How long does a rabbit grow before slaughter? 2 ways to fatten meat breeds for rapid growth and weight gain

Rabbit farming is a popular branch of agriculture, which brings great profits. But in order for eared pets to be profitable to breed, they must meet several criteria: grow quickly over time, gain weight well. This is only possible with a balanced diet, which ensures the vital activity of the animals, gives strength to resist diseases, and allows them to grow quickly and gain muscle mass.

At different times of the year

The rabbit is unpretentious in food. He eats almost all plant foods. Food of animal origin is also given to animals kept at home. But its share will be an order of magnitude less than plant feed. As a rule, a pet eats such supplements to obtain the vitamins necessary for growth and development.

in spring

In the spring, rabbits need to be provided with young green food. The pet happily eats wild and seeded herbs, vegetable tops, and kale. He also loves to gnaw on raw root vegetables collected from the garden bed. Wormwood, dandelion, plantain, nettle, and Siberian hogweed are considered useful plants for these fluffies.

In addition, animals love seeded grasses such as vetch, lupine, and alfalfa. It is important that the diet does not contain poisonous herbs and crops. They can affect the health of the individual

The following herbs should not be allowed in rabbit food:

• Kukol;
• Avran officinalis;
• Greater celandine;
• Digitalis;
• Hellebore;
• Spurge;
• Datura common.

It is better not to give tomato tops to rabbits

You should also be careful when handling potato leaves. These plants adversely affect the digestive system of long-eared rodents. So, what to feed rabbits in the spring? In addition to wild and seeded herbs, tops of Jerusalem artichoke, fodder beet, and rutabaga are suitable for animals to eat.

In summer

What do rabbits eat in summer? Mostly the animal eats what grows in beds, meadows and vegetable gardens. You can also give your pet young tree branches. However, not all trees are suitable for animals. Do not give to pets: branches of bird cherry, wolf's bast, apricot, elderberry. These crops are poisonous to them.

In addition to green feed, in summer the animals’ diet is supplemented with some vegetable crops. Rabbits love to eat carrots, Jerusalem artichokes, and radishes. These root vegetables can be grown in the countryside. Also in summer it is recommended to give animals succulent food - pumpkin, zucchini. If watermelons grow in the region, you can also feed your pets with them.

It is important to prepare silage in the summer - a mixture of grasses and crops collected and prepared in advance. They are pressed in a wooden barrel or cemented pit. Many breeders practice free-ranging rabbits in the summer.

To do this, fodder grasses are sown at home and space for free grazing is fenced off.

in autumn

At the beginning of autumn, rabbits need the nutrients contained in green and succulent food for normal growth and development. But, before the onset of autumn cold, it would be right to give the palm to concentrated feed.

With the onset of autumn, rabbits eat seasonal succulent food, grains and legumes. At home, pets are fed sprouted grains, combined feeds, meal, meat-bone and fish meal. However, their proportion in the diet should be minimal.

Before the autumn frosts, you need to take care of food for rabbits for the winter. The moment of preparations comes. At the dacha, hay for pets is dried, silage mixture is prepared, grain and legumes are purchased.

Animals are gradually transferred to dry and roughage. It is necessary to give rabbits oats, corn, peas, soybeans and root vegetables. Also in the autumn, the pet eats dry pulp and bran. By changing the feed, the proportion of nutrients entering the rabbit's body increases. However, succulent feed continues to remain in the diet of animals. As a rule, the nutrition of fluffies is adjusted to quickly gain weight.

in winter

What is the best way to feed a rabbit in winter? At this time of year, he eats the food that ensures an uninterrupted supply of vitamins and energy to the body. In addition, the diet consists of what the farmer prepared in the summer.

To maintain body temperature, you need to increase the amount of nutrients. It is better to give animals sprouted grain crops, combining them with representatives of legumes, combined feed.

Pets love hay, dried tree branches, and happily eat pine branches. The rabbit must always have access to food, especially in winter. You also need to take care of water. It shouldn't be too cold. This measure is necessary to ensure that animals do not get sick in winter.

The best source of nutrients for your pet is oats. It not only gives the animal the necessary amount of energy, but is a favorite treat for rabbits.

Since pets at home need to eat food in portions, you should prepare food in reserve. Some time after eating, you need to exchange leftover food for fresh food.

It is important to thoroughly dry the hay and young tree branches that the rabbit will eat in winter.

At the dacha it is necessary to build a special place for drying hay and tops. After all, the rabbit will not eat dried grass if the preparation process is violated.

Increasing the weight of rabbits using additional methods

In practice, it is not always possible to choose the right diet and fully calculate the calorie content of foods. Therefore, in order for rabbits to grow well, and for their breeders to make a profit from their long-eared herd, they introduce a variety of food additives, vitamin-mineral premixes and growth accelerators into the menu. They have a number of advantages:

• Increases the body's resistance.
• Helps absorb basic nutrition.
• Accelerate metabolic processes.

The following standard vitamin supplements have worked well:

• Chiktonik;
• Eleovit;
• Ushastik;
• Yeshka;
• Hello.

But you shouldn’t get carried away with them, because an overdose of vitamins can cause hypervitaminosis, which will also negatively affect the health of the ears.

Nutritional supplements for artificial weight gain

To speed up the growth of muscle mass in long-eared animals, farmers use special food additives. They are added to grain mash that is fed to pets. The following nutritional supplements are popular among rabbit breeders:

• Liprot;
• Butazal;
• Cyanophore;
• Aminovit;
• Biocalcium;
• Microvitam;
• Calphostonic;
• Glauber's salt.

Video What to feed rabbits for rapid growth, grain mixture!

Features of feeding rabbits

In summer, feeding animals with plant foods is widespread.

It is important to remember that not all grass will benefit rabbits. You should exclude cabbage from your diet, as it disrupts the normal functioning of the stomach.

Buttercups pose a great danger and lead to intoxication. The animals begin to have diarrhea and their stomach swells. Poisoning is not always fatal, but has a negative impact on the health of rabbits.

When preparing hay for rabbits, it is necessary to exclude representatives of ranunculus and lily plants from entering it.

In addition to the upset and bloating, the rabbit may experience convulsions and short-term paralysis. Wrestler or aconite will also harm the health of animals. The plants are widespread among the herbs growing in Russia. If accidentally ingested into the diet, intoxication of the body occurs and the following symptoms are observed:

• strong secretion of saliva;
• noticeable slowing of heart rate;
• convulsions and subsequent paralysis, which leads to the death of the rabbit.

Marsh marigold leads to disruption of the kidneys and leads to general poisoning of the body.

