Backyard farming – Rabbits

Many of us had or dreamed of having a rabbit as a pet. Here are some things you might need to know when having rabbits, either for having as a pet, or for farming. The information here is not for industrial farming, but for small backyard farming.

Reproduction

Rabbits have one of the shortest reproduction cycles among farm animals. Their pregnancy lasts only 30 to 34 days. The number of bunnies in a littler increases every time that the doe delivers up to 10-12 rabbits with a world record of 24 in one litter. The does are ready to have children from when they are 3 to 8 months old. They will be able to have children their whole life. The number of kids, days of pregnancy and maturity depends also on the size and breed of the rabbit.

Feeding

The rabbits are herbivorous and like to eat several types of grass and leaves. They need a diet with a high percentage of fiber. Hay is highly recommended to feed the rabbits. A rabbit should have a ball of hay equal to his size every day. You can feed it a little bit of vegetable but not too much as this might cause diarrhea. If you put something in the rabbit's cage and they do not eat it, there are 2 options: he doesn't like the food in which case you should take it away, or they leave droppings on it and do not want it. because the rabbit milk is very concentrated, and the mother breastfeeds the bunnies only once per day for a few minutes, the mother will need more feed with a higher percentage of protein when breast feeding.

Behavior

Because rabbits are pray in nature, they will get very frightened and try to run away. When you work with them it is good to slowly move and talk and to make sure you do not run, chase, or frighten them, as this might give them a heart attack. You should do this, not only for them but also for you! They have very sharp teeth and nails and will scratch or bite if they are frightened and cannot escape. Especially the females when they have babies, they become extremely aggressive and is a good idea to leave them. Even if in some movies and cartoons they take the rabbits by the ears you should NEVER do this. This can hurt the rabbit and can lead to trauma. The correct way of holding a rabbit is from the neck/ beginning of the back skin. Just like cats they have some loose skin you can lift them from. It is good, however, to also have a supporting hand underneath to help the rabbit. If the rabbit squirms and screams, they are not happy about the way you are holding them, and it is good to put them down and try again.

Signals

If you see a rabbit stomping loudly with his back paws this is to show that he is frightened and in nature would tell other rabbits that there is a danger. If you see that a rabbit is sticking at you with the paws, he is trying to scratch you, so it is a good idea to leave it alone. In case of extreme fear or pain the rabbit will scream at an incredibly high pitch.

Fun facts

• Their teeth grow all their life, so you must give them fiber so that they trim them.

• Rabbits produce two types of droppings. The one that is round and full of fiber, brownish in color is produced in the day and it is the regular droppings. During the night they produce a black grape shaped dropping, composed of bacteria and the protein part of the food. since bacteria and protein are extremely useful for the rabbit, it eats it.

• Rabbit meat is the meat with the highest protein content, out of all the meats with 21% of protein.

• To make their nest rabbit moms rip the fur from their tummy. They do this also because the fur is very thick and the babies, born blind, need the nipple to be bare to find it.

• Even if they look sweet and silent, when they feel they are in danger or have any pain they scream incredibly loud.

• Albino rabbits have white fur and red eyes and look like devils.

• A good example of how fast they reproduce is Australia. In 1859 24 rabbits were introduced for hunting purposes and within 10 years of the introduction they would kill 2 million rabbits a year without any noticeable effect on the population. After that they tried everything to reduce the number, as they became a pest.

• The smallest rabbit breed in the world is the Columbia Basin Pygmy. It can weigh up to 450 grams when an adult.

• The biggest rabbit breed is the Flemish giant rabbit. It can weigh up to 10 kg.