Can rabbits eat wheat? Features of the care and feeding of rabbits, diet, tips and tricks

2024 Author: Howard Calhoun | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 10:16

Rabbits have surprisingly tender and tasty meat. This is the only dietary product that is almost completely anti-allergenic. At the same time, breeding them is not difficult, and the animals reproduce surprisingly quickly. It's hard to find a more competitive way to get quality meat quickly. Unfortunately, there is a public opinion that these animals are very painful. Experienced rabbit breeders know that if rabbits are properly cared for, almost all diseases can be avoided. One of the keys to good he alth is good nutrition. Before you start rabbit breeding, you should carefully study what can be given to rabbits and what is strictly prohibited.

Features of animal care

Rabbits are not very whimsical, it is enough to follow the following recommendations for keeping:

• Animals need space. Required minimum: 0.5 - 0.7 m per head.
• Rabbits are afraid of drafts andhypothermia.
• Tooth and nails should be checked regularly.
• Feed only in feeders to avoid bacterial growth.
• Water for animals should be warm.
• The room should be dry and well lit. Regular cleaning required.

Rabbit digestion

In nature, rabbits live in deep burrows and feed exclusively on plant foods. Their digestive system has important features that differ from other herbivores. The stomach muscles of the animal are very weak, and at the same time they have a very long intestine. Unlike ruminants, they have adapted to achieve complete digestion of food. These animals differ in that they eat their own feces. When choosing a feeding ration, it is worth considering this.

First stage

Digestion begins in the mouth. Well-developed incisors grow throughout life and are adapted to gnaw through roughage - branches, bark. The lack of such feed leads to increased growth of incisors, and they begin to interfere. The molars of the animal are adapted for grinding food, while the salivary gland is constantly working. In order for the body to receive enough moisture and enzymes from saliva, the feed must contain coarse ingredients: grass, legumes, grains are very useful - corn, rye, wheat. Can rabbits be fed succulent foods with a high moisture content? It all depends on the balance of the overall feeding ration.

Gastrointestinal tract

Getting into the stomach, the food continues to be digested underby saliva and gradually absorbed by gastric juice. Here, swallowed feces begin to play their role - microorganisms mixed with the remnants of undigested food particles. Further digestion already occurs in the intestine under the influence of the formed microflora. Cellulolytic bacteria play the main role. Hard and soft feces are formed. The first is rich in amino acids, it is immediately swallowed by rabbits, even without chewing. The second is much poorer in nutrients, eaten only in exceptional cases.

Obviously, with such a digestive system, the balanced composition of feed and the state of microflora in the acidic environment of the digestive tract are of great importance. This must be taken into account. Knowing what kind of food you can give rabbits, you will provide the animal with a comfortable existence.

Types of feed

Only dry multi-ingredient feeds are used in modern industrial rabbit production facilities. The menu consists of more than ten components. Not only the type of plant component is taken into account, but also the place where the crop is harvested. For example, when deciding whether barley and wheat can be given to rabbits, it is important to know what ingredients it will be mixed with when raising rabbits in a particular area. For farms and private farmsteads, everything is simpler, but you need to have at least a general idea of \u200b\u200bdifferent feeds. Rabbits can be kept in cages or in pits, which means feeding conditions will vary.

Juicy food

In summer, green food is the main source of nutrition for most animals. Rabbits with them get everything they need. It is important to take into account that all types of green fodder are harvested only at the stage of their growth. With age, the fiber content in plants increases, and the animals do not digest them well, you should definitely take into account the age of the grass.

An important role in nutrition is played by legumes. Plants are rich in one of the most important amino acids - lysine. Clover, alfalfa, vetch have proven themselves well. A mixture of vetch and peas with oats is useful.

Recommendation: before feeding the green mass, it is worth drying it slightly, otherwise bloating may occur.

In autumn and winter, cabbage and carrots are good, it is useful to add beets. Potatoes are allowed, but better boiled. Animals are happy to eat gourds, including: watermelon, zucchini, pumpkin. But can you give them to rabbits? Here the answer is yes.