It leads to intoxication of hemlock and celandine, as well as wild radish and mustard; the seeds of cockleweed pose a great danger. The poison of this plant affects cardiac and renal activity. In case of poisoning, bloody vomiting, diarrhea, and copious salivation are observed.

To avoid unpleasant consequences, when making hay or distributing fresh grass, you should not allow the following to get in there: raven's eye four-leaf, digitalis, lily of the valley, water drinker, spur, poisonous weed, milkweed, blekot, white hellebore, autumn color, hernia, jaundice, shady anemone , harmalas, bone crusher. All of these are poisonous plants that are dangerous to rabbits.

The effect of plants on the animal body has not been fully studied. Depending on the period of ripening of the herbs, the plant will act on rabbits differently; the place of collection will also be of great importance. Green food has a more beneficial effect on the body. It is best to use grass species that are known to the owner and that have been well tested as food. Some varieties of wormwood and red cabbage are contraindicated for feeding.

It is necessary to exclude the collection of animal feed near highways, railways, garbage dumps, factories and similar places. Even good plants collected in the above places are saturated with heavy metals and will be harmful to eat.

If you feed your rabbit correctly, they will be healthy and, accordingly, gain weight faster.

Diseases of rabbits that prevent them from gaining weight

In principle, all diseases during fattening interfere with weight gain. However, most diseases are rare in young animals. The main infectious disease that affects the rate of weight gain in rabbits is coccidiosis (eimeriosis). The causative agents of coccidiosis are specific to each animal species. Coccidiosis in rabbits and chickens has different pathogens.

Coccidia are natural inhabitants of rabbits from the first days of life.

Even a completely healthy rabbit has single-celled organisms (coccidia) in a mutually beneficial (symbiotic) relationship. Normal coccidia (emeria) are involved in digestion and the breakdown of plant fiber. They quickly turn into dangerous parasites, with the slightest decrease in the body's resistance. The rabbit doesn't even need to get infected. The former "assistant" quickly becomes his worst enemy. As a result, a “vicious circle” of pathogenesis develops. It looks like this:

Decreased body defenses → initial stage of coccidiosis → further weakening of the body due to illness → complicated stage of coccidiosis → and so on

During the period of an infectious disease, no set of feeds will help rabbits gain weight quickly.

Nutritional supplements for rabbits

A lack of vitamins will immediately affect the health of animals, causing pathological changes. Beginning breeders often face the problem when rabbits do not grow and they do not know what to do.

Stunted growth, lethargy, exhausted appearance, decreased appetite are a clear sign of vitamin B deficiency.

Important! A lack of vitamin B1 in the body negatively affects the gastrointestinal tract of animals. Diarrhea often occurs, animals become nervous, the cardiac system begins to work intermittently, convulsions and paralysis of the limbs may occur. With vitamin D deficiency, pregnant females can lose their offspring, and surviving babies will suffer from rickets

Female rabbits interrupt feeding their babies because lactation stops, and adults' paws turn out

With vitamin D deficiency, pregnant females can lose offspring, and surviving babies will suffer from rickets. Female rabbits interrupt feeding their young because lactation stops, and adult rabbits have their paws turned inside out.

To eliminate and prevent vitamin deficiency, animals are given Chiktonik and feeding is increased. As food supplements, rabbits are fed foods rich in vitamins:

• A - fresh fruits and vegetables, green food;
• B1 - sprouted wheat. Fresh potatoes, yeast;
• B2 - silage, bran, dairy products;
• B12 - algae, seaweed, bone and fish meal;
• D - Fish oil.

On a note! By receiving the necessary vitamins with food additives, animals actively reproduce, grow, eat well, and their fur begins to shine.

Rabbit food

The most common foods for rabbits include:

• Oats. Animals readily eat flattened or crushed grain. Among other feeds, oats are considered the most complete and give good results during fattening.
• Pulses. These include broad beans, soybeans, peas, and peas. The foods are very rich in proteins, but in large quantities they can cause bloating. The grains are pre-crushed and soaked. They are given to animals only in mixtures with soft food and in small portions. The daily consumption of grain legumes should not exceed 40-45 g per adult.
• It is very useful to give animals food of animal origin: blood and meat and bone meal. They contain huge reserves of phosphorus, protein, and calcium. And a mother rabbit feeding her cubs will drink milk with pleasure.
• The lack of hay can be compensated for with millet or oat straw. From the beginning of summer you need to take care of branch food.
• It is necessary to feed rabbits with succulent food: sugar beets, Jerusalem artichokes, cabbage, carrots, potatoes, melons.
• Juicy silage and fresh grass are very useful for animals. Rabbits eat well nettles, burdock, bedstraw, dandelion, yarrow, green peonies and lovage.

Rabbit food

Recommended food

Feed composition recommendations will directly depend on the age of the chickens. Its composition may differ significantly from week to week. The simplest option would be to feed them with starter feed until they are one month old, and then with finishing feed. At the same time, the starting one should contain 23% protein, and the finishing one should have 2% less.

A more difficult option would be feeding 3 types of feed. In the period up to 3 weeks of life, chickens are given starter feed to gain weight. For the next 2 weeks they need to be given growth, and from the 35th day of life - finishing.

Farmers and experts call the 4-step option the most effective scheme from the first days for rapid growth and good weight gain. During the first stage, which lasts from birth to the 5th day of life, chickens should be fed properly. Their digestive system is not yet properly adjusted, which is why they need specially formulated mixtures. It would be better to use pre-start feed (PK-5), adding 3-5% milk powder or skim milk.

You can make pre-start feed with your own hands. To do this you will need to take the following ingredients:

• dry return;
• soybean meal;
• finely ground corn;
• finely crushed wheat.

If we talk about proportions, then the first two ingredients should be 10% each, and the last two should be 40%. Until chickens are one month old, grain feed, as well as various ingredients for its preparation, should be sifted. Otherwise, the films it contains can cause blockage in the muscular part of the chicken's stomach and lead to its death.

At the second stage, from 5 to 18 days of life, the feed should be replaced with the starter feed. Its composition is almost no different from that described above, except for the ratio of ingredients. Also added are fats, feed yeast and different types of flour. It is produced in the form of granules.

At this stage, feeding chickens at home should be supplemented with mineral compounds so that the birds grow really massive. In addition to the feed, chickens should be fed a mixture of salt, bone meal, feed chalk and defluorinated phosphate.

If during this period you use food prepared by yourself, then premixes must be added to it. They should contain vitamins and amino acids. If there are not enough of them in the chickens’ bodies, then the development of bone tissue will proceed slower than muscle, and as a result, the birds will simply break their legs.

