What to feed a rabbit in winter? Breeding rabbits in winter. Keeping and feeding rabbits in winter

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

We all know this catchphrase “Rabbits are not only valuable fur…”, but even to get this fur, not to mention 3-4 kilograms of dietary easily digestible meat, you need to make a lot of effort.

What is the true value of rabbits?

These cute animals are considered the most profitable due to their precocity and breeding rates. They can be safely kept at home. Think for yourself: just one rabbit is capable of producing offspring of 25-30 eared heads per year, the total weight of which will be about 1 centner! What can we say about the benefits of rabbit meat - it is recommended to include it in the diet of children and adults, sick (especially those who complain of problems with the stomach and liver) and he althy. It is impossible not to mention the skins of these rodents, which are so widely used for sewing clothes and accessories. And carefully processed rabbit fur with modern methods can easily be confused with much more expensive material.

It is for these reasons that rabbit breeding has become very popular in our country. But it often happens that poor animals becomeonly funny toys in the hands of inexperienced owners who do not even have a clue about the content of such pets. A true rabbit breeder should know literally everything about these animals, in particular, how to properly care for, breed, what can and cannot be fed to rabbits. In this article we will talk about the maintenance of such a farm in the winter.

Assess your strengths

Let's say right away: before you buy your first rabbit, objectively evaluate your capabilities and desires. After all, the aforementioned offspring will require from you more than 100 kg of hay, about 115 kg of various root crops (for example, potatoes) and a little less than half a ton of green grass. And then find out well what you can feed the rabbits so that they grow up he althy.

Take into account that the eared will spend his whole life in the cage that you create for him, so it should be as comfortable as possible.

These animals are quite clean, so they need dryness and cleanliness, protection from severe frosts and drafts. Although they love the sun, they cannot do without a secluded dark corner. The shelters you have built are best placed under a canopy or in a separate shed so that they do not succumb to rain and strong winds. Not particularly economic rabbit breeders are surprised why their pets are depleted and easily succumb to all sorts of diseases. The answer is simple: the inappropriate keeping of rabbits is to blame. In winter, this is even more evident.

General principles of home improvement

So, it would be right to equipyour rabbitry so that its so-called facade faces the southeast side. Thus, direct sunlight, which these rodents do not like so much, will not get here, but there will be access to such morning rays that are useful for them. This protection does not mean that rabbits should be raised in the shade - a moderate amount of daylight kills harmful microbes in animal houses, allows them to always stay dry. In addition, under the influence of the sun, the body of the animal produces the optimal amount of vitamin D2, which contributes to rapid growth.

It is generally accepted that a rabbit needs very little space for normal life, it all depends on the breed:

• for animals of small breeds, 0.5 sq.m is enough;
• medium breed can be limited to 0.75 sqm per head;
• large breeds need a minimum of 1.25 sq.m. square.

Cages of the required size can be installed in several floors, usually a rabbitry is a three-tier structure.

How to insulate a house for an eared one?

Small rabbit farms are usually equipped with plain rabbitries made of tongue and groove boards (although log buildings are considered to be of the highest quality). Such shelters require additional insulation in winter. This can be done by filling the space between the walls with natural heat insulators. Most often, some twigs or sheets, straw, moss, etc. are used. If the weather conditions in your area are quite severe, then it is advisable to finish the outer sides as well.cells.

For covering, sheet iron is used or, as it is also called, roofing, which has excellent waterproofing characteristics. Sheets of this material should be laid horizontally and overlapped to prevent rainwater from seeping in.

Proper breeding of rabbits in winter provides for mandatory insulation of the bottom of the cages, which is often made of mesh. In this case, you need to build a kind of pallet with a slope in the center, into which animal waste will fall, and only then lay a protective layer of insulating material.

Cages must have good ventilation, so holes must be made in their lower and upper parts through which air is supplied and exhausted. To keep rabbits comfortable in winter, these openings must be equipped with valves and closed in case of severe cold.

