Simple ways to optimize your rabbitry. Breeding rabbits at home Growing rabbits in the country over the summer

In the summer, many citizens move out of town with the whole family. Clean air and an abundance of home-grown vitamins energize you for the whole year. Rabbits in the country can be an interesting activity not only for children, but also for adults.

Everyone can organize a compact rabbit farm in the country. As a result, by autumn, when it's time for everyone to return to the city, excellent warm skins will be obtained, from which it is easy to sew original winter clothes. Fur after dressing is in no way inferior to the most expensive species obtained from fur animals. The products themselves will be worn with pleasure by both children and adults.

As a bonus, the family will receive delicious dietary rabbit meat. It can be stored frozen for quite some time. Someone tries to immediately prepare stocks of stew and use it later as a semi-finished product.

But that's not all. The key to a good harvest next year will be soft and nutritious manure for the soil from the eared inhabitants of the dacha. Anyone who has used it at least once in the garden or in the garden knows that the best organic fertilizer cannot be found. All nutrients are balanced in it. Such manure is universal, it is used even for capricious home flowers.

A small rabbit farm in the country is relatively easy to organize. You can start breeding, starting with one rabbit. Most often, after acquiring the first rabbit, there is a desire to acquire more, and then more. They are pretty cute and harmless. Children enjoy playing with little rabbits, they quickly get used to their hands and stop experiencing stress from communicating with a person.

For purchases, babies use large boxes in which holes are cut for breathing during transportation. Some hay is put on the bottom, the smell of their home is soothing, while they are transported from the market to the dacha.

Advice. The brought livestock must be sent to special housing. If it has not yet been built, then urgently need to do it. In the meantime, it is desirable to place the young so that the rabbits can eat grass. They should be protected from cats and dogs, provide fences. Otherwise, the kids may run away.

Top Breeds

You can buy any rabbits, but it is still advisable to opt for thoroughbred animals. They will give fur of the best quality, and will also grow well to the delight of all the inhabitants of the cottage. Back in 1932, it was decided to divide the breeds according to the main features:

skinned rabbits grown solely for the sake of obtaining high-quality skins according to certain quality parameters. The meat obtained from slaughter is a by-product of income. On some foreign farms, skinned rabbits are kept only up to two months of age. By this time, the first molt is completed, raw materials of acceptable quality are obtained. Meat output is small. Similar carcasses from China can be found on store shelves;

meat and skin breeds give high-quality fur, as well as full-weight carcasses. Currently, most rabbit breeders are oriented towards breeding meat-and-skin rabbits, here rabbits get a double benefit: meat and skins;
meat breeds are focused on obtaining large carcasses, reaching up to 8 ... 10 kg. The quality of the fur is not a determining factor, although rabbit breeders try to slaughter at the moment of cessation of molting. Then the skins will be of good quality and rather large in size;
broiler breeds- this definition in rabbit breeding received its status in 1983. Such young animals are grown only during the period of the greatest increase in live weight. With a decrease in the growth rate, they are sent for slaughter, since further maintenance is considered inappropriate. Usually broiler rabbits are raised up to 3.0 ... 3.5 months from birth. The quality of their fur is not high, so the content technology is not oriented towards it. The skins of such rabbits are bought with pleasure by representatives from China. They are used to make toys and key chains;
downy rabbits- these are several breeds that are united by the presence of fluff up to 6.0 ... 6.5 cm long. Such rabbits are kept in special conditions. Combing down is an operation that is used quite often;
decorative rabbits- relatively recently bred dwarf animals. They are distinguished by their miniature size. They are adapted to the content inside the apartments.

It remains to figure out which breeds are best suited for growing in the country.

For a relatively short summer and the first months of autumn, California white is the best. These animals are classified as representatives of broiler rabbits. They are characterized by rapid growth. By the end of the third month of life, the live weight approaches 3.0 ... 3.5 kg, which corresponds to a carcass weight of 1.5 ... 1.7 kg. White skin with short fur is used for sewing children's products. Over the summer, rabbits will grow up in the country house, which will decorate the table and give skins with white short fur.

new zealand white much like the California White, lacking the dark tips on the ears and tail. It is characterized by rapid growth up to 3.5 months (important for keeping in the country), and then the weight gain decreases. Only by the age of eight months, the New Zealand White can approach 4.0 ... 4.5 kg in live weight (the statements of some authors that they received 5 kg or more should not be believed, the purity of the breed has been lost).

Soviet chinchilla represents the meat and skin direction. At the age of four months, the live weight reaches up to 4.2 ... 4.5 kg (carcass weight 2.2 ... 2.4 kg). By the 120-130th day of life, the second molt is completed, so the rabbit breeder gets an excellent skin and meat. The females left for divorce grow up to 6.0 ... 6.3 kg. Males are somewhat smaller, no more than 5.8 kg. Many leave their choice on these rabbits. For rearing young animals in the country, they are best suited.

