are given as goodies.
Conclusion
In the article we examined several issues:
- How to determine the gender of the rabbit.
- How to determine the age of the pet.
- What conditions of detention are necessary for him.
Decorative rabbits live about 8 years with good care. The best family for them is without children and pets. Eared shy, do not like loud noise. Negative of drafts, heat and tobacco smoke.