How to feed rabbits in winter: making a diet at home for beginners

During the cold months, the diet of rabbits changes. The farmer must know how to properly feed rabbits in winter so that their he alth does not deteriorate. The nutrition of pets in the winter should be high-calorie and balanced, allowing them to maintain fertility, fur quality and weight gain. Since fresh grass is not available in winter, fodder should be prepared in advance for the cold period: in summer and autumn.

Peculiarities of feeding in wintertime

During the summer months, rabbits use relatively little energy to keep their bodies running, so the extra calories are converted into fat deposits that add weight to giants and other beefy breeds.But in winter, a significant part of the energy is spent on keeping the body warm in conditions of low ambient temperature.

During the winter months, rabbits sweat less, the body easily maintains water balance. Therefore, an increase in the amount of drinking is not required, but the calorie content of food should become higher so that fat accumulation is not depleted, but continues to accumulate. Therefore, pets eat high-calorie food rich in vitamins and nutrients in winter.

Because fresh plant food is not available in winter, rabbits are given dry food, but it does not provide the body with enough vitamins and nutrients. To make up for the lack of useful compounds in the rabbit diet, they include compound feed, juicy plant foods suitable for long-term storage.

Types of food

Rabbits are sensitive to the quality of food, the diet compiled for them in any season of the year should be balanced and he althy.

Roughage

Roughage is called dried plants, which are a rich source of fiber:

• hay;
• herbal flour;
• tree and shrub branches.

Dry food for a long time gives a feeling of satiety, has a positive effect on digestion. Daily portion in winter for an adult:

• 150-200g of hay;
• 50-100 g branches.

Harvest hay, taking into account the planned increase in livestock. If the harvested hay was not enough for the winter, then the remaining amount is fed to pregnant and lactating rabbits, their cubs, and the remaining adults are transferred to a diet of oat, buckwheat or pea straw.

Harvest hay for the winter like this:

1. Mow the grass before flowering.
2. Spread under the sun in a thin layer.
3. After drying, transfer to a ventilated room.
4. Ready-made hay is stored in a barn or under a canopy, covered with polyethylene.

Digestive and he alth benefits for rabbits include nettle, mugwort, red clover, tansy, alfalfa, Sudanese sorghum.

The branches of the following tree and shrub species are suitable for feeding rabbits in winter:

• apple trees;
• rowanberries;
• raspberries;
• limes;
• ash;
• hazels;
• alders;
• aspens;
• willows;
• poplars.

Harvest branches up to 1 cm thick in the middle of summer. They are combined into brooms, dried in a shady place.

Juicy food

Juicy food is called, in which 60-90% is liquid. Useful, well-digestible, saturated with vitamins, minerals, nutrients, fiber foods are vegetables, root crops, silage.

Recommended for rabbits in winter:

• boiled potatoes;
• carrot;
• zucchini;
• pumpkin;
• turnip;
• cabbage (rarely and in small portions, so as not to provoke flatulence);
• fodder beets.

Food waste

You can't feed rabbits human food. But there are exceptions: it is permissible to give pets potato peelings, dried bread crusts, carrot tops, radish leaves. The daily portion of food waste should not exceed 150 g per individual.

Concentrated feed

Concentrated feeds are sources of nutrients needed for animal weight gain. They are rich in proteins and carbohydrates, have a high calorie content.

In winter, rabbits are given:

• bran;
• cereal grains;
• cake;
• meal.

Mixed feed

Combined feed - a solid balanced mixture of animal and vegetable products that supplies the body with the substances necessary for the full development and productivity. The component composition is determined by the purpose of raising animals: for meat or fur. In rabbits that consume compound feed in winter, productivity increases by 10-15%. In compound feed:

• cereal grains (oats, barley, wheat, corn) - 30-40%;
• broad beans;
• bran;
• sunflower or other oil-rich seeds;
• linen, sunflower or hemp cake, meal - 10-15%;
• bone meal, yeast - about 2%;
• s alt, chalk.

Diet in winter

Rabbits easily survive frosts, provided they have a quality diet that replenishes the calorie deficit. In order for animals to have enough energy in the winter, the daily portion is increased by 2 times, and on frosty days - by 3 times.

