The bunnies were okrolled - a responsible matter, it requires attention from the farmer. Breeding rabbits is a fairly common type of animal husbandry, as these animals have simple content requirements. However, here it is also necessary to possess certain information, in particular, when and how they should take place at home.
Okrol rabbits
What factors should be taken into account so that the rabbit can successfully endure and give birth to healthy offspring? It is better to cover the eared so that the rabbits will be scoured in the winter. Usually puberty in rabbits occurs by 3-4 months. However, this does not mean complete readiness for mating in a few days. In rabbits, the optimal age for the first mating is 5-6 months, for males it is 7-8.
How long it will take for the rabbit to have a round can depend on the breed and on the body mass index. The average readiness for mating is the achievement of animals weighing 3.5-4 kg, which is about 60% of the total weight. Following simple and proven rules, you can avoid unforeseen circumstances and achieve better productivity, and hence prosperity of the farm.
Preparing for the mating
To okrol went as smoothly as possible, you need to carefully consider the planning of mating. In order to get multiple and healthy litters, one should not allow sick and weak individuals to mate, which could affect the quality and reproductive ability of the whole herd. One must be able to accurately determine the female’s readiness for mating before planting her in a cage to the male. In terms of behavior, the period of sexual hunting in females is usually manifested by excitement, aggressiveness, and “nesting” (the rabbit begins to pluck down fluff on her chest and abdomen, prepares a nest for future offspring).
Physical signs are also present: the genital loop and nipples turn bright pink, appetite decreases, and ear temperature may rise. On the 14th day before the planned mating, it is recommended to introduce concentrated mineral and vitamin feeds into the diet, and to feed the males with potatoes, steamed oats or other grains. In rabbits, ovulation is provoked, which means that their estrus period depends on the diet, the mating process and the season. That is why for the most successful mating, you can also artificially increase the duration of daylight hours by stretching it to 16 hours.
Territory for mating
For mating, it is important that the male is on its territory, and not vice versa. The rabbit will need time to get used to an unfamiliar place, sometimes the female behaves aggressively. So if for some reason you have to plant a male rabbit for mating, you should give him time (about a day) or even a few days and carefully monitor their behavior. The couple is left together for 2-4 hours. For mating and in order to re-cover, it is better to choose an early morning or evening in the summer and afternoon in the winter.
How to understand that the territory is chosen correctly and the male makes plans for a rabbit? Can be determined by the behavior of the male: after mating and mating, he falls on his side and emits a characteristic squeak or rumbling.
It is not useful to overexposure the young rabbit together with the male. Fertility will again be less, the female is able to refuse to feed offspring, the period for breeding is also reduced. In addition, after reaching six months of age, rabbits begin to rapidly gain weight, which is why rabbits lose their ability to reproduce.
Seasonal features
Since ovulation is provoked in rabbits, seasonal (winter or spring) temperature changes, daylight hours, and diet are important. There are periods most favorable for reproduction and even a certain day. Depending on the season, rabbits will be born, different in degree of endurance, resistance to disease, and ability to reproduce. Sometimes there are dead rabbits. How much and what will turn out is not known in advance. The farmer needs to know what season the compacted okrol allows, and when it is ineffective and even harmful to the economy.
Rabbits bring offspring both in winter and in summer. However, seasonal animal care has its own characteristics that directly affect the quality of the litter and the health of the female. Oddly enough, it is in winter and early spring that stronger and healthier rabbits with thick fur are born, and pregnancy is less likely to cause complications. The best producers grow out of winter rabbits, although the number of cubs in the litter in the summer is greater, animals are often born weak.
The autumn season is considered the most unfortunate time for a showdown, so with the beginning of molting, which takes away a lot of energy from animals, it is worthwhile to take a break for rest (40-60 days) to allow the rabbits to recover for the most responsible winter season. When breeding in the winter, cages or an animal house should be additionally insulated (for example, plywood or plexiglass). And yet, despite the cold, hunting in the winter and (with proper care) pregnancy in rabbits proceeds with the least risk of complications, so this time most safely leads to mating.
Training
A week after the first mating, you need to conduct a control second to make sure of its success. The pregnant rabbit will try not to let the male approach her: she runs away from him, issuing a characteristic squeak. This pathway does not always allow a reliable determination of pregnancy, therefore, another procedure is usually carried out for the second week: the female is placed with its muzzle toward itself and, gently holding by the ears and withers, carefully palpate the abdominal wall. If the rabbit is pregnant (sucral), the uterus will be enlarged, embryos that look like oblong soft peas are probed.
If the result is positive, it’s time to prepare for a baptism. Pregnancy in rabbits lasts 30 days on average. The number of rabbits in one litter can vary greatly: from one to two dozen. However, extremes are undesirable and it is better not to leave females giving such offspring for breeding. The average indicator - 5-7 cubs - is the most optimal. It is preferable to give pregnant rabbit food in a larger volume (up to 30%), it is important to monitor the amount of drinking water. For pregnant females, it is better to equip comfortable insulated nesting boxes.
If there is a built-in mother liquor, it must be prepared and disinfected in advance, the litter should be replaced with a new one, so that during labor there would be no difficulties. The nest for future rabbits can also be additionally insulated with a fresh portion of hay for comfort. However, all these manipulations must be carried out very slowly and without sudden movements, so as not to frighten the rabbit and thereby not provoke an abortion or miscarriage. It is very important that the pregnant rabbit feels safe.
Carrying out an okrol
The behavior of the female before childbirth changes, sometimes the rabbit is breathing heavily. She is also worried and is warming the nest for rabbits about a week before the offspring. In advance, you need to make all the necessary preparations: cleaning and disinfection of the cell, install the queen cell, and insulate the nest. The first homely bunny rabbit has the most difficult time for the rabbit breeder.
