Rabbits, their varieties and lifestyle

Domestic rabbits are perhaps the most popular pets. Therefore, their future owners need to know how to understand them, what to feed and where it is better to keep. Animals are not particularly demanding on living conditions and diet, but there are certain rules, the observance of which will be the key to longevity of the eared.

Rabbits

The life expectancy of rabbits with proper care is 12-15 years. Wild rabbit in nature lives less and rarely reaches 2-3 years of age. Maturity occurs simultaneously with the first molt, at about 3-5 months. The smaller the breed, the more mature it is.

Do you need friends of your pet?

A person who keeps rabbits for a long time will tell you that these animals are sociable, playful and curious . Having recognized their master, they joyfully clap eyelashes and move their tails.In the western habitat, rabbits are grouped, the exception is an earthen rodent, he is the only one who prefers solitude. The rest, both the rabbit and the hare, remaining alone can get bored and even fall into depression.

If you do not plan to breed, it is better to keep in the cage either one pet or a couple of individuals that have the same gender. Sterilization and castration – will help to solve the problem with living space.

These animals are characterized by a struggle for territory, so cage newcomers to the cage carefully and as soon as possible watch the behavior of the pets as often as possible. This way you can minimize stress.

Little rabbits must be picked up gently and slowly, try not to scare them. It is undesirable to take pussies for only ears or only for scruff. It’s right to do so, with one hand, press the ears to the body, through them take the animal by the scruff, and slightly raising it, with the other hand, support the body from below.

How much space is needed

The rabbit will not be able to live in the dark, he will become bored there, why he can get sick and even die. Always keep this in mind when choosing a cell. If you plan to build a house for two medium-sized individuals, keep in mind that each should have at least 0.5 square meters. In order to save space, you can build a two-level cage. The main thing is that it should be warm and bright, but not let in drafts and direct sunlight.

If animals live on the street, they must be protected from rain and wind. Do not forget, when the colds come, move their house to a warm shelter, which is perfect as a barn or other outbuilding in the country. Some even breed rabbits in the garage by installing special pallets inside it.

Is it possible for domestic rabbits to live in an aviary? Of course, it’s not only possible, but also necessary if the climate allows the area of ​​the site. Fuzzies require constant physical activity, and for a rabbit to frolic he needs a lot of free space. Whether they live in an aviary or a spacious cage does not matter.

If the rabbit is one of the pets, be sure to let it out of the cage run around the rooms at least once every two days for several hours. First remove from the floor all the wires and other objects that your fluffy can gnaw upon getting into his eyes. So that the claws of the animal do not scratch the parquet and the walls of the apartment they can be trimmed with special scissors. A very interesting rabbit is playing with flowers.

Always keep track of where your pet is climbing. Do not let him jump from a height onto a hard surface, remember that this is life, not a computer game overgrowth, so even a small flight can cause injury.If this nevertheless happened and your pet is limping a little or trying not to step on one of the legs, the tip of which is slightly swollen, most likely he damaged it. It is necessary to treat fractures after a preliminary examination in the clinic, and just as the doctor wrote.

Keeping animals indoors and outdoors

Adult individuals of some breeds can round year to live in an aviary, provided that the frost is not severe. But the wintering of young animals, which still have growth and maturation of thick undercoat, should take place in a warm, specially equipped room where wind and snow cannot penetrate.

Regardless of whether the rabbit hibernates with friends under the open heaven or walk in the barn, they should always have free access to water and food. In winter, you should change your drink more often.

Many are interested in the question, is it possible for domestic rabbits to lay old newspapers in a cage as a filler? Of course. This material can perfectly replace purchased wood shavings or cellulose. In addition, an excellent litter is obtained from straw and ordinary white paper.

In rabbits living in cages with a trellised floor because of the nets, corns often form, use traps to prevent them from appearing. You can buy a mini-gangway at any pet store. Recently, patching rabbits has become popular, it is a low-cost and very profitable business.

What to feed?

The wild rabbit grows and spends 80 percent of his life searching feed, he gladly eats delicious succulent plants, foliage and hay. In addition to the fact that this food contains a lot of fiber that promotes harmonious development, rodents grind their teeth about it.

A well-balanced diet is the key to health and longevity. The main element of your pet’s nutrition should be hay or freshly cut grass.Enter the last item in the menu carefully, in small portions. Do not forget to add vitamin and mineral complexes to the feed.

