Polish Rabbit 101  Part 2
Channel: Dream Farmer
Date: 2021-05-29

Aside from our previous video, there's still some information you need to know about Polish Rabbit.


Teach your rabbit some commands.

Training a rabbit isn't always easy, but with a bit of patient, Polish rabbits can learn commands including stay, come, and sit. Look into some rabbit training tutorials online or at your local library and start training your rabbit with some basic commands.


Take the rabbit to an exotic animal veterinarian for checkups.

Find a veterinarian near you who specializes in rabbit medicine. Make sure the rabbit is vaccinated against myxomatosis and Viral Haemorrhagic Disease. They should also be checked several times a year for fleas, ticks, and worms. The vet will also check the rabbit’s teeth and ears for any issues. Schedule regular visits to the vet for the rabbit so it stays healthy and disease-free.


Get the rabbit spayed or neutered.

Rabbits that are not spayed or neutered are at a higher risk of developing cancer and other medical issues. Your vet can spay or neuter your Polish rabbit at their office.


Bring the rabbit to the vet if you notice any medical issues.

Polish rabbits are susceptible to flystrike, which occurs when their bottom becomes dirty or infected. If you notice your rabbit is not moving around much in its cage and has not gone to the bathroom recently, bring it to the vet to check for this issue. You should also check the rabbit’s teeth once a week to ensure they are growing properly and are not too long. If they are too long, bring the rabbit to the vet. The vet can then recommend treatment for the issue.


Breeding Schedule.

When setting up a breeding system for your rabbitry, your first consideration should be your purpose for raising rabbits. If you’re raising rabbits for meat, you may want to produce as many fryers as possible. If you’re mostly interested in showing rabbits, you may want to have only a few litters each year and time them to provide a stock of the proper age for showing.

Rabbit breeding schedules are usually based on 7-day intervals for ease in recordkeeping. Many commercial rabbit producers will breed does back 14 to 21 days after kindling. A 35-day breed-back schedule is recommended. You can shorten the interval between kindling and breeding as you gain experience. However, intensive breeding programs may increase the number of does culled, put down annually due to burning out.


Age to Breed.

Different breeds of rabbits reach sexual maturity at different ages. The smaller breeds become sexually mature earlier than the larger breeds. Small breeds, such as the Polish rabbits can be bred at 4 to 5 months of age. The females of all rabbit breeds reach sexual maturity earlier than the males. This means that does can be put into production before bucks of a similar age.


Mating.

When do become receptive to mating, they will usually show signs of being in heat.  They may act restless, rub their chins on feed and water containers or other equipment, and show a desire to join other rabbits. The vulva, external genital organ of the female of does that are ready to mate is slightly swollen, moist and a reddish, purplish color. A small, dry, pale, whitish vulva means that the doe is not ready to breed. The doe may also present herself, and lie on her stomach or lift her tail when touched if she is in heat. Before any mating attempts, examine both the buck and doe to be sure they are in good condition and free of disease and injury. 

Always take a doe to the buck’s cage for mating. Does are territorial, and another animal being placed in her cage may cause her to become defensive. Also, if a buck is placed in a strange cage, he may spend a long time sniffing around the cage before breeding the doe. When a doe that is ready for mating is placed with an active, experienced buck, mating should occur almost immediately. Of course, the mating young inexperienced stock may require more time than mating experienced breeders. At the completion of the mating act, the buck will usually fall over backward or on his side.


===============

Copyright Disclaimer:
We respect the copyright interests of the individual owners in the video and don't claim to own the original clips. 

However, under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for "fair use" for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing. The recent amendments to the Copyright Act of 1976 pertain to music. "Fair use" remains in force for film and video.
Licence
Creative Commons Attribution licence (reuse allowed)