Silver is a representative of meat and skin rabbits, according to the indicator corresponds to the Soviet chinchilla. Fur is in somewhat greater demand, as elegant women's coats are sewn from it after dressing. Usually the young growth of these rabbits is more expensive than the rest.

Important! The rabbits of Silver rabbits are born black, only at the end of the second molt do they acquire a pedigree appearance.

Butterfly- This is an original animal in color. There are large black or brown spots on a white background. It is also a meat-and-skin breed with a high growth rate. Many people are attracted to fur, it is used in tailoring children's clothing, although some fashion designers use skins in clothing for adults.

Rabbits gray giant belong to meat rabbits, they are quite large, but grow relatively slowly. By three months of age, it will grow to 3.0 ... 3.3 kg. The Gray Giant gains its weight only after the age of eight months. The skin is dyed, mostly black, in an attempt to model a sable. The wear of products made from the fur of this rabbit is low. The breed is on the verge of extinction, it is not seriously dealt with.

white giant can be attributed to both meat and skin rabbits and meat rabbits. It grows quite quickly, in terms of indicators it corresponds to the Soviet chinchilla. The maximum mass is gaining by the year. The fur is rare. In white form, they are used only for decoration, more often they are painted in brown shades.

Black and brown rabbits universal direction of cultivation. They have black with gray hair, looks quite impressive. By four months they gain up to 3.8 ... 4.1 kg of live weight. With this breed, it can be difficult to tell when the second molt ends. Therefore, at the age of 110 ... 140 days, they regularly stroke the back with a wet palm. If there is no hair left on the palm, then the animal is sent for slaughter. Any overexposure leads to a loss of fur quality.

Flanders- a rather rare breed in the vastness of Russia. Representatives of Baran are often passed off as Flanders. They were brought in in the early nineties of the last century. Therefore, it makes sense to consider rabbits of the Sheep breed. Large mass at the age of 16-18 months. The animal grows for a long time. They get huge skins from them. Owners are reluctant to part with these rabbits. For many, they are constantly nearby and delight the owners with their appearance, calm disposition. Therefore, when buying Sheep, you should think about whether you are ready to send him to the slaughter.

angora white represents a downy breed. The body weight is small, but looks like a large white fluffy ball. These rabbits are taught to be handled from an early age. They are manual and allow you to comb out the fluff regularly. It is noted that the fluff of these animals does not cause allergic reactions. Therefore, both children and adults wear products from it with pleasure.

Rex also meat and skin representatives of the rabbit class, they are distinguished by very short hair. They are valued precisely for the fur, it looks trimmed. Rex has the most diverse color.

Advice. Rex should be kept in warm cages protected from the wind. In winter, they are kept in rooms where they use heating with IR lamps. Short fur does not warm in Russian frosts.

Dwarf (decorative) rabbits are rarely grown in summer cottages. They are not of industrial interest, although the demand for them is quite large. These are pets, they are allowed to run around the apartment. Small houses are created for them, where the eared ones spend most of their time.

seasonality

In summer, only those animals are raised that will not be taken to the city. The life span of dacha rabbits is limited by the period of stay of the inhabitants of dachas in their areas. Some residents of holiday villages who permanently live outside the city note the following: with the end of the summer season, rabbits appear in the district, which the compassionate owners did not dare to kill and released into the wild. Then, almost all winter, such rabbits are hunted. They are poorly adapted to life in nature, damage plantings, suffer apple trees, pears, currants and other trees and bushes.

Advice. If you took rabbits for the summer, then you do not need to leave your problems to other summer residents. They must either be implemented or killed.

Breeding

In summer, young animals are purchased at the age of one and a half to two months. It is not profitable to take older animals. They are more expensive, and by the end of the summer they will outgrow the second molt. There will be no noticeable weight gain compared to less mature rabbits. Already at the age of 4-6 months it is difficult to distinguish the animals in appearance, subject to normal feeding.

For future cells, it is desirable to allocate a place in the depths of the garden. The shade from the trees will cover the pets from the scorching sun. In extreme cases, a place can be provided under the protection of a high fence that will save the rabbits from the heat.

You should immediately decide where the feed will be stored. For grass or hay, a small canopy is suitable. Compound feed is stored in buckets with lids or boxes where rodents will not get through and rainwater will not get in.

Advice. Access to water from a water supply network or from a well is important. In the summer, rabbits will have to change the water daily, otherwise diseases cannot be avoided. In warm water, a variety of bacteria that are harmful to animals easily spread.

