Pregnancy in rabbits
In the breeding of rabbits, the master's ability to organize the care of sucral rabbits plays an important role. The females of these animals are extremely prolific. This is due to the ability of the egg to go to the stage of ovulation not on certain days of the cycle, but at the time of mating. This feature allows you to calculate pregnancy schedules so that okrol falls out during the warm season, and quickly adjust the nutrition of a pregnant female.
Signs of pregnancy
There are 4 methods for determining pregnancy in a rabbit:
- visual;
- by weight;
- by palpation;
- Ultrasound
First of all, behavioral reactions change in the sucral female. She becomes quiet, tries to behave carefully, detaches herself from the male. Aggressively reacts to the owner. The main sign of pregnancy is the laying of a nest. The animal circles for a long time in a cage with hay in its teeth in search of a suitable place, plucks the fluff from its chest and abdomen.
Important! Some females build a nest immediately after birth.
In addition to their behavior, females change their diet. They try to drink more water, they can refuse the usual food, throwing it out of the feeder. This is a signal to the owner that they need other food.
Weigh the female before mating. During pregnancy, she will gain weight. Record your metrics on a separate sheet. 2 weeks after mating, a palpation procedure is performed. It is done by an experienced technician or veterinarian. In the early stages, the procedure is dangerous for the animal and future offspring, therefore it is not performed if less than 10 days have passed since the mating.
Did you know? A rabbit can die of fear if it is very scared.
The most accurate technique to determine succession from the 6th day of conception is an ultrasound examination. The procedure is carried out in a specialized clinic.
How long
The duration of pregnancy in rabbits is 28–35 days. More accurately determine how many days the succession will last, knowledge of the characteristics of the breed will help. In larger animals, gestation takes less time.
The terms of pregnancy and the date of possible okrolya in rabbits can be calculated by type:
- giants - 27–28 days;
- California - 30–31 days;
- decorative - 30–32 days.
How to determine the term
It is almost impossible to determine how long a pregnancy is going without knowing the date of mating. If you do not have these data, it is better to start preparing in advance or conduct an ultrasound. Inspect the female periodically. The offspring shows signs of life in the womb on the 25th day of pregnancy.
Features of the course of pregnancy
If all the rules of care are observed and the female receives a sufficient amount of balanced food, pregnancy proceeds without complications. During gestation, the females become shy, so it is better not to touch them once again. Stress combined with malnutrition can cause toxicosis or cause miscarriage.
Toxicosis
The presence of a predisposition to a pathological condition in a female during gestation depends on several factors:
- breed features;
- number of births;
- obesity;
- nutrition features;
- the age of the individual.
The main symptoms of toxicosis:
- shortness of breath - the female breathes heavily, hardly rises;
- decreased appetite;
- problems with coordination of movements;
- cramps
- vomiting
- digestive upset;
- pungent smell of acetone.
Number of rabbits
On average, the female leads from 5 to 12 babies. It all depends on the number of genera and breed features:
- giants - 5–7 babies;
- California rabbits - 8–10;
- decorative views - 7–9.
Proper care of the rabbit
Sexual maturity in rabbits of medium and small breeds occurs in 4–5 months, in large - in 6–9 months. Before mating, the male and female are checked for the presence of sexual infections, and they take feces, urine and blood tests. 2 months before the planned mating, deworming is carried out and it is checked that all scheduled vaccinations are done on time.
The female is planted in the cage to the male, and after mating they are kept separately. In the cage set a house for the nest. It is a wooden box with an opening for entry into which the female can freely climb. Try not to make harsh sounds near the cage or pick up the animal in your arms without urgent need. You will be interested to learn how to build and equip a house for a rabbit with your own hands.
Feeding
When the first behavioral signs of pregnancy appear, change the diet. The amount of food should be increased so that the mother's body and the entire offspring are enough for the nutrients. Take care of easy access to clean water. It is best to organize a drip system. This will avoid the transfusion of water in the cage and allow the animal to independently regulate fluid intake.
To maintain the normal functioning of the body of the female and offspring in the womb, it is necessary to enrich the diet:
- salt - 2-3 g;
- chalk - 10 g;
- fish oil - 2.5 ml.
