When breeding rabbits, the question arises about keeping animals in the winter. For these purposes, you can equip cells or use improvised facilities. One of these structures can be a polycarbonate greenhouse. How to prepare a greenhouse for wintering rabbits, we will describe further.

Can rabbits be kept in the greenhouse?

Rabbits are frost-resistant creatures. Subject to the rules of their maintenance, they easily tolerate temperature drops to -30 ° C. Cold positively affects their health and the health of their offspring. Of course, not all breeds tolerate low temperatures equally well. Owners of the “light” fur coat may not survive severely harsh winters outside of a warm room. Therefore, for breeding in winter, it is better to choose fur breeds.

The polycarbonate greenhouse is a fairly solid and reliable construction. It protects from strong winds and lets in enough sunlight. This allows you to create a certain microclimate in the greenhouse. Therefore, if you equip it properly, leave free access to the open ground (rabbits love to dig holes), then the animals will calmly survive the winter in a polycarbonate greenhouse.

Pros and cons of this content method

• The "cold" keeping rabbits has a lot of advantages:
• low temperatures harden the animal, forming a strong immunity to many diseases;
• no need to additionally spend money on arranging rabbitry in a separate warm room;
• rabbits born in winter have stronger immunity, grow faster;
• in cold weather, animals are forced to build up fur for warming, which makes their fur coat better and more expensive;
• winter rabbits make good reproducers.

Did you know? The body of rabbits is very sensitive to the effects of microbes, viruses, so they are often used as experimental animals in the manufacture of drugs, especially in the development of antiviral agents.

Among the shortcomings, it can only be noted that greenhouses create increased humidity inside, which causes the development of various fungal diseases in animals. In addition, since polycarbonate is not a breathable material, and there should be no gaps in the structure, ammonia vapors that are harmful to the animal will accumulate in the greenhouse. To avoid problems it is necessary to take care of good ventilation.

Basic rules for keeping rabbits in winter

When wintering rabbits, you need to remember these points:

1. Choose animals of downy breeds, in extreme cases - meat.
2. Take care of the insulation of the premises for winter maintenance to avoid frostbite and colds.
3. Keep in mind that young and pregnant females tolerate lower temperatures worse.
4. In cold weather, the sexual activity of animals decreases, so the mating processes must be approached with all responsibility.
5. For normal survival in cold weather, animals need a balanced diet.

Arrangement of a polycarbonate greenhouse for rabbits

For a comfortable life for pets in a polycarbonate greenhouse, it is necessary to equip it correctly, take into account such moments as comfortable temperature, duration of daylight hours and diet.

Without the proper equipment of the greenhouse in the cold, the following diseases can appear in rabbits:

• frostbite;
• cold;
• rhinitis;
• subdermatitis.

Temperature

Healthy adults are able to tolerate temperatures in the range from -30 to + 30 ° C, but the range + 10 ... + 20 ° C is considered comfortable for breeding. Short-term temperature fluctuations within 5 ° C to the greater or lesser side are permissible.

Important! In addition to temperature, it is necessary to take into account air humidity, which should be 60–70%.

Lighting

A polycarbonate greenhouse transmits a sufficient amount of natural light. But in winter, the day is short, and animals reared for offspring need a 16-hour light day. For meat breeds, it is less - 8-12 hours. Therefore, it is necessary to organize additional lighting using fluorescent lamps.

Winter food

The main thing in the winter nutrition of rabbits is calorie content. The lower the temperature in the street, the more high-calorie food should be so that pets have enough energy to warm. With a lack of food, the fat layer begins to decrease and the animal's immunity weakens.

Therefore, organizing their winter diet, you must remember the following:

1. The amount of concentrate and roughage in the daily menu should be greater than in the summer.
2. It is often necessary to cook heated mixers.
3. The animal should have a minimum of 6 meals per day.
4. It is not advisable to leave the rest of the food so that it freezes, and they ate it cold.
5. Enrich your diet with vitamin and mineral complexes.
6. Introduce fodder beets, Jerusalem artichoke, carrots, boiled potatoes into the diet.

Particular attention in the cold period must be given to drinking. Water should be given regularly and always warmed up so that it does not freeze instantly. You need to drink animals in the morning and evening.

Important! Sometimes water can be replaced with snow, but only if there is no ordinary water. You need to use snow as clean as possible.

Features of keeping with other animals

Many people involved in breeding pets face the problem of keeping them. Not always enough free space for their habitation. Therefore, many people lodge different animals in one room, but often forget to take into account that each of them has its own requirements for keeping, and the inconsistency that arises negatively affects the livestock.

If you are going to keep rabbits with other animals in the same room, then neighbors need to be selected so that they have similar conditions not only, but also the rhythm of life. For example, the most common pet, chicken, a very active creature, is not particularly demanding on living conditions and diet. May be noisy. Rabbits are calm creatures, they need cleanliness and a special diet. Therefore, it will be difficult to keep these animals together, or for each of them you need to create an isolated personal space so that they do not interfere with each other.

Did you know? In rabbits, the uterus has a bifurcated structure, which allows simultaneous gestation of two different litters conceived from different males and at different times.

Conditions for breeding rabbits in the greenhouse

When keeping rabbits in the greenhouse, there is no need to build additional cages for them. Here they can live as in an aviary. There are no special conditions for breeding in such a room. The owner only needs to take care of the comfort of his pets.

Video: rabbits in the greenhouse

To do this, take into account the following points:

1. Rabbits - lovers to dig holes. Therefore, if the greenhouse does not have a foundation, then it is necessary to create a barrier around its perimeter so that the animal can not break free. To do this, dig a mesh, slate or other sheet material to a depth of 50 cm.
2. The inner layer of polycarbonate is covered with a protective film that does not transmit UV radiation. Rabbits can easily damage it and then the greenhouse will become unsuitable for growing plants. To avoid this, pull the cord at a height of 50 cm from the ground and hang a film or cloth on it.
3. The task of the greenhouse - collect sunlight, so if the sun shines strongly during the daytime, it is necessary to shade part of the structure so that the animals do not overheat.
4. Greenhouse creates a greenhouse effecttherefore it is necessary to take care of good and convenient ventilation.
5. Rabbits are very jumping and can easily jump out when you open the door to the greenhouse. To avoid this, it is necessary to build a barrier 30–40 cm high inside the entrance.

Breeding rabbits in polycarbonate structures is very beneficial. Firstly, there is such a design in almost every private courtyard and in the winter it is idle. This allows you to save on the arrangement of winter cells. Secondly, you can not think about fertilizing the soil before planting plants in the greenhouse. Feces of rabbits are an ideal fertilizer.