I. Symptoms of estrus in rabbits
Behavioral manifestations:
The female rabbit will show abnormal excitement, sensitivity and anxiety, and more active symptoms than usual during the estrus period. The female rabbit will walk back and forth in the cage, and some female rabbits may have decreased appetite. Signs sometimes, the female rabbit will lie on top of the cage with her front legs or slam her feet on the ground with her hind legs. Due to discomfort in the vaginal area, the female rabbit will urinate frequently and may also have nesting behavior due to hormonal influence.
If a male rabbit is kept in the same cage at this time, the female rabbit will take the initiative to approach, climb over the male rabbit, urinate on the male rabbit, and use the smell to stimulate the male rabbit to estrus. When the male rabbit begins to chase and climb over the female rabbit, the female rabbit will make a gesture of consent to mate.
Physiological changes:
Mainly refers to the changes in the vulva of female rabbits. Since some female rabbits do not behave very clearly during the estrus period, pet owners can pass the female rabbit’s vulva. Watch to see if it’s in heat.
First of all, when the female rabbit is not in estrus, the vulva is pale; in the early estrus, the vulva will turn pink, and the change is not apparent; when the female rabbit is in the middle of estrus, the vulva will gradually become bright red, and there are more mucus secretions, and the vulva is relatively moist. If the female rabbit is bred at this stage, the pregnancy rate will be much higher than at other times. When the female rabbit is in the late estrus, the vulva will turn black and purple, and after the estrus is over, it will gradually return to pale white.
Second, the female rabbit’s estrus cycle.
The female rabbit is in estrus every time. The duration of estrus is about 3-5 days. After the estrus is over, it will come into estrus again at an interval of about 8-15 days. Due to factors such as the breed of rabbits, feeding conditions, etc., the estrus cycle of different rabbits may vary widely.
It should be noted that ovulation of female rabbits will not occur until 10-12 hours after mating stimulation with male rabbits. A bit similar to cat estrus.
3. Precautions for female rabbits in estrus
1. The best breeding period after female rabbits are in estrus is mid-estrus, which is the vulva of rabbits. When it becomes bright red, breeding during this period can improve the conception rate.
2. If the rabbit is still too young, it is not recommended to breed prematurely. Generally, it is recommended to wait for the rabbit to reach 70% of the average body weight of the adult rabbit of the breed before breeding.
3. During the estrus period, the rabbit should pay attention to the hygiene of the rabbit cage, do regular cleaning and disinfection, keep the cage dry and ventilated, and prevent the rabbit from contracting vaginal inflammation.
