Rabbit breeding requires good reproductive practices which means good management of mother rabbits and young ones after they give birth.
Good conditions for the babies and the mother rabbits should be created before the mother can breed again. Newborn rabbits shouldn‘t be touched until next day as they are are fragile, hairless and do not open their eyes until 10 days. Dead babies should be removed in nest box to avoid disease spread.
Careful touching
Before touching baby rabbits, lemon leaves or moringa leaves should be rubbed on hands, petting the belly of mother. Mother rabbits are sensitive to odours and can abandon their babies if they observe a smell different from theirs.
Baby rabbit adoption can be done if the mother rabbit dies or they are left abandoned by their mother. A mother can only adopt up to 2 babies and each mother should feed her babies.
Feeding
The nest should be regularly cleaned to avoid nose blockage of the baby rabbits as they use the nose to smell the mothers tits to feed.
After 10-14 days baby rabbits can start feeding on granulated feeds and drink water. Unhealthy rabbits should be separated and treated to avoid the spread of diseases.
Breeding mother rabbits
A period of 35 days should be allowed for the mother to feed her babies before separation for breeding for better productivity. If the female is too weak wait until she starts gaining weight before they start breeding or they will give birth to fewer rabbits.
When the mother rabbit is pregnant, she doesn‘t eat well and doesn‘t have enough milk to feed her young ones who will not grow well.
One can wait for 28 days for 3 young rabbits, if babies are many, 45 days before breeding the doe. Once weaned the young rabbits can go on to the fattening stage while the mother is bred again.
