What does a rabbit require for rapid natural growth?
What does a rabbit require for rapid natural growth?
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For rapid natural growth, a rabbit needs comfortable and anti-stress living conditions, a nutritious diet, and proper energy distribution in the body. Excessive energy expenditure to overcome husbandry discomfort, minor illnesses, malnutrition, fear, etc. ruins the animal, preventing it from maximising its body development and having excellent health. The difference between a natural rabbit and a broiler is that the former is healthy, while the latter only survives thanks to antibiotics and hormones and gains market weight thanks to steroids or growth stimulants!
In order to achieve optimal and natural growth in rabbits, it is necessary to analyse the energy distribution in the animal and identify ways in which it can be optimally utilised. This will allow us to understand exactly how rabbits' energy is utilised and help us to identify opportunities to support this process to ensure their robust and healthy growth.
Like all living organisms on the planet, the rabbit gets energy from food and uses it for life processes.
Here we need to investigate in more detail, where exactly does the rabbit spend its energy?
What the energy from food is used for:
- Internal organ work (blood circulation, digestion, etc.).
- Muscle work.
- Production of offspring, lactation.
- Maintaining the body's thermal balance.
- Development of the body.
- Fighting stress.
- Overcoming viral diseases.
The list is not exhaustive, but it is sufficient to scrutinise the animal's energy expenditure and understand what kind of environment is required for rapid growth without the addition of steroids or growth hormones? How to distribute energy expenditure correctly and eliminate unnecessary energy expenditure?
We leave the function of internal organs, muscles and offspring production to the animal, we are powerless here, but there are a number of engineering solutions where we fulfil the needs of the animal.
Birth.
It should be kept in mind that newborn rabbits are very vulnerable as they have no wool, they are without warm pelts, and they are warmed only by the rabbit's milk as well as her fur. Most of the energy from the mother's milk is used to keep their bodies warm, while the rest is used for growth and vital functions, which is not exactly an efficient use of an invaluable maternal resource...
Natural rabbit farming utilizes a system of heated maternity compartments to effectively maintain an optimum temperature during the birth of the rabbits and during their attachment period.
Outcome.
🐇The growth rate of the baby rabbit is accelerated by up to 50%! The baby stops spending energy on heating, and all the remaining energy is channelled into rapid growth and body strengthening. Instinct tells it to grow faster and be self-sufficient - predators in the yard, that is, in the field, in the meadow, everywhere where a rabbit would live in the wild.
🐇Prolongs the " lifespan" of rabbit females as the bunnies exhaust the mother and need to suckle milk much less
🐇Increased survival rate, rabbits have a higher lactation capacity due to the fact that they drink warm water in winter and cool water in summer, which creates a better immunity in the rabbits. A whole herd of rabbits kept in comfortable conditions will only grow stronger!
Decent living conditions
Rabbits should be protected from various undesirable external factors that may affect their physical and psychological well-being and performance. Particular attention should be paid to a stable and comfortable indoor microclimate of the сage, which should be dry and pleasant to live in, despite external factors. The internal space of the living area should be sufficient to avoid muscle pain in rabbits, which occurs due to limited space for their movement. Proper rabbit husbandry also involves ensuring optimum hygiene and ventilation conditions to avoid illness and the spread of infectious diseases. Using environmentally friendly materials and utilising the antibacterial properties of natural materials can help in keeping rabbits healthy and prevent diseases.
Also, in order to ensure decent breeding conditions for rabbits, it is necessary to take into account the innate needs that encourage the natural vitality of the animals, refraining from veterinary manipulations that are usually overused for profit at any cost. This approach helps to provide for the physiological and psychological needs of rabbits, manifesting their natural vigour.
Main causes of stressful energy expenditure
Main causes of stressful energy expenditure
Pain
If rabbits' toe gaps are suffering from metal mesh, it is unwise rabbit husbandry. If there's pain, there is unnecessary energy expenditure. It doesn't go towards growth, it doesn't go towards improving fur and it certainly doesn't benefit the rabbit breeder. That's why we at Rabbax Technology manufacture flooring in a combined design, with a fixed section for resting and a sanitary section for faecal drainage. The universal option is a parquet floor with gaps.
