INTRODUCTION

There are many times that we have seen in Latin American groups (mainly) that some rabbit breeders or owners see normal and recommend that their rabbits breed in the ground, in their own burrows that they make in the garden of their home pro, although this is normal in the wild, is it recommendable?

MY DOE WILL BE A MOTHER, SHOULD SHE MAKE HER NEST ON THE GROUND?

Definitely not. Although it is true that rabbits in the wild build enormous burrows and these same litters are born in them, we cannot forget that wild and domestic rabbits have substantial differences and one of them is that domestic rabbits enjoy greater comfort and security (as a general rule) than their wild cousins. Domestic rabbits are much more delicate and the time of birth is extremely serious and requires us to do everything in our power to ensure that the mother is comfortable and the young are born in a safe environment. Apes give birth in the jungle, without help or means, would you wish the same for your wife, your sister, daughter or a friend? If we have the possibility to make them feel good (even more so when it is a wanted litter, not an accidental one) we should strive to give them something more than a hole in the ground which, no doubt, can cause a lot of avoidable trouble and unpleasantness.

DANGERS OF ALLOWING THE DOE TO BREED ON THE DIRT FLOOR

The first danger is the most logical of all: we cannot know what is going on inside. We don't know if the offspring are alive, if any have died, if any need help or if the mother herself has been involved in some kind of mishap (such as dystocia or internal bleeding), we may never see the mother again if she dies during birth and we will be hard pressed to get to the burrow.

If the soil is too soft, there may be landslides on the mother's way back and forth or in heavy rain, so the young may be crushed or suffocated to death; if it rains, the burrow may flood, they may be attacked by some kind of predator that gains access to them and, the most common case of all we have seen: ants may attack them and kill them in a matter of hours.

Whether it is an accidental litter or not, it is our duty to provide them with as much safety as possible.

HYGIENE AND SAFETY IN RESPONSIBLE BREEDING

No ethical breeder allows their bitches to breed on the ground, not only for the reasons mentioned above, but also because it is not within their principles, nor is it allowed in the general rules of many specialised clubs.

It is essential to have safe facilities for the animal (so that it cannot get hurt, escape from them and the chances of a vermin entering them are minimal or nil), as well as hygiene (they must be disinfected with bleach-free products, have ventilation, mosquito nets on the windows...) must be as careful as possible to avoid the appearance of diseases, pests and contagions.

All this cannot be done if the rabbit gives birth on the ground, she can have contact with it as a game, of course, as this will enrich her daily life in the hours she remains out of her cage or enclosure, but never give birth in it.

The pups should be checked three times a day during the first 10-12 days to check that they all eat well, that there is no hair or hay on their legs or neck that could cause an irreversible injury to the pup, remove those that could die during or after birth (and that would otherwise become a source of infection).... This can only be done in controlled facilities, if our doe gives birth in the ground we cannot do it and we will only have to pray and hope that nothing happens before 21-25 days (when the bunnies will start to come out of the burrow and explore).

CONCLUSION

As we can see it is totally irresponsible for our rabbit to give birth to her young in a hole in the garden, offering her a safe and clean place to bring her young into the world is fundamental and the most basic of the basics if it has been an intentional litter (we have put the male and female together so that we can have a litter of the two of them).