Rabbit breeding for beginners
I have been breeding rabbits for over 17 years. I know a lot and can answer questions from beginners. Ask if anyone is interested, I will try to answer as quickly as possible, even though I don’t come to the forum every day.
I am interested in the question: what breed is better for a beginner to get, so as not to encounter big difficulties, such as the death of rabbits. So that they can tolerate normal temperature conditions and in winter they can be kept outside. And of course I would like to know the breed of meat rabbits.
One of the best breeds for meat breeding is the Californian. Grows quickly, fleshy carcasses, fertility. All breeds of rabbits can be kept outside, except for French sheep - they can easily freeze their ears. The mortality of rabbits occurs mainly from improper feeding and coccidiosis. I have had outbreaks of this infection twice, but it is easily recognized and treated. In general, it is better to start with butterfly rabbits. These are the most unpretentious, crossbreed with any breed, and are excellent at feeding rabbits.
Hello. I have Californians, but for some reason they don’t reproduce at all. That is, everything is fine with gestation, but after birth the females do not feed the cubs. Maybe something needs to be added or removed from the diet? I feed them grain mixtures (barley, corn, oats), hay, and mixed feed.
How did you determine that the female is not feeding? For female rabbits, this process only takes a few minutes at night; during the day, they do not approach the babies. If the baby rabbits do not squeak during the day and do not crawl out of the nest, it means they are well-fed!
I would be interested in taking up rabbit breeding, but I'm afraid that I won't be able to slaughter it later. They are so tame! How do you deal with this problem? Do you invite a professional, or do everything yourself?
I score it myself. The first time for this task I took a sedative so that it wouldn’t be so scary. And after the first rabbit I stopped being afraid, now I act calmly. Hiring a professional is expensive, the meat will turn out golden.
When breeding rabbits, I sometimes encounter this problem - during the birth, the female rabbits scatter the babies and do not want to feed them. What can influence their aggressive behavior, and how can you understand in advance that a rabbit will be a bad mother?
This happens when a female rabbit comes into heat immediately after giving birth. Such a female is immediately placed again with the male, and after covering she quickly calms down. The rabbits are fed calmly, and on the 26th-27th day they are taken away, giving them the opportunity to rest for a couple of days before the second birth.