The artificial insemination method is an excellent opportunity for large farms to fine-tune the technology for producing dietary and tasty rabbit meat. Thanks to artificial regular insemination of rabbits, it is possible to increase the volume of high-quality products obtained with little labor input. In addition, in small farms there is no need to keep many males or constantly look for rabbits to renew the blood.
Features of artificial insemination of rabbits
Rabbits ovulate at the time of sexual intercourse.This is the main difference between the fertilization of rabbits and other farm animals. It is this feature that determines the need to first pair female rabbits with infertile males.
Also popular is the method of injecting females with special drugs that stimulate ovulation. To facilitate the procedure, a specially designed syringe is used. To collect seminal fluid, young healthy rabbits with a strong constitution (males aged 1-4 years) are selected. Breeders note that the use of sperm from such animals leads to a high birth rate of rabbits (on average, up to 12 babies per female).
Advantages and disadvantages
Often the procedure of artificial insemination is carried out in order to obtain purebred offspring. The method has other advantages:
- To significantly increase the number of individuals, a few males are enough. It is advisable to use the artificial insemination technique for breeding valuable breeds of animals. Since it is already possible to fertilize 40-50 rabbits with the sperm of one rabbit. And with natural mating, you need to keep one or two males for 10 females;
- The fertility of rabbits increases up to 90%;
- you can control the quality of the offspring, increase the number of individuals with valuable useful characteristics;
- it is easier to create high-quality conditions for keeping a small number of males.
When breeding rabbits, you need to take into account that the period from December to May is the peak of active reproduction of animals. In autumn, rabbits have virtually no sexual activity, and practically no offspring are born. Thanks to the method of artificial insemination, the problem of a natural periodic decline in fertility is solved.
This method makes it possible to plan the appearance of baby rabbits throughout the year.
Before introducing the artificial insemination method, you need to become familiar with its negative side. Equipment for carrying out the procedure and collecting sperm is inexpensive. But ensuring the safety of frozen seminal fluid is an expensive process due to the high cost of specialized equipment and liquid nitrogen. Therefore, such expenses are justified only on large farms.
Required Tools
As a rule, companies producing specialized equipment for artificial insemination sell the necessary tools in a set. Standard set of accessories:
- microscope with coverslips and slides;
- test tubes with rack;
- heating tables and mats;
- artificial vagina;
- seminal receptacles with catheter;
- dispenser for collecting sperm to determine the quality of the liquid;
- preparation for diluting seminal fluid;
- syringes (insulin and for sperm injection).
The cost of the kit is affected by the price of the semen extender. It is allowed to use materials from different companies. The MR-A bit product from Spanish manufacturers is popular.
Semen collection
First of all, prepare the workplace. To sterilize containers and instruments, use a solution of 1% formaldehyde or 70% alcohol. Main stages of the procedure:
- The female is placed in the male's cage.
- The operator holds an artificial vagina with a seminal receptacle between the rabbit's paws.
- Typically, as soon as a female in heat is placed in a rabbit's cage, he will ejaculate.
Before the procedure, the artificial vagina must be heated to a temperature of 40-42 °C. Since 39 °C is the normal temperature of the female’s vagina.
Methods of fertilizing females
Before fertilizing the female, seed material is prepared. To do this, the sperm is diluted with a special liquid in a ratio of 1:10. Be sure to monitor the concentration of the solution under a microscope (if the concentration is high, then the proportion is increased). The procedure for inseminating a female rabbit consists of the following steps.
- The female is turned on her back and fixed in a special machine.
- A solution of seed material is drawn into a warm syringe.
- A syringe is carefully inserted into the rabbit’s vagina, without sudden movements.
- After inserting the syringe (full length), the sperm solution is injected. The syringe is carefully removed.
The female rabbit is released from the pen after 2-3 minutes. When artificially inseminating female rabbits, it must be taken into account that the breed of females, the conditions of their keeping and the feeding ration influence the results. Specialists spend 3-4 minutes inseminating one individual.
How to detect pregnancy
Sometimes it's hard to notice rabbit pregnancy by appearance. A more reliable method is palpation in the abdominal area. The test is recommended to be done 14 days after the insemination procedure. Before palpating, carefully grab the animal’s ears and scruff with the right hand to immobilize it. With your left hand, carefully feel your stomach in the pelvic area. At this stage, the embryos feel like grapes to the touch.
You can also make sure that you are pregnant by monitoring your weight. The most reliable method is an ultrasound scan from a veterinarian.
Artificial insemination is in high demand in industrial rabbit breeding.A rational solution for small farms is to purchase sperm at points of sale of frozen material.