Rabbits in the country should be in cages. The arguments about what someone kept in a pit or on the floor in a barn are untenable. If there are no cages, and they are not foreseen in the future, then you should not acquire rabbits. Nothing good will come of it. The most dangerous disease in these animals is coccidiosis. Flies spread it.

Attention! Coccidiosis is always present in rabbits. There are only two forms of its existence. The first (safe) infection is in the body of the animal. Coccidia are passed out with feces. If the cage is self-cleaning, then the removed manure does not harm the rabbits. In the open air, coccidia develop, they are now dangerous. Getting together with the food in the digestive tract, coccidia cause disease. It often leads to death. This disease is especially dangerous in summer.

The cages must have a slatted floor. Some manufacturers, due to lower production costs, are advocating for a mesh floor. You can find recommendations on reputable sites that content on a mesh floor does not cause problems. Such statements should not be trusted. Any mesh, even coated with a layer of zinc or paint, will rust within two months under the influence of rabbit urine. The wire will damage the paws of the animals. You will have to put plates of different materials in a rotten place.

For cells, a slatted floor should be made. Boards with a width of more than 80 mm are used here. It is even better to make the floor from strips cut from flat asbestos-cement sheets (slate 10 mm thick) 100 mm wide or more. A supporting bar (40x40 mm) is installed in the middle of the cage.

Asbestos-cement sheets are not subject to decay. It is impossible to gnaw them, so cages once made will last for decades. It is also expedient to use flat slate in facing cells. Neither rain nor snow will have a destructive effect on them.

You can keep a group or individually. Until the age of three months, rabbits do not show sexual activity, but later young males begin to harass females. Therefore, it is desirable to separate animals by sex. How to determine where the boy is and where the girl is, quite a lot has been written. There are even videos that show in detail the process of separating young animals.

Food and water must be present in the cages at all times. Experienced rabbit breeders arrange special hay feeders from which hay is fed. They also recommend different samples of feed troughs, they serve granulated feed or whole grains, for example, corn.

Feeding

There are many dietary recommendations for rabbits. Dozens of dissertations have been defended on this topic. NIIZPK regularly issues its recommendations for rabbit breeders. You should familiarize yourself with them. However, with the summer content of young animals, which will go to slaughter in the fall, it is necessary to adhere to the system of non-normative feeding. While the rabbit's body is growing, all the food that enters it is spent on the growth of bones and meat. Animals that have stopped growing, and also do not have a load, begin to get fat. Therefore, rabbits feeding with their milk do not get fat. Their food is converted into milk.

For feeding, fresh hay or dried grass should be present in the feeders. In the feed trough - granulated feed for rabbits or for pigs. It is better not to give compound feed for cattle; components that increase milk flow are added to it.

The diet for young animals is simple - there should be an abundance of food. The extra rabbits will not be eaten.

Advantages and disadvantages

Keeping rabbits in the summer in the country is beneficial. There is an activity for children. Adults are happy to tinker with small animals. The rabbits are growing fast. They are interesting to watch. Animals slaughtered in time give excellent skins that are easy to dress with your own hands (there is no need to purchase expensive chemicals). Rabbit carcasses provide tasty and healthy meat. They are used boiled or fried. Many rabbit breeders make stew, which is then added to various dishes. Even smoked rabbit has an extremely original taste.

Flaws. At the end of the season, the animal must be slaughtered. Some people cannot overcome themselves. Here you should immediately think about whether it is worth keeping if you don’t have the courage to complete the slaughter. Some invite neighbors to help solve the problem.

Seasonal or year-round breeding of rabbits in the country is a profitable activity that allows you to fully meet your own needs for dietary meat. Keeping animals is very fond of older people who do not have enough strength to fatten pigs and cattle. Rabbits bring up to 5 broods of rabbits per year, which after 3-4 months are themselves able to produce offspring, and by 4-5 months they can weigh 5 or more kilograms.

A very profitable occupation for a summer residence

If you are used to spending the summer in the country, then raising rabbits can be relatively easy for you. Such a pastime will bring not only pleasure, but will also be a financially profitable activity.

The ability of these animals to often produce offspring, their precocity and high rate of muscle mass growth make it possible to always have fresh rabbit meat with a delicate taste on the table. Meat has an extremely low content of unhealthy cholesterol and is 90% digestible by the human body.

The wool of rabbits differs in high density and softness. It is perfect for tailoring fur products. Small children are very fond of rabbit mittens, slippers and vests that gently fit to the body, warming it even in severe frosts.

In this article, we will tell you how to breed rabbits in a dacha and grow viable offspring that are resistant to temperature extremes and various infections.

Features of keeping rabbits

For beginner rabbit breeders, keeping rabbits in the country is a specific occupation. This is due to the small area of home ownership and the inability to equip a spacious economic zone.

