How to feed a rabbit to live long. How many times a day should decorative rabbits be fed? General feeding rules, regimen

They become serious competitors to other pets. They are relatively unpretentious, cute and do not require time and money. These eared creatures have two main interests - reproduction and absorption of food. With the first, the question is solved simply, but the second needs clarification. Read about what and how to feed a decorative rabbit, whose gastrointestinal tract is arranged in an original way.

To understand what, how and how much to give to the eared, you need to know the features of the structure of the digestive system of rabbits. The intestines of newfangled pets are characterized by weak peristalsis, so the animal is forced to eat all day. Eaten food in rabbits is promoted with new portions. There will be no fresh supplies - food will not be able to "get out" from the decorative creation. Fasting is fraught with stagnation, rotting and inflammatory reactions.

Decorative varieties have more digestive problems than their counterparts, which differ in size and live outside the home. Gene abnormalities and artificial conditions are responsible for this.

If people benefit from intermittent fasting, then in rabbits it can lead not only to serious illness, but also to death. The main condition for keeping eared at home is to avoid interruptions in food. But it is equally important to understand how to feed a decorative rabbit.

And here we come to the second condition - animals should be given a variety of foods to eat. If, under natural conditions, rabbits themselves figure out the diet, then at home they can eat properly only with your help. The diet must necessarily include both soft and roughage. Among the features of the eared ones is the very rapid growth of teeth, up to 3 mm per week. You need to be very careful about your teeth so as not to miss the moment when you need to trim them (if necessary). With no solid food, no twigs and no grass, teeth will soon become a huge problem for pets.

The diet

Although the rabbit eats at home all the time, you should follow the regimen. This point is especially true for juveniles who have not reached a year.

in the morning and in the evening, it is recommended to give half the norm of dry food, calculated for the day; at the same time, compound feed should be given;
it is better to “devote” a day to juicy food - greens, fruits, berries;
at night it will be correct to fill the stomachs of animals with hay.

greens;
vegetables and root vegetables;
fruits and berries;
hay;
vitamin and mineral supplements;
granulated and grain feed;
additives of animal origin.

Rough and soft food

Coarse food is the basis of the diet of pets bred for keeping at home. Solid food is important both from the point of view of the gastrointestinal tract, and from the point of view of the rapid growth of teeth. This includes primarily tree branches and hay. The latter can be given as much as you like. But the hay should be of high quality - free from insects, dirt and beauty.

With regard to branches, young shoots are preferred. Care must be taken with trees that contain seeds. It is best to give birch, aspen, alder, oak, willow, acacia. Birch, for example, acts as a diuretic, while alder and oak act as bonding agents.

In winter, rabbits love to taste the needles - spruce, pine, juniper. But you do not need to indulge in conifers all day - the frequency in this case is inappropriate.

How much rough food do not give, but the eared ones want something juicy too. Ornamental pets living at home should be regularly offered greens, fruits, vegetables, etc. Especially in winter, when the body is deficient in nutrients. Simple decorative pets can eat about 150 grams of greens per day, lop-eared ones - up to 200 grams. Animals outside the home eat even more.

You may know or have noticed that rabbits love beets. This is a healthy product, but in small doses. Consolidation of the diet with this vegetable leads to digestive upsets. The most useful "soft" foods:

pears and apples;
potatoes, radishes, turnips;
tomatoes, carrots, white cabbage, cucumbers, zucchini, pumpkin.

It should be remembered about individual intolerance or slight aversion to this or that product. Each of them is recommended to be given in dosage, while recording the "defecation" reaction of the animal. If any food “locks in” or “relaxes”, you need to at least treat it with suspicion.

Greens can be given to eat almost any. If she is well washed and does not belong to the poisonous species. True, it is better to let the grass settle a little. It should not be turned into a herbarium, but after fresh greenery, rabbits may experience bloating. How much to give "soft" food depends on the characteristics of the animals. Again, it is advisable to monitor the pet - this will help determine the specifics of the diet.

