How beginners should raise rabbits
Today, the editor will explain how beginners should raise rabbits and the topic of in-depth discussion on rabbit raising methods and skills, keep reading!
Raising rabbits seems easy, but without certain experience, it is difficult to raise them well. It is hard for beginners to get started without a senior experienced rabbit breeder guiding them in a short time. What may be a simple task for others can be a difficult nut to crack for themselves, and it may take a long time to figure it out on their own. Today, I will share six essential skills in the rabbit raising process, hoping to be helpful to the majority of rabbit raising beginners!
1. Catching rabbits
Don't think that catching rabbits is simple and just pulling their ears is fine. This is a wrong way to catch rabbits, which is very likely to hurt them. First, rabbits have many nerves in their ears, and catching their ears may affect their hearing and other senses. Second, if the nerves and cartilage in the rabbit's ears are damaged, the ears will droop, affecting heat dissipation (rabbits have no sweat glands, and their ears are important organs for heat dissipation), and they are prone to heat stroke and death in summer. Third, rabbit ears cannot bear their own body weight (especially large rabbits), making the rabbit extremely uncomfortable and struggle randomly. The correct way to catch a rabbit is to hold the rabbit's neck skin with one hand and support the hindquarters with the other. By the way, most rabbits will enter a hypnotic state when their abdomen is facing up, so for uncooperative rabbits, turning them over directly will make them calm.
2. Estrus
Female rabbits are magical animals that can mate and become pregnant almost anytime. However, timing mating when the female rabbit is in estrus will result in a higher pregnancy rate. Rabbit breeders may have hundreds of female rabbits, and it's not possible to check each non-pregnant female rabbit every day. First, we can look at the eating habits of the female rabbits; a sudden decrease in eating may indicate estrus. Second, female rabbits show signs of unease, such as stamping and moving restlessly, during estrus. Lastly, we can follow a timeline: "blood mating" is possible within the first 3 days after giving birth, without checking for estrus, but it should not be consecutive to avoid affecting the mother rabbit's health and breeding function. Female rabbits are prone to estrus 15-18 days after giving birth when the kits start to be supplemented, and within the first 3 days after weaning. Whether a female rabbit is in estrus can be determined mainly by observing the vulva. Redness and swelling are signs of estrus, with pink being the early stage, bright red the middle stage, and purplish red the late stage. Mating in the middle stage has the highest pregnancy rate.
3. Mating
Many people don't check if the female rabbit is in estrus and simply put the male and female rabbits in the same cage for natural mating, without knowing the exact mating date. This is a big taboo for large-scale rabbit breeding. When we see that the female rabbit is in estrus, we put her in the male rabbit's cage or put both in a mating cage. After successful mating (when the male rabbit falls off the female), we put the male and female rabbits back in their original cages. For some female rabbits that do not cooperate after estrus, many people say to tie a rope to the female rabbit's tail, hold the rabbit's neck skin with one hand to fix it, and pull the rope with the other hand to achieve successful mating. However, after trying it several times, the success rate is not high. After searching for information and studying, I found a method with a higher success rate: hold the female rabbit's neck skin with one hand to fix it, reach under the rabbit's abdomen to the hindquarters and gently lift, using the middle and index fingers to separate a certain part of the rabbit, which can help the uncooperative female rabbits mate.
4. Palpation
The best way to determine if a female rabbit has become pregnant is by palpation. Many rabbit breeders are afraid to palpate or don't know how to do it. I started raising rabbits this year and although I knew some theoretical knowledge about palpation before, I still needed a lot of practice to master the skill with high accuracy. Experienced rabbit breeders can tell if a female rabbit is pregnant 8-10 days after mating. At this time, the kits in the womb are only the size of a peanut. I suggest that beginners start palpating from 15 days after mating when the kits are the size of an egg yolk and easier to feel. When palpating, hold the rabbit's neck skin with one hand to fix it, gently stroke the rabbit's back with the other hand to calm it down, then reach under the rabbit's abdomen in a V shape from back to front. Kits are usually concentrated at the back at 8-10 days, and as time goes by, they will disperse forward. Remember that palpation is not just a light touch but involves lifting the rabbit's abdomen with the palm and gently pinching with the fingers. Only by pinching gently can you feel the kits. Once you feel them, let go and do not count the number of kits to avoid causing abortion or stillbirth. Also, be sure to distinguish between kits and fecal balls. Kits are not regular circles and feel very smooth and elastic, while fecal balls are round, hard, and rough and can be easily pinched.
How beginners should raise rabbits
5. Injection
Vaccinations and treatments for rabbits often require injections. Many rabbit breeders give up vaccination and treatment because they don't know how to inject rabbits. In fact, injection is simple, and I'll tell you some techniques. After practicing a few times, you can fully master it. Rabbit injections are divided into subcutaneous, intramuscular, and intravenous injections, with subcutaneous injections being the most common. We usually choose the rabbit's neck for subcutaneous injections because it has the thinnest skin. To inject, gently lift the rabbit's neck skin, insert the needle at an angle, and stop when you feel a puncture sensation. Continuing to insert will hit the muscle or break the skin. Intramuscular injections are usually given in the hindquarters where there is more muscle, but be careful not to insert too deep to avoid hitting nerves. Intravenous injections are usually given in the ear veins. Press the vessel near the ear base with your hand, and when the vessel is raised, insert the needle.
6. Immunization
In many rabbit-related books or materials, it is mentioned that rabbits need to be vaccinated with multiple vaccines. However, in actual rabbit breeding, most farms only inject one or two vaccines because many rabbit diseases have low morbidity, pose less threat, or have poor immunity effects. One vaccine that must be given to rabbits is the rabbit fever vaccine. Rabbit fever can occur anywhere and is harmful after onset. The rabbit fever vaccine has a good effect after being vaccinated. Kits are vaccinated once at 30 days of age, but at this time, the kits have just been weaned and still have some maternal antibodies, which may affect vaccine absorption. Therefore, a second booster is given at 45 days, and then every six months. Commercial rabbits are sold before the third vaccination. The rabbit fever vaccine is given subcutaneously, usually at 1.5 to 2 times the dosage specified in the instructions. You can also use the rabbit fever and Pasteurella combined vaccine, which can prevent rabbit fever and Pasteurella disease. However, the Pasteurella vaccine does not have an ideal effect and can only reduce the incidence of disease. Many rabbits still get sick after vaccination. It is best not to use the rabbit fever, Pasteurella, and Clostridium Welchii trivalent vaccine because the more diseases it prevents, the poorer the immune effect. It can be said that except for the rabbit fever and Pasteurella vaccines, other vaccines such as Clostridium Welchii and Staphylococcus vaccines can be immunized based on specific situations and do not necessarily have to be injected.
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