An approximate diet of a pregnant rabbit in a percentage ratio:
Vitamin supplements | twenty% |
Meadow grass | 10% |
Hay | thirty% |
Grain mix | 40% |
Content
A cage for a pregnant female is best organized separately from other animals. The optimal length of the cell is 1 m. A mandatory measure is the disinfection and cleaning of the cell. Provide a female walking area. A week before the birthing, carry out the last cleaning of the cage, add dry hay and do not let the animal out of the cage anymore. When installing a house for the construction of the nest, sprinkle 5–7 cm of sawdust on its bottom. The female will do the rest herself. The house should not be too big, otherwise the rabbit will use it as a toilet.
Okrol
Usually it takes place at night or in the early morning. Pay attention to the behavior of the female. She needs to equip the nest. If this does not happen, put on sterile gloves, collect fluff and arrange it yourself. Females who do not build a nest before childbirth have a poorly developed maternal instinct, so they should be monitored more carefully.
When to expect
A week before giving birth, the rabbit begins to behave aggressively, hiding in the dark corner of the cage. The uterus during this period is so enlarged that it interferes with the normal movement of the animal. The female walks overwhelmed, tries to move less.
The main signs of an early okrol:
- increased thirst;
- increased appetite;
- aggression towards a person;
- active arrangement of the nest;
- sagging belly.
How is the birth
Install a container of clean water near the house so that the animal has free access to it. Add more hay to the cage. Find a veterinarian in advance who can be called for in case of complications. Standard delivery takes place in 15-25 minutes. In rare cases - per hour. Host assistance is usually not required. As soon as attempts have begun, check the female every 10 minutes. If it cannot be born or other unforeseen circumstances arise, call a doctor.
Rabbit and Cub Care
A full-fledged nutrition of a female after a bark will help her quickly restore the body and feed her babies. Milk begins to arrive immediately after the basting. Recommended to find out
Food volumes increase gradually.
For a rabbit with a weight of 5 kg, an increase in volume occurs according to the scheme:
- the first 24 hours - 350 g;
- 2-20 days - 440 g;
- 21-30 days - 550 g;
- immediately before weaning - 700 g.
Babies are born naked and blind. After 8-10 days, they have a fluff and eyes open. In winter, take care of cell insulation. If the female is in the hunt, it is better to isolate her from the babies for 8-12 hours and re-mate. Such behavioral reactions are characteristic of birthright. Rabbits do not need special care. After 21-25 days, they will independently begin to eat grass and hay with their mother and will gradually abandon milk.
As soon as the kids exit the nest, it needs to be removed and the cell disinfected. To ensure the normal development of the digestive tract, after the offspring leaves the nest, only shredded soft hay and steamed grain are put into the cage. In the summer, they necessarily give juicy fresh grass.
The first 1.5–2 months after the rabbits are deposited, are especially prone to infectious intestinal diseases. Morning feeding should include dry food such as oats. Food is given 4-5 times a day. The night break between feedings should not exceed 10 hours. New feed should be added gradually to the diet. Try not to give too rough food for the first 2 months. Be sure to soak crops. Make sure that fresh dew does not leave dew, otherwise the rabbits will get sick.
Possible problems
After giving birth, the rabbit most often has the following problems:
- insufficient lactation;
- mastitis.
If milk has not arrived in a day, an oxytocin injection should be given. This hormone promotes rapid uterine contractions and stimulates lactation. If the methods used to increase milk yield did not help, attach the rabbits to another nursing female.
Mastitis appears when an infection enters the milk duct through the nipples that are on the female’s stomach.
Main reasons:
- unsanitary maintenance;
- genetic abnormalities in the physiological structure of the nipples.
Check the female’s abdomen daily. If the nipples change color, palpation feels tightened papules and worsens overall health, consult your veterinarian. The problem is solved using a course of antibiotics and related drugs.
As for eating offspring with rabbits, this is a myth. Rabbits are herbivorous representatives of the fauna and cannot eat the flesh of their own kind or other animals. The so-called eating of rabbits is an attempt by mother to protect her offspring.
False pregnancy
Mating rabbits does not always end in fertilization of the egg. In false pregnancy, instead of ovulation, the rupture of the follicular membrane occurs, followed by the replacement of the corpus luteum. Within 18–20 days after sexual intercourse, the female displays all the behavioral reactions characteristic of a sucral individual. After this time, her behavior returns to normal and the female again admits the male. Did you know? In a female rabbit, the uterus is bifurcated, which allows her to bear babies immediately from 2 males conceived at different times.
The main causes of false succession are:
- insufficient sperm activity;
- mating with a castrated male;
- frequent childbirth;
- female age exceeding 3 years;
- hormonal imbalance in the female body;
- violent molting at the female at the time of mating;
- genetic abnormalities in the structure of the genital organs.