Up to this point, it was about natural nutrition. But keeping at home also involves feeding artificial food. Such food for decorative rabbits most suitable for young animals. Compound feeds and concentrates are rich in nutrients and are very nutritious.

But one should not go too far. Rabbits are able to chew without stopping. Three dozen approaches to the "plate" a day is the norm for them. It is not necessary to give compound feed more than twice a day. You should choose artificial food, taking into account the age of the pets. Dry food begins to be given from the age of one month. But up to two months, it is recommended to combine "adult" food with infant sucking.

Vitamins and minerals

Animals receive part of minerals and vitamins from natural food, part from mixed feed and concentrates. There are also granules that contain certain minerals. In addition, it is recommended to give your pets chalk and salt. Without salt, rabbits are more likely to get sick, lose their appetite. Special blocks can be purchased at pet stores.

Chalk is especially useful for "youngsters", pregnant and lactating rabbits. Animals have the highest need for vitamins and minerals in winter.

Feed storage methods

Rabbits love and should eat well all year round... In the wild in winter, animals eat worse, but at home it is correct to provide them with full food even in the cold period. What can you feed your decorative rabbit in cold weather? At this time, more emphasis is placed on dry food, but they do not forget about the blanks.

For the winter, food is prepared and dried from the branches. We have already spoken about needles. Root crops are well stored, so they become excellent winter components of the "table". Of course, hay is very convenient and useful. But it must be mowed away from highways, and must be stored in a dry place.

And finally, a few more points about how, what and how much.

It is not recommended to give boiled water. From the tap it will come off, but it is better to give it settled or filtered.
A very useful thing is mineral stone. Thanks to him, the eared eared can always replenish the body with minerals. That is, we do not forget about the main sources, but we do not neglect this either.
Rabbits that “take care” of their bodies do not eat bread. This is fraught with intestinal disorders. But you can and should eat crackers.
You can feed potatoes, but cleaning, although correct, should be done with caution. It is allowed to feed decorative rabbits with brown peelings, without sprouts.

Video "Feeding decorative rabbits"

After watching the video, you will learn how to feed decorative eared pets.

Rabbits have a very well-developed digestive system, which is due to the nutritional characteristics of such an animal. The basis of the diet, as a rule, is represented by roughage, which is very rich in fiber, therefore, the digestion of such heavy food requires full processing of gastric juices.

Rabbit food groups

A mammal from the rabbit family should never starve... Insufficient or improper feeding can not only cause a slowdown in growth processes and diseases, but also can provoke the death of an animal.

It is interesting!A peculiarity of rabbit digestion is a very poorly developed gastric and intestinal musculature, therefore, all food moves inside the digestive tract not through muscle contractions, but pushing through with a new portion of feed.

There are four main groups of rabbit feed, which make it easy to provide the animal with complete and balanced nutrition: coarse, green, concentrates and juicy feed. Green food is used mainly in the spring-summer period, and can be presented:

wild herbs;
sown cereals, legumes and legumes;
vegetable tops, including the aboveground part of Jerusalem artichoke, turnip, turnip, sugar and fodder beets;
forage cabbage.

It is best to set aside areas where clover, alfalfa, lupine, vetch, oats, winter rye, barley and corn are sown on their own. Cereals, legumes and legumes and cereals contain a significant amount of proteins, as well as vitamins and minerals.

However, as the practice of rabbit breeding shows, the supply of green feed should be carried out in mixtures, which will reduce the risk of flatulence in the rabbit. It is important to remember that tomato tops are categorically contraindicated for rabbits, and potato tops can be used, but with great care. It should also be borne in mind that beet tops have a laxative effect, so its amount in the total green mass should be minimal.

No less important for proper digestion is roughage, which should make up a quarter of the diet.... This category includes hay and tree branches, which must be harvested in spring and summer, as well as grass meal. Grass for hay is mowed before flowering, and dried first under the sun, and then under a ventilated canopy. You need to store roughage in dry rooms, on special wooden flooring. Branch feed:

linden branches;
maple branches;
willow branches;
willow branches;
acacia branches;
poplar branches;
rowan branches;
aspen branches;
ash branches;
branches of an elm;
oak branches;
lilac branches;
apple branches;
raspberry branches;
pear branches;
hazel.