For adults

The basis of the diet of rabbits remaining outside for the winter is vegetables and hay. Vegetables harvested in the fall are the main supplier of vitamins and minerals to the body. They are given to rabbits 2 times a day. It is desirable that the daily diet of pets includes 4-5 different vegetable crops and root crops.

Hay is a source of dietary fiber and is ideal for cleaning and grinding teeth. In winter, hay should be in the rabbit feeder daily.

Approximate daily portion of food for an adult in the cold season:

• hay - 200 g;
• grain - 100 g;
• branches - 50-100 g;
• vegetables and root crops - 200 g;
• bran - 50 g;
• bone meal - 5g;
• s alt - 2 g.

For baby rabbits

The daily portion of feed is determined by the age of the rabbits. Cubs up to 2 months in winter are given:

• 50g roughage;
• 30-40g concentrated;
• 150-180g vegetables and root vegetables;
• 0.5g s alt and bone meal.

Rabbits 3-4 months of age should receive:

• 100g roughage;
• 50-60g concentrated;
• 250-300g juicy;
• 0.6-0.7 g of s alt and bone meal.

Actively growing six-month-old rabbits are given in winter:

• 150g roughage;
• 60-70g concentrated;
• 350-400g juicy;
• 2g s alt and bone meal.

Recommendation for novice farmers: juicy food should be introduced into the diet of young individuals very carefully, starting with the minimum portions, as the body of a rabbit can react to a new food with an upset digestive tract.

For pregnant and lactating rabbits

A rabbit's body gives a lot of energy to the development of embryos, so in winter the diet should include a sufficient amount of vitamins and bone meal.The percentage of roughage is reduced, the portion of concentrated feed is increased to 60%. The daily amount of bone meal is gradually increased from 5 to 20-30 g.

For a good milk production, a rabbit is given more boiled potatoes, zucchini, carrots, pumpkins. For the same purpose, natural whey made in the village is added to the mash. Sprouted wheat grains are given as a source of vitamins.

Decorative rabbits

The diet of rabbits living at home is different. Ornamental animals have a delicate digestive tract, so feeding the above food is unacceptable.

The basis of the diet in winter is meadow hay. At the pet store you can buy wheat grain for sprouting fodder grass.

The vegetable component should be small, otherwise the pet will have problems with digestion. You can treat the rabbit with an apple, carrot, lettuce, parsley, Jerusalem artichoke, banana peel.A decorative rabbit is not fed with cabbage, fodder beets and potatoes. The first two vegetables provoke digestive problems, and the third leads to obesity.

Approximate diet for a pet in winter:

• 200 g of hay;
• 50-100 g branches;
• 100g vegetables and root vegetables;
• 150g herbs and leafy greens;
• 50g concentrated food.

What not to feed

Don't feed rabbits:

• bakery and pasta;
• chocolate sweets, rich pastries;
• meat products;
• dairy products;
• nuts;
• citruses and other exotic fruits;
• peas, beans, hard seeds and grains;
• stone stone branches (cherries, apricots, plums, peaches);
• ornamental bulbs (may be poisonous);
• rhubarb (extremely poisonous plant for rabbits);
• compound feed for livestock and birds.

Hay and vegetables for rabbits should be free of mold, sand and dust, signs of decay and fermentation.

You can not give pets plants of the Buttercup family, branches of elderberry, buckthorn, bird cherry. These plants are poisonous to rabbits.

Expert Tips

Beginners should take advice from experienced farmers:

1. To replenish vitamins A and D, rabbits are given fish oil. Daily portion - 1 g, for young animals - 0.5 g, for a lactating female - 3 g.
2. Bone meal is essential for rabbits not to be deficient in calcium and phosphorus. And s alt is a source of chlorine and sodium.
3. Mixed feed can be used as the basis of the diet, or can be added to food for balance. If rabbits fully and efficiently eat natural food, then the use of compound feed is not mandatory.
4. It is useful to periodically give rabbits in winter needles of pine, spruce, juniper. It contains carotene, tocopherol, B-group vitamins. Coniferous branches are cut, dried.
5. An excellent source of energy to keep the body warm is sunflower seeds.

The transition from summer to winter diet should be smooth, extended over several days, so that the rabbit's digestive tract has time to rebuild. Winter food is prepared in advance so that feeding pets during the cold season does not become a problem that reduces livestock productivity.

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