Caring for a Rabbit During Weaning
📝 Summary
Weaning is a critical stage in a rabbit's development, and proper post-weaning care directly affects growth. Key measures include daily exercise with sunlight, adequate water, a small salt supplement, careful controlled feeding, and early disease prevention against pasteurellosis and coccidiosis.
1 Exercise for Healthy Growth
Newly weaned rabbits grow rapidly and are energetic and sun-loving. Let them exercise daily and ensure their enclosure gets sunlight. This strengthens immunity, reduces illness, and supports healthy development.
2 Proper Water Intake
Insufficient water causes poor appetite and impaired digestion, slowing growth. Severe dehydration dries mucous membranes and lowers disease resistance, even proving fatal, while too much water causes diarrhea. Always provide free access to water; a healthy rabbit drinks about 0.2 to 0.4 kg of water per kg of body weight per day.
3 Adequate Salt Supplement
Although a rabbit’s diet is light, salt is essential for growth, especially for kits. Add 0.3 to 1.5 g of salt daily, split into two feedings (morning and night). A salt-deficient diet lowers appetite and disease resistance and slows development.
4 Scientific Feeding
A kit’s digestive system is delicate and cannot handle hard or indigestible food, which can cause fatal bloating. Kits also overeat willingly, risking death by overfilling. Strictly control portion sizes and feed small, frequent meals of fresh, digestible, nutritious concentrates and greens.
5 Disease Prevention
Newly weaned rabbits have weak immunity and are prone to infections, especially pasteurellosis and coccidiosis. Take preventive measures early: prevent illness before it starts and treat promptly once it appears.
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