What can you feed rabbits in winter
If you want to have a rabbit, you must take into account all the nutritional features of your pet. How to feed rabbits in winter is very important, since it is at this time of the year that animals need energy and warm food.
Rabbits are animals that constantly eat something, and therefore their feeder should always be filled with something tasty.
What to feed rabbits in winter
How to feed rabbits at home in winter? It is very important for a decorative rabbit to provide all the necessary vitamins, which can be obtained both in supplements and in fruits. Be sure to give hay in the winter, as the animals are warmed by it.
Depending on the season, nutritional problems can be quickly resolved with the right diet. It is worth paying special attention to the winter season. You can feed your pets in winter with food harvested from the summer.
Necessary products
Rabbits are whimsical in terms of feeding. The main thing is that the feeding of rabbits in winter is balanced and complete. Even in winter, they need to get enough vitamins, just like in summer. Their diet should consist of proteins, fats and carbohydrates, and the amount of food should not decrease with the change of the season.
Foods consumed by rabbits in winter include:
- hay;
- various tree branches (spruce, juniper, aspen);
- Apple.
In no case should rabbits be given plums, cherries, peaches, because due to their high acidity, they are poisonous to animals. Everything else, namely potatoes, carrots, cabbage, peas, barley, millet and other cereals and legumes, should be stored not only for the whole family, but also for rabbits. Winter feeding for rabbits is not complete without specialized mixtures and feeds, which are sold in pet stores.
An important factor is that eared people often feel the need to consume salt. You can solve this problem by purchasing a salt stone from a pet store. Rabbits are clean animals, they observe cleanliness both in nutrition and in taking care of themselves, therefore, if it is decided what to feed the rabbit in winter, you also need to take care of the quality of the products. In winter, pussies drink especially a lot, so the water in the cages should always be clean and abundant.
Proper nutrition for rabbits
You need to feed the rabbit systematically in winter. If you give food at different times, pets will not know exactly when to wait for food, and therefore will only do this.
Experts recommend feeding the pussies at least 2 times a day, because because of their daily employment, the owners often cannot feed the rabbits 5-6 times a day. Animals pay attention not only to food, but also to dampness and dirt. If sanitary standards are not followed, rabbits often get sick, and a weakened immune system leads to death. All this must be taken into account.
One type of feeding is legumes. It is not necessary to abuse this in any case. The transition from summer vegetables and fruits to winter heavy foods should be gradual.Animals must first get used to new types of food. It is impossible to start feeding hay abruptly from December 1, everything must be done gradually for healthy development. Since animals are whimsical, even hay needs to be given special attention. It should always be fresh, and this directly depends on how to store it. It is necessary to dry the grass so that the wind passes through the blades of grass. This hay will always remain fresh.
If the hay is dry, you can make flour from this material. To do this, it is necessary to evenly lay the grass in a bag and, after the drying period, pound into flour.
Carrots should be included in the winter feeding of rabbits. Pets prefer sweet varieties. You can mix carrots and cabbage or carrots and beets. As for the twigs, all this must be harvested from early summer. The feeding process does not take much time for farmers, since the female spends about 5 minutes a day feeding the rabbits.
Norms and regime
Pets eat quite often during the day. To prevent food spoilage, you cannot leave it for a long time in the feeders. It is better to put hay, which the eared ones can chew on.
For home feeding, you should not replace hay with straw, since the amount of useful trace elements and vitamins in them is different. Hay is much more useful for rabbits. At night, rabbits eat their waste, because their digestive system is designed in such a way that the rectum is able to remove useful elements from the body from the same hay. When the animals eat it again, the assimilation process is facilitated. Also, rabbits are able to eat homemade food: porridge or soups. At the same time, food should not be greasy for them.
Eating rabbits outside in winter should be more high in calories. Also, in winter, under conditions of home feeding, individuals are given food about 2-5 times a day, since they eat little. So that the food does not freeze, they give a new one.
At home, feeding rabbits should be done as often as required. During molting, pregnancy and just winter maintenance, individuals are given vitamin and mineral supplements.
Diet during the mating period
This period in rabbits is one of the most important in life, so in winter conditions it is worth paying attention to their diet, which should contain fiber, essential vitamins, proteins and minerals. All this is found in foods such as barley, vegetables, fruits, flour. The proportions are as follows: for 100 g of rabbit food, 30 g of cake / bran, 15 g of protein and 4 g of mineral supplements are needed. If you overfeed them with any of the foods, they are unlikely to please healthy offspring.
A month before mating, you can give 90 g of feed, no more. During the mating period itself, you need to pay attention to the so-called juicy feed. These include carrots, beets, cabbage, and onions. It is necessary to take into account one more feature of rabbits during this period: the time of their feeding. Since the females are ready to mate, this process takes about 4 hours in the morning. Food should not be given at this time.
The approximate diet of males: flour - 15 g; hay - 150 g; juicy feed - 200 g; feed - 50 g. Females: flour - 8 g; hay - 200 g; juicy feed - 225 g; feed - up to 60 g. The amount of food is also calculated by the weight and dimensions of the animal. Do not feed all individuals the same. Such nutrition allows the animals to remain active and energetic in the cold season, as well as to safely complete the mating process, which is important for the future healthy generation.
Nutritional features of rabbits
In a small decorative rabbit, it is rarely possible to observe any activity other than nutrition. In the summer it is much easier to feed the rabbits due to the availability of food. In winter, the process gets a little more complicated.
Rabbits are herbivores, grass is the basis of their food.
However, there are several types of grass that are prohibited for use by rabbits. These are celandine, hemlock and milestones. All of these herbs are toxic and poisonous to rabbits, it is forbidden to give them.Otherwise, the eared will be followed by diseases of the cardiovascular system and the digestive tract.
From fruit, you can give a slice of apple. It is important that the apple is grown on its own property, as store fruits or vegetables are stuffed with chemicals to extend the shelf life. It is better to remove the skin, remove the seeds. First, the apple must be doused with boiling water.
Useful Tips
Consideration should be given to a rabbit room. Animals are whimsical and clean. Not only should it be clean in their "house", it is also important to observe the temperature of the room and its illumination (not too bright, but not too dark). Eared ones do not like when it is too hot or cold, which is also important to consider, since all this affects their health. To fatten rabbits, you need to keep food and water warm at all times. It is on warm water and food that the animal practically does not expend energy, which means that the weight will begin to increase.
How long can rabbits live? The age of the decorative rabbit is about 15-19 years. On our planet, a case has been recorded when a rabbit lived to be 20 years old. If you feed your eared eared a balanced and correct food, you can significantly extend their life. Small portions of food should be given to prevent food from freezing in the feeders. Before giving food to animals, make sure that the fruit or vegetables are of the correct quality.
Rotten or dirty products should not be given to individuals. A bowl of food should be placed directly in front of the animal, although their eyes are designed so that they can observe what is happening from behind, while looking forward.
Summing up, it should be said that although caring for rabbits presents a lot of difficulties, these pussies delight the eye for absolutely everyone. With the right approach to keeping and feeding conditions, you can raise healthy and active pets.