The third stage takes place from 19 to 37 days of life. By the beginning of this period, the chickens’ digestive tract is completely formed, as a result of which their appetite increases. It is during this period that the weight gain in chickens will be the most intense.

Around day 30, chickens can be fed not only with feed in granules, but also with mash made from crushed grains of various cereals and legumes. You should also add meal, herbal flour or fresh herbs and boiled root vegetables to the mash. It would not be superfluous to add feed yeast and various types of flour.

The last stage lasts from 38 to 45 days. During this period, broilers begin to eat worse and their growth slows down. For this reason, broilers are usually fed until day 45, after which they are slaughtered. That is, according to standards, their life does not last even 2 months. Broilers are given finishing feed; at this stage, carbohydrates will dominate the feed.

Broiler fattening

For fattening, it is better to use rabbits of a special type - meat. They are characterized by rapid growth and developed muscles. There are also differences among meat breeds:

• fat content of meat;
• productivity;
• taste qualities.

Broiler fattening

How to feed radishes for rapid root growth

Broilers are considered the most promising. When fattening, the diet should change in stages:

1. Preparatory. The animal must be fed food with the highest calorie content, but the amount of greens should not be reduced. The rate of concentrated species should be increased by half.
2. Basic. Targeting is the formation of adipose tissue. During this period, pets are given foods high in fat. These are hemp and flax seeds, cake, porridge with added milk. In no case should you exceed the norm for fat consumption, otherwise a weak stomach may break down. Fat feeding continues for a week.
3. Final. What to feed rabbits for rapid weight gain during this period is the maximum feed rate. Animals must constantly eat. To increase appetite, spicy herbs and root vegetables are added to the rabbit diet: parsley, celery, caraway seeds, dill. They also add salt to the water. Greens and hay are strictly contraindicated.

Important! Broiler feeding needs to be taken seriously. If the diet is formulated incorrectly, the baby rabbit can “break” the stomach and get sick.

Nutrition of nursing rabbits and young animals

Feeding female rabbits during pregnancy and after birth should be given increased attention. Food should be healthy not only for the mother rabbit, but also for the little rabbits

The diet should be varied, with a high content of essential vitamins and microelements. After giving birth, the rate of daily feed for a female rabbit increases by 4-8 times compared to the usual one. There should be fresh water in the drinking bowl at all times. To increase the amount of milk, it is recommended to feed rabbits with green food, silage, and root vegetables. It is useful to give a nursing mother parsley and dill, which can increase milk production. These herbs should be dosed in moderation, since they contain essential oils and their high concentration can adversely affect the health of the rabbits.

Three weeks later, on the twentieth day after birth, the cubs emerge from the nest. After leaving the mother, the rabbits begin to gradually become accustomed to “adult” food. Starting from the age of one month, young animals are fed mash of crushed grain, carrots, tops and good hay.

How much do rabbits weigh

The average weight of rabbits destined for meat is 4-5 kg. However, there are also breeds that can weigh up to 10 kg. Let's look at the average weight of animals by age:

Expert opinion

Dobryshev Sergey Anatolievich

Professional rabbit breeder with 30 years of experience

Note! You need to understand that there will be less meat from one individual than the animal weighs during life. Approximately 30% comes from the skin and internal organs. It turns out that if the rabbit weighed 10 kg, then there will be 7 kg of meat.

Rabbits don't grow well

The most active growth in rabbits occurs before 3 months. During this period, the daily gain is about 40 g. In the fourth month, the gain is reduced by almost half, and after 4 months the animals do not grow.

The lack of adequate nutrition does not always slow down the development of pets. There are also two other reasons why rabbits do not grow: intestinal coccidiosis and helminths.

On a note! With coccidiosis, diarrhea alternates with constipation with intestinal bloating. Rabbits lose weight very quickly, practically do not move, and convulsions may occur. The intestinal form of the disease lasts 2 weeks, and the hepatic form lasts almost 2 months. In 70% of cases, the animals die, and those who survive remain carriers of the infection for another month. Prevention of the disease is through sanitary standards.

Animals that have helminths are stunted and stop gaining weight. Worm eggs enter the animal's body with food or hay. In the animal's intestines, the eggs transform into worms. The grown parasites clog the host's body with larvae. The food for helminths is the food consumed by the rabbit and the cells of its body. The animal consumes a lot of feed, but stops growing and becomes weak. The presence of helminths can be determined by taking tests. After a positive diagnosis has been established, the rabbits are given a course of deworming.

Fattening farm rabbits is popular. Rabbit meat is in demand as dietary meat; it is especially useful for patients with kidney and heart defects.

Tasty and healthy rabbit meat is not in vain considered a dietary product. In addition, raising rabbits for meat at home is a profitable and interesting activity. Many farmers have successfully mastered this type of business. You should not only choose the best breeds of rabbits for breeding for meat, but also take your pets’ diet seriously. This article contains tips and recommendations for choosing a breed and feeding animals for the fastest weight gain.

Rabbits gain weight poorly: what to do

If, with a sufficient amount of complete food, rabbits still gain weight poorly, special compounds are used.

Interesting! To quickly gain weight at minimal cost, breeders often use growth stimulants for rabbits. This is a complex of balanced nutrients that improve the development of animals. Based on the standard diet, the dosage of the stimulant is selected.

They produce synthetic and natural drugs. Some, due to their nutritional value, increase weight, others speed up metabolism, as a result of which food is better digested and absorbed.

Phos-Bevit is a complex stimulant, which contains:

• Butaphosphan is aimed at increasing weight. Normalizes mineral metabolism, ensures the development of bone tissue, tones the body;
• Folic acid is an excellent building material for complex compounds, a stimulator of red blood cell formation;
• Cyanocobolamine - participates in the formation of bone marrow and supports the nervous system.

Rabbits have trouble gaining weight, what to do?

Nucleopeptide - consists of tissue components and spleen cells. In the animal’s body, it increases the rate of metabolism of proteins, fats, and carbohydrates. As a result, food is absorbed almost completely. The animals grow and develop faster, and the fattening period is reduced.

Microvitam is a dietary supplement containing all types of amino acids.

Flavomycin - after its use, the digestibility of feed increases significantly.

Important! Any stimulant should be introduced into the diet gradually, following the recommendations in the instructions.

What to feed rabbits for intensive growth at home

Fattening rabbits for meat at home consists of the right combination of natural plant feed, ready-made feed, minerals and vitamin supplements. Food should be high-calorie and varied. Let's take a closer look at the main components of the diet.

