Rabbits are young from birth to weaning. After the baby rabbit is born, because its organs are not fully developed, the regulation function is poor, and the adaptability is poor, and it is easy to die. According to the physiological characteristics of the young rabbits, they can be divided into two stages: sleep period and eye opening period, respectively for feeding and management.

Feeding and Management of Sleeping Rabbits

The period from birth to 12 days is called the sleeping period. The young rabbits at this stage sleep all the time except for feeding. The following measures should be taken in feeding and management:

Forced feeding. The primiparous female rabbit will refuse to breastfeed after giving birth, which will lead to the lack of milk, starvation and even death of the young rabbit. Therefore, forced breastfeeding measures should be taken. The method is to fix the mother rabbit in the nest box to keep it quiet, place the young rabbit next to the mother rabbit's nipple, let it suck freely, breastfeed 1 to 2 times a day, 5 to 7 minutes each time, it is enough Growth and development needs of young rabbits. After 3 to 5 days, the female rabbit will automatically breastfeed.

Adjust foster care. Generally, a female rabbit with normal lactation can nurse 6 to 8 young rabbits. Foster care should be adjusted for those with low litter size. The method is to first take the young rabbits out of the nest box, divide the litters according to their size and weight, and then apply a few drops of mother rabbit milk or urine on the young rabbits to disturb the mother rabbit's sense of smell and prevent the mother rabbit from refusing foster care. , bite or kill a young rabbit. If the female rabbit is dead, without milk or without proper foster care, artificial lactation can be used. If conditions permit, 200 ml of fresh milk, 3 ml of fish liver oil, 2 grams of salt, fresh milk can be used. 1 egg is used to breastfeed the young rabbits.

Before feeding, pay attention to boiling and sterilizing the above mixture, then cool it to 37-38℃, and use a glass tube or a syringe to let the young rabbits suck freely. In addition, young rabbits are vulnerable to rodent damage within 4 to 5 days after birth, so special attention should be paid. Rabbit cages and dens must be tightly sealed to prevent mice from entering and leaving.

Feeding and management of young rabbits during the open eye period

The period from eye opening to weaning is called the open eye period. Feeding management at this stage should focus on the following links:

Feeding. After the eyes of the young rabbits are opened, because the growth and development is very fast, and the breast milk has begun to decrease, it is often not enough for the young rabbits to eat. Therefore, the young rabbits are generally fed from the 18th day of age, and fed a small amount of easily digestible and nutrient-rich feed, such as soy milk, milk, rice soup, and chopped tender grass and vegetable leaves. After 20 days of age, oatmeal, bran or bean dregs can be added, and the concentrated feed can be gradually increased. After reaching the age of 30 days, it is gradually transformed into feed-based, supplemented by breast milk. Feed requires clean, fresh, easily digestible protein mixes and high-quality pastures. After the young rabbits start eating, it is best to keep them in separate cages with the mother rabbits, and supplement milk once a day, so that the young rabbits can eat evenly and rest quietly. Generally, newborn rabbits weigh about 50 grams, 130 to 150 grams at 10 days old, 250 to 300 grams at 20 days old, and 450 to 500 grams at 1 month old.

Weaning off. The weaning time of young rabbits should be determined according to the level of feeding and the development of young rabbits. Generally, the weaning of young rabbits at 4, 6, and 8 weeks of age has no significant effect on the weight gain and feed utilization of the young rabbits. Good feeding and management of weaned rabbits. Weaning method: Generally, one-time weaning is adopted, that is, the whole litter of young rabbits and mother rabbits are separated at one time. Of course, batch weaning can also be used, that is, firstly isolate the well-developed young rabbits from the mother rabbit, and leave the poorly developed young rabbits to nurse for a period of time and then isolate. When weaning, attention should be paid to taking the female rabbit out of the original rabbit cage for isolation, and letting the young rabbits stay in the original rabbit cage for a period of time to avoid sudden changes in the environment and adverse stress reactions in the young rabbits.