Be sure to decide what kind of rabbits you are going to keep in the country, and where to start will be the most convenient. It is very important to first study the habits of these animals and follow the simplest rules:

animals do not respond well to loud sounds, so cages or aviaries should be in a secluded place;
bright light harms their eyesight and leads to fading of the fur, which loses its natural luster;
install cages with the open side to the west or east so that direct sunlight falls on animals only during half of the daylight hours;
try to feed the rabbits at the same time, filling the daily diet with plenty of green fodder;
observe sanitary and hygienic standards and clean in cages at least 2-3 times a week;
carry out timely vaccination of young animals and periodically show problem animals to the veterinarian;
to improve the health of the young, take the babies away from the rabbit no earlier than they are 2 months old.

The productivity of your mini-farm depends on the creation of proper conditions, and rabbits in the country will have excellent health, quickly gain live weight and breed regularly.

Choosing the least whimsical breeds

For summer residents who are only taking their first steps in rabbit breeding, it is extremely important to understand which breeds are best suited for breeding and how to keep such animals.

Professionals distinguish rabbits of meat, downy and meat-fur (universal) breeds. If you decide to start meat animals of the Belgian Flanders breed, reaching a length of 70 cm and weighing 10 or more kilograms, then you should stock up on a lot of food. It is also necessary to prepare larger cells, which is not always possible.

For breeding in the conditions of a summer residence, representatives of universal breeds are best suited, which are unpretentious in content, have tasty meat, and their fur can be used for sewing clothes and toys.

If you plan to live in the country only during the warm season, then it is best to breed California and New Zealand white rabbits. Such animals have a muscular body and gain up to 40-50 g of live weight per day. Already at three months they can weigh 3-3.5 kg, and when slaughtered at 5 months, you can get up to 4.5-5 kg of dietary meat.

With year-round rearing of rabbits in the country, gray giants, Soviet chinchillas, butterflies, rams and representatives of the universal black-brown breed give excellent results.

How to choose manufacturers

If you decide to start fattening eared pets and do not plan to cross them with each other, then you can purchase animals from the same litter, placing them in individual cages. In this case, you are guaranteed to save yourself from births and the need to decide where to put the newly born rabbits in the fall.

With year-round breeding, it is best to purchase future producers from different breeders. This is guaranteed to protect against inbreeding, which inevitably leads to the gradual degeneration of the livestock and the birth of non-viable offspring.

Be sure to ask to see the rabbit whose offspring you decide to breed in the country. This will help to assess the industrial prospects of animals with a high degree of certainty.

For a rush of fresh blood in the livestock, purchase a male meat breed. In the conditions of our country, a gray giant is perfect for this, the offspring of which will be hardy and have larger sizes.

Remember that mating animals that are closely related reduces the productivity of the mini-farm, so regularly acquire new sires from other farms.

When starting rabbits in the country only for the summer, the easiest way is to install several cages near one of the walls of the outbuilding. Animals are very sensitive to drafts and, if they are present, they immediately begin to get sick. Therefore, choose a quiet corner in which the animals will feel most comfortable.

Take care of a canopy that will protect animals from rain and overheating. The optimum temperature for keeping rabbits is 12-18 degrees Celsius. The animals do not feel much discomfort even when the temperature deviates from the norm by 5-6 degrees.

In hot weather, be sure to water the roof of the canopy with water, and also place plastic bottles with ice in the cages.

Do not overdo it and do not allow the humidity to rise above 70%. A rabbit living in conditions of high humidity will definitely begin to feel depressed, lose its appetite and drastically reduce the rate of weight gain.

Year-round stay of rabbits in the country

In winter, you can start rabbits only if you constantly live in the country and have the opportunity to regularly feed your pets and clean up after them.

You will need to build a special utility room that is resistant to Russian frosts. It should be provided with a system of natural or artificial ventilation, which will reduce the level of humidity and get rid of unpleasant odors.

You can not do without an electric or stove heating system, the operation of which will need to be constantly monitored, preventing fires and fires.

Such a room in the daytime should be illuminated. Rabbits normally tolerate twilight, but can go blind in the spring from the bright rays of the sun.

Suitable methods for cottage breeding

It is usually difficult for a summer resident to allocate a lot of space for breeding rabbits. Therefore, he has to choose one of several ways to grow a large number of animals in a limited area.

There are general and cellular methods of keeping rabbits in the country, each of which has pros and cons.

Some rabbit breeders build pens right on their summer cottage, giving the animals the opportunity to feed on green grass and dig holes on their own. Read more about this in the article "About rabbit pens."

In recent years, pit keeping of eared pets has been gaining popularity. To do this, on the site it is required to dig a hole of arbitrary shape with a depth of 1-1.5 m (depending on the breed of rabbits). Animals with this content get the opportunity to dig and equip holes on their own, and the temperature regime is most suitable for their health.

