Here's a comprehensive guide to rabbit breeding, birth, and baby care:
### Breeding:
1. **Choosing Rabbits**: Select healthy rabbits with good temperaments for breeding.
2. **Age**: Breed rabbits when they are mature, typically around 5-6 months old.
3. **Pairing**: Introduce the male and female gradually, ensuring they are comfortable with each other.
4. **Mating**: Observe mating behavior, which is brief but can occur multiple times over several hours/days.
5. **Gestation**: Pregnancy lasts about 28-31 days.
6. **Nesting**: Provide a nesting box filled with hay or straw a few days before birth.
### Birth:
1. **Labor Signs**: Watch for nesting behavior, fur plucking, and increased restlessness.
2. **Delivery**: Birth usually occurs quietly and quickly, with the mother instinctively caring for the newborns.
3. **Newborn Care**: Remove any stillborns promptly and ensure the mother is nursing her kits.
### Baby Care:
1. **Nursing**: Kits should nurse from their mother for 6-8 week