1 Rabbit Care & Management

Classification Scientific classification
Kingdom Animalia
:
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Lagomorpha
Family: Leporidae
Genus: Oryctolagus
Lilljeborg,
1873
Species: O. cuniculus
Binomial name
Domestic rabbit. Oryctolagus cuniculus
(Linnaeus, 1758
[Taken from wikipedia.com]
Significance
 A lab animal.
 Commercially bred for wool , meat purpose.
 Reared as pet animal as well.
 Not so much popular in India.
 A good source for an alternative table meat.
Rabbit as the lab animal.
Rabbit as the farm animal for

meat , wool purpose.
The slaughtered rabbits ready for table use ; an alternative meat source.
Rabbits -- pet animal.
Nutrition & feeding
Roughage – Hay
Succulent foodstuffs – roots
Conc. – cereals
Rabbit feeding pellets or compounded feeds
The same principles of feeding s/b followed

for feeding rabbit as other small non-ruminants.
Compounded Feeds are
Designed
Burgess rabbit pellets for use with
Spillers Supa Natural Mix supplements
such as hay
Russel Rabbit Mix— Complete food
Bales
MEASURES OF FOOD ENERGY
TDN
DE
ME
Additives
Growth promoters
Coccidiostats [ incorporated with rabbit pellets]
Feeding Tips
Changing ration
Force feeding
Regularity
Individuality
Cleaning
Some common feedstuffs
 Carrots
 Turnips
 Oat straw
 Cabbage
 Maize silage
 Decorticated GNC
 Fish meal
Coprophagy OR Coecotrophy
Perfectly normal physiological process in rabbits.
Discovered by a French veterinarian

viz. Charles Morot.
Reproduction & breeding
Induced ovulator
Gestation period –31 days
BUT,
Parturation takes place on any day between
28th to 34th after successful mating.
Female attains full sexual maturity @ 6 months.
Puberty occurs a month or 2 or even more before
rabbit attains full sexual maturity.
 Litter size is 3 to 8 or 5 to 8.
The heritability of litter size– between .2 to.3
Litter size proportional to size of the breed.
It is governed by,
1. An inherited nature
2. The environment
3. Nutrition
4. Age of doe.
5. No. of previous litters
Fertility is directly proportional to fecundity.
Fertility– Ability to produce young ones.
Fecundity– Measure of no. of young produced.
A.I. have been successfully carried out.

The importer holding the new born.
Reproductive behavior
Few days before pregnancy, doe prepares

nest from bedding
Lines the bed with the fur of its belly
Thus a breeder should take into
account of this behavior.
For 1st 3 weeks rabbits s/b exclusively
fed on the doe’s milk.
Open type of the litter box. This is essential for the housing of rabbit.
Equipments
Pots& troughs
Automatic food hoppers
Racks
Nest boxes---These are essential in Rabbitary.
Travelling box
Hygiene trays
Cage type
Hutch with
individual
watering
& feeding.
The cube condo.
[ for pet rabbit ]
The exercise pen

Breeds of
the Rabbits
identified
so far.
[ARBA]
Breeds of rabbits with their intentional codes.
Housing & Equipments
 It is k/a Hutch.
 Why to provide house??
 Main purpose is to reduce labor minimum.
 Coat fades due to direct sunlight.
 Winter breeding becomes easier.
 Less loss of young rabbits in winter.
 The noticeable thing is that,
stock usually have slight denser coats when
kept outside.
Some features of Hutch
Floor
Made by bricks only to absorb urine.
Slightly sloped.
Roof
 General principles are followed for roofing.
In areas where myxomatosis & VHD is common;
mosquito proof material is used.
House s/b escape proof.
So constructed that ani. can neither itself nor the
hutch.
So constructed that good visibility of animal at
all the times.
The general housing principles are same as that of the other small animals.
The traditional hutch used @ farm level.
Another example of the hutch note the height from ground.
Different
varieties
of cages.
Hutch for the pet rabbit.
Rack type
hutch.
>Saves space
>Completes all
other criteria.
Moront hutch.
This can be even used for the poultry in some countries.
Well managed hutch with individual feeding & watering.
The hutch in the winter ; see the height of floor from the ground.
The typical hutch in cold countries.
The typical Hutch
with slanting roof.
Ready to transport Hutch being constructed @ factory.
Routine Examination
Any sign of illness s/b quickly noticed
It helps in deciding which ani. s/b selected
for mating
Points to be considered---
 Wt.
 It’s relation to size
ABNORMALITIES
Epilepsy
Furlessness
References
Rabbits Health, Husbandry& Diseases

--Richardson VCG
Care & Management of farm animals
--Scott WN
FOR ALL IMAGES
 Wikipedia.com
 Google.com
 Yahoo .com
 NewYorkTimes.com
The German Scientists have developed this largest breed recently.
[ NewYorkTimes.com]
Sarang S. Desai
V/05/0170
A small
pet rabbit.

1 Rabbit Care & Management

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1 Rabbit Care & Management

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Classification Scientific classification

Rabbit as the farm animal for

The same principles of feeding s/b followed

MEASURES OF FOOD ENERGY

Discovered by a French veterinarian

A.I. have been successfully carried out.

Few days before pregnancy, doe prepares

The exercise pen

Rabbits Health, Husbandry& Diseases

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