Read about the technique itself, as well as its pros and cons, in the article “Breeding rabbits in pits”.

Practical cell content

The most practical is the cellular content. Cages with animals can be stacked on top of each other and moved from room to room. This is convenient for keeping females and males separate. Guarantees full control of the rabbit breeder over the birth and does not allow males to cover not yet fully formed rabbits.

Multi-tiered cage structures reduce labor costs for feeding and cleaning, allowing the rabbit breeder to conduct a quick daily inspection of pets.

Shed construction and practicality

In industrial rabbit breeding, sheds are often equipped - buildings with a canopy in which cages with animals stand on both sides of an open passage. They provide natural ventilation, but there are no drafts.

Standard sheds are about 60 m long and 3 m wide. The cages in them are installed in three tiers, allowing you to keep up to 500 adult animals at the same time.

Thanks to these design features, the rabbit breeder has the opportunity to use vehicles, mechanizing the process of feeding and cleaning as much as possible. Labor costs are sharply reduced, and the profitability of production is growing.

It is also possible to build such a room for keeping rabbits in the country, but this rarely makes sense, because you simply do not have enough space. Reducing the length of the shed can contribute to drafts and animal diseases.

Read more about the advantages and disadvantages of this method of breeding rabbits in the article "Keeping rabbits in sheds".

Keep track of your pets' health

Despite the fact that rabbits can absorb almost any plant food, you need to be very careful when compiling their daily diet. In the summer, you will not experience any special problems with this, giving the animals a variety of greenery and tree shoots for grinding their teeth.

Make sure that poisonous plants do not get into the feed, and the water in the drinking bowl is always purified and fresh.

Remember that excessive consumption of cabbage leaves and legumes, as well as the skin of root vegetables, can lead to bloating in a rabbit, and even death.

Dampness and drafts lead to the development of pneumonia and respiratory diseases, and too high a temperature leads to overheating of the animals and their heat stroke.

Do not forget to carry out preventive vaccination against infectious diseases in a timely manner. At the slightest sign of illness, move the animals to quarantine cages, away from the main herd. Be sure to use the services of a veterinarian.

Please like the article if you found it interesting. Share it with your friends on social networks, they may want to breed rabbits in their country house..

Write in the comments what difficulties you had to face when breeding rabbits in the country.

Breeds of rabbits for initial breeding

For breeding individuals in the country, it is advisable to choose the most unpretentious breeds. Such animals have good health, are distinguished by good survival. Below we will talk about which rabbits are recommended for beginners to start in summer cottages.

Meat breed New Zealand white

The grown individuals of this breed have an average body size, their weight reaches about 4.5 kilograms. Representatives of this breed do not have excess body fat, and therefore their meat is very tender and is considered dietary.

External features:

short neck;
tight ears;
Red eyes;
massive back;
white wool.

The females of this breed are quite prolific - there are up to 12 rabbits in one litter, and each weighs about 46 grams. Therefore, it is extremely profitable to breed such rabbits - from two or three females you can get all the other inhabitants of the mini-farm.

Meat breed French sheep

Cells will need to be prepared in accordance with the following rules:

It is advisable to place the front side of the cage to the east - this will protect the individuals from the unwanted effects of the sun.
The air temperature should be from 16 to 19 degrees, it is unacceptable to leave animals in the cold or in the heat.
The humidity in the cages should be around 65-67%. Excessive dampness leads to the development of various infections that provoke the death of animals.
Cages are recommended to be installed in a place protected from constant drafts.

It is important to provide optimal space for each individual. You should not keep livestock in cramped conditions, otherwise it will negatively affect their productivity. In addition, because of such errors, rodents can begin problems with the joints.

If in the summer and in the off-season the rabbits will feel good in outdoor cages, then for the winter they need to provide them with a warm room - a rabbitry.

Pet accommodation options

There are the following ways of keeping rabbits:

floor;
cellular.

The first option is convenient for those who do not have to spend money on the creation and arrangement of cells. The livestock is placed in any barn, aviary. However, the room will have to be carefully prepared, protected from external enemies.

However, this method has its downsides:

a high probability of closely related crossing (males and females are kept in different rabbitries);
the rapid spread of diseases during the epidemic;
conflicts over territory between individuals.

Most rabbit breeders prefer to keep animals in cages. You can choose both stationary and portable designs. Portable cages are especially convenient for winter maintenance, they can be placed in a heated room at any time.

The following advantages of cell content are distinguished:

rational consumption of feed mixtures;
the possibility of breeding selection of individuals;
there is no mass spread of diseases.

Therefore, saving on the construction of cells is inappropriate. The best option for country maintenance is a cellular battery in several tiers.