The daily rabbit diet should be supplemented with greens and vegetables, most likely rabbits will eat white cabbage, green spinach and similar garden plants. But with fruit, you should be careful. Sugar, which is found in large quantities, products such as tangerines or quinces, is harmful to animals. Although in small quantities, the pet will gladly eat a pear, an apple or some berries. Rabbits really like raspberries, but they don’t like viburnum very much.

Ambrosia is a herb with which you should be as careful as possible. In small doses, it is useful, but if the rabbit eats it a lot, it is poisonous.

For feeding, you can choose either muesli or granular compound feed, for example, pro plan, or all at once. Try not to overfeed the animal with dry mixes. Remember that the main food that any rabbit eats is still hay and greens and this is a fact. Grass must first always be finely chopped. Eating only compound feeds, rabbits will experience a number of health problems. Recently, some farmers have begun to add soybeans to rabbits, but not more than 20% of their daily diet.

When organizing pet feeding and drinking, consider the following recommendations:

• If hay is not just put in a cage, but first twisted into a lump, you will provide the animal with food and a dental simulator . The rabbit holds a bundle of hay in its front legs and gnaws on it very funny when it eats.
• A treat hidden in different corners of the house will contribute to the rabbit’s physical activity, as it can make him move in search of food.
• Remember that unfinished food quickly begins to rot and attract insects so that this does not happen, clean the cells daily.
• To diversify the food, you can take a silo or premix. The rabbit eagerly eats a green salad of herbs such as: alfalfa, St. John’s wort, clover, plantain, wormwood, tansy, wheat grass, rapeseed. In small quantities, germinated wheat, oats, barley and a mash of these and other cereals are useful.
• In addition to food, animals need fresh water 24 hours a day. Remember that the rabbit drinks only fresh and clean water.

Health

There are times when healthy rabbits yesterday lay on their backs and die today. in sequence. There are many reasons for this, but, the main reason why the eared ears are dying is inadequate care and non-compliance with sanitary requirements for their maintenance. A variety of symptoms can indicate a disease.

These problems are usually not a problem for a breeder who keeps animals clean.When cleaning the cells, try to accustom yourself to always look at the excrement of the pet, if they look strange and smell unnatural, this is the first signal for the development of diseases.

Try to always listen to the sounds that rabbits make when they open their mouths, it’s easy to identify health status of babies. If the screaming lump shakes violently, his stomach is unnaturally inflated, he can barely stand on his feet, which means that if the emergency saving measures are not taken, the animal will die soon.

Miases

leading to the death of pets. It develops mainly in the warm season and often ends in death. Distributors are various insects, for example, flies that use a rabbit as an incubator for their eggs. According to statistics, in animals with excess weight, this problem is more common.

To avoid death, hygiene is required and bite areas must be treated with a special disinfectant.

In addition , do not forget to timely change the dirty flooring to clean. There are special insecticides and repellents that can perfectly cope with any miiasis.

Too long teeth

In all rabbits, like real rodents, the teeth grow constantly so that they have not become too long, provide pets with constant access to things that they will subsequently gnaw on.Many veterinary clinics provide cutting services for rodent teeth. Once a week, check the mouth of your pet, pay attention not only to the length of the teeth, but also to see if the fur is stuck between them. The rabbit, as your favorite pet, should always have fresh hay, sticks and twigs in its cage: firstly, your fluffy will be constantly busy with something, and secondly, your teeth will be normal and will not cause discomfort to the animal.

Papillomas

Domestic rabbits often suffer from benign tumors of viral origin, which in medicine are called papillomas. They arise either in the oral cavity and in the form of small warts, or already in the form of horn formations appear in the neck, shoulders, ears and abdomen. Carriers of the virus are ticks and insects. It is useless to fight papillomas, after a couple of months they disappear on their own.

Coccidosis

The second name for the disease is eimeriosis. Called by parasites. Spreaders are sick or previously ill animals. Mostly young livestock aged one to four months are affected. Rabbits begin to lose weight, their temperature rises, mucus appears from the nose and eyes. It seems that they have taken away from them, as sick pets almost all the time lie on their sides and breathe heavily. Treatment is with sulfanilamide and nitrofuran drugs.

Digestion problems

Cleanliness is the guarantee of health not only for people but also for animals, but remember that everything should be in moderation. Too intensive processing of cells where fluffy live, just like from a sharp change in diet or from a change in climate, can cause gastrointestinal problems in rabbits. And this is very dangerous, especially if, after their appearance, loss of appetite begins.

Finding that the pets make strange noises, they eat almost nothing or they have bloated and periodically loose stools, immediately take him to the clinic. Ignoring the problem, just like any experiments on self-treatment of rabbits whose stomachs begin to sulk and swell, will lead to death after a while.

