Mating of rabbits (mating of rabbits) is an essential part of the process of breeding rabbits. The fact is that only with a quality and properly organized mating, the farmer is guaranteed to receive a healthy offspring.
Mating rabbits
It is worth saying that far from all individuals are allowed to be bred in rabbit breeding, because first you need to go through a selection that takes into account such signs as age, state of health, previous experience, quality of coat, character, and so on. How breeding occurs in rabbits, what conditions for this need to be created, at what age rabbits happen, all this must be known to the farmer for successful breeding of pussies.
How rabbits breed
If the choice of a farmer fell on breeding rabbits, their mating and nesting is a special topic. In total there are 3 ways of breeding pussies:
- The first method is used exclusively at home, when decorative breeds are subject to mating. In order for fertilization to occur, you need to place the rabbit and the rabbit in the same cage for a while (period from 1 to 2 days) and just wait for the natural process. Not necessarily everything will go well, even if the waiting period is long. The fact is that both the female and the male may simply not like each other, and may even reach a fight between partners.
- The second method is used on large farms where more than one hundred rabbits are kept. In this case, for maximum confidence in the result, the insemination of the females is carried out artificially. Of course, this method cannot be called simple, because for its implementation you need to have minimal knowledge about how this should happen. First you need to take rabbit sperm, and only venerable individuals are selected, after which the sperm is placed inside the rabbit through a syringe.
- The last method, which will be discussed today, is actually a finalized first variant of reproduction. It is necessary to leave the male and the female alone in the same room for a couple of days, only the person in this case does not remain indifferent, but tries to contribute in every possible way to the successful mating.
What we need to do to the owner of the animals for successful mating will be discussed further.
Rules for mating rabbits
Despite the existence of the expression "mate like rabbits", these animals are quite selective when choosing a sexual partner. For this reason, in a rabbit farm, a person has to intervene in the course of the natural process. The rules for mating rabbits will provide a full-fledged result from mating. To know exactly how the mating of rabbits follows the rules, you can watch a video of a full-fledged mating.
How to happen rabbits correctly? First, they must be properly prepared in order to ultimately receive healthy and viable offspring. It is worth first of all to review the diet. Mandatory is the presence in the menu of a complex of vitamins and minerals for both male and female. In addition, it is necessary to improve the condition of cells, if before that it was not satisfactory.
Determine the gender of the rabbit
No matter how funny it may sound, but before proceeding to the direct mating of rabbits, you need to determine who belongs to which sex. This turns out to be not so easy, especially for those who come across it for the first time.
To find out the gender, you need to flip the pussys on the back and with a sharp movement of the hand fix the tail below. If a small mucous formation resembling a triangle with a hole is visible, this is a female specimen. If a more elongated species is visible, then it is by all means a male. In addition to the miniature penis, it should have the same small testes.
Only rabbits that have a standard anatomical structure, that is, they have two testicles, should be allowed to mating.
Manifestation of mating readiness
In order to reproduce offspring, the rabbit must be sexually mature. In this case, you need to know how to happen rabbits for the first time. On average, this age occurs in each breed differently, and the earlier, the smaller the breed. For example, mating of decorative rabbits is possible as early as 4 months, and the largest representatives of the rabbit family - the breed Flanders (Flanders) or Giant - only by 6-7 months. The age of mating of rabbits is responsible for the health of both females and offspring: a too young female can die during pregnancy from exhaustion.
What indirect signs may indicate that the animal is ready for mating? If an animal, regardless of age, begins to actively mark territory, this is direct evidence that the time has come for this male. And no matter how many months a mating is prescribed for him, he is physiologically prepared.
What are the requirements for male rabbits:
- The animal must be active, have a healthy appearance.
- External characteristics must match those declared by the breed.
It is better to postpone the mating if the male is in a state of molting, since at this time the individual's immunity is weakened, which may affect the quality of the litter. Moreover, it is better to wait out not only the first, but also the second molt.
