How many times a day does a mother rabbit feed her babies? Depends on a number of factors - from 2 to 5 times per day. It is not easy to catch this process - animals prefer the dark time of day for feeding. And it is undesirable to disturb the nest during feeding - for confident growth, the rabbits need peace. Whereas the additional noise and touching of newborns can cause stress in them, which will result in slower growth.
How does a mother rabbit feed newborn rabbits?
Preparation for feeding begins even before the baby rabbits are born. A week before giving birth, the expectant mother begins to build a nest. The materials used are hay and the rabbit's own fluff, which she pulls out from her stomach around the nipples. This is done not only to create a warm and cozy place, but also to facilitate access to nipples and milk. After all, newborn rabbits are blind and naked - they are completely helpless.
The mother begins feeding soon after the end of labor. It is advisable that the number of rabbits corresponds to the number of nipples. Then the rabbit will be able to feed all the babies with milk herself. In case more are born, the process should be arranged so that several females give birth at the same time.
Feeding problems
A mother rabbit may refuse to care for her babies. This can be understood by the squeaking, crawling and disheveled appearance of the latter. Otherwise, the rabbits have smooth skins and full bellies. If problems are found, you should understand their cause. The most common:
- Small amount of milk. The most likely reason is an incorrect diet. It can be solved by adding juicy root vegetables, scalded nettles, dried parsley, dill and carrot tops. To stimulate lactation, dairy products, as well as regular milk, are used.
- There is more offspring than the female can feed. This is where pure physiology comes into play. The solution is to place a rabbit with fewer children, after wiping the foundling with fluff taken from its new nest.
- Refusal to feed. Occurs due to violent hunting.In most cases, mating helps. To awaken the maternal instinct in young people, force-feeding may be necessary. This involves holding the rabbit while simultaneously placing the babies.
How many times a day?
Newborn rabbits should consume 5 milliliters of milk per day. This diet is consumed at 2-5 feedings per day. It often seems that the rabbit is not doing what she should be doing - she can sit, feed, do nothing. This often causes groundless concern - it is necessary to monitor the kids. When darkness falls, the female will dive into the nest and begin feeding the young rabbits.
Disengaged behavior is associated with instincts. Rabbits living in natural habitats have a strong odor.
In order not to attract the attention of predators, they try to move away, hide under the shade of trees, and feed there, without losing sight of the mink. On the day, the rabbit needs to eat enough to produce 50-170 milliliters of milk. If there is no disturbance from the kids, there is nothing to worry about.
How long will she nurse the cubs?
On average, 45 days is enough. If frequent matings are practiced, the rabbits can be mated earlier. For boilers, the period increases to two months. At the same time, it is important to prepare them for independent life.
After about 10 days, the baby's eyes will begin to open. The baby rabbits will begin to move around the nest and even the entire designated area (a special case is the cage). In the third or fourth week of life, the appearance of roughage in their diet is acceptable. But excluding milk from it at this stage is contraindicated.Young animals should be resettled when they are already formed and well oriented, although if the milk has disappeared and does not appear for 3-4 days, then lactation cannot be returned.
How many babies can one rabbit feed?
Universal formula - as much as nipples. There are a number of exceptions here - a milk rabbit can feed more than 10, if there are problems with lactation - up to 6. You should know when to stop everything. If a female brings 15 babies, the probability that she herself will be able to cope with them tends to zero.
Why, even if a female can provide more rabbits than she has teats, is it advisable to move her to another rabbit? This is due to the fact that adequate nutrition will be available only to the strongest, who will trample on the weak.
And this applies not only to the offspring itself - even the mother herself can be the cause of death. After all, with large births, mostly weak rabbits are born.
