Breeding and keeping decorative rabbits at home as a business

For those who want to start raising animals for commercial purposes, one of the most suitable industries is rabbit farming. Breeding cute rabbits is not only profitable, but also interesting. This is a truly highly profitable business, and what is very important, there is no need to invest large amounts of money at the initial stage. The quality of meat, the number of livestock and all other factors are directly dependent on how certain rules are followed. I must say that they are no different in complexity and if you don’t make serious mistakes, then everything will definitely work out. Anyone can raise rabbits at home.

Is it profitable to breed eared animals from scratch? If you take the matter seriously, then yes. For rabbit breeding, it is more profitable to take proven breeds; the best breeds of rabbits do not require complex care. There are many different breeds of rabbits for breeding, but if we raise them in our country, then beginners need to be bred so that they are accustomed to the climate. Read more about how to grow them below.

Raising all the rabbits at home can be a hassle for beginners, but there is no need to be afraid, if everything is done correctly, then you will soon be able to know everything about rabbit breeding. A lot of literature has been written about breeding rabbits, for breeding rabbits, so you can find out how long pregnancy lasts and how reproduction is carried out.

Of course, income is also influenced by how well developed trade relations are. Beginning breeders start simply by breeding animals at home or on the balcony; a more serious approach is a farm for which a summer house can be equipped. Breeding rabbits at home is not as difficult as it might seem at first glance. Rabbit breeding at home can bring good income with the proper approach. Breeding decorative rabbits is also not difficult, but you need to know that breeding rabbits for beginners has its own nuances, especially when it comes to such a process as mating decorative rabbits. The technology for raising rabbits may vary depending on the breed. Mating of decorative rabbits must be done carefully; this is largely the basis of rabbit breeding.

If you treat this matter as responsibly as possible, the products from such activities will be distinguished by their diversity. Here we talk about meat, which is very tasty and has a low amount of cholesterol; as a rule, one individual produces 4.5 kg of output. Down and skin are highly valued, and up to a kilogram of such raw materials can be obtained from one lactating female. You should not ignore the growing young animals, which can be sold to those who have just decided to get into this business.

About choosing a direction

Where to start breeding rabbits? Choosing a breed is not so easy; today there are more than two hundred of them. And here, first of all, you need to answer the question - for what purposes do you plan to breed eared animals? How to start breeding rabbits so that it is not so difficult? And here the most suitable breeds should be selected, taking into account the priority direction, it will immediately become clear which rabbits need to be bred. You should choose your rabbits especially carefully.

If the priority is obtaining meat, then you should opt for meat breeds that give the maximum yield.
If, in addition to meat, you also need skins, then meat-skin breeds are purchased. How to raise rabbits for such purposes as correctly as possible will be discussed below.
If you need skins and fluff, then you need to choose the appropriate breeds.

If rabbit breeding is just starting, it is recommended to give preference to meat breeds, as they have a calm disposition, they do not require complex care, and they also have excellent meat productivity. Once the direction has been chosen, you should begin choosing the rabbits. At the same time, you should not purchase baby rabbits that have not yet lived for a month in the world; if the cub separated from its mother too early, then there is a high probability that its immunity is low, and accordingly, this will negatively affect productivity. When choosing rabbits, you need to pay attention to the following signs:

the coat should grow densely and shine;
the eyes should not have any discharge, they should be clear, such a specimen is good;
the body must be strongly built;
You should also pay attention to fatness; you don’t need either exhaustion or excessive obesity;
the animal must be active, constantly moving, it is not difficult to choose one.

See also How to distinguish the sex of a decorative rabbit, a boy from a girl?

There are certain factors that are disadvantages, you need to pay attention to them and you should not take such rabbits:

limbs are twisted;
the head is too long;
hips protrude greatly;
the tips of the ears hang down;
the abdomen sagged, the ridge was uneven;
the coat is disheveled, uneven, unattractive.

Decorative rabbits and breeding are a slightly different process than the methods of breeding ordinary rabbits, so you need to immediately know what breed of rabbits is best to breed, and you especially need to cherish a pregnant rabbit, who can become pregnant quickly, but if she is pregnant, then she should be cared for appropriate.

Diseases and mandatory vaccinations

Despite the fact that an ornamental rabbit usually lives alone, without any relatives in a cage, it can get sick. Animals are susceptible to viral and bacterial infections. For prevention, it is worth vaccinating against common diseases so that the developed immunity protects the rabbit from infection. Vaccinations are done at a veterinary clinic according to a specific schedule. Vaccination is mandatory for purebred animals that participate in exhibitions and are suitable for breeding.