In small quantities, it is allowed to feed birch, plum, cherry and sweet cherry branches. Branches from plants such as bird cherry, elderberry, wolf bast, apricot, buckthorn and wild rosemary are categorically unsuitable. IN winter period the diet is supplemented with fresh branches of conifers.

Particular attention should be paid to succulent root crops and silage, including watermelon, pumpkin, cabbage, potatoes, carrots, kuuziku, beets and squash. Any juicy food is very well eaten by rabbits and is almost completely digested. A very complete and highly nutritious silage is represented by a mixture based on beets, carrots and fodder cabbage, with the addition of tops.

Concentrated feeds, represented by cereals, legumes, cuts, meal, cake, mixed feed and animal feed, have the greatest nutritional value. Such mixtures have a high energy value due to the large volume of proteins and the minimum amount of water. Valuable crops include oats, corn, barley, wheat, sorghum and rye, as well as peas, lentils, beans and soybeans. Oats are given whole, crushed or rolled. Wheat, sorghum, rye and barley are pre-crushed and mixed with other food. The amount of wheat should be limited.

Essential vitamins and minerals

As a rule, a lack of vitamins and minerals is observed in rabbits in winter and early spring.... There are several vitamin and mineral complexes that are very successfully used by rabbit breeders:

"Chiktonik" - includes about three dozen vitamins and basic amino acids. The drug is given in five-day courses, every month, at the rate of 1 ml per liter of clean water;
"Prodevit" is a vitamin complex designed for weakened animals suffering from ulcers, rickets, liver diseases, as well as pathology of the mucous membranes. The drug is available in the form of injection and oral administration;
"E-Selenium" is a drug intended for the correction of developmental and growth disorders, with exacerbation of infectious diseases, treatment of poisoning and other pathologies. Available in injectable and oral form.

The mineral supplements presented by the mineral stones Chika and Karli have proven themselves very well. You can also use "Bio-iron", supplemented with basic microelements, and the vitamin and mineral supplement "Ushastik".

What and how to feed a rabbit in summer

Feeding in the summer is very different from the basic winter diet. A feature is a significant amount of green and juicy feed:

fattening rabbits are given 700g of grass and 70g of concentrated feed;
males and females on vacation are given 700g of grass and 30g of concentrated feed;
mating males are given 800g of grass and 40g of concentrated feed;
felted rabbits are given 800g of grass and 50g of concentrated feed;
young feline rabbits are given 900g of grass and 50g of concentrated feed;
lactating rabbits are given 1200 g of grass and 70 g of concentrated feed;
youngsters at the age of one or two months are given 300g of grass and 20g of concentrated feed;
young animals at the age of three to four months are given 500 g of grass and 45 g of concentrated feed;
young animals aged five to six months are given 600 g of grass and 55 g of concentrated feed.

It is important to remember that when giving twig and succulent feed, the amount of grass is reduced by exactly half.

Important!The grass must be dried before giving to the rabbit, and the salt is best laid out in the cages in the form of a lickstone.

What and how to feed a rabbit in winter

In winter, special attention is paid to the nutritional value of feed, which is due to the need to maintain an optimal diet in frosty weather. The feed rate varies depending on the age and condition of the rabbit:

fattening individuals are given 150 g of roughage, 500 g of root crops and 80 g of concentrated feed;
males and females on vacation are given 150 g of roughage in the form of hay, 150 g of root crops and 40 g of concentrated feed;
males in mating are given 150 g of roughage, 200 g of root crops and 55 g of concentrated feed;
felted rabbits are given 180 g of roughage, 200 g of root crops and 60 g of concentrated feed;
young females are given 250 g of roughage in the form of hay, 300 g of root crops and 70 g of concentrated feed;
lactating females are given 200 g of roughage, 400 g of root crops and 90 g of concentrated feed;
young animals at the age of one or two months are given 50 g of roughage, 150 g of root crops and 35 g of concentrated feed;
young animals at the age of three to four months are given 100 g of roughage, 300 g of root crops and 55 g of concentrated feed;
youngsters at the age of five to six months are given 150 g of roughage, 350 g of root crops and 75 g of concentrated feed.