If there is a draught in the cages, it is not proper rabbit husbandry. This is poor treatment for the animal..... This is not healthy for the rabbit, it can get inflammation of the kidneys or bladder. Remember that a rabbit is a burrowing animal and its burrow is a warm and dry place where there is no wind from below, the rabbit has no fur on its belly, but only a light undercoat. If the rabbit has nowhere to hide because its owner has not created good living conditions for it, it will suffer from the disease it has contracted and will put all its energies into fighting it.
Rabbits can't be taken by the ears. Your rabbit's ears will be sore for a few days after this procedure. The large ears of rabbits are not a handle to carry them around. They are an important vestibular apparatus that cools or warms the blood, the rabbit's body. In addition, a rabbit's ears are a complex system for obtaining vitamins from the environment, such as vitamin D. A rabbit that is pulled by its ears stops growing for a few days and then we wonder why it doesn't grow.
Dirty space
A dirty cage and air is a serious shock to an animal's body.Raising pure, natural, extra class meat is not possible in a toilet environment where the rabbit breathes its own faeces! Methane, ammonia, carbon dioxide and hydrogen sulphide in the form of vapour from the decomposition of faeces will just quietly kill a rabbit.
After biochemical analysis, it was found that in the rabbits the red blood cells were arranged in groups, as if glued together, forming whole clumps. Red blood cells are the main "transporters" of oxygen to all parts of the body, including body cells. But being "big", clumpy, and damaged, they stick together, not having enough surface area to absorb oxygen.These clots do not fully deliver oxygen to the body tissues of rabbits. Rabbits breathing polluted air develop a state of intoxication, intoxication as if they were smoking cigarettes. Eventually, all the gases produced by the bacteria fill the living space. Moreover, they remain there with no way out. The animal is involuntarily forced to breathe this air without finding a cosy place in the unit.....
Rabbax Technology, introduced for the first time the principle of a redirection mechanism for airflow. A new air movement system was developed. The air enters through the window directly into the rabbit houses, then slides gently downwards, passes through the floor into the bunker chamber and from there further downwards to the outside with no possibility of return.
There's clean air, there's development. Without it, there will be diseases, the immune system will be weakened due to air pollution.
The "Achilles' heel" of the animal's body structure appeared - the lungs.Lack of oxygen leads to impairment of all productive functions of the body. Most of the energy is spent on fighting against its absence, as a result: the pelts are worthless, the quality of milk decreases, such an organism grows much longer, the first viral disease appears and the organism gives up, all this leads to significant losses. In general, all diseases are in bad rabbit breeding, and they are solved with antibiotics and various treatment supplements!
The air exchange in the shed should be 6 m³ per hour per 1 kg body weight. If the total mass of rabbits in the barn is 100 kg, 600 m³ of air should be exchanged per hour. The Rabbitax is therefore equipped with a system for forced fresh air supply and the utilisation of contaminated air.
Science has long known that there is more oxygen in a cold litre of air than in a warm one, and, strangely enough, a rabbit in cold looks healthy, grows in 3-4 months, and the pelt is as good as that of a mink.
It turns out that a rabbit needs cool, clean air for good growth, just like a fish needs water. This is the evolutionary development of this organism.
Noise
The appearance of sudden noise in the vicinity of the rabbits' housing is very harmful to their general development. In the wild a rabbit will run away into a burrow, in captivity there is nowhere to hide, and there are cases of heart attacks from fright! And it's hard to believe that frequent such incidents don't contribute to weight gain.
Malnutrition
Malnutrition
Malnutrition occurs if rabbits are fed periodically, in portions. For example, if you pour food into a bowl in the morning, the rabbits will eat it in a few minutes and will be hungry all day. Physiologically, the rabbit is adapted to continuous feeding! The saliva in rabbits flows continuously, without regulation, and in the absence of food, swallowed saliva causes hunger and.... anxiety. Once the feeding device is introduced, the rabbit becomes more used to the consistency of the food and eventually eats as much as it needs to grow. It should also be noted that without hay, a common meadow grass, successful rabbit farming cannot be expected. It is not only about microelements and vitamins in hay but also about peristalsis and digestion in rabbits. We explain this in more detail in our technical literature as well as in our seminars. Rabbax technology pays special attention to the physiological features and habits of animals that have previously been neglected by the industry. These include the rabbit's digestive tract, which distinguishes it from all other domestic animals and means it has a very unusual way of feeding - constant access to food!
