Ashley's Bragging Right's Rabbitry

November 4th Meeting
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Beginning Rabbits

November 4th, 2008

 

Body Types:

Ø      Commercial

Ø      Compact

Ø      Full Arch

Ø      Semi-Arch

Ø      Cylindrical

 

Breeding Basics:

 

Step 1: Breeding

Ø      Rabbit’s should be of mature breeding age (usually around 7 months old)

Ø      Rabbit’s should be in good condition (not shedding, shouldn’t have a cold…)

Ø      You ALWAYS take the doe to the bucks cage!!! You do this because:

o       Doe’s are very territorial and could harm your buck

o       Buck’s will spend more time “checking out” their new area because their smell is not there

Ø      You can also use a play pen area for breeding

Ø      Do not leave your rabbit’s unattended because they could fight

 

Step 2: Gestation

Ø      The rabbit’s gestation period is 28 to 32 days long

Ø      You can Palpate your doe starting at 10 days, but should not try to palpate after 14 days.

o       At 10 days the fetus is as big as a blueberry

o       At 14 days the fetus is as big as a grape

Ø      You should put your nest box in the doe’s cage at about 25 days

 

Step 3: Building a Nest

Ø      First you need a nest box

o       Metal

o       Wood

o       Sub Terrain

Ø      Start with about an inch of pine shavings in the bottom of the box

Ø      Next add a good handful of straw bedding into the box. I like to give the doe an extra handful of straw in her cage to work with as well

Ø      The doe will then pull fur from her dewlap, belly and or legs to help insulated her nest

 

Step 4: Birth

Ø      Your rabbit will more than likely give birth when nobody is around & things are quite

Ø      The size of the litter will vary depending on your rabbit’s size. (Netherland Dwarfs will only have 1 to 4 kit’s whereas New Zealand’s will have anywhere from 1 to 12 kit’s)

Ø      Leave the kit’s alone. I like to wait at least 3 days before I count them. Some doe’s don’t mind if you mess with there babies, but other doe’s will sometimes even kill the babies after you mess with them)

Ø      Kit’s are born blind, deaf & hairless

 

Step 5: Birth to Weaning

Ø      Week 1:

o       “peach fuzz” over their whole body

o       start jumping around in nest box

Ø      Week 2:

o       Eye’s & Ears open

o       Continue to learn how to use their feet

Ø      Week 3:

o       Start to eat solid food

o       Will start to leave the next bow on their own

Ø      Week 4:

o       Remove next box from cage

o       Start providing “free feed” fro the kit’s

o       You can tell the sex of your kit’s

Ø      Week 5:

o       The kit’s will continue to grow during this week

Ø      Week 6 to 8:

o       You can separate the kit’s from their mother anytime during these 2 weeks as long as they are eating solid food on their own and drinking water

 

Showmanship Lesson 1:

Ø      Know your breed

o       Where did it come from

o       Know your breed standard

Ø      Pick out a rabbit that you can handle

Ø      Practice turning your rabbit over