The Impact of Rabbit Housing Environment on Angora Rabbit Farming
Provided by the Agricultural Website Directory: The environment and feed in rabbit housing have a close relationship with the health, hair production, growth and development, and reproduction of Angora rabbits.
1. Lighting
Appropriate lighting plays an important role in regulating the physiological functions of Angora rabbits. Suitable lighting can help enhance metabolism, increase appetite, and promote the metabolism of calcium and phosphorus. Insufficient lighting can lead to decreased libido and conception rates in Angora rabbits. Additionally, lighting has bactericidal properties, helps keep the rabbit housing dry, and prevents diseases. Practical experience shows that male and female rabbits have different lighting requirements. In general, breeding females require longer periods of light, with 14 to 16 hours of daily lighting being ideal, resulting in higher conception rates, more offspring, and optimal reproductive results. On the other hand, prolonged lighting for male rabbits leads to a decline in semen quality, with 10 to 12 hours of daily lighting being most effective. Currently, small rabbit farms generally use natural lighting, with window and door lighting areas accounting for about 15% of the floor space, avoiding direct sunlight. Large and medium-sized rabbit farms, especially intensive ones, often use artificial lighting or supplementary lighting. Incandescent lights are preferable, with 3 to 4 watts per square meter of floor space, and lights typically placed 2 to 2.4 meters above the ground.
2. Ventilation
Ventilation is an excellent method for regulating temperature and humidity in rabbit housing. It also removes contaminated gases, dust, and excess water vapor from the rabbit housing, effectively reducing the incidence of respiratory diseases. The excrement and polluted bedding of Angora rabbits can release harmful gases such as ammonia, hydrogen sulfide, and carbon dioxide under certain temperature conditions. Angora rabbits are highly sensitive animals with a lower tolerance for harmful gases compared to other animals. When exposed to high concentrations of harmful gases, they are highly susceptible to respiratory diseases, exacerbating pasteurellosis and contagious colds. Ventilation methods generally include natural ventilation and mechanical ventilation. Small farms commonly use natural ventilation, utilizing airflow through windows, doors, exhaust holes, and intake holes. Large and medium-sized rabbit farms often adopt mechanical ventilation using exhaust or supply systems, which are auxiliary forms of natural ventilation, particularly useful during hot summers. The appropriate wind speed inside rabbit housing is 0.39 meters per second in summer and 0.11 to 0.21 meters per second in winter. Maintaining fresh air in rabbit housing can be achieved by frequent cleaning, washing, and improving ventilation to reduce the concentration of harmful gases.
3. Temperature
Angora rabbits have underdeveloped sweat glands and a dense coat, making them very sensitive to environmental temperatures. According to experiments, the optimal temperature for baby rabbits is 30°C to 34°C, for young rabbits 20°C to 24°C, and for adult rabbits 15°C to 19°C. Environmental temperature should be considered when building rabbit housing. However, to maintain body temperature, rabbits consume more nutrients, which if not met, will significantly affect hair production and weight gain. Experimental data shows that Angora rabbits have different temperature requirements before and after hair collection. Before collection, due to their long, dense fur, less body heat is lost; after collection, with shorter fur, heat loss can increase by over 30%. Therefore, proper insulation must be ensured after hair collection in cold seasons to prevent colds. Four weeks after collection, maintaining an environmental temperature between 5°C to 14°C is beneficial for promoting hair growth and increasing yield.
4. Humidity
Angora rabbits prefer dry environments, with the most suitable relative humidity being 58% to 66%, generally not below 55% or above 68%. High-temperature and high-humidity or low-temperature and high-humidity environments are detrimental to Angora rabbits, hindering heat dissipation in summer and insulation in winter, while also making them prone to internal and external parasite infections. Excessive air humidity often leads to cage dampness, contaminating the fur and affecting its quality, promoting bacterial and parasitic proliferation, and causing diseases like scabies and eczema. Conversely, overly dry air in rabbit housing can also lead to rough fur and decreased quality, dry respiratory mucosa, and bacterial or viral infections. To maintain stable humidity levels, attention should be paid to ventilation, spreading lime or wood ash, and minimizing water usage during cleaning in humid weather.
5. Noise
Noise is one of the significant environmental factors. Experiments show that sudden noise can lead to miscarriages in pregnant females, refusal to nurse in lactating mothers, and even cannibalism of baby rabbits. Noise sources mainly include external sounds, mechanical and operational noises within the housing, and the sounds produced by the rabbits themselves during feeding, movement, and fighting. Sudden noise can cause panic, erratic jumping, and loud cries, leading to poor appetite or even death. To reduce noise, rabbit housing should be built away from high-noise areas such as highways, railways, and industrial zones, minimizing external noise interference. Operations in feeding and management should be gentle and steady, keeping the rabbit housing as quiet as possible.
6. Greenery
Greenery plays a significant role in temperature and humidity regulation, air purification, wind and sand prevention, and beautifying the environment. Broadleaf trees, in particular, provide shade in summer and wind protection in winter, improving the microclimate of rabbit housing. According to practical experience, well-managed green spaces in rabbit farms can reduce summer temperatures by 3°C to 5°C and increase relative humidity by 20% to 30%. Planting grass can reduce dust content in the air by about 5%. Therefore, protective forest belts should be planted around rabbit farms, with extensive tree planting within the farm, ensuring all vacant land is utilized for crops or green grass.
7. Dust
Dust in the air mainly consists of dry soil blown by the wind and large amounts of dust generated during feeding and management operations, such as sweeping floors, moving bedding, distributing hay and feed. Dust directly affects the health of Angora rabbits and the quality of their fur. Dust settling on the rabbit's body can mix with sebum, fur, and skin flakes, hindering normal skin metabolism and affecting fur quality. Inhalation of dust can cause respiratory diseases like pneumonia and bronchitis. Dust can also adsorb water vapor, toxic gases, and harmful microorganisms from the air, causing various allergic reactions and even multiple infectious diseases. To reduce dust levels in rabbit housing, attention should be paid to operational procedures, preferably switching from powdered feed to pelleted feed, and ensuring good ventilation in the rabbit housing.
In addition, the feed should be diversified as much as possible. Besides growth and reproduction, Angora rabbits primarily grow fur, requiring more nutrition. Providing high-quality feed ensures robust physical condition, high fur yield, and good fur quality with luster. Poor nutrition leads to dry, brittle fur that easily clumps and has poor quality. Therefore, feeding Angora rabbits should include green feed, supplemented with concentrated feed and mineral feed, achieving feed diversification. Rabbit feed can be classified by nature and form into green juicy feed, concentrated feed, coarse feed, animal feed, and mineral feed. Additionally, there are amino acid feed, microbial feed, vitamin feed, antibiotic additives, and trace elements.
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