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Q Hold the doe (female rabbit) by the neck with one hand Put the other hand under the female with one finger on each side of the tail and push gently backwards. e This will make the female lift her tail so that the male can mount her. Agulre LI: snowmg now to nap a ra~lo~t during mating 7.4.4 Haw can ia farmer know that a rabbit is pregnant? Detection of pregnancy is very important and this is done usually 14 days after mating. Detection of pregnancy is usually and easily done by palpation, which is a skill that needs to be developed through constant practice. The technique is carried out as follows: Q The doe should be relaxed in a sitting position. The farmer should pass the fingers gently along the abdomen, between the back legs. If the doe is pregnant, the developing fetuses are felt as small beadlike lumps. s To develop the skill of pregnancy detection, farmers may start with palpation of does at 20 days after mating as the fetuses in these are easily identified. This will help the farmer develop the skill of pregnancy testing until that time when helshe gains enough skill to be able to detect pregnancies of 14. Figure 22: Showing pregnancy testing by palpation I
What other features serve as supporting evidence of pregnancy? In addition to palpa ltion of the fetu ses, farmers rrlust use other factors to confirm with certai: nty that the doc : is pregnant. The factors that can be used include: Refusal of the doe to accept the buck if taken to the hutch of the buck. However, it is important to note that in some instances pregnant does can often accept bucks. e By around 28 days, the mammary gland!; will have developed significantly and this can be regarded as final confirmation of pregnancy. At 29 days, the doe will begin to remove fir fiom her abdomen to make a nest for the young ones. 7.4.5 Pregnancy: Pregnancy lasts for 30-32 days and therefore does should be well fed and conforted. Heat stress and noise should.be avoided to avoid disturbance of the pregnancy. Five days to kindling, the hutch must be cleaned and a kindling nest provided. The kindling box should be provided with dry grass or a suitable soft bedding to enable newly born babies keep warm and avoid losses due to chilling. At 29 days, the doe plucks off her fbr and makes a nest. In addition to the rabbit providing the f3r to protect the young ones against cold, the shedding of the fbr will help to expose the teats in preparation for suckling. Plenty of water must be provided to avoid dehydration. This is because dehydration can lead to the doe eating one or more of her young at birth or thereafter. 7.4.6 What happens if a doe has a false pregnancy The cause of this is mounting of a doe by a doe or the simple presence of a buck in the hutch of a doe. No fertilization takes place but this situation will trigger hormonal changes usually associated with pregnancy. False pregnancies usually last 17-1 9days after which the doe will pluck her hrs just like in the normal pregnancy. Some does have this as a habit and farmers must make sure that such does and culled. This is the act of the doe giving birth. Kindling ust~ally occurs at night anti once the process is over, the doe will pluck more fbr to keep her young
Page 1: Increasing income through RABBIT FA
Page 4: ACKNOWLEDGEMENT Uganda National Far
Page 7 and 8: Rabbits are not violent and can thu
Page 9 and 10: Figure 7: Hutch set up for one male
Page 11 and 12: Figures 9 and 10 illustrate the des
Page 13 and 14: cleaning is a must as the rabbits t
Page 15 and 16: 1 Every farmer must decide on the r
Page 17 and 18: 5.2.2 Handling rabbits by the scruf
Page 19 and 20: 6.2 How do you feed rabbits? There
Page 21 and 22: Source: Tropical Agriculturist Grou
Page 23 and 24: e Bucks are territorial. Rabbits li
Page 25: 7.4.3 Mating Choose the most health
Page 29 and 30: Weaning or separating young rabbits
Page 31 and 32: agents. Therefore excrement should
Page 33 and 34: 9.3 Records that must be kept by th
Page 35 and 36: APPENDIX Clinical signs, trewtment/
Page 37: FURTHER READING 1. The domestic rab

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