Waste products such as bran, meal, cake and dry pulp, as well as malt sprouts, which have a fairly high nutritional value, are also very suitable for winter feeding.

General feeding rules, regimen

In order to properly provide a rabbit with adequate nutrition, it must be remembered that such an animal has some digestive features. The feeding regimen must be observed very strictly, since only the timely distribution of feed contributes to the correct production of gastric juice. As practice shows, a rabbit can come to the feeder more than fifty times a day, so food is often consumed by such animals, but in small quantities.

Feeding quantity and feeding schedule vary... For example, females during lactation, as well as rabbits under the age of two months, need to be fed four times a day. It is quite enough to feed the planted young growth and adults two or three times a day. An approximate diet depending on age characteristics and the season.

Three meals a day in winter:

morning feed giving - half of the daily requirement of concentrated feed and hay;
daily feed giving - root crops;
vespers giving feed - half of the daily rate of concentrated feed and half of the rate of hay or branches.

Four meals a day in winter:

morning feeding - one third of the total daily ration of concentrated feed and a quarter of the total daily ration of hay;
first daily feed intake - one third of the total daily intake of concentrated feed and half of the total daily intake of root crops;
second daily feed intake - half of the total daily rate of root crops and half of the total daily rate of hay;
evening feeding - a quarter of the total daily rate of hay and a third of the total daily rate of concentrated feed.

Regardless of the number of feedings, at night, rabbits must be sure to put a sufficient amount of branch feed in the cage feeder.

Three meals a day in summer:

morning feed giving - half of the total daily intake of concentrated feed and a third of the total daily intake of grass;
daily feed giving - one third of the total daily allowance for green feed;
evening feeding - half of the total daily intake of concentrated feed and a third of the total daily intake of grass, branch feed.

Four meals a day in summer:

morning feeding - one third of the total daily intake of concentrated feed and one sixth of the total daily intake of grass;
the first daily feed intake - a third of the total daily intake of concentrated feed and a sixth of the total daily intake of grass;
the second daily feeding of food - half of the total daily allowance for grass;
evening feeding - a third of the total daily intake of concentrated feed and a sixth of the total daily intake of grass, branch feed.

Highly important condition Correct feeding is the constant availability of clean and fresh water in the cage drinkers. The water should not freeze in winter or get too hot in summer.

How to fatten a rabbit

For fattening, young animals are selected, the age of which is 2.5 months, as well as adult culled individuals. The fattening period is about a month, but may vary depending on the body condition of the animal and its age. All feeding consists of preparatory, main and final stages.

At the first stage, which lasts five to six days, the usual diet is slightly supplemented with concentrated feed, represented by compound feed, cereals and legumes, as well as herbs. In the second stage, which lasts eight days, the animals are fed with food that can stimulate the deposition of body fat. For this purpose, you can use boiled potatoes with the addition of feed or wheat bran, corn grain, peas, flax or hemp seeds, oats and barley, wheat and cake. It is also advisable to introduce a small amount of milk into the diet during this period.

At the final, weekly stage, appetite is stimulated by adding dill, parsley and caraway seeds to the feed. Also, during this period, the giving of hay should be completely excluded and the total daily volume of concentrated feed should be increased.

It is interesting!The rapid weight gain is facilitated by the restriction of physical activity, therefore, during the feeding period, the cage in which the animal is placed should be as close as possible.

Feeding foster and lactating rabbits

Only with the right diet of feeding the female and lactating rabbit can you get a viable, well-developed and high-quality offspring. At the stage of fertility, it is important to provide mineral nutrition as competently as possible, so the rabbit is given one and a half grams of bone meal or chalk, as well as a gram of table salt daily.