Successful fencing will be facilitated by optimal conditions:
- clean and dry litter;
- fencing from bright light;
- comfortable temperature;
- quiet setting.
Socket or cage dimensions
- Miniature individuals - 25 * 25 * 35 cm.
- The average size of rabbits is 30 * 30 * 45 cm.
- Large individuals - 35 * 35 * 55 cm.
Childbirth most often begins at night, but you should not lose vigilance during the day. The whole process takes from 10 minutes to an hour. If after this time no okrol occurred, it is worth calling a veterinarian. After giving birth, the rabbit eats the afterbirth to restore the lost trace elements. You can understand that the okrol is over by the behavior of the rabbit. If she is calm, her belly has fallen, everything went well. At home, the rabbit after okrol gradually recovers and goes on to the usual rhythm of life.
Most often, this is where the difficulties end, but sometimes it happens that the rabbits refuse to feed the offspring. Mom may even begin to bite her children (especially if the birth was difficult). In this case, the female should carefully examine and identify the problem. Most rabbits are very kind to their offspring.
They insulate the nest with the fluff plucked from the chest and abdomen, then they cover the newborn rabbits with it and after a few days make a hole in the nest for ventilation. And if the rabbit refuses to feed the cubs, she doesn’t eat or drink, there must be a reason for this.
What if it lasts several days? The cause is most often rough or cracked nipples. In this case, the animal must be carefully examined, massage his nipples and, holding, attach each baby. Gradually, the animal will get used to and feed the cubs. If the rabbit doesn’t eat, but feeds the cubs, then it may be worth improving her diet. Before any procedure, hands must be rubbed down and hay from the nest so as not to scare away the female with extraneous odors.
Postpartum Productivity
Immediately after giving birth, the female first puts herself in order, she necessarily eats up the last and licks. After this, the turn of rabbits will come: she will lick everyone and feed her. The female, if this is her first scent, is able to get confused. Then you need to make sure that the rabbits are covered in fluff and not freeze. If there was a natural winter fencing in rabbits, the place of birth must be insulated.
The first rabbit rabbit requires close attention of the breeder, because for the future breeding work of the female it is necessary to determine her maternal qualities and milk production. It is important for the baby that there is plenty of milk.
Milkness can be determined by the state and behavior of the cubs. If the young is calm, it has elastic skin, they are full. If the cubs squeak, and the skin looks shriveled, milk is clearly not enough. Is it necessary to either plant it with another individual or feed artificially? If the female (or her mother) had mastitis, it is better not to let her mate. In addition, it is the young rabbits that can be characterized by cannibalism.
If the rabbit was okrol and she ate young, the reason for this was:
- Fright
- improper feeding;
- lack of vitamins;
- lack of fluid;
- obesity.
If the rabbit eats kids, she is no longer allowed for breeding, so it is important to maintain a comfortable environment. Sometimes it may happen that the rabbit had a scent, and the young growth is born outside a warm nest or crawls out on its own. In this case, you need to rub your hands with hay and down from the nest and put the cubs back, covering them with down. The animal for this procedure is lured from the nest, and then launched back after about 20 minutes, when the odors of others disappear.
Useful Tips
After the bunnies, the rabbits must be counted immediately. If there is a suspicion that there are stillborn individuals in the litter, there are blood stains, it is better to lure the rabbit out of the nest with a treat, rub your palms with down and hay and examine the nest. With lactation, intervention from the rabbit breeder should be minimal.
During regular cleaning and inspection of the nest, care must be taken not to irritate the rabbit with odors. Feeding should still be large compared to normal volume. Sometimes, if one rabbit has 2-3 rabbits in the litter, and the other has more than a dozen, equalization is performed in order to protect the female with excess offspring from exhaustion. However, this procedure is not always possible, because females rarely take alien cubs.
After the young are placed in a new nest, they should be wiped with the hay that is in this nest so that the new female recognizes them. It is necessary to first observe and evaluate the maternal qualities of the host female and the milkiness of an individual with excess offspring. Perhaps it’s worth just reducing the frequency of incidents for the second and allowing her to independently feed her rabbits.
Double pregnancy
Double pregnancy is a rare phenomenon associated with the physiological characteristics of rabbits. Females have a two-horned uterus, which allows it to theoretically be fertilized by eggs from one ovary during the first coating, and in the control case, again from another. In this case, one rabbit can bear cubs of different ages at the same time. Second fertilization can also occur if females and males are kept together, which is highly undesirable for a number of reasons. In the event of a double pregnancy, the rabbit breeder may discover, one week after the birthing, that the female has brought a second litter.
Is it good or bad? This for two reasons can be considered as a negative phenomenon. Firstly, if a double pregnancy remains undetected, the necessary preparations for re-scenting, which occurs after the same period of time as the second fertilization, are not carried out. Secondly, a double pregnancy depletes the female very much, and the offspring are born weak and painful. We must remain vigilant. If the female is thin again, do not neglect the additional manual verification of the rabbit's succession.
Mating after okroli
When can a male be allowed to go to a rabbit after a round? Physiologically, the time for re-mating after okrolya is calculated based on the state of the individual. If she is not sick, she is ready to mate on the second day after. Some livestock farmers practice such a tight schedule of incidents, but experts unanimously speak out in favor of the most optimal regimen, in which at least 2 months pass between mating. The calculation is simple: after mating, a month of pregnancy follows, then the female feeds the rabbits for about 3 weeks. During the year, with this regimen, you can get 6 offspring. More frequent okroli deplete the female, the quality of the offspring is deteriorating, the term of breeding of the animal is reduced.