Choose a female for mating
In the process of choosing a rabbit, everything is not so difficult. First of all, it is important to assess the age of the rabbit: she must not be younger than one year, otherwise she will not be able to bear the offspring normally. Of course, the most successful option is young individuals who have already repeatedly brought a healthy offspring, after which they carefully fed the rabbits.
It also happens that a mother eats her own children. If this happened, such a female should be disposed of, and not allowed until the next mating.
Also an important criterion for when a young rabbit can be seen is her weight. It is important that the female is moderately well-fed. If the rabbit is thin, you need to start fattening the animal for some time. Shedding should also wait until the pregnancy is successful. The animal must certainly be in the hunting stage, without this mating will not succeed.
If the owners have chosen a certain day of the month for mating pets, the female needs to be relocated from relatives for a while. In case farmers want to conduct several pairings at once, all expectant mothers need to be put in a separate aviary. The case of several rabbits follows the same rules as the mating of one individual.
Ideal age for mating
At what age can rabbits happen? In order to answer this question as correctly as possible, it is necessary to take into account the characteristics of these animals. Rabbits do not live long, the maximum is about 9-10 years, and starting from the age of 5, the percentage of successful incidents falls, so it is recommended not to mate. In addition, in old age, the volume of breast milk in rabbits decreases sharply after okrolya, and she can not independently feed her offspring.
The process of aging and the extinction of natural maternal instincts occurs strictly individually, as in humans. It often happens that by all academic parameters a rabbit or a rabbit is subject to culling, but in fact they still continue to produce healthy and numerous offspring. However, based on statistics, after the first mating of a rabbit, regardless of how old it was, the animal remains able to fertilize and bear no more than 4-5 years. The case of elderly rabbits threatens to receive an inferior offspring.
How does the mating process go?
In order for mating of farm rabbits to go smoothly at home, it is recommended to choose the territory in which the young male lives, so that he is as comfortable as possible. At the time of mating of rabbits, it is recommended to remove all contents from the cage, leaving only a drinker with water for the entire period.
It is not recommended to leave animals alone, because there is always the possibility that rabbits may not like each other and even cause injuries. It may happen that the female will resist mating, in which case a person can gently hold her and let the male finish the job.
How long does sexual intercourse last? Mating itself is a fairly quick process, it lasts no more than 2 minutes. Changes to the big side can only be if the partner resisted or was aggressive in relation to the male. After the mating process, the rabbit bounces off the female and breathes heavily for some time.
The reasons for the unsuccessful mating
It also happens that, despite all the efforts made, the rabbit’s pregnancy did not occur. Firstly, do not be upset, as a control case of a farm rabbit can be carried out in 2-3 days. However, for greater effectiveness, it is worth changing the inseminator: perhaps the reason why the rabbit did not happen was precisely in it.
Often, one of the reasons is the situation in which not all sperm enters the internal genital organs of the female. However, livestock breeders have learned to deal with this problem: you need to tie a thin rope around the tail of the female, for which you will need to pull at a certain time so that the crawl can finish the insemination process successfully, without a hitch. You can learn more about this trick on the video of experienced rabbit breeders, which are filmed for training novice colleagues.
Many people wonder why there is no pregnancy. To do this, you need to study a lot of signs and symptoms, and only after a thorough analysis can you give a clear answer. Most often, the reason is banal: the rabbit is overweight. If this is true, then it is worth revising the diet of such a female and put her on a diet.
The concept of inbreeding in rabbits
Inbreeding is the mating of two rabbits. In most cases, this process is undesirable in any animals (cats, dogs, livestock), since subsequently unhealthy offspring with various diseases are obtained. However, this applies to closely related inbreeding. As for long-distance inbreeding, it is not only not prohibited, but even shown in order to get a new, stronger breed of rabbits. But you need to know how to properly happen to related rabbits.