• Hay. Meadow grasses are mowed in clear sunny weather and dried for a short time, preferably in direct sunlight to form vitamin D. Feeding animals with rotten and rotten hay is not allowed.
• Grass. Fresh grass should be slightly dried. Rabbits readily eat clover, dandelion leaf, plantain, wheatgrass, and young shoots of nettle. You should not give tops of potatoes, tomatoes, eggplants and other plants of the nightshade family: henbane, nightshade. Poisonous plants such as celandine, sleep grass, buttercup, spurge, and cockle are contraindicated for pets.
• Vegetables. Experienced farmers advise feeding boiled potatoes to quickly gain weight for rabbits. The remaining vegetables are given raw, thoroughly washed and wiped with a napkin. Carrots, beets, corn, zucchini, Jerusalem artichoke, cucumbers, tomatoes. Legumes are fed in limited quantities, as they cause bloating. Cabbage should not be given to fluffies; their weak stomachs are unable to digest it. All root vegetables begin to be fed no earlier than 4 months of age.
• Cereals. For rapid growth, it is better to feed your pets wheat, oats, barley, and corn. These and other grains contain all the necessary components for nutrition, especially in winter. They contain proteins, fats, carbohydrates, and vitamins. Grains are necessary for grinding down the incisors, which are constantly growing in rabbits.
• Compound feed. A balanced concentrated feed consists of crushed cereals and other roughage with added vitamins and minerals. Available in the form of granules, briquettes or in bulk. Complete feeds, food concentrates that are added to succulent and green feeds, and protein and vitamin supplements have been developed. Concentrated supplements are given at a rate of 30g per adult per day. Usually in the summer there is enough seasonal food; compound feed is used mainly in the winter.
• Branches. The annual growth of fruit trees is suitable: apple trees, pears. And also branches of willow, acacia, maple. The use of apricot, elderberry, and bird cherry shoots is not recommended. For a short time, you can give branches of coniferous plants: spruce, juniper.
• Food waste. Fattening rabbits for meat allows the use of food waste: potato peelings, carrots, other vegetables, crackers, cereals, bran, cake. The main thing is that the food does not become moldy or begin to rot. Feeding spoiled food waste leads to poisoning and even death.

Important! If you decide to raise rabbits for meat, make sure that the animals always have clean drinking water. You need to change the water at least once a day, preferably more often. Water containers must be periodically disinfected to avoid the growth of bacteria.

It is especially necessary to monitor the purity of water in the summer, when animals drink more and microorganisms multiply especially actively.

Water containers must be periodically disinfected to avoid the growth of bacteria. It is especially necessary to monitor the purity of water in the summer, when animals drink more and microorganisms multiply especially actively.

Elements of a proper diet for rabbits

Proper food for rabbits can protect the animal from numerous diseases, especially pathologies of the gastrointestinal tract. In some cases, improper nutrition not only slows down the development of the animal, but also leads to death.

Hay and grass - benefits for rabbits

The basic nutritional elements for a rabbit are water and hay. These products are required in the diet; they are necessary to maintain a healthy intestinal condition, normalize the microflora in the stomach, and also ensure the removal of foreign objects, such as animal hair, from the body.

Water

Water is an important part of nutrition. Provide animals with unlimited access to water, but some neglect this factor and in vain, because the quality of the animal’s appetite greatly depends on watering. So, it is necessary to adhere to several basic principles in this regard.

1. Always get fresh water. Don't let it sit for long periods of time, which could cause it to become infected with bacteria. In this case, the liquid must be of high quality, taken from proven springs or given filtered water. A well is also suitable, but it must be clean and the groundwater must be analyzed periodically.

   The importance of water in the diet

2. Replenish drinking bowls in a timely manner. Experienced breeders have noticed that the animal drinks much more readily from an open bowl than from a dosed, automatic drinker. Change the water at least once a day, preferably 2-3 times.
3. Rinse water containers periodically to prevent the formation of harmful bacteria and infection of the animal. A simple rinse with hot water once a day will do the trick.

A sufficient amount of water is necessary, since the digestion of forage and feed requires a lot of liquid, because these are dry feeds. Accordingly, the faster and easier the body can digest the product, the faster the feeling of hunger will appear again. A high-quality appetite is the key to the rapid development and well-being of your pet. The drinking bowls should always be full.

Hay

Hay allows you to normalize the activity of the gastrointestinal tract, as well as prevent the appearance of cutting teeth. It is typical for rabbits that their teeth do not stop growing all the time, which can cause serious problems with the animal’s nutrition. With regular consumption of forage, it is possible to prevent the formation of pointed tips of the teeth.

Feeding rabbits hay

Hay for rabbits must have the following characteristics:

1. Hay can be different, suitable for rabbits: meadow hay, from meadow timothy or bluegrass, hedgehog grass and other varieties of meadow plants. Most of all, the animals like green forbs.
2. The hay must be well dried. If there is moldiness or foreign odors (from the storage room, harmful plants), the animal will refuse to eat it or will have a decreased appetite. When eating low-quality forage, there is a high risk of illness, since rotted hay contains many harmful bacteria.

   Hay for rabbits should always be fresh

3. The food should be fresh, leave it for several years. After drying, it should have a pleasant smell, while crumbling or spraying is an alarming signal.
4. It is recommended to dry the hay outside under the sun's rays, so the feed will have a lot of calcium, vitamin D, and a more pleasant smell. Artificial drying destroys more bacteria, but also deprives it of some of its beneficial properties.
5. The hay should consist of long grass mixed with leaves and flowers.
6. When buying hay in stores, pay attention to its fraction; it should not be too fine. Ensure that there is no or minimal dust residue. You need to make sure that the bag contains cut hay from long grass, and not whole 2-3 cm blades of grass, which is not suitable for rabbits.

Fodder

High-quality hay is the key to rapid weight gain for an animal; without it, the animal will have a poor appetite. Most often, forage is the basis of the diet.

Rules for feeding hay:

• Rodents need this food from an early age; they can be given food from a 2-3 week period, but still in small quantities. Rough food for young animals is quite difficult to digest and assimilate. Initially served in small portions, gradually increasing them;
• It is necessary to replenish the feeder in the cage regularly, if the animal has not eaten it completely, periodically throw it away and put in a new one. Add food little by little, otherwise the animals will trample and stain it. They will not eat more than normal; add food 2-4 times a day to specially designated nurseries.

Grass

In summer it is better to use greens with a huge number of useful components for rodents. In general, grass along with hay constitute the bulk of the diet. It is important here that the herb is beneficial, otherwise various disorders and diseases are possible.

Grass is another essential element of a rabbit's diet.