The fact is that the rabbit has practically no muscles in the stomach. For the normal functioning of the digestive tract, the animal must push the food into the intestines. How does this happen? We estimate that a rabbit approaches the feeder more than 70 times a day, not including eating hay. No matter how many times you look at a rabbit, he is constantly chewing - it's his life necessity. By constantly taking in food, it moves it further into the digestive tract, preventing stagnation.
Stagnation of feed in the stomach leads to fermentation, resulting in intoxication, as well as impaired motility of the gastrointestinal tract, which adversely affects the development of the animal and significantly reduces the quality of meat.
Water shortage
The problem of dehydration in rabbits is identical to that of malnutrition, so drinking water from bowls should be a thing of the past. An adult lactating female rabbit drinks 2 litres of water a day, if not more. A rabbit breeder is not going to run 3-5 times a day to fill every chamber with water, especially if there are more than 1000 of them. To make this task easier, the Rabbitax has an automatic drinking system from which the rabbit drinks as much as it wants. In this way, it cleanses its body by eliminating various toxins, preventing them from stagnating and weakening the immune system.
Virus threats
Undoubtedly, a very important factor for animal welfare on the farm is the absence of viral diseases. Viruses are transmitted by contact and their main "transporter" is parasites, flies and mosquitoes. If the cage has gaps and is not protected from mosquitoes and flies, it will be stressful for rabbit farming. The instrumental solution to these problems is the "Rabbitax Mini Farms" from Rabbax Technology. In this case, the solution will not protect 100%, but the most common pathways of infestation will be blocked. It is a powerful solution that increases the welfare of the farm many times over.
Fear
An increase in energy or vitality expenditure can also occur if the rabbit lives in constant fear. Rabbits can be placed next to a barking or playful dog that periodically disturbs the rabbits and they experience mortal fear because of this. The owner should provide their charges with a quiet place, it is in their best interest. It is also worth paying attention to the handling of the animals if, for example, the rabbits have to be moved frequently. Under no circumstances should rabbits be frightened or coerced, as it will take them a long time to recover from fear and stress. Any touching of rabbits is seen by the latter as an intrusion into their lives, they are very fearful creatures and must be reckoned with, as in the wild a rabbit is only touched by a member of its species or a predator. Baiting them with carrots in a basket is the best and sensible approach.
The need to chew
This is a physiologically normal process or stage in the life of rabbits, it refers to rodents that in this status need to grow their incisor teeth. They grow so intensively that the rabbits have to gnaw them constantly. If there is nothing to chew in the cage, the owner does not put anything to chew - the animal will take any part of the cage and chew it. And if the cage is resistant to gnawing, the rabbit is forced to suffer without satisfying its instinct. And this in itself will have a negative effect on the rabbit's growth.
Other important factors in protecting rabbits from stress
Rabbits in Rabbitax are not snowed in during winter blizzards - there is protection. Rabbits in captivity have nowhere to hide, they need to be protected from cold, damp and draughts - all this is protected and the rabbit breeder will never see the sad eyes of an animal peering out from under a snowdrift at night. Rabbits don't get wet in heavy rain, and the sun doesn't scorch their eyes - the protection is there. The shelter stays warm in the heat of summer, and in winter it is always warmer, no matter how cold it is outside, thanks to the warm water and heating systems in the living areas.
The "Rabbitax" design eliminates the problem of lack of space and living area that characterizes most cages on the market. "Rabbitax" cages are spacious enough to accommodate up to 6 adult rabbits, where each rabbit can lie down freely, achieving mutual comfort between siblings. This is in case we are talking about something standard. However, Rabbax Technology's equipment is not tied to standards. It can be taller, wider, longer, deeper - whatever dimensions the customer requires. The equipment manufacturing philosophy does not take a commercial approach, where some material has to be cut in multiples to fit everywhere. If a certain size has to be cut and there is leftover material that is not used anywhere, then that is the way it is.
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