Mating rabbits is an indispensable process necessary for their breeding. Only with the right and high-quality breeding can we guarantee a healthy offspring. But it’s important to know some points that affect animal breeding. This article describes everything in detail.
How to breed rabbits?
If the farmer decided to raise rabbits, mate and have them, you should know the methods of breeding these furry animals. There are only three ways:
- Home breeding in the wild. For effective fertilization, it is necessary to place the male and the female in one cage for two days and observe them so that a natural process occurs. Not always everything can work out the first time, even if you wait a longer period of time. Therefore, some farmers immediately plant several females and one male.
- Breeding rabbits involving humans. This method is practically no different from the one described above, only in this case the female should be held so that the male can cover it.
- Breeding on large farms. This method is used when many rabbits are bred. Therefore, for maximum confidence in the result, the insemination of females is carried out by an artificial method. Of course, this method cannot be called simple, because in order to translate the plan into reality, you need to know a few nuances. First of all, it is necessary to collect the sperm of rabbits, and only masted individuals, after that place the sperm inside the rabbit using a syringe.
Sex determination
Before you start mating rabbits, you should determine their gender. It is not as simple as it might seem at first glance. Moreover, such an activity will seem difficult for a person who is faced with this for the first time.
To determine the sex, it is necessary to put the rabbit on the back, lower the tail, and press with fingers from two sides near the genitals of the rabbit. In a female, the genitals look like a loop or hood with a slot (genital gap). In males, the genital organ is formed in the form of a tube with a round hole in the middle.
Lay the rabbit in the back
Press from two sides to bring out the genitals
Female genitalia look like a loop
Female fissure of a female rabbit
The external genitalia of a male rabbit looks like a tube
Rabbit's genitals
Preparation for mating animals
First of all, animals should be prepared in order to ultimately obtain healthy and viable offspring. First you need to review the diet of these rabbits. The menu should contain vitamins and proteins. In addition, the cells where the rabbits live should be put in order - the conditions should be favorable (a spacious cage, plenty of light, it should be warm). Next, the rabbit is planted in the male’s cage.
The right choice of a rabbit
Choosing a rabbit for mating is not so difficult. First, evaluate the age of the animal: the female should not be younger than 6 months, since at a younger age she will not be able to normally carry offspring. Of course, the most optimal option would be young individuals who have already given birth to rabbits, after which they conscientiously fed them. In this case, after 45 days after the previous birthing, the female can again happen.
It so happens that the rabbit eats its rabbits. If this happened, you do not need to happen this female again.
An equally important criterion for choosing the case of a young rabbit is its weight. The female should be moderately well-fed, but not suffering from obesity. If the animal is thin, you should begin to fatten it. The rabbit must necessarily be in the hunting stage, because without this mating will not work. If a certain day of the month was selected for mating, the female should be relocated from relatives for a while.
How to understand that it’s time to mate rabbits?
To reproduce offspring, you should wait for the full puberty of rabbits. The maturity age of each breed is slightly different. Next, you need to wait a couple more months, so that the body grows stronger. It turns out that on average the first mating is carried out from 5-6 months. This is the most optimal age.
If the rabbit begins to actively mark the territory, this indicates that the male is ready for mating. Requirements for males:
- activity;
- healthy appearance and sufficient weight.
If the rabbit sheds, it is better to postpone the mating for this period, since the animal's immunity is weakened, which can negatively affect the quality of the litter.
As for the female, then she should have a desire to mate. It’s easy to understand: the female’s behavior becomes restless, she often moves around the cage, she can pluck fluff in her home to improve the future nest. In addition, the female loop swells and acquires a bright pink color. And if you pet the rabbit on the back, then she will lie down and begin to stretch. Sex drive in females occurs regularly (every 7-9 days).
You can mate rabbits without hunting in the female, but the effectiveness of such a mating will be low, since the rabbit's body needs about 5 days to mature the eggs. Therefore, it is recommended that you regularly check the female’s hunt before mating. And in the process of mating, you need to hold the rabbit so that its back is raised, and the tail does not interfere with the penetration of the male genital organ.
A female is considered covered when the male, after a couple of minutes of quick movements, abruptly stops in a certain position or jumps off the female, making snoring sounds. You can repeat the mating in 5-7 days. The convenience is that you do not have to wait for the right day for mating.
If in humans pregnancy can occur only on certain days, then in rabbits ovulation occurs spontaneously immediately after sexual intercourse. It is in nature that rabbits breed regularly. By the way, rabbits do not have estrus (menstruation).
If the female refuses to take the male upon repeated mating, then most likely she is already pregnant. It is necessary to carefully feel her lower abdomen. On a pregnant female, 13-15 days after a successful mating, two parallel threads of soft balls the size of a cherry will be probed. The rabbit is separated and no longer probed so as not to cause a miscarriage.
How old can rabbits be?