Let's consider the main characteristics of high-quality grass:

1. Only pure food has beneficial properties. Greens must be collected in areas remote from roads and industrial enterprises. Meadows, forests, as well as your own lands are ideal. It is important to know that lawn grass is not suitable for feeding. Ornamental plants and flowers should also be excluded from the diet. Ideally, forage grass is specially grown on the site.
2. Freshness. Long-term storage of the grass is not allowed, otherwise it will require processing, for example, drying. Mustiness, unpleasant odor, lethargy and other qualities are signals that the greens are of poor quality.
3. The most delicious, according to rabbits, and easily accessible to breeders, are: clover (preferably red), alfalfa, sulfia, fresh nettle (there are some preparation nuances), young corn, rye, vetch, lupine, oats, seed.

Animals can also be given medicinal plants, but they need to be dried. These include: sage, Chernobyl, juniper, lemon balm, mint, caraway.

Sage in the diet of rabbits

Rules for preparing greens before feeding:

• prepare hay from young plants, perhaps at the time of flowering, so they are more useful;
• You should not feed raw grass, you must first wash it, dry it and only then give it to the animals;
• You should tear the grass with your hands; it oxidizes somewhat when it comes into contact with the mower.

Grass in rabbit nutrition

Important! There are some plants that are considered poisonous to rabbits. Before replenishing the feeder with grass, remove: celandine, mustard, datura, hemlock, radish, nightshade.

Compound feed

Naturally, the breeder wants the best quality nutrition for his pets so that the animals grow healthy and large. To obtain many minerals, vitamins, as well as energy value, compound feed is often used. It is considered one of the cheapest and easiest ways to achieve satiety and health in rabbits.

Feed-based nutrition

Features of using feed:

1. Most feeds do not provide a complete, balanced diet because there is a lack of nutritional value or vitamins. Compound feed is one of the few complete food products. For frequent feeding, use complete feed, but you can use additives or concentrates.
2. Most often, feed is the basis of nutrition, and compound feed acts as an additive, so concentrates are used.
3. There are many types of feed, so you can buy a product for quick fattening of rabbits, for raising baby rabbits, for improving the nutritional qualities of other feeds, especially often given to lactating females.
4. The composition of these feeds is approximately the same, although the ratio is very different. In general, it consists of the following components: oats, corn, wheat, barley. Protein components are also added: soybean meal or cake, wheat bran, sunflower cake, yeast, meat and bone meal. Extremely important components, although they are contained in small quantities, are vitamin complexes: tricalcium phosphate, chalk, table salt.

Compound feed

The amount of feed depends greatly on how the feed is used (additive or main component) and the age/condition of the rabbit. If compound feed is used as the main element of the diet, then the permissible amount of feed is as indicated in the table below.

With combined feeding (using hay, grass), the feed rate will decrease by 20-30%.

Prices for feed for rabbits

Compound feed for rabbits

Vegetables

Rabbits love root vegetables, as they are tasty and at the same time very healthy. Not all of them have a high level of nutritional value, but they are definitely needed. Most create beneficial microflora in the intestines. Vegetables are usually added to the general diet in the amount of 100-200g.

Vegetables in a rabbit's diet

Important factors when feeding vegetables to rabbits:

1. For rabbits, carrots, beets, Jerusalem artichokes, tomatoes, zucchini, corn and cucumbers can be given. Pets also love boiled potatoes, which promote rapid weight gain. Carrots should be given raw, slightly chopped and in small portions. Only sugar beets are used, also in moderation.
2. Give vegetables pre-washed, wiped with a napkin to remove moisture, and peeled.
3. Give root vegetables only from the age of 4 months, gradually adding them to the diet.
4. Optimal nutrition is a mixture of different types of foods.
5. Vegetables are quite hard, so give them chopped.

There are foods that rabbits should avoid eating: beans, lettuce, rhubarb. You should avoid cabbage altogether, because it can lead to bloating and depression of the animal’s general condition due to the large amount of sulfur in the composition.

Cabbage causes bloating in rabbits

What vitamins does a calf need?

The most important vitamins for young animals are D and A; their deficiency or complete absence causes irreversible processes in the body that have a significant impact on the overall development of the calf and its further productive qualities. There are a number of compounds that are poorly absorbed or not absorbed by the body at all. Such substances must enter the animal’s body in a comprehensive manner to have a positive effect.

Preparations containing vitamins

In the following table you can get acquainted with the vitamins that the fragile body of a calf needs.

In the absence of the necessary vitamin complexes, destruction processes begin in the animal’s body, which causes serious diseases.

At what age do rabbits grow fastest?

Newborn rabbits are born small and defenseless. For the first month of life, they feed exclusively on their mother's milk. This allows them to increase their own mass by about 10 times. However, this is still not enough to send animals to slaughter.

Then, up to 5 months, the rabbits gain about 70% of their maximum weight. This period can be considered the age when animals grow the fastest. They reach their maximum weight by 8 months, when they can be sent for slaughter.

Nutritional standards for rabbits for weight gain

The number of meals and diet may vary greatly. Mostly food is given 3-4 times. For adults, feeding can be 2-3 times a day. For young animals, feeding should be done 4 times a day. Pregnant females should also be fed more frequently. The amount of each meal is calculated by simply dividing the daily food intake. At the same time, vitamin complexes should be added in winter.

Rabbits need to eat on a schedule

An important condition for quality nutrition is a schedule. It is better to feed the animals at the same time so that they develop a reflex and a feeling of hunger by a certain time. Usually the rabbit does not eat all its food at once, since its stomach is designed for small amounts of food.

Feeding rates for different types of food depending on the age/condition of the rabbits

Feeding schedule according to season

Three-time feeding chart in winter

Feeding rabbits in winter

Winter quadruple feeding chart

It is necessary to follow the feeding schedule daily

Taking into account the characteristics of the summer period, feeding times, as well as its components, differ. The following is typical for a 3-fold summer diet.

Table of four meals a day in summer

You can also prepare complex nutrition yourself, similar to compound feed. For this you need a meat grinder, preferably a granulator. An important nuance in preparation is the availability of food in sufficient quantities; let’s look at the example of several of the best recipes.

Preparing feed using a granulator

Recipes for making your own feed

Recipe 1. The following ingredients must be included:

• grass flour – 40%;
• barley, can be replaced with oats – 30%;
• sunflower cake – 10%;
• legumes, for example, peas – 8%;
• wheat bran – 5%;
• molasses – 2.5%;
• hydrolyzed yeast – 2%;
• fish oil, meat and bone meal – 1.6%;
• food phosphate – 0.6%;
• table salt – 0.3%.