Myxomatosis and viral hemorrhagic diseases

Infectious and viral diseases are the most dangerous and unpredictable; they are spread by insects and by airborne droplets. If the symptoms of the disease, such as fever or nasal discharge, appear in one pet, it means that most likely they will soon be transmitted to the entire rabbit family, without exception.

The effects of fever can be recognized when the animal’s eyes go blind swelling, characteristic sounds appear in the groin, indicate that swallowing is very difficult, all this as a result leads to death. HBV occurs with internal bleeding.No more than three days usually pass from the moment of infection to death, it is faster in young individuals.

There is no cure for myxomatosis or HBV, but there is a special prophylactic vaccine that reliably protects against these deadly infections. The first time an intramuscular injection should be done at one and a half months of age, and subsequently once a year throughout the rabbit’s life. There is information that in some cases benzylpenicillin and ampicillin help in the early stages of myxomatosis.

Ticks

The presence of ear mites in rabbits is common. Infected individuals begin to scratch themselves and comb their heads and ears to blood. When the head scratches at the base of the ears without interruption, the animals live in constant discomfort, they eat almost nothing and lose much weight. Through wounds, an infection that damages the inner ear and central nervous system can enter the rabbit body. As a result, “torticollis” develops due to brain damage, the whole head leans to one side. The ears and head of sick individuals should be treated with anti-tick drugs with preparations for cats. As a prophylaxis against fleas and ticks, you can buy a special collar from a pet store.

Cystitis

A disease in which the bladder is in an inflamed state is very difficult for pets to tolerate. A pyogenic infection that has got into the urinary system from the kidneys, mammary glands or uterus can provoke a problem.In addition, cystitis can develop due to urinary retention and trauma.

The following behavior of the animal is indicated for the presence of the disease: it sometimes begins to walk in circles around the cell, screams and bends its back. In a sick individual, bright red urine, the more cystitis progresses, the more painful urination in rabbits occurs. Often processes are accompanied by intense heat.

Sick individuals should be kept separately from the rest of the livestock. The quarantine pen or cage must be thoroughly insulated, and a dry, warm compress must be applied to the pelvic area. You can feed a sick rabbit only with easily digestible products. In addition, they need to ensure constant access to drink. In order to cope with abscesses, veterinarians usually prescribe a bladder lavage with potassium permanganate, rivanol or furatsilinom. Having previously dissolved these substances in water. In the fight against cystitis, sulfonamides and antibiotics very well help.

The main problems that can occur with rabbits’ health and provoke their death are listed above, in fact there are a lot of diseases: cysticercosis, fibromatosis, staphylococcus, mycosis, dermatitis and others, you can list them endlessly.

How to deal with worms

Few people know, but deworming in rabbits can occur without the use of medications and vaccines.There are more gentle for the rabbit organism, but no less effective folk methods. From worms, wormwood or the “tree worm”, as it was called before, helps wonderfully. Instead of wormwood, you can use wild mountain ash (tansy). In winter, the grass can be replaced by needles, which grows year-round.

Behavior of rabbits

In wild conditions, rodents are constantly hunted. After domestication, rabbits became less shy, but some characteristics of wild ancestors still contain their characteristics. If you want your pets to be happy, be sure to consider the following facts about rabbits:

• Fuzzies need stability and constant communication. They can fully develop only in spacious light cages and aviaries.
• If the animal is not active enough during the day, he has problems: constant depression, aggression, loss of appetite. The rabbit begins to pluck out its own fur and nibble the bars of its cage. In some cases, problems are accompanied by changes in the stool.
• To find out that the rabbit is badly possible by his behavior – he usually hides in the back of his house and curls up, but sometimes instead of completely refusing to move, the animal, on the contrary, starts without stopping twist circles around the cage.
• Rabbits love tenderness and affection, and do not tolerate aggression directed at them. Speak calmly and not too loudly, only this way you will be able to tame the animal.Fluffies experience special stress from communicating with young children, try to protect them from this.
• Each individual from the livestock has its own character, and you, as a loving owner, should know about all their features and habits.