Cages can be either single or double. In order to breed offspring during the cold months, the bottom of such rabbitries should be insulated with straw, and the mesh doors should be covered with protective wooden doors.

How to furnish a rabbit's house?

As we said, rodents need daily comfort. The main thing for them is nutrition, so each cage must be equipped with a feeder. For these purposes, you can use both improvised means and special bunker devices sold in pet stores. The latter are very convenient, because you can fill them with food only once a week. The principle of their work is quitesimple: a bunker in the form of a funnel with a narrow hole at the bottom is covered with a crumbly feed mixture, which enters a kind of trough, from which the rabbit feeds. Such a simple mechanism allows the owners not to worry about the satiety of their dependents for a long time, therefore it is optimal for use on large farms.

As homemade feeders, you can use ceramic vessels or cans with low edges, in the center of which you need to fix a smaller diameter jar. This design prevents rabbits from getting into the feeder with their feet and soiling the food, which is especially convenient when breeding young animals.

To make rabbit breeding more efficient in winter, cages can be equipped with wooden nesting boxes or maternity kennels. These are original boxes 30-35 cm high, the corners of which are upholstered with metal squares (so that rodents do not sharpen their teeth on them). Similar designs can be made of both wood and polystyrene.

Vital

Water balance in the body of a rabbit is the key to his he alth. A lack of fluid can lead to serious deformities of the liver, kidneys and spleen, problems with the digestive processes and the level of reproduction.

Very often in rabbits, feeling the lack of water, there is nephritis, which in most cases leads to death. That is why the issue of providing water is as important as feeding rabbits in winter.

Therefore, it is better to resort to the use of automatic drinkers, which will provideuninterrupted access to water. Such a device can be made with your own hands by filling a plastic bottle with water and turning it upside down so that the neck is at the bottom of a drinking vessel (for example, a can of suitable size). For water to flow for several days, a 1 liter bottle should be used, which can be easily attached to the cage with a wire.

How to properly feed rabbits?

The daily diet of adults should be to help maintain the already acquired fatness. This means that neither starvation nor overfeeding should be allowed. But in order to get good and he althy offspring, before the start of the period of sexual activity, the intensity of bait can be increased, because the number of the future brood and its quality directly depend on the amount of proteins and vitamins consumed. So at this time, you can give the "household" more grain (including germinated), bran, cake, herbal flour. Such an assortment of food for rabbits will be enough even more than. You can also feed a rabbit in winter with pine, spruce or juniper twigs, limiting the daily dose to 200 grams. In order for such food to retain all the vitamins well, it must be kept in a dark room or directly under the snow. An indispensable food for a rabbit may be potatoes, which must first be thoroughly washed.

Rabbits do not refuse human-cooked food: bread crumbs, cereals, soups. The main thing is that the treats do not sour and do not become moldy. Bread is betterdry in the oven, and the leftover soups can be mixed with dry food. But it is better to limit the animals to a daily dose of 200 g.

What to feed a rabbit in the winter during the mating season?

Winter has come, so it's time to prepare rabbits for mating. Proper nutrition plays an important role in this matter. Before bringing a couple of mature rodents to produce offspring, it is better to feed them well with sprouted grain, which contains vitamin E, which is so valuable for an effective reproduction process. One individual is enough for up to 20 g of feed per day. An alternative option is to add baker's yeast to food at the rate of 5-6 g per day for 5 days, after which you can take a short three-day break. Daily s alt can be mixed into the feed: about 1.5 g for mature individuals, and 0.5 g is enough for younger ones. Rabbit breeders also often practice mixing small amounts of chalk, bone or fish meal, food phosphates, etc. into food. In general, in order for the feeding of rabbits to be optimal in winter, it is necessary to take into account the state of their he alth, and only then draw up a daily diet.