Recipe 2. You will need:

• grass flour – 30%;
• oats – 19%;
• barley – 19%;
• wheat bran – 15%;
• cake – 13%;
• meat or fish flour – 2%;
• yeast and meat and bone meal – 1%;
• table salt – 0.5%;
• bone meal – 0.5%.

The preparation process for both recipes is identical, you must:

Step 1. Grind the ingredients that require it.

Ground grain

Step 2. Mix all the ingredients.

Step 3. Pour the mixture into a granulator or, if there is none, pass the mixture through a meat grinder.

Preparing feed using a meat grinder

Step 4. After turning the mixture into granules, the latter should be dried, and the feed is ready.

Making feed with your own hands is possible

Prices for grain grinder

Chopper for crushing all types of feed grains and seeds

In addition, it should be added that livestock breeders sometimes think about whether to include salt in the diet of rabbits? After all, this mineral in excess or deficiency can harm the pet’s health, so you need to strictly adhere to the quantitative norm of salt supply.

Is salt good for rabbits?

Green feed

From spring to autumn, you can easily feed rabbits with grass, leaves, branches with leaves, and young shoots of trees. The range of wild herbs is quite diverse: these are nettle, clover, rapeseed, plantain, meadowsweet, shepherd's purse and even burdock. It is recommended to give beet tops, carrots, rhubarb leaves, specially sown grass (alfalfa, lupine, vetch and others).

But remember that a large amount of legumes leads to difficulties in the functioning of the intestines. Feeding only one type of grass will result in slower growth.

Buttercup is a poisonous plant that causes blindness in rabbits.

Roughage

Rough feed contains fiber, which is necessary for normal digestion. These include tree branches, hay and flour made from herbs and hay. The grass is cut for hay before flowering. If the hay is cut late, caught in the rain or dried out in the sun, it is processed into flour. The owners need to calculate how much hay to prepare for the entire livestock for the winter. On average, one female eats about forty kilograms of hay, plus ten to fifteen kilograms for one rabbit if a litter is planned.

Tree branches are harvested before mid-summer from linden, maple, willow and other trees, with the exception of stone fruits. Bird cherry, apricot, and wolf's bast are considered poisonous.

Concentrated feed

This type of feed is useful due to its high protein content. Oats are very useful; they can be given whole, crushed, or flattened. Corn is crushed or soaked and porridge is cooked. Before giving barley, it is peeled. For better digestibility, any grain can be soaked or sprouted. You can also feed rabbits wheat and wheat bran, cake, meal. It is recommended to use a large proportion of concentrated feed if you need to fatten rabbits for meat.

Beginner breeders often have a question: is it possible to feed rabbits bread? It is possible if the bread is fresh and not moldy, since mold fungi lead to diarrhea and even death.

Compound feed for broilers

Broilers are a breed of chicken that grows quite quickly and also gains weight. Compound feed is a dry mixture of ingredients that is needed to feed broiler chickens.

It contains all the necessary products for normal growth and weight gain of chickens. This mixture usually includes: grains, protein products, fats, chalk, minerals, vitamins, proteins.

Do-it-yourself feed for broilers

Naturally, fertilizer prepared on your own is much better than purchased fertilizer, if only because you probably know that this mixture contains only high-quality and natural elements. You will definitely be calm about the development and normal growth of the chicken. How to make compound feed?

DIY broiler feed recipe

First, we need to determine how much feed is needed for the available number of heads. To do this, we must find out how many chickens we have and multiply their number by twenty-five. Now let's look at the recipe for feed for broilers.

Composition of feed for broilers:

• 48% corn flour or corn kernels;
• 13% milled wheat;
• 19% meal;
• 7% bone meal (from meat or fish bones);
• 5% yeast;
• 3% grass meal;
• 1% feed fats.

The rest is vitamins and minerals, which can be found in any pharmacy.

And by the end of feeding you will need the same ingredients, but their dosage in the combined feed will change. Closer to the end of fattening, birds need more calories. The feed composition for broilers is given in dry form, but it is useful to sometimes mix it with liquids. This will promote better absorption. Usually water or fresh milk is added.

Many birds are released for slaughter after a month of fattening, as they gain weight very quickly. But if you intend to feed more, then the recipe does not change. Just increase the dosage of ingredients, and then the bird will gain weight evenly.

Which combination food should you prefer?

We already know that feeding birds is carried out in several stages, which means that each stage will require its own feed.

For the first few weeks, they can be fed like regular chickens. It can be boiled eggs, ground wheat, homemade cottage cheese. At this stage, you can use a compound feed called BR-1, which has proven itself very well.

Also, many farmers give their preference to PC-5. To prepare this food, only natural products are used:

• At the final stage of fattening, it is recommended to use BR-3 or PK-6.
• Of course, we understand that feeding chickens with feed alone is quite expensive, so farmers often use feed additives.
• Many farmers divide feed into 3 stages of poultry feeding: starting, growing, finishing.
• The composition of each includes a standard set of ingredients, at each stage only their percentage changes.

Rules for choosing feed for broilers:

When choosing food for starter feeding, be sure to pay attention to the size of the grains, make sure they are not large and the chick can swallow them; In the first days of life, it is worth giving more dry food and gradually reducing it; If chickens appear unhealthy, increase the fat content of the diet; If the feed you have chosen contains a lot of millet, then you should additionally buy vitamins and give them to the chickens.

Thus, we see that on the one hand, raising broilers is very difficult, but if you figure it out and do everything correctly, then it is quite possible. Preparing broiler feed with your own hands at home if you have all the ingredients is very simple, and you will be sure of the quality.

Also, raising broilers is a great business. Broiler chickens grow quite quickly, they can be sold or cooked and sold meat, the quality of which you are sure of if you prepared the composition for broiler feed with your own hands. After all, as they say: “We are what we eat.” The better the quality of the food, the healthier and tastier the meat will be.

Why do animals gain weight slowly and grow poorly?

Experts identify three main reasons why rabbits grow poorly:

• genetic predisposition of a particular breed;
• poor living conditions, incorrectly formulated diet for rabbits;
• the owner’s ignorance of the principle of breeding selection.

Expert opinion

Dobryshev Sergey Anatolievich

Professional rabbit breeder with 30 years of experience

For reference! The last reason why rabbits do not gain weight is that after the birth of the rabbits, the owner of the farm incorrectly sorts the individuals. That is, it leaves the sick, weakened, and developmentally delayed.

The importance of breed on the rate of weight gain

Breed is the main reason why rabbits do not grow well and gain weight. To cope with this problem, you need to choose the right animal species that are suitable for growing in a particular region.