In winter, the daily ration should consist of 150-200 g of high-quality hay, 50-60 g of concentrated feed and 200-225 g of succulent feed. In summer, a rabbit's diet can consist of 800-1000g of fresh grass and 40-50g of concentrated feed. Regardless of the time of the year, each rabbit is given about 5-8g of meat and bone or fish meal without fail.

The rapid growth and development of rabbits is explained by the high nutritional value of the female's milk, therefore, the lactating animal should be provided with adequate feeding. From the moment of birth until the sixteenth day, females are given 1400g of grass + 40g of concentrates in the summer, and in winter about 250g of hay + 300g of juicy feed + 80g of concentrated feed.

From the sixteenth day, in the summer, 100g of grass + 5g of concentrated feed is added, and in winter 20g of hay + 20g of juicy feed + 7g of concentrated feed per each born rabbit.

Feeding young rabbits

It is advisable to plant rabbits at the age of one and a half months, which minimizes mortality among young animals. Any new feed is introduced in dosage and gradually. To make the adaptation as easy as possible, in drinking water a few drops of liquid B vitamins are added. The diet of young rabbits should be presented:

dried grass or high-quality hay;
boiled potatoes;
pumpkin or zucchini, carrots;
dry milk;
vitamin and mineral complexes in the winter;
herbal flour;
oats;
moistened compound feed;
bone and fish meal;
backwards.

A good result is the addition of the daily diet with plants such as chicory, chamomile, yarrow and burdock, as well as twig feed. From the age of four months, the diet is gradually changed by reducing the proportion of combined feed. In winter, 10-20% of hay, 55-60% of compound feed and 20-30% of succulent feed are given. In summer, the diet should consist of 30-40% dried herbs and 60-70% concentrated feed. It is recommended to add 0.5 grams of fish oil to the diet every day.

Namely, let's talk about how much and how often to feed the rabbit.

In the episode before last, we discussed sweets. Find out what is permissible and what is not. It was then that the question followed, and how to feed colic? How many times?

And if you need dog food, then by all means go to: zoomapa.com.ua/sobaki/sukhie-korma/. There is a huge selection of food for your pet!

And let's continue!

In addition, in recent years, cases of overfeeding of decorative rabbits and the occurrence of related problems have become more frequent. To help you avoid such mistakes, I have prepared this article.

How to feed your rabbit correctly?

Some breeders are of the opinion that up to 6 months old, rabbits should eat as much as they want. However, in 5 years I realized that food for decorative rabbits it's not that easy to organize, after all.

The fact is that they are not at all similar in rhythm to their wild counterparts. Your pets move less, sleep a lot more and experience little to no stress. Of course, the metabolism is slowed down in this case. And rabbits are prone to obesity. And fast and serious.

That is why I do NOT recommend letting your bunny eat a lot until 6 months old.

How then to feed the rabbit?

- add 2 tablespoons of food in the morning

- if your pet has eaten everything before the evening, then give the evening the same amount

- if food remains, then try to shift a little rabbit food - in the morning, give 1 spoon, and in the evening - 3 (the fact is that at night rabbits eat more actively)

- if in the morning the evening ration remained unfinished, then reduce it too.

I do not recommend increasing the amount of feed when feeding rabbits!

Otherwise, your bunny will gain weight very quickly.

I especially advise you to listen to those whose decorative rabbit moves a little and rarely goes out for a walk. And you don't need to tell me that the pet looks with hungry eyes and demands food - you are the owner and you are responsible for his health. And so that the bowl does not rattle at night, if you have already eaten everything, just remove it.

In addition, put in plenty of hay - it is this that helps to form normal feces and promotes good digestion.

As for the raised rabbits (after 6 months), I feed them once a day, adding about 4 tablespoons of compound feed. Often, food still remains in the morning, but by the evening everything is eaten clean. And of course, the rabbits have hay all day - I put it in regularly.