Cell battery dimensions

The frame of rabbit cages is a massive structure that has the following dimensions:

length - 6.8 meters;
width - 60 centimeters;
front wall in height - 2 meters;
the back wall in height is 1.8 meters.

The platform on the front side of the cages should be 35 cm above the floor level. This will help facilitate the process of cleaning the top row.

For the manufacture of cages, timber and metal are used. The second option is the most wear-resistant, in addition, metal structures are much easier to clean from contamination.

In the middle part of the frame there are boards for fixing the cells:

1st row - 30 cm from the floor level;
2nd row - 50 cm from the floor level;
3rd row - 50 cm from the floor level.

Install the cell battery on the foundation or iron racks. The foundation can be built from bricks, stones. It will be necessary to build cages of different sizes - for young rabbits - 50x70x30 centimeters, for giving birth to females - 50x100x30 centimeters.

Arrangement of the cell

The internal arrangement of the cells includes straw or hay bedding, as well as a feeder and drinker. For females, the cages should be more spacious, each of them has a “room” for walking and a nest for childbirth with a blank front wall. A maternity room must be provided in all cages where rabbits and young animals are kept - animals like to hide in such a nook from various dangers.

For each tier, pallets are usually provided at an angle - they are periodically taken out and cleaned of dirt. The cages also have feeders and drinkers. There are many ready-made purchased options for this utensil, and the simplest feeder can be made by hand.

Table 1. Feeder for rabbits from a sewer pipe: step by step instructions

Illustration	Description
	Step one: a PVC pipe of the required diameter is selected and cut to the desired length.
	Step two: plugs are installed on both sides of the pipe (they can be purchased in the same department, next to the pipes).
	Step three: a piece of plastic is cut out in one of the longitudinal sides so that the pipe resembles a gutter - food will be located in it.
	Step four: the pipe is screwed to the wooden base legs with screws so that the feeder is stable and the rabbits cannot turn it over.

Feeding rabbits

With the right diet, high productivity of individuals can be achieved. Typically, the rodent menu consists of the following products:

concentrates: grain crops, combined feed, protein production waste;
roughage: dry grass, branches of birch, poplar, willow;
green fodder: fresh herbs, including nettle, dandelion, yarrow, tops of root crops;
succulent feed: boiled and raw potatoes, sugar beet, cabbage, Jerusalem artichoke.

When feeding livestock with green fodder, it is important to consider that there are herbs that are dangerous to the health of rodents. These include:

elder;
larkspur;
celandine;
horse dill;
wild rosemary.

Rabbits need plenty of water to grow properly. But there are certain nuances of supplying liquid to the drinker:

Water must be changed at every feeding.
it is advisable to give individuals water heated to 30 degrees, especially small rabbits;
It is not recommended to give pets tap water, it should stand for several hours.

Animals must receive all the nutrients in the right amount all year round, so it is important to take into account the peculiarities of the summer and winter diet. In winter, when animals do not have enough fresh herbs, you need to “strengthen” the menu with vegetables and fruits.

summer feeding

In the warm season, the diet of rabbits is green food, tree branches, root crops. The exact amount of food is calculated individually, depending on the age of the individual.

Table 2. Calculation of the summer diet for each group of individuals

Important point! If the rabbit's diet contains a large amount of succulent feed and branches, then grass consumption should be reduced. In addition, it is recommended to dry the herbs a little before feeding.

winter feeding

In the winter season, rabbits have to waste energy on heating their own bodies, which is why more concentrates and roughage are included in the diet.

Table 3. Calculation of the winter diet for each group of individuals

You can buy ready-made feed for rabbits at a veterinary pharmacy, but some farmers prefer to prepare their own mixtures. We offer a simple recipe for universal compound feed for adult rabbits below.

Table 3. Ingredients for rabbit feed

Ingredient/Proportion	Illustration
Barley flour - 20%
Shredded corn - 10%
Crushed wheat - 10%
Herbal flour - 40%
Oilseed cake - 10%
Ground soybeans - 5%
Meat and bone meal - 2.7%
Feed yeast - 2%
Salt - 0.3%

The ingredients must be thoroughly mixed and poured with water. It is desirable to add warm water to the mixture, because the steamed feed is better absorbed in the body of rabbits.

Important point! Animals should have constant access to a drinking bowl with water, especially if there is dry food in the diet.

Video - Feeding rabbits

Rabbit Care

To ensure that the animals are comfortable, it is important to regularly clean the cages or enclosures. Such measures will help to avoid the spread of various infections.

Cleaning involves the following steps:

daily cleaning of pallets;
bedding replacement;
complete disinfection of the premises every 60 days.

To protect rodents from various infections, veterinarians recommend vaccinating the entire livestock. The first vaccination is given to rabbits at the age of 1.5 months, because before this period, young animals have strong immunity, which rodents receive through mother's milk.