It is also important to ensure proper care of the farm. As practice shows, with experienced rabbit breeders who do everything according to the rules, any breed will quickly gain weight.

Tips for choosing a breed of animal that gains weight quickly

In order not to wonder why rabbits do not gain weight well, you need to be careful when choosing a breed. Suitable for central Russia:

• Soviet chinchilla;
• NZB;
• Californian;
• Vienna blue;
• Black-brown;
• White and Gray Giant;
• Silver;
• White pannon;
• Burgundy;
• Butterfly.

Expert opinion

Dobryshev Sergey Anatolievich

Professional rabbit breeder with 30 years of experience

Note! It is not necessary to choose the above listed breeds. You need to ask experienced rabbit breeders in the region who have been raising animals for a long time. They will tell you from personal experience which species will be the best for rapid growth.

When choosing a suitable breed, you should not chase fashionable, foreign specimens. Firstly, if experts from abroad write that these rabbits are designed for rapid weight gain, this does not mean that they are telling the truth. Even if this is true, then this breed may simply not be suitable for Russia. Therefore, a large amount of money for the purchase will simply be “thrown away.” Secondly, unscrupulous breeders can simply slip in a fake or rejected individual if the nursery is untested.

Beginning rabbit breeders often look for accelerator animals, having read on the Internet that they do not get sick and grow “before our eyes.” Of course, such individuals can be purchased, but it should be understood that this is not a breed. Rather, it is a feature of the organism of a particular specimen. Moreover, he can have any breed.

Rice. 2. The Soviet chinchilla breed stands out not only for its tasty meat, but also for its beautiful fur.

Diseases that prevent you from gaining weight

All diseases can cause rabbits to gain weight poorly. However, most often young individuals are affected by coccidiosis. This pathological condition is provoked by coccidia. These are single-celled microorganisms that are present even in healthy animals from the moment they are born, but in small quantities. They take part in the digestive processes and contribute to the rapid breakdown of fiber.

During the period of weakened immunity, microorganisms actively multiply. Their number exceeds the permissible norms. As a result, coccidiosis develops. One of the symptoms of the disease is poor weight gain in rabbits.

Rice. 3. Diseases that can cause weight loss.

Under what conditions do they gain weight better?

When trying to determine why rabbits do not grow, you should pay attention to the conditions in which they are kept. Many people believe that it is better to keep animals in pits, because such an environment is closer to the natural one. That's a moot point. Of course, rabbits will be more comfortable digging holes than sitting in cramped cages.

However, in this case there is a high risk of death of the entire farm in the event of a serious infection in any individual. This is due to the fact that all specimens, when kept in a pit, are in one place and easily infect each other. Moreover, in conditions close to natural, rabbits will behave exactly the same as in the wild. That is, live for yourself, and not gain weight for the owner.

In cages it is easier to monitor the condition of animals and feed them. There is no need to ensure that one individual does not eat all the food, leaving the rest without food. Separate housing allows you to control the daily diet and, if necessary, adjust it.

The influence of feed quality on the growth rate of rabbits

Feeding rabbits with special granulated feed is very convenient. However, a high-quality mixture is quite expensive. If you choose budget options, there is a high risk that the animals will refuse them or not gain the required weight.

If you do not have funds for expensive mixtures, then it is better to prepare grain for the animals yourself. It can be given in the form of:

• coarse-grained feed (crushed feed);
• mash of various types of whole grains and juicy steamed feed.

Expert opinion

Dobryshev Sergey Anatolievich

Professional rabbit breeder with 30 years of experience

Important! Do not feed animals musty, rancid, moldy foods. Because of this, they may develop subclinical mycotoxicosis.

Feeding and watering regimen: impact on weight gain

How to properly feed rabbits at home so that they quickly gain weight, daily diet:

• Cereals, concentrated feeds. They must be given 1-2 times a day. If they are dry, then pour them into hopper feeders.
• Roughage (hay, branches). They should always be present in the enclosures of young animals for fattening.
• Water. Animals should always have clean drinking water. It is advisable to change it during each feeding. During the breeding season for nursing rabbits, its volume increases by 2 times.
• Juicy feed. They are considered vegetables and root vegetables. They contain moisture, so they complement the drinking regimen. They also contain many vitamins and minerals, but have no nutritional value (except for potatoes, beets).
• Vitamin and mineral supplements. Feeding rabbits, if home-made, must include salt, bone meal and similar products. Additives are already present in ready-made combined feeds.
• Green food. These include various plants. For example, clover, dandelions, yarrow.

Expert opinion

Dobryshev Sergey Anatolievich

Professional rabbit breeder with 30 years of experience

Important! Before feeding rabbits various herbs to gain weight quickly, you need to make sure that they are not poisonous.

If you do not follow this diet daily, the animals may not gain the required weight when feeding.

Dwarf rabbits

Dwarf rabbits are becoming increasingly popular for home keeping and breeding. A large amount of dry food is sold in stores and breeders are faced with a dilemma: what can they feed rabbits and what is better - natural or dry food?

Experienced breeders believe that the diet should include fresh grass hay, especially nettle hay. Hay contains vitamins and minerals and gets rid of small hairballs that form in the stomach. In summer, pets are given fresh, slightly dried grass. Small rabbits should also receive roughage: branches of willow, linden, aspen, ash. Feeding dwarf rabbits in an apartment is not difficult: you can buy hay and grow green grass on the windowsill.

Dwarf rabbits have a small, single-chamber stomach, adapted for quickly digesting food, so rabbits eat up to thirty times a day. There are several other feeding features that distinguish them from other rabbits:

• include rolled oats in the diet;
• breeding is impossible without adding vitamins and minerals to food;
• In winter, give half a tablespoon of dried fruit.

What to feed baby rabbits

Having figured out how to feed rabbits, you should move on to feeding baby rabbits. The most difficult period for small rabbits is the first weeks after weaning. New foods should be introduced gradually and the young animals should be fed exclusively with what they are accustomed to while with their mother. Weanlings continue to be given tree branches. To prevent stress, children add 50 ml of vitamin B to the water.

Vegetables can be introduced into the diet of baby rabbits after 3 months.

When deciding on feeding babies, you need to make a choice in favor of easily digestible foods, such as vitamin hay, boiled finely chopped potatoes and carrots, young grass, flattened oats. The diet can include a small amount of bran, crushed concentrates and feed, bone or fish meal. Experts do not recommend giving raw potatoes, carrots, apples, wheat, and barley to small rabbits until they are four months old. When breeding and rearing, it is worth remembering that pregnant females and young animals should not be overfed. This is fraught with obesity and many digestive problems.