About the content

It is best to choose animals that can be bred at home. There are 2 technologies for keeping such animals: they can be bred indoors (dacha, farm) or in open spaces (aviary, cage, pit). However, novice breeders can perfectly combine such technologies - that is, during the cold season, pets should live indoors, and when it gets warmer, let them live in the fresh air.

You must immediately understand that lagomorphs have an extremely negative effect on drafts, and they also cannot tolerate strong humidity. Their premises should be dry, clean and spacious, so they should be cleaned regularly. Until the cubs are two months old, they must live separately from adults. After three months, the sex should be determined, and then they should be housed according to gender. Pregnant females need special conditions, that is, they need a separate cage with a queen cell.

A suitable cage can be easily purchased at the appropriate store, but there is nothing difficult in making it yourself. You need to take mesh, wooden slats or bars, as well as metal corners. It is strongly not recommended to use plywood in your work; it will get wet very quickly. To prevent drafts in the house, the boards should be adjusted to each other with maximum density. Metal elements will be needed to strengthen the corners, this way you can avoid the ears from chewing the wood. The cage should be installed on dry ground, there should be a slight elevation, but direct sunlight should be avoided. It is recommended to plant climbing plants around the house. This will provide shade and additional food.

If you make a house yourself, it will be much cheaper than buying one. At the same time, it is possible to independently determine the size, based on how many animals you plan to breed. However, it should also be said about the disadvantages, and above all about the mesh field in which the paws get stuck, which can lead to ailments of the limbs. If you plan to keep animals outdoors, you should definitely insulate the walls and ceiling. The young animals in the cage should have a sector for walking and a sector for sleeping. How to breed rabbits so they grow faster? Caring for young animals, especially rabbits.

Breeding

Dwarf rabbits differ from ordinary rabbits in their small size and weight.
In addition, they have short ears and heads. In European countries, breeding and keeping decorative rabbits is not much different from traditional rabbit breeding. Owners of rabbit nurseries constantly hold exhibitions. Toy breeds are pets, so they are not raised for their skins or meat. These beauties can be bred for sale in any room - in a house or apartment. For this you will need a spacious cage. Pets can be allowed to roam freely around the premises.

Owners of rabbit nurseries constantly hold exhibitions.

The most famous breeds:

Butterfly;
Rex;
Dutch;
Angora.

If you are interested in this type of business, breeds of decorative rabbits with photographs can be viewed on the Internet.

Business benefits

Domestic rabbits are small in size, but they are much more expensive than their counterparts. Accordingly, maintenance costs are lower and income will be high. The market value of one dwarf pet is 1000 rubles, and it can be sold at one month of age. Adults are much more expensive.

About other methods

If you need to make a house, you can use enclosures for this, then it is much easier to care for your pets, which is especially important for beginning rabbit breeders, since they have many opportunities to walk more in the fresh air, which helps strengthen the immune system. When choosing animals, you should remember that they need to mate, and the house must be perfectly adapted to mating. Those involved in rabbit farming are not afraid of various difficulties, especially for those who have been doing this for a long time, but those who have been engaged in this profitable business recently can, of course, get very tired. Therefore, before starting this business, it is worth considering whether to start such a business. If you plan to breed animals in pits, which is especially practiced in dacha conditions, then there are a number of advantages:

fertility will begin to increase greatly, since the female is unpretentious in such conditions and the baby rabbit takes care of it well;
the animals are very active, as they constantly dig holes;
feed is consumed rationally;
animals rarely get sick;
space is saved, care conditions are simple, suffice it to say that a two-meter hole can contain up to two hundred heads.

See also Rules for mating rabbits at home

However, this method also has some disadvantages: it is impossible to maintain in rocky areas, in clay soil, and if there is groundwater in the upper layers. A number of shortcomings should also be identified:

Animals often give birth after they have given birth, and this causes severe exhaustion of the females;
It is absolutely impossible to ensure that there are no related sexual relations, which leads to a rapid reduction in the number of livestock;
It often happens that many individuals simply outgrow the time frame for ideal slaughter;
if animals live in a pit, they quickly become wild.

