Anyone who decides to take up raising rabbits should understand that the final results of his work will depend to a large extent on the creation of favorable conditions for keeping animals. Having grasped the peculiarities of the life of these animals, having familiarized themselves with the methods of care and the rules of keeping, each beginner will be able to achieve success in breeding them.
Instructions
Step 1
Currently, many methods of keeping rabbits are used, among them, such as corral, cage, semi-free. The most common method is to keep rabbits in cages, as it allows for better work on the selection and breeding of rabbits, and prevents the occurrence of diseases.
Today, there are more than 60 breeds of rabbits all over the world. However, not all of them are of economic value. For beginner rabbit breeders, the most common breed is considered to be a gray and white giant, a chinchilla, etc. A distinctive feature of this breed is its size, up to 60 cm in length and up to 5 kg of live weight, young growth is developing intensively. They are unpretentious in content, hardy.
Step 2
First of all, you need to determine the location for the cells. The site should be chosen dry, on a hill, away from swamps. The humidity at which rabbits feel comfortable is 60-70%. Drafts and dampness are especially harmful to rabbits.
Rabbits consume an increased amount of oxygen. They cannot stand the heat. Exposure to sunlight can cause heatstroke. But they are resistant to low temperatures, adapted to spend the winter outdoors, although such content must be treated with caution.
Cages can be built from planks and metal mesh. It is preferable to make them in blocks, in each block there are two cells. A metal mesh feeder for grass and hay serves as a partition between the cages.
Each cage consists of two compartments, a nest and a stern compartment, which are separated by a wooden partition with a 20 x 20 cm manhole.
For the nest compartment, 40 cm is allotted, and for the stern compartment 60 cm of the cage width. The nest compartment is made solid, and the stern compartment is made of galvanized mesh with a mesh size of 16-18 mm, a wire thickness of 2 mm. Sometimes, the net is replaced with hardwood slats, with intervals of 1-2 cm between them. The feeder and drinker are attached to the front wall in the aft compartment. Feeders for combined feed and root crops, as well as drinkers, are usually made on the front side of the cage. Feeders are made 50-60 cm long. They are fastened so that after loading the feed, it itself folds back into the cage and its outer side adjoins the front wall.
The roof is pitched with a slope of 15 °, covered with roofing felt, with a 30 cm canopy for protection from the sun, rain and snow. The cages are installed at a height of 0.7 m from the ground.
Step 3
The cages should be oriented so as to prevent the animals from being exposed to direct sunlight. Basically, the cells are trying to unfold to the west or east with a facade.
Rabbit breeders, as a rule, prefer to raise animals in cages facing each other, which allows in winter, without much effort, to build a gable roof over the cages, and close the sides with wooden shields.
The combined content is also used, when the cells are transferred to the shed for the winter, this is especially true when the rabbits are okrol in the winter. All-season exposure to fresh air has a beneficial effect on animals, they become more resistant to diseases, their coat becomes thicker and shinier.
Step 4
Rabbit farming is an industry with a rapidly growing volume of finished products and deserves the attention it deserves. From the reproduction of rabbits, people get products that are in constant demand. Skins are used for sewing fur products. Rabbit meat is a delicious dietary product and contains a high amount of protein. Its advantages allow it to be recommended for consumption by people of mental labor, the elderly, children, people with diseases of the gastrointestinal tract, heart and other diseases.