Despite the fact that rabbits are quite unpretentious to negative environmental changes, as a result of an epidemic, the entire livestock may die. Sick individuals or rabbits with suspicion of any ailment should be immediately placed in a separate cage for quarantine and invite a veterinarian to them.

Reproduction of individuals

Puberty in rabbits occurs rapidly. Closer to 5 months of life, they are ready to bear offspring on their own. The degree of fertility of females depends on the breed, usually they bring from 6 to 12 rabbits (some rabbits have 15 cubs in a litter).

In summer conditions, it is advisable to start breeding individuals from the end of winter. So for the warm period of the year there will be an opportunity to grow individuals. Rabbits do an excellent job of mating on their own - you just need to plant sexually mature males and females together.

Is it worth it to breed rabbits in the country?

You can highlight the obvious advantages of breeding rabbits in your summer cottage:

the opportunity to have additional income from the sale of meat products and skins;
high demand for farm products;
minimum costs for feed in the summer season;
high fertility in females.

Rabbit breeding also has its negative sides:

predisposition of animals of certain breeds to infections;
costs for the purchase of feed, equipment, vaccines;
high mortality rate among young animals;
the cost of calling a veterinarian.

It is important to calculate the profitability of the farm in advance, and only then buy the first rabbits. Experts advise giving preference to highly productive breeds. However, some summer residents keep a small number of rabbits just as a hobby - then they become full-fledged pets.

Summing up

Every person without special skills can breed animals such as rabbits in the country. It is only important to prepare a room for keeping rabbits in accordance with all the rules and calculate how much food they will need in order to provide them with comfortable conditions.

Video - Features of breeding rabbits in the country

Interview with Mikhail Kuryakhov, General Director of Ural-MIAKRO LLC

Mikhail Kuryakhov, General Director of Ural-MIAKRO LLC, told the portal about the intricacies of doing business for beginner rabbit breeders.

- What is the main thing in this business and what aspects are less important? What is most often forgotten or overlooked?

First of all, a beginner rabbit breeder must decide who will buy his products. The main thing in this business, and in many other types of business, is the ability to soberly assess your resources at the initial stage. Most often, people simply do not fully understand who their products are made for, do not calculate all the costs, do not develop a strategy in detail, and suffer losses and burn out on this.

- What profit can you get if you breed rabbits not just for the soul, but master intensive technologies?

- The amount of profit can be estimated only when you know the size of investments. With the introduction of advanced technologies, the profitability is more than 70%.

How common is “home” rabbit breeding in our country now? And what is the average farm size (if we talk about small ones)?

Farm rabbit breeding has been developing quite successfully in recent years. In my opinion, the average size of modern farms is between 30 and 50 nesting rabbits.

- There is an opinion that it is possible to breed rabbits even in a city apartment if there is a desire and free space. Is it so?

Of course not ... rabbits can be kept, and not bred in a city apartment, - says Mikhail Alexandrovich, - moreover, it is decorative breeds. Breeding rabbits is an agricultural business associated with many inconveniences. It is unlikely that your neighbors in an apartment building will be delighted with the smells of your pets' waste from the balcony. Therefore, a land plot for such a business is simply necessary.

Is it really possible to build a cage for rabbits with your own hands? Or is it not so much about the ability to make cells, but about some special technology?

Cells can really be built with your own hands. Most farmers do just that. Moreover, there is a certain stereotype of rabbit cell models. During construction, it is important to arrange everything in such a way that it would be convenient for the animal to live there, develop and breed there, Kuryakhov sums up.

The best cages for rabbits are the ones that I made myself.

If you want to get a rabbit hutch for cheap, your best bet is to make your own. It is ease of manufacture, low cost and ease of maintenance that should become the main criteria when choosing a drawing for the construction of a rabbit cage.

Pay special attention to the arrangement of the cell floor!

In the feeding section for rabbits of the main herd and replacement young animals, it is better to make slatted floors, while using hardwoods (oak, maple, beech) or plastic. In the nest compartment and in the insert nest, the floors can be made of solid wood. In all other cases, cages should be built with solid board floors, and even better, a double floor should be arranged.

It should be remembered that it is impossible to keep rabbits on a mesh floor for a long time - this leads to paws and the development of pododermatitis. The best solution in this case would be the organization of removable removable floors that can be regularly cleaned of dirt.

If you make solid board floors in rabbit cages, they must necessarily have a slope towards the back wall. The difference in floor height (slope) should be approximately 5 cm. A double floor can be arranged in several ways, for example, by laying a removable tessel floor on a slatted or mesh floor. In the second case, the cage is the most hygienic.