Preparing for mating

Before breeding rabbits, you should prepare as seriously as possible for this process. Over the course of 2 weeks, the selected individuals are examined and their diet changes for the better. It is important to know their health status and weight. If a rabbit is sick, it is not allowed to breed, and if it is underweight, it means that it is transferred to a high-calorie diet.

An important point in the examination is the number of nipples the female has - there should be 8-10 of them. There should be no scratches, abrasions or rashes on the external genitalia (such individuals are discarded). Also, animals that are actively molting are not suitable for mating.

Nutrition before mating is important. Males are fed with potatoes and oats, and females with concentrated food, tree branches and hay (in the same quantity). Overfeeding animals is harmful, because their performance indicators are significantly reduced.

Ovulation of rabbits plays an important role in reproduction. In summer, the egg is released every 5-7 days; in winter, this process slows down a little and the interval increases to 8-9 days.

The female rabbit's readiness for motherhood is the main stage of preparation for mating. This is the hunting period and lasts from 3 to 5 days (depending on the season). In winter, the sexual activity of the animals decreases slightly.

It is easy to determine whether a female is ready to reproduce:

builds a nest from branches and hay;
pulls out fluff on belly;
activity increases significantly;
the genitals become red and enlarged.

Males do not have such distinctive features. It is important to prepare his cage for mating.

About the winter period

As soon as the cold weather hits, pets should be promptly moved to the barn. You can, of course, leave the houses on the street, but then they must be insulated with high quality, for this a gable roof is made, and the passages must be covered with film. Particular attention should be paid to insulating walls and floors. If frost strikes with increased severity, then it is advisable to use an electric heater.

It is very important that the humidity in the house is up to 70 percent and the temperature is up to 20 degrees. No sudden temperature changes should be allowed, much less drafts. It should also be taken into account that the duration of daylight hours should be 10 hours. It is important to equip a high-quality ventilation system, then there will be nothing harmful in the air.

If we are talking about the cold season, then you need to take into account that the rabbit’s diet should be more high in calories and must contain the required amount of minerals and vitamins. Compound feed can be given of exceptionally high quality, and it is recommended to make it yourself; cabbage, beets - all this is loved by animals. They should be fed with pine needle branches as necessary vitamins; mineral supplements are also required, that is, salt and chalk should be given.

Industrial technology

At industrial enterprises, rabbits are well fed so that puberty begins earlier. Mating usually occurs on the 20th day after birth. Rabbits in industry reproduce by double mating. This is the only way to be sure that insemination was successful. To do this, first one male is allowed near the female, and after a couple of days a second male is allowed in. The probability of fertilization increases many times. This pairing guarantees healthy and strong babies.

Pregnancy, as stated above, lasts no more than a month. On large farms, females with good productivity are selected, which can give 7 litters per year. Afterwards they are discarded.

About the rules of care

When caring, it is necessary to adhere to certain hygiene, and also to constantly monitor the condition of the wards, in this regard, recommendations of the following nature:

cleaning should be carried out on a daily basis, the same applies to washing buckets and food containers;
equipment must also be regularly disinfected;
ventilation operation must be constantly monitored;
there should be no drafts;
any changes in the behavior of the animals, as well as in appetite, should be recorded;
Do not expose animals to stress (all kinds of sources of irritation, such as cats, dogs, children should not have free access).

It is also necessary to give injections for various ailments, especially viral ones. Moreover, you should not vaccinate yourself; to do this, you should invite a veterinarian who will do everything correctly.

Standard technology

Healthy and strong offspring can be obtained if the next mating of the female occurs 30 days after giving birth. After 14 days, the already grown-up rabbits are taken away, and after another two weeks they wait for the next birth of the babies. With standard technology, about 40 young animals can be produced per year.

A female rabbit can be used for mating with a male for more than two years. For further reproduction, the best females are selected from birth. You can see rabbits several times a year, and winter is no exception. In small farmsteads this method is most often used.

About the diet

In order for pets to feel good and reproduce quickly, they must be provided with high-quality and varied food. If we are talking about a village, then there are no problems with hay and grass, just do not use those that grow in close proximity to the highway. Grains must be present in the diet, as well as root vegetables, and juicy ones (carrots, potatoes).

When producing compound feed (cereals, grass meal and minerals are used for this), you can count on serious cost savings. It is imperative to have convenient feeders; if there are young animals, then a nursery. Vitamins and minerals should be added to food at least a couple of times a week. If the pets are in mating, or offspring are expected, then feeding should be more intense. You should not think that if you feed animals a lot, they will grow quickly; no, they will simply become fat, which will lead to a decrease in sexual activity. So if a specimen weighs more than 9 kg, then it is considered defective.

