28 AGRICULTURE HANDBOOK NO. 3 09, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 



lets, until she is pregnant. Wlien 

 she is diagnosed as pregnant, give 

 her all the concentrates she will 

 eat plus good-quality hay, or all 

 the complete pellets she will eat 

 for the remainder of the gestation 

 period. You can provide the con- 

 centrates in the form of grain and 

 a protein pellet or all-grain pellets. 

 All-grain pellets have the neces- 

 sary amount of plant-protein sup- 

 plement incorporated with grain 

 and salt to make a complete feed 

 when fed with a good quality hay. 

 The general practice is to feed 

 pelleted complete feed. 



Sudden changes in rations fed 

 during the gestation period may 

 cause some does to go "otf feed." 

 If they fail to eat necessary nu- 

 trients for too long a period of 

 time, abortion or young that are 

 dead at birth may result. Gradu- 

 ally change over a new ration by 

 feeding one-fourth new ration and 

 three-fourths old ration for 3 to 4 

 days, one-half new ration and one- 

 half old ration for 3 to 4 days, and 



then three-fourths new ration and 

 one- fourth old ration for 3 to 4 

 days. 



After the doe kindles, she can 

 be fed in the same manner as be- 

 fore, until the young are weaned 

 when about 2 months old. From 

 the day of kindling feed her all 

 she readily will consume without 

 waste, or a grain-protein mixture 

 and hay, an all-grain pellet and 

 hay, or a complete pelleted feed 

 until the litter leaves the nest box. 

 As the litter develops, feed the doe 

 and litter greater quantities or full- 

 feed them to insure maximum 

 growth of the young. If you use 

 a feed hopper and the hutch is 

 small (less than 10 square feet of 

 floor space for a 10- to 12-pound 

 doe), placing a hopper in it with 

 the nest box may make it too 

 crowded. Full-feed the doe using 

 a crock or trough until the nest 

 box is removed, then introduce the 

 hopper. Inspect the hopper occa- 

 sionally to make sure that feed is 

 always available. 



COPROPHAGY 



Rabbits re-ingest part of their 

 food, usuall}' in the early morning, 

 when they are unobserved. They 

 re-ingest only the soft matter that 

 has passed through the digestive 

 tract. Investigators have called 

 this trait "pseudo - rumination," 

 from the characteristic of rumi- 

 nants (cows, sheep, and others) of 

 chewing the cud, which is food 



regurgitated and chewed again. 

 Most rabbit breeders are unaware 

 of this practice. Some who have 

 observed it believe it indicates a 

 nutritional deficiency. It is, how- 

 ever, normal in rabbits and may 

 actually enhance the nutritive 

 value of the feed by virtue of a 

 second passage through the diges- 

 tive tract. 



REPRODUCTION 



Germ Cells and Fertilization 



Rabbits do not show regular 

 estrous cycles, that is, recurrent 

 periods of sexual desire. During 

 the breeding season the doe re- 

 mains in heat for long periods of 



time. If she is not bred, the fol- 

 licles in the ovary remain large 

 and active for a period of 12 to 16 

 days. After this time they begin 

 to regress. Meanwhile, new fol- 

 licles grow to replace them. As a 

 result, active follicles are present 



