Mating rabbits

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Mating rabbits (mating rabbits) is an essential part of the rabbit breeding process. The fact is that only with high-quality and properly organized mating, the farmer is guaranteed to receive a healthy offspring.

Mating rabbits

It is worth saying that not all individuals are allowed to breed in rabbit breeding, because first you need to go through a selection, which takes into account such characteristics as age, health status, experience of previous coverings, wool quality, character, and so on. How rabbits reproduce, what conditions need to be created for this, at what age rabbits happen, all this needs to be known to the farmer for successful breeding of fluffs.

How rabbits breed

If a farmer chooses to breed rabbits, mating and grooming is a special topic. In total, there are 3 ways of breeding pussies:

1. The first method is used exclusively at home, when decorative breeds are subject to mating. In order for fertilization to take place, you need to put the rabbit and the rabbit in the same cage for a while (period from 1 to 2 days) and just wait for the natural process. Not necessarily everything will go well, even if the waiting period is long. The fact is that both the female and the male may simply not like each other, they may even end up in a fight between partners.
2. The second method is used on large farms where more than one hundred rabbits are kept. In this case, for maximum confidence in the result, females are inseminated artificially. Of course, it is not possible to call this method simple, because for its implementation you need to have minimal knowledge of how this should happen. To begin with, you need to make a fence of rabbit sperm, and only venerable individuals are selected, after which the sperm is placed through a syringe inside the rabbit.
3. The last method, which will be discussed today, is actually a modified first breeding option. It is necessary to leave the male with the female alone in the same room for a couple of days, only the person in this case does not remain indifferent, but tries in every possible way to contribute to a successful mating.

What an animal owner needs to do for successful mating will be discussed further.

Rabbit mating rules

Despite the existence of the expression "mate like rabbits", these animals are quite selective when choosing a sexual partner. For this reason, in the conditions of a rabbit farm, a person has to interfere with the course of the natural process. The rules for mating rabbits will ensure a full mating result. To know exactly how rabbits are mated according to the rules, you can watch a video of a full mating.

How to get rabbits right? First, they need to be properly prepared in order to end up with healthy and viable offspring. It is worth revising the diet first. It is mandatory to have a complex of vitamins and minerals in the menu for both the male and the female. In addition, it is necessary to improve the condition of the cells, if before that it was not satisfactory.

Determining the gender of the rabbit

No matter how ridiculous it may sound, but before proceeding with the direct mating of rabbits, you need to determine who belongs to which sex. It turns out to be not such an easy task, especially for those who encounter it for the first time.

To find out the gender, you need to turn the fluffy on its back and fix the tail below with a sharp movement of the hand. If you can see a small slimy formation that resembles a triangle with a hole, it is a female. If the formation of a more oblong appearance is visible, then this is certainly a male. In addition to a miniature penis, it should have the same small testicles.

Only rabbits should be allowed to mate, which have a standard anatomical structure, that is, they have two testicles.

Showing willingness to mate

In order to reproduce offspring, the rabbit must be sexually mature. In this case, you need to know how to make rabbits for the first time. On average, this age occurs differently for each breed, and the earlier, the smaller the breed. For example, decorative rabbits can be mated as early as 4 months, and the largest representatives of the rabbit family - the Flanders breed (Flanders) or the Giant - only by 6-7 months. The mating age of rabbits is responsible for the health of both the female and the offspring: a too young female can die during pregnancy from exhaustion of the body.

What indirect signs can indicate that the animal is ready for mating? If an animal, regardless of age, begins to actively mark its territory, this is direct evidence that the time of this male has come. And no matter how many months mating has been prescribed for him, he is physiologically ready.

What are the requirements for male rabbits:

1. The animal must be active and have a healthy appearance.
2. The external characteristics must correspond to those declared by the breed.

It is better to postpone mating if the male is moulting, since at this time the individual's immunity is weakened, which may affect the quality of the litter. Moreover, it is better to wait out not only the first, but also the second molt.