To keep your rabbit always happy and healthy, consider the following recommendations:

• In the cage, you must make a small house or a mink where the fluffy could hide from prying eyes.
• If the rabbit is still sleeping, you can’t help but make a lot of noise in the room where it is kept, otherwise his heart can endure and the animal will die.
• The pet should sometimes be able to leave the enclosure to freely run around in the wild.
• The more time you spend communicating with the pet, the better, you will begin to understand the rabbit, and the rabbit – you. Having achieved complete understanding, you can train the animal.
• These rodents like to play with balls and bells so that the toys do not bother, alternate them. By the way, training in a playful way is more effective.
• Make a colored tunnel in the house where the fluffy can move freely, they are fun animals running around with pleasure.
• There should be more fashionable branches in the cage and sticks that the animal can gnaw at any moment.
• Rabbits never mind digging something in their free time, so you can put a drawer with soft soil in the house, your pet will be grateful for that.
• Another great entertainment for home the animal will be a cardboard box or a box filled with hay.
• In extreme heat, the pussies are combed out using a special tool.

If you plan to cross rabbits, remember that the female should be bred to the male, on the contrary, the mating will last longer. In the room where rabbits mingle, there should be no noise and drafts. To stimulate sexual activity, a follimage is used.

How is the pregnancy in rabbits

An important period in the life of females is succulence (pregnancy). At this time, rabbits need special attention and a special diet. Only in ideal conditions will she be able to endure healthy offspring:

• Maintain complete silence in the rabbitry
• Do not drive strangers there
• Do not move the sucral females from one cage to another, especially dangerous carrying for pregnant rabbits a week before birth
• Do not change the daily routine of a rabbit, do not experiment with new food.
• The food that the female eats must be fresh and not frozen.

The duration of pregnancy in rabbits is 29-35 days, the timing depends on the specific por dy.There are times when childbirth is interrupted for several hours, very rarely a week after the first birth, repeated ones begin. Females breed several times a year.

Main species and breeds

In order to breed one or another breed, it’s not enough just to cross two different rabbits at home, long and thorough qualitative selection to reveal homozygous traits of genes. Looking at photos of different breeds, you can see that they are all very different from each other, for example, an interesting French lop-eared rabbit, a sheep with an unusual shape of auricles and a characteristic reddish color, is completely different from its fellow Himalayan snow-white rabbit, the description of this fluffy is completely different : black muzzle, protruding ears of the same color, and legs as if in dark socks. In the photographs, these rabbits look very beautiful.

Depending on the size, the eared ones are:

• giants (Australian or Vienna blue)
• medium size (Dutch rabbit)
• small, (dwarf lop-eared sheep)

In addition, farmers classify rabbits into categories according to the length of their fur. They are:

• normal-haired,
• long-haired,
• short-haired.

But, the main classification of domestic rabbits is based for breeding these animals.There are four main types:

• peeled,

• downy,
• meat,
• decorative.

In addition, there are breeds of a combined type, for example, skin-meat and decorative-downy.

Meat breeds

These rabbits are distinguished by:

• Active growth rate from the first days of life,
• Rapid weight gain (a record for a rabbit of the Darius breed, almost 23 kg),
• Very tasty and dietary meat, the calorie content of which is only 160 kcal per 100 g.

The diet of cross-broilers should consist only of qualities mixed feeds enriched with vitamins and mineral supplements. Rabbits are slaughtered at the age of four months. Of course, you can kill them at a later age, but it is not profitable from an economic point of view. Since one-year-old pets eat several times more food, and their growth rate is much lower than in the first months of life.

Famous meat breeds:

• New Zealand whites. This is a favorite breed of many farmers. Fuzzies grow quickly, they have a very calm disposition, and most importantly, rabbits are unpretentious to the conditions of detention. The body of the New Zealander is strong, its structure is muscular, almost without fatty deposits. The coat is pale white in color and has a silver undercoat. An adult weighs 5-6 kg on average, a slaughter yield of meat of 75-80 percent, if they are stabbed at the right age.The length of the body of such a rabbit is 50-60 cm, they have a short thick neck. From one litter about ten rabbits are born.
• Viennese blue. This breed of meat-and-peel direction, in addition, this eared dog can be wound up as a pet. The large animal is distinguished by a soft thick coat, very pleasant to the touch. The color of adults is gray-blue. At the age of three months, the rabbit weighs about those kilograms. The mass of an adult is 4-5 kg. Females have good fertility indicators – for one okrol, the offspring can be replenished by 10 cubs. The breed is suitable for breeding, both in open-air cages and in specially equipped rabbitry.
• Flanders (Belgian giants). The very first rabbit is a giant of pets. This breed is represented by several varieties, among which there is even an albino, but mostly they are gray or black-gray. The smallest adult Belgians weigh an average of six kilograms, while the largest – twelve. Flanders often catch a cold and are very picky about food, but the profit that can be made from selling carcasses will completely cover the costs. Females have excellent fecundity – one litter gives fifteen fluffy lumps.