For the most correct determination of the age for mating, one should take into account the fact that rabbits do not live long, about 9-10 years, and already from 5 years of age the percentage of successful incidents decreases, therefore it is recommended not to mate. In addition, in old age there is a sharp decrease in the volume of milk in rabbits after the birth of offspring, because the female can not feed him on her own.
In rabbits, the process of aging and the extinction of maternal instincts is an individual feature. Often it happens that, according to all academic parameters, the male or female is subject to rejection, but at the same time they still bring numerous and healthy offspring. But according to statistics, regardless of the age at which the first mating occurred, the animal can bring into the world strong rabbits during the first 2-3 years of its life.
Mating rabbits
Despite the fact that there is an expression “mate like rabbits,” these animals are quite selective in choosing a sexual partner. That is why in conditions of keeping a farm with a large number of rabbits, a person has to take part in the course of the natural process.
You can take a male and several females. But most often a couple is planted, while the whole process is controlled and, if necessary, they hold the female so that she does not spin. Mating is a fairly fast process, lasting no more than 2 minutes. The male can be brought to the coating (mating) several females per day with a frequency of about 4 hours (this time is necessary to restore the quality of sperm).
It is not recommended to cover more than 4 females per day. After each mating, the female is returned back to the cage.
At the time of mating, rabbits should get rid of all the contents that are in the cage, leaving only a drinker with water. Do not leave animals alone, since the likelihood of a fight is not ruled out. Often experienced females do not accept precisely young males. Experts believe that their smell is not as sharp and desirable for females as the smell of mature males.
When do rabbits happen after offspring?
You should know how much time should pass after the scrolling. Of course, it is useful to maintain a certain pause, since the female body needs time to recover from childbirth. On average, you cannot happen to a rabbit about 45 days after a bunny. At this time, the female with the babies should be placed in a separate cage.
It is also important to isolate pregnant females from males. This is necessary in order to avoid mating of the male with the rabbit in position, since this can harm the offspring, for example, rabbits can be born dead. In addition, in rabbits, the uterus has such a structure that it can become pregnant again, already carrying rabbits in the womb. The second offspring in this case will be weak.
Pregnancy (succession) of the female lasts about a month. A few days after the rounding, the female may begin to behave uneasily, refusing to rabbits. Then carry out the “idle” mating. To do this, take the male and alternately (without pauses) happen to him with several rabbits. Immediately after the last mating, they bring up the recently born rabbit. The sperm of such a male will be inactive, therefore, she will not become pregnant, and the rabbit’s hunt will pass and she will return to the rabbits.
But keep in mind, in this case, the first female, which was planted in the male, will be pregnant!
What is inbreeding?
Inbreeding is a mating of two rabbits. In most cases, it is undesirable to do this, because in the end the offspring can be born unhealthy and weak. But this applies to closely related inbreeding. There is also long-distance inbreeding, which is even desirable to carry out in order to obtain a stronger breed of rabbits.
Inbreeding is not always thought out, often it causes a person’s defect if hereditary stock counts and mating schedules were not carried out correctly. To correct the mistake, it is important to introduce new individuals into the rabbit family, preferably males, since with their help it will be possible to align the lineage of animals and get healthy offspring.
The case of rabbits in winter
Of course, you can mate rabbits throughout the year. But mating animals in the winter requires special attention. Many farmers worry that low temperatures can be a problem for productive breeding. To do this, choose the morning hours for mating, so that the sun warms up enough room, where rabbits are kept.
The process of mating rabbits in the winter is carried out in the same way as in other seasons. In addition, there are some breeds of rabbits that can continue mating even if the heat source is completely absent. Of course, such conditions should not be allowed: home farms should have a temperature of at least 12 degrees.
Only drafts should be wary, since they are terrible enemies, because of which rabbits get sick. Drafts can cause poor-quality mating. In winter, this process requires increased comfort in keeping animals.
After the rabbit leads the rabbits in the cold season, they need to be heated as much as possible. If there is no battery or heater in the rabbitry, it is recommended to take the offspring into the house so that the kids get stronger and gain strength.
How to determine if mating was successful?
To independently determine the mating performance, you need to carefully probe the rabbit’s abdomen 2 weeks after mating: if you managed to find small balls with your fingers, this indicates that future rabbits develop in the fetal sacs. But the verification process should be carefully and gently so as not to harm the kids.
Why do mishaps fail?
Sometimes it happens that, despite the efforts made, the rabbit has not become pregnant. First of all, do not be upset, because you can re-breed rabbits in a few days. But in order to get better results, you should change the male, because he may be too young to mate.
In this case, the often unsuccessful mating happens due to the fact that not all of the male sperm enters the female’s internal organs. But this problem can be dealt with: it is necessary to correctly hold the rabbit so that the rabbit can finish the insemination process without a hitch.
Knowing how and at what age rabbits should be born, one will be able to learn how to mate them correctly so that the female gives good, healthy offspring. Only with the right approach to the process and creating comfortable conditions for the female and the male, it will be possible to breed both decorative and farm rabbits.