Rabbit Farming

Domesticated rabbit is the only animal which can produce 10 to 15 times or more of its own body weight in a year through its Progenies. A scientifically cared and well managed Rabbitry can generate good profit within few days.

India, where enormous meat shortages exist, the potential for rabbit production is greatest Rabbit meat serves a source of Low saturated fat for the population overfed countries and as a source of cheap animal protein in underfed countries, thus exhibiting the varied potential of rabbit farming. Broiler rabbits must be considered as an important contributor of protein source to assure food security because of the ability of the species to produce high quality and quantity of meat.

The wool produced by rabbits is the finest, lightest and warmest among all animal fibres and is preferred for manufacturing of high value woollens which have got very good export potential. Rabbit wool also have medicinal properties and its garments are recommended in arthritis due to its electrostatic properties.

The advantages of rabbit farming:

• ·         Rabbits have small body size leading to efficient space utilization
• ·         Rabbits are highly prolific and a good female can produce 25 to 30 kits (young ones) per year
• ·         Rabbit Farming requires less space and it can be done as commercial or as backyard farming
• ·         Rabbits are the best producers of wool on per kg body weight basis. They require 30 % less digestible energy to produce one kg of wool as compared to sheep.
• ·         Rabbits consume a large amount of forage from diverse origins and hence, can be reared on roughages with very less quantity of costly concentrate feed
• ·         Initial investment cost is low 
• ·         Quick returns i.e. six months after the establishment of farm 
• ·         Income generation at quarterly interval makes the repayment easy.
• ·         Within 3 months a baby Rabbit gain market weight of 2 kgs to 2.5 kgs.
• ·         Rabbit meat is defined to be the most nutritious meat known to man. It is   white meat  and it has been found to provide good health and prevent excess fat, heart diseases, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, diabetics and cancer among those who eat it.

      

Scope of rabbit farming:

Rabbit farming is another livestock activity with great scope as it is relatively easy, rewarding and takes little space compared to other livestock activities. Rabbit farming can also provide a very valuable additional source of income in the rural areas. Another important consideration is food production cycle, which shows that rabbit need not be in competition with man for it’s food. For producing high quality woollens, blending with other fine quality fibres is essential. The other livestock species which is source of wool is sheep. The wool produced by Indian sheep breeds are of not fine quality. Therefore, currently we are importing the fine wool. The wool from Angora Rabbits is of very high quality and it’s blending with carpet wool of sheep and silk improves the quality of woollens to a great extent.

Good strains of rabbits suitable to our climatic conditions were developed with the constant efforts of North Temperate Regional Station (NTRS) of the Central Sheep and Wool Research Institute (CSWRI), Garsa, Kullu and management practices were standardised . Further, it has created adequate infrastructure for training of the interested farmers for taking up the rabbit farming on scientific lines. However, Angora rabbit can be reared only in hill areas. Therefore, Angora rabbit rearing is a boon to the farmers of hill areas, where the scope for other livestock activities is very limited.

Universal Rabbit Meat Production:

China is the largest producer of rabbit meat, constituting approximately 40% of global production. Most of the remainder of global production occurs in Europe. Other Asian countries viz. Thailand and Vietnam are also in the producers list.China accounts for approximately a quarter of world exports, with The Netherlands, Germany, Japan, Switzerland, the United States and other European countries being the major importing nations. Current rabbit meat supply is far below estimates of domestic and export demand.

The world production of rabbit meat is valued to be about 1 million tons; of this the 54% is produced in the EU. The four biggest world’s producers – China, Italy , Spain , France – contribute to almost ¾ of the world production.

The international trade of rabbit meat involves almost 50 thousands tons, equal to almost the 5% of the world production, to confirm that the principal part of the world’s production is destined to the domestic use80 % of the world imports are made by the European Union. Main importer countries: Italy, Belgium , France , Germany . Main exporter countries: China , Eastern Europe countries.

Financial assistance:

Loan from banks with refinance facility from NABARD is available for starting rabbit farming. For rabbit schemes with very large outlays, detailed project reports will have to be prepared. The items such as land development, construction of sheds and other civil structures, purchase of the breeding stock, equipment, feed cost upto the point of income generation are normally considered under bank loan. Other items of investment will be considered on need basis after providing the satisfactory information justifying the need for such items. The cost of land is not considered for loan. However, if land is purchased for setting up the rabbit farm exclusively, it can be considered as beneficiary’s margin money upto a maximum of 10% of the investment cost.

Challenges to successful production:

Specific challenges to the keeping of rabbits vary by specific practices. Losses from coccidiosis are much more common when rabbits are kept on the ground (such as in warrens or colonies) or on solid floors than when on wire or slat cages that keep rabbits elevated away from urine and faeces. Pastured rabbits are more subject to predator attack. Rabbits kept indoors at an appropriate temperature rarely suffer heat loss in comparison to rabbits housed outdoors in summer. At the same time, if rabbits are housed inside without adequate ventilation, respiratory disease can be a significant cause of disease and death. Production does on fodder are rarely able to raise more than 3 litters a year without heavy losses from deaths of weak kits, abortion, and re-adsorption, all related to poor nutrition and inadequate protein intake. In contrast, rabbits fed commercial pelleted diets can face losses related to low fiber intake.

Rabbits are small sized animal. So it’s very easy to start a commercial rabbit farming business. Make a proper business plan before starting. Here we are describing the most important steps of starting commercial rabbit farming business.

Location and Housing:

As Rabbits are very sensitive animals it is very important to take care about several facts while preparing Shed and cages.