Inbreeding is not always thoughtful, most often it is a defect on the part of the person when the hereditary stock count and mating schedules were not carried out according to the rules. In order to correct a mistake, it is necessary to introduce new individuals into the rabbit family, preferably males: with their help, the line of rabbits will be leveled and healthy offspring will be born.
How to mate rabbits at home
Usually, most farmers start with a small number of rabbits, so at first they ask how rabbits breed at home. If you do not go into details, the process of mating domestic rabbits is almost identical to what is happening on large farms. However, it is necessary to create conditions for productive binding. The cage for the meeting of the male and the female should be cleaned, there should be no drafts in it, and the temperature should be as close as possible to 20 ° C.
Even at home, do not neglect the process of control rejection. It is worthwhile to carefully examine applicants for mating and choose only those animals that are most suitable. For example, if a female suffers from mastitis, it is not allowed to allow her to be pregnant again until the underlying disease has been cured.
A case after okrolya
Breeders are wondering when the rabbit is ready to hunt, when it is possible to happen to a rabbit after a bunny, how much time should pass from birth? Of course, a certain pause must be sustained, since the body of the female must recover after okrolya, this should be taken as a rule. On average, a pause lasts about 70 days, although there may be exceptions. For this period, it is recommended to protect the rabbit from communicating with males and put in a cage only for females.
In addition, females that are in position are subject to isolation. This is done in order to prevent the mating of such a rabbit with a male, which can harm the offspring, causing the rabbits, for example, to be born dead.
Features of winter mating
Of course, you can mate rabbits year-round. But the winter mating of farm rabbits is a special topic. As for winter, the owners fear that a low temperature may cause an unsuccessful mating, and in vain. In fact, low temperature does not affect the quality of sperm, the ability to bear rabbits, and even more so on the mating process itself.
Mating rabbits in winter follows the same rules as in other seasons. Moreover, there are some breeds that can continue to mate even with the complete absence of a heat source. Of course, one should not allow such conditions: in home farms, the column of a mercury thermometer should not fall below 12 ° С. What to fear is drafts, because they cause pain in animals, and can also interfere with successful mating. The case of rabbits in winter requires increased comfort in keeping.
After a brood of rabbits is born, in winter they need to try to heat as much as possible. If there is no heater or battery in the rabbitry, it is better to pick up the young animals in the house for the winter period, where you need to give the kids to get stronger and gain strength. After warming, the already grown rabbits are returned to their usual habitat.
Features of knitting decorative breeds
How to mix representatives of decorative breeds, what are the rules here? Many livestock breeders are asking this question, since it is decorative breeds that are currently in demand for house maintenance. Despite their decorativeness, such breeds boast high fertility indicators: they mature early, the female gives about 7 offspring in 12 months, and the first can occur as early as 9 months. If you take care of young animals with dignity, carefully draw up its diet and carry out all preventive medical measures, usually the entire offspring survives.
To understand and determine whether the female of the ornamental breed is ready for mating, you need to carefully consider how her genitals look. The girl should be jailed from the entire brood for a day (this will help determine her condition), after which, after a day, take a closer look at her behavior. If the mucous membrane is swollen and slightly increased in size, the color has changed more red, the female is in the hunt and is ready for mating.
A feature of the reproduction of ornamental rabbits is that productive mating usually takes place in the morning.
Determining mating performance
Was the rabbits mating successful? In order to figure it out on your own, you need to carefully examine the rabbit’s stomach. This must be done 14 days after mating. If you managed to feel small peas with your fingers, this is the fetal bags in which future rabbits develop. However, curiosity should not harm the rabbit, because careless or too rough movements can provoke an involuntary miscarriage or symptoms of a false pregnancy. There are photos and video recommendations with a detailed description of how to conduct an inspection correctly, each rabbit breeder must familiarize themselves with them.
If peas were found, then after a period of 14 days you can prepare for the addition to the farm. As for the number of young rabbits, it can vary from baptism to baptism from 5 to 15 small newborns ..