Wheat and other hard foods

Rabbits definitely need fiber. Branches, hay, straw can serve as the main source. It is useful to give herbal flour. Any herbs can be used for hay. Well, if its variety coincides with the summer menu. Rabbits do not tolerate dietary changes well. Straw is usually obtained from legumes or cereals. At the same time, unlike grass, it is worth answering in the negative to the question of whether it is possible to give green wheat to rabbits with other cereals. Their stem in the growth stage is poorly digested. Another thing is young sprouted shoots. This is a very useful food, especially for young rabbits.

Expert advice: be sure the diet includes legumes, oil crop waste, mature oats, corn, barley. The most popular grains are rye and wheat.

Can rabbits be given various branches of trees and shrubs? Not only possible, but necessary. It has already been noted that the well-being of the incisors depends on their presence. Fruit trees, willow, willow, maple are well suited. Rabbits are happy to gnaw on pine and spruce.

What can I feed a rabbit

Particular importance should be given to the diet of feeding when carrying rabbit cubs. This is the period when the immunity of future offspring is formed, their proper development occurs, and how much milk the mother will have also depends on the diet. Even the number of individuals born depends on the menu.

In the initial period, increase the nutritional value of the feed. To have more protein, minerals and vitamins. But at this time it is worth reducing the amount of feed. Before the appearance of rabbits, the total consumption of roughage is reduced, silage is completely excluded, and the amount of cereals is increased.

The menu includes: compound feed, oats, various legumes, sunflower cake, soybean meal will be useful. It is very useful to add carrots. As additives, chalk with meat and bone meal is used. Fish oil is given as a vitamin supplement.

It is strictly forbidden to be obese rabbit.

The first menu of rabbits

The newly born offspring of rabbits begins to grow rapidly. In four weeks, young animals increase their weight by 10 times. There are no animals that can compare with them in this indicator. Naturally, the most important element of nutrition in the early days is mother's milk. But prikormka, too, begins very early. Here are some feeding recommendations:

• Can I give wheat to rabbits that have just been born? No, because newborns have not yet fully formed the digestive system. Any solid food is not allowed.
• As long as there is mother's milk, it is better for rabbits to eat only it. This period usually takes up to 14 days.
• For babies, it is not recommended to immediately give a wide variety of feeds. Getting used to each component should take from three days. At the first stage, juicy food is abstained. It's good to start with dried grass.
• Babies are fed 4 times a day.
• One-month-old rabbits can already be accustomed to hay.
• At 2 months old, the rabbits are already weaned from their mother and gradually accustomed to adult food. You can gradually start to give juicy food.
• Young animals need vitamin supplements.

Typical seasonal menus

The basis of the nutrition of young rabbits in the summer should be green grass. At least 2/3 of the total volume. Barley and wheat - 15%, cake - 10%, bran - 5%. Be sure to add fish meal, fodder yeast, s alt, tricalcium phosphate. The daily norm until the ninetieth day of development is 370 grams.

In winterthe basis of nutrition is root crops - 50%, hay - 15%, cereals - 10%, bran - 5%, sunflower cake 10%. The proportion of fishmeal and yeast additives is increasing. S alt and tricalcium phosphate are present.

Fat for meat

In modern rabbit breeding, it is customary to refer all breeds to one of three types:

1. Meat.
2. Decorative.
3. Fur.

The most popular are meat breeds. As already noted, rabbits gain weight very quickly. Many breeds reach 5 kg by the 90th day. At the same time, the yield of pure meat is not less than 55%. Animals are determined for fattening at the age of two months. The process takes 30 days. This period can be conditionally divided into three stages:

1. Preparatory lasts no more than 5 days. Choose the most high-calorie feed. Can rabbits be fed wheat at this stage? Yes, it's allowed. While maintaining the green mass, the share of grain is increased - barley, wheat. In winter, reduce the consumption of hard food - branches, hay. The main thing is that the level of vitamins in the body does not fall. Compound feed, corn, legumes are excellent. It is good to include wheat bread in the diet.
2. The formation of fat lasts approximately 7 days. The diet includes boiled potatoes, pome crops, cake. You can give boiled porridge. The share of hay and root crops is reduced.
3. At the final stage, they stimulate the animals' appetite as much as possible. It is useful to add dill, cumin, celery. Some rabbit breeders add s alt to the water. The amount of compound feed is maximized and greens with hay are almost completely excluded.

With a serious approach to the nutrition of rabbits, very good results can be achieved, and pets will rarely get sick. The main thing is to know what you can feed rabbits.