Rabbit Breeding

Rabbits are small mammals in the family Leporidae of the peacefulness Lagomorpha, found in several parts of the world. There are seven uncommon genera in the family classified as rabbits, including the European rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus), cottontail rabbit (genus Sylvilagus; 13 species), and the Amami rabbit (Pentalagus furnessi, endangered species on Amami Ōshima, Japan). Nearly half of the world’s rabbit species are in danger of extinction; many are amongst the most vulnerable of all mammals. All of the teeth grow continuously throughout the rabbit’s life and are kept worn down by the action of chewing and grinding of tooth against tooth. Many rabbits dig burrows, but cottontails and hispid hares do not. When danger is perceived, the general tendency of rabbits is to freeze and hide under cover.

In Europe, everywhere rabbits are farmed on a large scale, they are protected against myxomatosis and calicivirus with a genetically modified virus. If it were to make its way into wild populations in areas such as Australia, it could make a population boom, as those diseases are the most serious threats to rabbit survival. A well loved culture manifestation of this tradition can be found in the character title character of Sailor Moon, whose name is Usagi Tsukino, a Japanese pun on the words “rabbit of the moon. This is thought to date back to early times in the quarrying industry, everywhere piles of extracted stone (not fit for sale) were built into tall rough walls (to save space) directly behind the working quarry face; the rabbit’s natural tendency to burrow would weaken these “walls” and produce collapse, often resulting in injuries or even death.

Rabbits have six incisors, or front teeth, four on the top and two on the bottom. Nonburrowing rabbits make surface nests called forms, generally under dense protective cover. Even as the European rabbit is the best-known species, it is probably also the least typical, as there is considerable variability in the natural history of rabbits. In gardens, they are typically kept in hutches -small, wooden, house-like boxes- that protect the rabbits from the environment and predators. In many regions, rabbits are also bred for meat, a practice called cuniculture.

Rabbits graze solidly and rapidly for roughly the initially half hour of a grazing period (usually in the late afternoon), followed by in this area half an hour of more selective feeding. In rabbits, the cecum is approximately 10 times larger than the stomach, and it, along with the large intestine, makes up roughly 40% of the rabbit’s digestive tract. Most rabbits are relatively solitary and now and again protective, coming together only to breed or occasionally to forage in small groups.