What Food Do I Need To Use? ?
Posted by Zolly | Under Nutrition Friday Oct 30, 2009I have a nether land dwarf rabbit. she is 1.8kg and 5in. i think i am going to start breeding her.i have bred before but now i need to know what to feed her.
here is my first question-
does she need to be on a special diet before i put her with the male to start breeding.if so what is the best type and does she need any supplements with that e.g fruit and veg or hay.how much do i need to feed her? if there are two types of feed i should use i could put them together but she should have pellets as she is a very picky eater.could you also show me a picture on a web link etc.
next.when the kits are inside her what food does she need then?
what is the best type and does she need any supplements with that e.g fruit and veg or hay.how much do i need to feed her? if there are two types of feed i should use i could put them together but she should have pellets as she is a very picky eater.could you also show me a picture on a web link etc.
whan she has had the babies (kits) what food do i use for her to keep up har strength and give the kits the best milk?
what is the best type and does she need any supplements with that e.g fruit and veg or hay.how much do i need to feed her? if there are two types of feed i should use i could put them together but she should have pellets as she is a very picky eater.could you also show me a picture on a web link etc.
once the babies or kits are older and have gone to new homes what food do i need to feed her to get her streangth back and how long untill i can feed her normally again?
once the babies start eating waht would be the best to feed them on?
so what is the best type and does she need any supplements with that e.g fruit and veg or hay.how much do i need to feed her? if there are two types of feed i should use i could put them together but she should have pellets as she is a very picky eater.could you also show me a picture on a web link etc.
if there is any thing i missed out that could be important about her nutrition or the babies please tell me.
first things first this may not work at all you need to find her a mate this can be tricky but is made easy as your bonding a male and female.
you dont need to change feed till you know they are mating at this time start to change the food to a mother and kitt mix this should be done over a week or so, mix the new food with the old adding more of the new and less of the old each day till all new.
fresh fruit and veg should always be given at least 3 per day bring this to 4-5 when with kitts given though out the day.
you may not know that she is pregnant till she is ready for kitting but if you hold her upside down on your knee 2-3 weeks after mating and feel her tummy you should feel them move you should be very careful as if done wrong you may hurt the kitts.
2-3 days befor kitting mummy will build her nest so you will need to giver plenty of hay and she will use fur that she will pull from her tummy at this time remove the male they will not hurt the kitts but mum can get pregnant 24 hrs after birth.
when the kitts arive you need to take a look at them do this when feeding the mum you need to look to see if there are any ‘peanuts ‘ this is the ones that are deformed and need to be kuled as they will not live and will take milk from the other kitts. make sure all kits are covered in fur so they keep warm a kitt can die in seconds if cold. you may never see mum feed her babys they feed twice a day but keep cheaking them to see if they have fat tummys.
keep on with the food till the babys have gone. when the babys are starting to eat they will eat mums food this is fine but this is the time when you may loose some if not all but i have never lost kitts in this way.
rebreeding should not be carried out no more than 2-3 times a year as it can be stressful for mum if more.
if you need to know more my email is katthegeek@hotmail.com
sorry am not a good speller lol
i would get intouch with some other breeders they will have the best answers for you.