Baby females, who give most of all the nutrients that enter their body with food, give to rabbits, require more calories. Therefore, their daily menu should consist of protein products: up to 100 g of oats, legumes and feed crops, up to 50 g of sunflower cake and about 30 g of soybeans. All sorts of mineral impurities and root crops will also be useful.

If you are expecting replenishment in your household by winter, it is worth consideringthe better to feed the rabbits in this case. Lactating females, in addition to regular food, need foods that promote lactation. Leguminous plants, silage, dried herbs, etc. will become the main components of the winter diet containing milk-producing substances. The most active feeding period is the 20th - 45th day of lactation, when each rabbit requires its mother to eat 30 g more grain and 20 g more hay.

How to properly raise offspring?

To give a good start to a newborn, you need to know well how to feed a monthly rabbit. Born babies who were weaned from the uterus (this is most often done after the 30th day of the life of rabbits) do not require much food. But even the small amount that they need to provide must be very high-calorie. At this age, the digestive system of the cubs is not yet quite ready for coarse grain and vegetable feed, so the first few days after weaning, the eared can be given fresh milk, whey and special mineral supplements.

Then you can gradually introduce into the diet easily digestible foods, such as young grass, red carrots, boiled potatoes, not very coarse cereal hay and legumes. Bone meal helps to gain weight in winter. So, how much to feed a young rabbit with such food? One-month-old cubs require only 1g, two-month-olds require 2g, and three-month-olds require 4g. this flour.

What herbs to prepare for winter?

A good way to quickly raise a rabbit is to feed him regularly. But if for someor for some reason it is impossible, that is, a worthy alternative is herbal flour, which must be prepared in advance. To do this, green grass must be thoroughly dried in the shade, and then folded into a bag made of natural material so that it does not become compacted. Compacted plants quickly oxidize, as a result of which the processes of destruction of carotene, the most valuable component of this food, are accelerated.

Immediately before use, dried raw materials must be carefully ground into flour, which will retain the maximum of useful properties. At the same time, in terms of nutritional characteristics, it is almost as good as grain.

Feeding domestic rabbits in winter should be taken care of in advance, so prepare a good supply of hay from cereal plants and all kinds of grasses (preferably young ones that have not yet been overcooked). Try not to use marsh or steppe grasses as feed - they will be very tough. Straw from peas, oatmeal or millet is perfect.

Root vegetables - a source of vitamins in the cold months

In order not to constantly wonder what to feed the rabbit in winter, take care of preparing his favorite delicacy - carrots. If the harvest of this vegetable does not allow feeding it to eared, you can replace it with Jerusalem artichoke or kuuzika (a mixture of swede and kale).

The last plant has large roots, reaching up to 7 kg, so even a large population of rodents can be fed with them. A good vitamin vegetable for themis a pumpkin, which, among other things, can be stored easily and for a long time. It can be given to rabbits raw, cut into pieces, or boiled, added to dry food. A whole range of useful substances found in pumpkin contributes to good milk secretion in lactating females, accelerated growth of offspring, as well as improving the quality and taste of rabbit meat. And the seeds can be used as a remedy for worms, which often appear in young offspring.

Grain feeding

Experienced rabbit breeders know exactly what grain to feed rabbits to keep them fat. Cereals are rich in all the components necessary for rodents:

• proteins that are mainly concentrated in legumes;
• carbohydrates accumulated in cereal crops;
• fats derived from oil plants.

This type of feeding is especially important in winter, when vitamin deficiency is sharply felt.

At this time, rabbit breeders actively give their pets wheat, barley, corn and oat grains. The last rabbits are loved the most - they are very nutritious and do not contribute to excessive accumulation of fat. Rough barley and corn should be crushed a little before feeding, because delicate rabbit stomachs may not be able to withstand such a load. But do not give them only one type of grain - they need to be combined.

Don't forget that the rabbit's body also requires a certain routine, so you need to feed him at about the same time. So youand the animal will do well, and save food.