Choosing a female for mating

In the process of choosing a rabbit, everything is not so difficult. First of all, it is important to assess the age of the rabbit: she should not be less than one year old, otherwise she will not be able to bear the offspring normally. Of course, the most successful option is young individuals, which have already repeatedly brought healthy offspring, after which they conscientiously fed the rabbits.

It also happens that a mother eats her own children. If this happens, such a female should be disposed of, and not allowed until the next mating.

Also an important criterion for when a young rabbit can happen is her weight. It is important that the female is moderately well-fed. If the rabbit is thin, you need to start feeding the animal for some time. It is also worthwhile to wait out molting so that the pregnancy is successful. The animal must certainly be in the hunting stage, without this mating will not work.

If the owners have chosen a certain day of the month for mating pets, the female needs to be moved away from her relatives for a while. If farmers want to conduct several pairings at once, all expectant mothers need to be planted in a separate enclosure. The mating of several rabbits follows the same rules as the mating of one individual.

Ideal age for mating

At what age can rabbits be born? To answer this question as correctly as possible, you need to take into account the characteristics of these animals.Rabbits do not live long, the maximum is about 9-10 years, and starting from the age of 5, the percentage of successful mating falls, so mating is recommended not to be carried out. In addition, in old age, the volume of breast milk in rabbits after birth is sharply reduced, and she cannot independently feed her offspring.

The process of aging and the extinction of natural maternal instincts occurs strictly individually, like in humans. It often happens that, according to all academic parameters, a rabbit or a rabbit is subject to rejection, but in fact they still continue to give healthy and numerous offspring. However, based on statistics, after the first mating of a rabbit, regardless of the age at which it occurred, the animal remains capable of fertilization and bearing for no more than 4-5 years. The case of elderly rabbits threatens to obtain an inferior offspring.

How the mating process works

In order for the mating of farm rabbits at home to go smoothly, it is recommended to choose the territory in which the young male lives, so that it is he who is as comfortable as possible. For the time of mating of rabbits, it is recommended to remove all contents from the cage, leaving only a drinker with water for the entire period.

It is not recommended to leave animals alone, because there is always the possibility that the rabbits may not like each other and even cause injury. It may also happen that the female will resist mating, in which case the person can gently hold her and let the male finish the job.

How long does intercourse last? Mating itself is a fairly quick process, it lasts no more than 2 minutes. Upward changes can only be made if the partner resisted or was aggressively disposed towards the male. After the mating process, the rabbit bounces off the female and breathes heavily for a while.

Reasons for unsuccessful mating

It also happens that, despite all the efforts made, the rabbit's pregnancy never came. Firstly, do not be upset, since a control mating of a farm rabbit can be carried out in 2-3 days. However, for greater efficiency, it is worth changing the inseminator: perhaps the reason why the rabbit did not happen was in him.

Often one of the reasons is a situation in which not all the sperm gets into the female's internal genital organs. However, livestock breeders have learned to deal with this problem: it is necessary to tie a thin rope around the female's tail, which will need to be pulled at a certain time so that the rabbit can complete the insemination process successfully, without a hitch. You can learn more about this trick on the video of experienced rabbit breeders who are filmed to teach novice colleagues.

Many people wonder why there is no pregnancy. To do this, you need to study a lot of signs and symptoms, and only after a thorough analysis of them will it be possible to give a clear answer. Most often, the reason is trivial: the rabbit is overweight. If this is true, then it is worth revising the diet of such a female and putting her on a diet.

Rabbit inbreeding

Inbreeding is a related mating of two rabbits. In most cases, this process is undesirable in any animals (cats, dogs, livestock), since unhealthy offspring with a variety of diseases are subsequently obtained. However, this applies to closely related inbreeding. As for long-range inbreeding, it is not only not prohibited, but even indicated in order to get a new stronger breed of rabbits. But you need to know how to correctly breed related rabbits.