Features of keeping rabbits

For beginning rabbit breeders, keeping rabbits in the country is a specific activity. This is due to the small area of ​​the home and the inability to arrange a spacious utility area.

Be sure to decide what kind of rabbits you are going to keep in your dacha, and where to start will be most convenient

It is very important to first study the habits of these animals and follow the simplest rules:

• animals react poorly to loud sounds, so cages or enclosures should be in a secluded place;
• bright light harms their vision and leads to burning of the fur, which loses its natural shine;
• place the cages with the open side facing west or east so that direct sunlight falls on the animals only during half of the daylight hours;
• try to feed your rabbits at the same time, filling the daily diet with plenty of green food;
• observe sanitary and hygienic standards and clean cages at least 2-3 times a week;
• carry out timely vaccination of young animals and periodically show problem animals to the veterinarian;
• To improve the health of the young, take the babies away from the female rabbit no earlier than they are 2 months old.

The productivity of your mini-farm depends on the creation of proper conditions, and rabbits in the country will have excellent health, quickly gain live weight and reproduce regularly.

How to feed rabbits correctly: making a diet

With the dry type of feeding, specialized feed is used, which contains all the necessary nutritional elements. It contains cereals, herbal flour, mineral and vitamin supplements. Drinking water in drinking bowls is changed daily.

In a household, a complete set of feed is not always available, so the diet is compiled from what is available. Concentrates account for at least 40–50% of the total nutritional value of the diet.

Feed requirement (kg) for one “complex” rabbit:

The concept of a “complex female rabbit” includes the sum of the feed requirements of one female, 30 heads of her offspring that have reached the age of 110 days, one young female left for herd repairs, and 1/8 of the requirements of the breeding male.

To improve the quality of the skin, rabbits are given barley in winter and cabbage in summer.

Thus, by multiplying the annual need for feed by the number of queens left per breed, they calculate how much hay, greens, grain fodder and root crops need to be prepared for future use.

Feeding young rabbits

Rabbits begin to eat their mother's food 16–18 days after birth.

Feeding rates for young animals (g/head):

Well-fed young animals are removed after 26–27 days, which is important for compact litters. In the first 10 days after jigging, the rabbits are given good hay and concentrates (no more than 30%)

In the future, they are fed variedly, increasing the share of grain fodder to 50% and introducing new products gradually.

How to feed animals in summer: herbs, vegetables, watermelons

Fruits are used as food (apples can be given in any quantity, and pears - in limited quantity). Melons and their stems can be fed unripe. Watermelons and melons are washed, chopped and given a little at each feeding.

Rabbits consume cucumbers, unripe zucchini, rhubarb, all types of salads, parsley, dill and other crops grown in the garden.

What food to give in winter so they can gain weight

Animals quickly gain weight if the following feeding scheme is applied a month before slaughter:

1. In the first ten days, the share of concentrates is increased (50–60%), and less forage is given. They feed good hay, root vegetables, cakes and bran.
2. For the next 10 days, feed is given that promotes fat deposition (potatoes, corn and oats, peas and beans, cake). Root crops and hay - in small quantities.
3. 10 days before slaughter, make sure that the rabbits eat everything without a trace. The diet includes concentrates, potatoes, and branch food. They give us a little hay. Root vegetables include cabbage, rutabaga and turnips.

Be sure to read:

How to understand that a rabbit is pregnant and what to do then

Animals are fed 4–5 times a day. Rabbits eat food best in the evening and at night, so the cages are shaded.

Rose hips, sunflower and pumpkin seeds, acorns are valuable protein and vitamin winter food. They are dried, ground and added to mash.

Feeding pregnant and lactating rabbits

In pregnant and lactating rabbits, the need for nutrients and minerals increases.

Daily feeding rates for pregnant and lactating queens (g/head):

They give as much feed as the rabbit can eat, since rich food increases milk production.

Proper nutritional balance for broilers

When studying the components of combined feeds, it is very important to pay attention to their balance. Thus, the composition should include:

• Grain crop in the amount of 60 - 65%. An increased percentage of the component allows chickens to receive energy, since grain contains about 70% carbohydrates;
• proteins. As a rule, these are meal, crushed beans, cake, amino acid, fish meal;
• Limestone, phosphates, and salts are used as minerals;
• Vitamins are a must.

From the first days of life, broiler chickens must be fed with starter feed. Young animals should receive the maximum amount of nutrients! Therefore, if necessary, it is allowed to add additives to the dry mixture, such as a boiled egg, fresh curd mass or yogurt, or whey.

Note! Despite the permitted additives, starter feed should always be freely available and available. Drinking water, similarly, must be fresh and in unlimited quantities in the chicken coop.

Savings on feed are excluded, especially in the first ten days. What if the birds don't finish eating? Then this will negatively affect the quality of the meat and the weight of the carcass.

How to grow and harvest hay

For harvesting, meadow, forest, steppe and field grasses that have not entered the flowering period are selected. This type is especially useful for young animals for growth and weight gain and for nursing rabbits for prolonged lactation. Flour is ground from dried hay and added to soft feed.

Harvesting hay usually begins in May-June, and when mowing, wetlands are avoided, since such types have high acidity. Preparations of various herbs are made on the edges and lawns, and then they are dried in the shade under a canopy. They build a structure in the form of a pyramid or hedge. In this way, ventilation is provided so that the grass does not become damp and rot. In addition, this method helps preserve the maximum possible amount of useful elements and vitamins in this product.

Before mowing, the number of pets for the winter is determined and the required hay is calculated. To preserve the freshness of the grass, it is dried to a moisture content of 40-45%, crushed and canned. Store in sealed areas. In this way, feed is prepared, which is called haylage. Most often, this harvesting method is used on large industrial rabbit farms.

But wild herbs grow very unevenly, their ripening depends on the time of germination, and they are directly related to climatic conditions. Therefore, experienced rabbit breeders often arrange special plantings of forbs. They try to plant seeds as early as possible, and harvest them as soon as the first spikelets and panicles appear. This is a sign of imminent flowering.

This method helps:

• Prepare much more valuable young hay, rich in vitamins, micro- and macroelements.
• Dry the hay in small volumes, carefully and correctly.
• Turn and stir drying herbs frequently.
• If the grass grows worse the next year, this area can be sown with legumes. As a rule, they nourish the earth.
• The soil for grass does not require plowing. It is enough to scatter the seeds and lightly walk with a rake.
• You can sow clover and alfalfa separately, which are so loved by rabbits. Growing and harvesting these herbs separately will help ensure they are properly dried and controlled in animal feeds.
• Seeds for forbs for rabbits can be bought in special farm stores.
• Grain crops can be sown separately.