Pelts

Rabbits have thick beautiful fur, which is why the demand for them is very high . Out of skins imitating expensive fur, outerwear is sewn.Often the presence of high-quality wool in an animal is accompanied by excellent meat performance. Therefore, many pelts can also be classified as meat breeds.

When breeding rabbits, you should constantly monitor the cleanliness and dryness of the room, in addition, to maintain the presentation of the fur, it must be carefully looked after not only during the life of the animal, but also after his slaughter. When skinning, try to pierce it as little as possible.

Well-known breeds of skinned pussies:

• Veil silver. They have tasty meat and valuable beautiful skin, in addition, they feel great in the harsh Russian climate. The animals got this name because of their color: an unusual wool of a silver-gray hue, on which black outer hair stands out. At birth, the rabbits have black fur and only in the eighth month of life do they acquire the color characteristic of the breed. The average weight of an individual is 5.5 kg, with a slaughter yield of only 60%. From one breeze, about 8 cubs are born. Females are very caring mothers.
• Rex. The main feature of rabbits is velvety fur, which has long been the standard of rabbit fur in production. The breed does not differ in large dimensions, the average weight of an adult puffer is only 4 kg, but, despite this, they are considered an excellent source of meat, due to the high slaughter yield. Rex perfectly tolerate severe frosts, but the heat is destructive for them.Currently, such rabbits are most often found in amateur rabbit breeding. In addition, excellent pets are obtained from Rex.

• Russian ermine. These rabbits look like a Siamese cat. They are not picky in food and are not demanding on the maintenance. The weight of an adult is about 4-4.5 kg. Females are excellent mothers and can bring up to eight rabbits in one lamb. At the same time, not one cub needs milk.

Downy breeds

Downy breeds rabbits, as the name implies, are bred to obtain fluff. They get it in different ways: the fluff can be cut, combed out when molting is in progress, and even plucked. But, according to modern breeders, this business almost does not bring profit, and in some cases it is not even able to recoup expenses. Since today there are materials that have become a cheaper, but no less high-quality alternative to rabbit fluff, so it is trimmed mainly not for sale, but for personal needs. Among the downy breeds in Russia, the most popular are:

• Angora downy. There are several subspecies of this breed: from France, from Germany, from China and other countries. All rabbits are medium-sized and have a long thin coat, which is 85% made of selected fluff. Ears of all Angora downy with tassels at the ends. Some problems are characteristic of the breed: due to the characteristics of the coat, the digestive tract is often clogged with hair.But, remember that the rabbit is not a cat, therefore, he will not be able to cough up his hair in order to remove lumps from the body, let your pets eat dandelions. You need to do this every day.
• White downy. Despite the name, these puffies are not always white, sometimes there are beautiful smoky individuals. The average size of such a rabbit is not very large, everything is only 4 kg, it is much more preferable to breed them by productivity than Angora ones.

These multi-colored fluffy rabbits belong to the category of unusual pets, they get along well with people and can become very faithful and devoted friends for many years. The main thing is to know everything about your little rabbits.

Decorative colic

Most often, dwarf decorative rabbits are chosen as pets. For example, a miniature British fluffy. It is impossible to look away from his photo, and when you see how cute he yawns, you absolutely definitely want to get a pet. This is a very affectionate animal that gets along well with people, including children. The main thing is that the child communicates with the pet affectionately. A small dwarf rabbit also needs care and a warm, cozy cage.

Sometimes you need to take decorative rabbits out for a walk, in pet stores or in the market you can buy a special leash and costume for a home eared one, and you can find a video for “sew clothes for rabbit yourself. “Fuzzies respond well to nicknames, you can call them as you like, for example – Snowball, Duke, Max or any other name. It doesn’t matter what names your rabbit gang will have, the main thing is that each rabbit from your pets will receive love and proper care.

In the world there are many different rabbits that differ from each other not only in appearance, but also character, exactingness to the conditions of detention and food ration. Therefore, before you start any breed for further breeding, be sure to study the description and characteristics of the breed, as well as for what purpose it is recommended to breed. Today, all the necessary information is on the Internet, so you have the opportunity, without leaving your home, to find out everything about rabbits.

Keep in mind that the cost of one individual is usually not indicated for the animal for its age, for example, if you You see an ad selling a six-month-old rabbit 500 r / month, which means you have to pay 500 * 6 = 3000 rubles for it. Now you know how much money you need to purchase a particular breed of rabbit. What should be the places where they live, and how the offspring grows.