See also Features of breeding rabbits in a pit

Animals should always have clean, fresh water, so don’t be lazy about changing it. Drinkers should be cleaned from time to time. Considering the activity of the inhabitants, drinking bowls must be firmly installed, otherwise they will immediately be turned over. In order to prevent coccidiosis, potassium permanganate should be added to the water. If the female is pregnant, then apple cider vinegar will be useful for her; when feeding with compound feed, significantly more water is consumed.

Breeds of decorative rabbits are quite diverse:

dwarf ermine rabbits,
rex, satin,
white,
angora,
black,
black and tan rabbits,
with hanging ears (rams), etc.

All breeds are divided into short-haired, normal-haired and long-haired.

Inbreeding

Crossing closely related individuals is undesirable, as it negatively affects their health and external parameters. However, it is practiced to breed new species, and is called inbreeding.

There are two types of it:

Accidental occurs due to untimely weaning and placement of young animals. In this case, it is permissible to add a rabbit from an unrelated litter to the female to dilute the blood.
Forced is carried out under the supervision of specialists. It causes genetic pathologies and developmental abnormalities. When carried out over a long period of time, it helps to develop a new breed.

It is impossible to cross related individuals, since with closely related mating, the rabbits may be born unhealthy, ugly and weak. But there is also distantly related fertilization, which, under certain conditions, only improves the breed characteristics and makes it possible to breed representatives with new parameters. But for the process to be successful, it should be carried out only if you have the necessary knowledge and skills.

Timing for fertilization

Female rabbits become sexually mature at three months, i.e., from this period they begin to walk, and they may become pregnant after intercourse. Sexual maturity of males occurs a little later.

How long does pregnancy last in rabbits: gestation period

To ensure healthy offspring, rabbit breeders need to know at what age rabbits can be mated. It is best to mate eared animals when they are about six months old. However, it is important to take into account their live weight: if the female rabbit weighs within 3-4 kg (like an adult female) before six months of age, then she is also ready for insemination. After sexual intercourse in rabbits is completed, fertilization occurs in the female rabbit.

Important! It is possible to say with 100% certainty that conception has taken place only 14 days after the rabbits copulate.

First mating

Before breeding animals for the first time, it is necessary to determine the health status of the rabbits two weeks before mating, examine them for fatness and adjust their diet.

The first mating takes place taking into account the age, weight of the animals and their molting. When is the best time to breed rabbits for the first time? In males, the first mating occurs at the age of 6 to 8 months. Young female rabbits are first introduced to a male at the age of 5-6 months. It is recommended to cross rabbits in the following way: young rabbits are paired with adult rabbits, and inexperienced males are paired with females that have already given birth.

It is best to mate an adult rabbit with a young female rabbit.

Time after childbirth: when can a female be born?

On the 2nd day after birth, the female can already be covered from a physiological point of view. However, it is not recommended to rush into this, because the female rabbit uses part of her reserves to feed her newborn babies.

Note! If the body does not completely return to normal, the animal’s immunity will weaken and the maternal instinct will partially fade in the future.

There are several different methods for how rabbits reproduce after birth:

method of compacted and semi-compacted litters;
classic rabbit mating scheme;
industrial technology.

The time allotted for maintaining a female rabbit to produce offspring

On average, rabbits live from 8 to 10 years, but this does not mean that a female rabbit will be able to reproduce throughout her life. Somewhere after the 7th litter, the number of cubs born and their survival rate decrease, and the female’s milk becomes less. At this time, female rabbits gain weight, and their sexual activity decreases.

Important! You should take into account the individual characteristics of each one, the main thing is to promptly remove the rabbit that is no longer capable of reproducing.

How to determine if a rabbit is pregnant

Every owner wants to be sure that the mating was successful and the female became pregnant. In order to find out whether conception has occurred, there are a couple of ways.

Palpation. On the 15th day after mating, feel the rabbit’s belly in the pelvic area. During pregnancy, peas will be felt. You need to examine carefully so as not to cause a miscarriage.
Behavior during re-attachment to a male. When a female rabbit becomes pregnant, she will be aggressive and will not allow the rabbit to approach her again.

If you have no experience in this matter, you can take the female to the veterinarian or call a doctor at home. The specialist will quickly determine the pregnancy of the animal.