It is this feeding regimen for rabbits that avoids many of the difficulties that I will tell you about on Friday.

Having engaged in breeding rabbits, you need to learn a lot about these animals: what they eat, how they breed, how many times a day the rabbit feeds the rabbits after birth and how this happens. This knowledge will help the owner of the animals to properly care for them. Sometimes there are situations when the female after birth does not want to feed the rabbits or she has little milk for the entire litter. This article will show you how to determine if newborn rabbits are full and what to do if the rabbit is not feeding them.

Why doesn't the rabbit go to the rabbits?

Some rabbit breeders are interested in why, after birth, the rabbit is not constantly next to her offspring, but leaves the nest. They get the impression that she is not feeding the babies. In fact, rabbits have a well-developed maternal instinct. This is evidenced by their behavior shortly before giving birth. Rabbits tear up their fluff, equipping a nest. This is done not only to keep babies warm, but also to provide access to the nipples.

Being in wildlife, nesting females behave this way: they leave the nest, and they themselves watch it from afar. This natural instinct helps them protect their offspring from wild animals that can smell the rabbit. Since an adult animal smells stronger, the rabbit leaves the nest in order not to attract animals to it with its smell. Only occasionally does the mother lie down with the rabbits to feed them. This usually happens at night in complete silence.

The first feeding takes place immediately after the rounding, if the milk has already arrived at that time. Otherwise, the female will feed the babies later, after a few hours.

Attention! If the rabbit does not feed the rabbits during the first day of life, measures must be taken, otherwise the babies will die.

How many times a day do the rabbits suck their mother's milk?

After the birth, the rabbit comes to her children no more than once or twice a day to feed them. This usually occurs at night or at dawn, when the family environment is quieter. These animals react sharply to any sounds, so they choose the time to feed at night, when no one bothers them, and the owner may get the impression that the rabbit does not feed the cubs.

In the first days after the nesting, it is desirable for the farmer to control the feeding process. The kids are still blind and sometimes they accidentally crawl away from their mother, fall out of the nest. If this happens, the bunny that has lost its mother will remain hungry. The rabbit will feed only those who are in the queen cell.

Attention! If the bunny crawled out of the nest, it must be returned to its place, while wearing gloves so as not to leave its smell on its body.

When babies' eyes open, they become more independent and can already find a mother in a cage. However, she still will not let the cubs near her more often 1-2 times a day. The farmer does not need to worry, because rabbit milk is very rich and nutritious. By attaching to the nipple, babies receive all the necessary nutrients.

How to determine the satiety of rabbits?

Not noticing how and when the rabbit feeds the cubs, the owner of the rabbit family worries that the newborns are suddenly hungry. Just look at their tummies to make sure they've eaten. Rabbits are born completely naked, and their skin is so thin that veins can be seen through it. The naked eye can see whether the babies are eating or not. If the skin on the bellies of the rabbits is stretched, there are no folds on it, then the pets are full. If the tummies are sunken, and the skin on them is wrinkled, then they are hungry.

Attention! If most of the cubs are constantly outside the nest, this is a sign that hungry babies were trying to find their mother.

How to check if a rabbit has milk?

Sometimes doubts do not leave the owner of the animal, he suspects that the kids are hungry. In this case, you can check if the female has milk. How to do it:

Take the female and lay her on her back.
Examine the nipples. If all the mammary glands are slightly enlarged, then milk is being produced.
Squeeze the nipple gently. A drop of milk that comes out is a sign of normal lactation.

The presence of milk in the glands does not mean that it is enough for all rabbits. It is worth paying attention to the bellies of babies - whether they are full.

How many young rabbits can one rabbit feed?

Rabbits have 8 nipples for feeding the offspring. That is how many cubs the rabbit can feed without prejudice to anyone. However, the offspring can be up to 15 rabbits. If many cubs were born, then they will fight for the opportunity to suck their mother's milk. Usually, the strongest and strongest rabbits have time to be the first to stick to the nipples, it is they who get good nutrition in the right amount. Weak and unviable babies are not so agile, they eat up what is left.

