A complete daily diet is the key to the full development of rabbits and rapid weight gain. Therefore, important questions for farmers are how many times a day and what to feed the rabbits. In this case, it is necessary to take into account the purpose of raising animals - for meat, for fur. As a rule, a balanced diet includes succulent feed, mixed feed, and grass. The proportions of the daily diet are calculated based on various parameters.
Rabbit Nutrition Basics
A balanced, nutritious diet ensures the normal functioning of animals and is the key to quality growth. The taste of dietary meat and the beauty of the skin are also determined by the diet.
Basic nutritional requirements for rabbits:
- a balanced diet for each age group, different types of animals;
- the presence of coarse elements in the feed;
- plenty of clean water.
The rabbit eats green food very well. You can use both plants from the garden, beet tops, and wild crops (nettle, spurge, sow thistle, yarrow). Additives in the form of tree foliage (aspen, linden, rowan, willow) are allowed.
Vegetables and fruits are essential sources of vitamins. Not only raw root vegetables (beets, carrots) and cabbage are useful. Cake, chaff or grass and bone meal are mixed with boiled pumpkin and potatoes. Apples are a good addition to your diet as a fruit.
A significant part of the diet is combined food, which allows you to quickly and fully feed rabbits. Advantages of compound feed: convenient to store and transport, balanced composition, time for preparing food for animals is reduced.
Number of livestock feedings
When compiling a diet, you need to take into account the correct ratio of proteins, carbohydrates, and fats. When mixing products, they are based on their energy nutritional value.
In this case, they use the conventional concept of “feed unit”, which corresponds to the nutritional value of 1 kg of oats.
For daily fattening of an adult, 160 feed units are required. The most popular feed recipe: oats 1 kg (1000 feed units) + corn 650 g (890 feed units) + bran 300 g (210 feed units).This volume of feed is enough for daily feeding of 13 adult individuals (2100 feed units (1960 g) / 160 feed units).
The daily portion of food is given three times a day (compound feed in the morning, succulent food at lunch, compound feed in the evening) or in 2 sittings, dividing the food into two parts. It is recommended to maintain the following consumption standards:
- 60-110 g of feed for an adult;
- 100-130 g pregnant rabbit (140-160 g during feeding);
- 40-150 g for young rabbits (as the animal grows, add 10 g of feed monthly).
Similar portions of feed are used in the absence of other products. If a mixed diet is prepared (with green or vegetable additives), then the proportions of the components are revised.
Daily diet norms by season
The rabbits' diet is changed throughout the year. Typically, the composition of products is selected in relation to the seasons. In this case, the age-related needs of animals in the quantity and quality of feed must be taken into account. Experts recommend adhering to the standards described in the tables.
For summer nutrition, it is advisable to maintain the following composition.
| Age characteristics of rabbits | Type and weight of feed, grams | |||
| greenery | juicy products | concentrates | grain additives | |
| Rabbits over 18 days old | 100 | 30 | 10 | 10 |
| Rabbits up to 3 months | 400 | 60 | 20 | 10 |
| Young animals over 3 months old | 600 | 100 | 30 | 20 |
| Individuals during the launch period | 800 | 100 | 40 | 30 |
| Individuals during the mating period | 1000 | 150 | 70 | 50 |
| Pregnant females | 1500 | 200 | 90 | 70 |
| Nursing rabbits | 2000 | 400 | 130 | 100 |
In winter, in principle, almost the same composition of components is used, but their ratio in the diet changes.
Recommended set per day.
| Age characteristics of rabbits | Type and weight of feed, grams | |||
| greenery | juicy products | concentrates | grain additives | |
| Rabbits over 18 days old | 20 | 30 | 20 | 15 |
| Rabbits up to 3 months | 150 | 60 | 30 | 30 |
| Young animals over 3 months old | 200 | 100 | 40 | 50 |
| Individuals during the launch period | 300 | 100 | 100 | 70 |
| Individuals during the mating period | 300 | 150 | 150 | 85 |
| Pregnant females | 300 | 200 | 200 | 80 |
| Nursing rabbits | 400 | 400 | 300 | 120 |
Important! When compiling a diet, take into account the type of products obtained from animals (meat, meat and skin, down rabbit breeds).
How much food does one rabbit eat before slaughter?
To make correct calculations, you need to take into account the rabbit’s age and breed. If rabbits are raised for the purpose of producing meat products, then it is most profitable to raise them for up to 4-5 months. In older individuals, weight gain slows down (does not apply to animals of late-maturing large breeds).
Weight of five-month-old animals of different breeds:
- small – 2.2 kg;
- medium – 3.4 kg;
- large – 4.6 kg.
Best to get meat products raising large breed rabbits (white giant, hiplus). Before slaughter, animals aged 3 months gain weight of 2.8 kg. The skinned carcass weighs 1.4 kg - such products are in greatest demand.
Animals consume 100-120 g of feed (the livestock consisting of adult females and rabbits that have begun to feed on their own is taken into account). To gain 1 kg of weight, a rabbit eats about 3 kg of food. Based on the available indicators, 9 kg of feed is spent on fattening the animal before slaughter. This norm must necessarily include concentrates, roughage, greens, juicy foods (potatoes, vegetables), silage, mineral elements (bone meal or chalk).
When compiling a daily diet for rabbits, you need to take into account the following factors: type of feed, time of year, feeding method, age and breed of rabbits. If the number of pets is small, it is more profitable to prepare food yourself. To keep a large number of animals, it is more advisable to purchase balanced ready-made feed.