Inbreeding is not always thoughtful, most often it is a flaw on the part of a person, when hereditary records of livestock and mating schedules were not conducted according to the rules.In order to correct the mistake, it is necessary to introduce new individuals into the rabbit family, preferably males: with their help, the ancestral line of the rabbits will be leveled and healthy offspring will be born.

How to mate rabbits at home

Usually, most farmers start with a small number of rabbits, so they first wonder how rabbits breed at home. Without going into details, the process of mating domestic rabbits is almost identical to what happens in large farms. However, it is necessary to create conditions for effective mating. The cage for the meeting between the male and the female should be tucked away, there should be no drafts in it, and the temperature should be as close to 20 ° C as possible.

Even at home, you should not neglect the process of control rejection. It is worth carefully examining the applicants for mating and choosing only those animals that are most suitable. For example, if a female suffers from mastitis, it is not allowed to allow her to become pregnant again until the underlying disease is cured.

Mating after birth

Livestock breeders ask themselves when a rabbit is ready to hunt, when can a rabbit happen after birth, how long should it take from birth? Of course, a certain pause must be sustained, since the female's body must recover after birth, this must be taken as a rule. On average, the pause lasts about 70 days, although there may be exceptions. For this period, it is recommended to protect the rabbit from communication with males and to settle in a cage only for female individuals.

In addition, females that are in position are subject to isolation. This is done in order to prevent such a rabbit from mating with a male, which can harm the offspring, causing the rabbits, for example, to be born dead.

Features of winter mating

Of course, rabbits can be mated all year round. But the winter mating of farm rabbits is a special topic. As for the winter, the owners fear that the low temperature can cause unsuccessful mating, and in vain. In fact, the low temperature does not in any way affect the quality of sperm, the ability to carry rabbits, and even more so on the mating process itself.

Mating rabbits in winter follows the same rules as at other times of the year. Moreover, there are some breeds that can continue to mate even if there is no heat source at all. Of course, you should not allow such conditions: in home farms, the column of a mercury thermometer should not fall below the 12 ° C mark. Drafts are something to be wary of, because they cause pain in animals and can also interfere with successful mating. The mating of rabbits in winter requires increased comfort in keeping.

After a brood of rabbits is born, in winter they need to try to warm them as much as possible. If there is no heater or battery in the rabbitry, it is better to take the young animals to the house for the winter, where you need to let the babies grow stronger and gain strength. After the warming, the already grown rabbits are returned to their usual habitat.

Features of mating decorative breeds

How to cross representatives of decorative breeds, what are the rules? This question is asked by many livestock breeders, since it is the decorative breeds that are currently in demand for keeping the house. Despite their decorativeness, such breeds can boast of high fertility rates: they reach maturity early, the female gives about 7 offspring in 12 months, and the first can occur as early as 9 months. If you take care of the young with dignity, carefully compose its diet and carry out all preventive medical measures, usually the entire offspring survives.

To understand and determine whether a female ornamental breed is ready for mating, you need to carefully consider how her genitals look.The girl should be removed from the entire brood for a day (this will help determine her condition), after which, in a day, take a closer look at her behavior. If the mucous membrane is swollen and slightly increased in size, the color changed to redder, the female is hunting and ready to mate.

A feature of the breeding of decorative rabbits is that effective mating usually takes place in the morning.

Determination of mating performance

Did the mating of the rabbits go well? In order to understand the issue on your own, you need to carefully examine the belly of the rabbit. This should be done 14 days after mating. If you manage to find small peas with your fingers, these are the fetal sacs in which future rabbits develop. However, curiosity should not harm the rabbit, because careless or overly rude movements can provoke an involuntary miscarriage or symptoms of a false pregnancy. There are photo and video recommendations with a detailed description of how to carry out the inspection correctly, every rabbit breeder is obliged to familiarize himself with them.

If peas were found, then after a period of 14 days you can prepare for adding to the farm. As for the number of rabbits, it can vary from one birth to another from 5 to 15 little newborns.