Sometimes the rabbit herself destroys part of the offspring immediately after birth. She eats the weakest rabbits in order to fully feed the rest. It is important for the farmer to ensure that all babies can receive milk. If there is a female at your disposal that has recently fledged, and her offspring are not so numerous, then it makes sense to add some of the rabbits to her, which do not have enough mother's milk.

If such a nurse is not on the farm, it is worth trying to increase lactation in a large rabbit in the following ways:

introduce more juicy feed into the diet of a lactating female;
include boiled potatoes, beets and carrots in the menu;
every day offer dill and some walnuts to the lactating rabbit.

These foods help boost milk production. The farmer should monitor the body condition of the rabbits during the first 6-7 days of their life. If they crawl through the cage, their bellies are not full, and their skin is dry and wrinkled, then milk is clearly not enough for them. In this case, it is necessary to remove 2-3 cubs from the female and plant them with a foster mother or artificially feed them.

What if the rabbit does not feed the babies?

There are times when the female does not feed the offspring. Let's consider the reasons why this happens:

Milk is not produced in the required quantity.
Mastitis. If the animal's nipples become inflamed, feeding becomes impossible.
Inexperience. After the first birth, some bunnies cannot realize their new role, their maternal instinct has not yet emerged.

Attention! Refusal to feed often manifests itself in seeming cruelty. The female can get rid of part of the offspring when she is not able to feed the entire offspring. It's just a natural instinct. This happens when the rabbit herself is in need of food.

Having discovered that during the first days after the birth, the mother did not feed the children, the farmer will have to take care of the rabbits himself. There are 2 ways to do this:

artificially feed the offspring;
find a wet nurse.

Can you add bunnies to another bunny?

The owner of a rabbit family can solve the problem of feeding abandoned rabbits with the help of a nurse, if there is one on the farm. There is a chance that she will accept and feed other people's cubs. Among potential adoptive mothers, it is recommended to choose one that meets the following requirements:

she does not have too large offspring (5-7 rabbits);
she spawned no earlier than 3-4 days before the birth of abandoned babies.

It is necessary to put the rabbits to another rabbit correctly. It is important that the foster mother does not notice the catch. How to plant:

We remove the future nurse from the cage.
We take down from her nest and rub the bodies of the receptions.
We place the abandoned rabbits right in the center of the new queen cell. We place them between the native cubs.
We cover them with maternal fluff.
After 30-40 minutes, when the babies acquire a new smell, we return the rabbit to the cage.

If everything is done correctly, the nurse will not distinguish her cubs from strangers. She will accept them and feed them. In rare cases, this does not happen. Then their owner will have to take care of the babies.

How to feed bunnies without a bunny?

Taking care of newborn rabbits is no easy task. The pet owner will have to find alternative feeding methods.

Instead of rabbit milk, you can use:

goat;
cow with the addition of a third part of condensed milk;
dry mixes for puppies and kittens.

You need to feed the babies with warm milk 2-3 times a day from a pipette or syringe without a needle. Before each meal, you will have to stroke their tummies to stimulate the digestive tract, since newborns cannot empty themselves normally. The mother rabbit usually licks them, thereby increasing intestinal peristalsis. Feeding is done according to the following scheme:

in the first week of life, babies receive 5 ml of milk per day - 2.5 ml each morning and evening;
at 2 weeks of life, the daily rate is increased to 10-12 ml;
at 3 weeks, rabbits consume about 15-17 ml of milk per day.

Reference. Starting from three weeks of age, babies are gradually and carefully introduced complementary foods and taught them to drink.

The rabbit feeds the young rabbits only 1 or 2 times a day, and she does it at night or at dawn, when no one is around. In connection with such a regime, it sometimes seems that she does not care about them. If you suspect that the female is not feeding the cubs, you need to check if she has enough milk. In the event of his absence or the mother's refusal to fulfill her duty in relation to the cubs, the rabbits are taken to the nurse or take care of the newborns.