“There are no ideal cells, to be honest,” Mikhail Aleksandrovich believes, “everyone has his own brainchild. The rabbit breeding technology includes, in addition to certain cage designs, a number of technological processes, the introduction of which together gives very good results.

Whatever the breed, rabbit meat contains all the vitamins, minerals and trace elements necessary for a person, so it is considered the most useful meat in the world. Delicious rabbit meat is recommended to be included in the menu for debilitated patients, children and the elderly.

At first glance, breeding rabbits for beginner rabbit breeders may seem like a difficult and boring task, but it is not. Believe me, caring for animals will bring a lot of positive emotions to all members of your family, and profitability will pleasantly surprise you with high rates.

If, nevertheless, you decide to devote part of your free time to fluffy animals, you will have questions: “Which breed is better?”, “What is the cost of meat and skins?”. And, most importantly, where to start?

Animals adapt well to new conditions, are unpretentious to food and conditions of detention, which cannot be said about other domestic animals. The scheme of care is quite simple. By providing animals with good nutrition, making timely vaccinations and taking care of healthy offspring, having established sales of products, you can make rabbit breeding a profitable and profitable business.

Aviary and industrial content

Breeding rabbits can be successfully organized in the country. Cages or aviaries are made by hand or ordered from experienced craftsmen. The design can be one-story, two-story or three-story. When installing equipment in the country, you need to make sure that the animals do not stay all day in the scorching sun, for which they make a special canopy or roof over the aviary.

Provide enough barley, hay and water for your pets in the country and you will be surprised to calculate the profitability even if you have a small livestock.

How to start industrial breeding of rabbits? You need to start by choosing a breed. You should decide and prioritize - do you need fur or meat? You can start by growing a Californian rabbit. It grows well and its profitability is quite high, whether it is industrial cultivation or breeding in the country. Caring for him is not complicated, mating and childbirth take place without excesses.

Proper care is primarily a feeding regimen. Grain, hay, water, fiber - this is the basis of the daily diet of these charming animals.
Equipment for rabbits is also very simple - grain trays, drinkers, preferably automatic, hay pockets, that's all the equipment in the cages.

Attention!Water and food must be kept in the cages at all times.

The profitability of breeding will be obvious, since the equipment cannot be called expensive, and the feed is costly.

A feature of industrial breeding is double mating, but you need to make sure that the males are healthy.

With aviary and industrial keeping, rabbits are kept with a rabbit for up to two months. This greatly simplifies care, since milk strengthens immunity and immunity to various diseases in animals.

Proper care means timely vaccination. At the first signs of the disease, most of which are infectious, you should immediately contact your veterinarian. Care of a sick rabbit consists of isolation, treatment and feeding, according to the doctor's recommendations.

How to organize rabbit breeding

Any breed is prolific and precocious. Rabbits are caring mothers, but it’s better not to take babies in your hands, a mother can refuse them.

Pairing. For mating to be successful, you need to get acquainted with the physiology and characteristics of the animals. If you are a beginner rabbit breeder, then it is better to invite a more experienced owner, he will give you advice and recommendations that you will need to heed.

Mating should be planned so that the birth does not take place on hot or frosty days, but best of all in the spring. Two to three rounds are considered the norm, it is not recommended to have a rabbit more, this can affect her health and the health of her offspring.

In representatives of small breeds, mating is possible at five months for rabbits, and for rabbits at six months. In large rabbits, this condition occurs later - by eight to nine months. Reproductive functions are preserved in rabbits for up to three to four years.

Finding out that a rabbit is ready to mate is very simple. To do this, it is enough to observe the animals. In this state, the genitals of animals increase and change color.

It is better to take the selection of pairs with all seriousness. This should start early. Sometimes they keep records - how the breed differs from others, what color the offspring is, the health of the babies, etc. It would be better if such records were kept regularly, and not occasionally.

The best representatives are selected for mating, if the breed requires improvement (meat additions or increased bone strength), they turn to representatives of other breeds.

If you have only one breed, beware of family ties, it is better to seek help from a neighbor in the country if he has good rabbits.

It will be better if mating takes place on the territory of the male. At home, they feel much more confident and calmer than on the territory of the female.

In the mating process, sick animals, animals with defects and rabbits whose breed you do not like should not participate.

If mating has occurred, the rabbit falls on its side. But this is not always the case. It is better if you repeat mating the next day, it will be more reliable.

In two weeks, the rabbit should show signs of pregnancy, it is better if you provide her with special care, attention and care. Adjust her daily menu, prepare her a secluded nest and protect the animal from the hustle and bustle. Aviary content in the country allows you to do this, industrial - not always.

While the female feeds the babies with milk, it is better not to let the male into her cage. Pregnancy is quite possible.

Remember that if your animal gains about a kilogram in a month, the maintenance and care of it is correct.