In general, the type of housing is dependent upon the climate, location and size of the rabbitry. The optimum temperature in a rabbit shed is around 10 – 25° C. (SCARM 1998). Effective ventilation is required to control extremes of temperature and also to remove ammonia. Housing is a critical issue for rabbit health.

Poor ventilation will result in irritation to the respiratory tract and susceptibility to infection from bacteria. Heat stress will cause major rabbit mortalities and reproductive failure. It is easy and cheap to prepare Shed using raw materials found around us as per our requirement.

To set up a single unit rabbitry 35 feet X 12 feet shed is required. Roof can be made using Tile, palm leaf, coconut tree leaf or plastic sheet. Ensure that sunlight and rain should not enter in to the shed directly and ventilation should be proper. Prepare pillars of 1 feet height inside the shed to place the cages. The ground can be either concrete or mud.  

Keep the shed always neat and tidy, temperature and ventilation should be maintained properly. Cover the entire shed using strong net to protect from other animals like birds, insects and reptiles. Rabbits are herbivorous animals. They take all the grasses and tree leaves which are found in our surroundings (ie tropical zones of kerala). Avoid feeding poisonous grasses, leaves and sprayed with any pesticides or herbicides.  Since Rabbits need fiber content food which is helpful for their digestive system Hay can be given to Rabbits. They may show some hesitation to take at the initial stage, later they become accustomed to it. Clean the shed and hutch before 8'O clock and keep sufficient water in the cages. Drinking more water will help to reduce the urine smell. Keep glucose water in mother rabbit’s hutch.

Feeding:

Production performance depends upon the quality of feed offered. For high production levels balanced pellet feed in combination with hay should be given. Fresh green plants like bean, Alfalfa, berseem, grass, tender banana, cane and bamboo leaves, cutup pieces of the stalks of plants such as maize or banana, roots such as cassava, yams, carrots, beefs and turnips inedible portions of cabbage and cauliflower etc. can replace partially or wholly pellet feeds in case of low input and low output production system. If concentrate and hay are given, then concentrate should be offered preferably in the morning and hay in the afternoon.

A practical combination of different types of feeds and regular timetable for feeding is advisable so that rabbits do not feel any stress due to changes in their daily routine. Water should be available round the clock particularly to a lactating doe. Always keep water pots clean and remove sediments daily. Water pots should be cleaned thoroughly every week. Use of properly designed Automatic watering equipment can also be made.

Breeding Management Rabbit:

A rabbit may normally start breeding at the age ranging from 6 to 8 months, When ready to breed a Doe, take it to the Buck's cage, or put the pair in neutral territory. If you don't take care at this stage, the Doe's being aggressive may even lead to death of the Buck. Never bring the buck to the Doe's cage. Female Rabbits does not have any special breeding season like most other mammals. They are receptive throughout the year. A doe shows signs of being ready for mating by restlessness and nervousness by rubbing her chin on feeding and watering equipment, and by attempting to join other Rabbits in nearby hutches. During this time her skin inside the vagina will reddish and she will stand on back legs by leaning (incline) backward. Some does are selective to choose her partner; they won't allow all the bucks to mate.

Doe will stay at the top of the hutch as and when they are not willing to take part in mating. In such occasions, they may express some vigorous attack on buck, which may lead to its death. Hence Breeding should be done under the supervision of an expert. An exotic Buck shows its readiness for mating by walking on its back legs straightening the knee. It holds tale close towards its back side. Some time he may squeal (scream) and squirt the urine. A Buck will produce 1 ml of semen in each mating; which may contain about 1 core of sperm. Single sperm is enough to combine with female egg to form an embryo.

A buck can be used, at most, 3 to 4 times in a week for breeding. To avoid genetic deceases and related problems, a buck should never breed with its offspring. 

Mating should occur almost immediately after placing the Doe in the cage. The buck will then mount on the doe from behind. If the doe is ready to breed she will lower her front-end and lift her back end to accommodate the buck. After 4 to 10 fast stroke buck will ejaculate and fall off the doe side wise or backward. This indicates a successful breeding. Then take the doe back to its hutch.

Male rabbits can be used for mating until they are about three years. Inorder to prevent inbreeding depression rabbits from the same family should not be bred. Therefore, replace male rabbit about once every year. After three years, the full grown female rabbits should be replaced either by new purchases or females of own farm.

Rabbit Farming Method:

You can start raising rabbits in both deep litter and cage farming methods. Here we are describing more about this two types of raising methods.

Deep Litter Method: 

This method is suitable, if you want to raise a few number of rabbits. Concrete floor is more suitable for deep litter system. Make 4 to 5 inches depth litter husk, hay, straw or wood shavings. In this method, you can raise a maximum of 30 rabbits in a house. Keep the male rabbits in a separate room from the female. In deep litter system, risks of diseases is high. And sometimes, it may seem very difficult to manage the rabbit in this system

Cage Method: 

For commercial rabbit farming business, cage method is the best. In this system the rabbits are kept in a cage, which are made with wire or iron plate. Cage system is very useful for raising a maximum number of rabbits. Keep sufficient space and necessary facilities, inside every cage. Keep the male and female rabbits separated from each other. Keep them together in a separate cage during breeding period.

Marketing:

In some areas, marketing rabbit products is not so easy. So it will be better, if you determine your marketing plan before starting. You can try your local markets or nearest town.

Through proper care and management, you can make maximum profit form your rabbit farming business. Always try to take good care of your animals. Feed them quality nutritious food, keep their house clean and purchase healthy breeds for starting. Thus you can make your rabbit farming business highly profitable.