get cash by knowing how to keep Rabbit

Introduction:

Rabbit production is one of the livestock enterprises with the greatest potential and room for expansion in Kenya. This is because of their minimal investment requirements and ability to reproduce fast. Their feed requirement is low, especially with regard to demand for grain. Their housing and disease control management requirements are also low yet their meat is highly nutritious and healthier source of protein when compared with other sources of meat.
Rabbit production has experienced a steady growth in the past few years, with gender biases associated with its production fading away. This is a significant change considering that for many years rabbit production in Kenya was confined to the youth, mainly 4-K club members and young farmers. Though rabbit meat marketing is yet to gain ground, there is hope that with the growing awareness of the benefits of rabbit meat, it will be possible for rabbit meat to be introduced into the regular meat market.
The realization that rabbits are well suited to rapid production of protein has increased the number of industrialized production units just like in poultry. The most popular breeds used in the meat industry are the New Zealand White, Californian, Flemish Giant, French Ear lop, Chinchilla and Dutch. Other breeds include the Angora primarily kept for fur and as pets; most of the locally available breeds are cross breeds.

Important facts about Rabbits and Rabbit meat

1.      Rabbits grow fast especially if fed well reaching maturity at 5 months and slaughter weight at 3 months.
2.      They require less land (space) with diminishing land size; therefore can be kept at the backyard.
3.      They can derive their feed requirement entirely on greens only.
4.      They are prolific each doe capable of reproducing 4 times a year an average of 8 kits per kindling.
5.      They have one of the highest feed conversion ratios at 4:1.
6.      Rabbit meat is  white meat of high quality, easily digestible with low fat, low cholesterol and high protein compared to most other meats
7.      The unsaturated fats (good fats) in rabbit meat make 63% of the total fatty acids
8.      Rabbit meat is lower in percentage fat than chicken, turkey, beef and pork
9.      Rabbit meat provides the lowest calories per kilogram of meat consumed compared to other sources of meat.
10.  Rabbit meat is one of the cleanest meat as it is raised off the ground
11.  Other important products from rabbits include manure, skins and fur. They can also be produced as lab animals

Breeds:

According to the American Rabbit Breeders Association (ARBA), there are over 47 distinct rabbit breeds. Only about a dozen of these are reared in Kenya, the most common being New Zealand White, Californian white, Chinchilla, French lop, Dutch, Checkered Giant, Giant Flemish, Angora and Rex. A survey conducted by Animal Production Division in November 2010 indicated that New Zealand White and Californian White breeds of rabbits are the most popular in Kenya. These two medium sized rabbit breeds (3.6 - 5.9kg) are also rated the most popular for meat elsewhere in the world because of their good growth characteristics and high carcass dressing percentage. Other breeds that are popular in Kenya include the Giant Flemish, the French Lop and Checkered Giant mainly because of their large size.

Some Common Rabbit Breeds

New Zealand White:	Has a good growth characteristic, capable of attaining slaughter weight of 3kg live weight within 12-14 weeks depending on feeding regime. It is one of the best commercial breeds that grows to a weight of about 5Kg and has all-white colour making its fur marketable.  It is considered a dam breed because of its excellent mothering instinct.
Californian White	This is another commercial breed developed in the US. It is bred to have broad shoulders and meaty back and hips and hence has a good meat breed with good dressing percentage. It is shorter and stockier and is white except for its ears, nose, feet and tail which are either dark grey or black. It is an ideal sire breed for interbreeding with other rabbit breeds for purposes of meat production.
Flemish Giant	This is one of the largest rabbit breeds, weighing up to 7kg live weight. Though Kenyan farmers like it because of its size, this breed is not an ideal meat breed because of its high bone to meat ratio and its slow growth. Interbreeding it with other breeds may help improve its characteristics
French Lop	Outstanding characteristic is the large ears that droop around the head. They have short and stocky legs but are heavy - they weigh over 5kg. Though some Kenyan rabbit keepers have shown interest in this breed because of its size, this breed is more suitable as a pet	Chinchilla Originally bred for meat, they are short and stocky with a nice rounded back. There are 3 chinchilla breeds: Standard, American and Giant Chinchilla
Angora	This rabbit is mainly bred for its wool. Because of the wool they produce, this rabbit requires regular grooming. It is therefore more suited as a pet than for meat.	Dutch Is a fairly small but compact rabbit with shorter forelegs. It has characteristic markings often as shown in the picture

 

Rabbit Housing and Routine practices

3.1 Rabbit Housing Requirements:

• The house must protect the rabbits and keep them from escaping
• The house must protect the rabbits from predators
• The house must protect the rabbits from adverse weather
• The house should allow easy, comfortable access for the manager
• The house must be self cleaning or easy to clean
• The house should be of reasonable cost, easy to maintain and be durable.
• Ideally, rabbits should be kept in cages either outdoor with extended roofs or indoor where the cages are kept inside buildings on platforms.
• A rabbit unit should be well ventilated, rain-proof and allows some sunlight

3.2 Rabbit Housing Dimensions

• Standard cages for rabbits should measure: L=80cm, W=60cm, H=45cm.
• For pregnant does or does with young kits, a provision for a nesting box of 30cm by 30cm.
• Usually weld mesh wire is preferred because of ease in maintaining cleanliness. The quality of available weld mesh wire in Kenya is however poor and does not last long
• Many farmers have thus resorted to using all-wooden cages or wooden plus weld mesh wire cages.
• Multi-tier cages are becoming popular because they safe on space. More than two-tier cages are however not recommended because of difficulties in management.

An outdoor hutch plan for 6 doe and 1 buck breeding unit (economic unit):

Some examples of Rabbit Houses:

a) Outdoor Cage This structure is made of timber walls, wooden floor, iron sheet wall. The front of the structure is made of weld mesh wire. The structure is on a platform of about 1 meter from the ground	b) Floor plan This is a floor plan for a 4 breeding females with one buck in the middle. Notice that two female rabbits share the space between them as nesting area
c) Indoor housing with stacked cages The cages are stacked in order to save on space. The farmer in this case utilises both timber and weld wire mesh.	d) Nesting box: Some expectant does require a nesting box with the indicated dimensions attached to their main cages in preparation for kindling. This nesting box is where the doe will farrow and feed its young until they have grown fur

 Handling Rabbits

The ears alone should never be used as the sole means of holding the rabbit.  The best method is to grasp the ears and the skin close to the head with one hand while the other hand takes the full weight of the rabbit at the hips.  For young rabbits up to about 3-4 months old, a suitable method is to grasp the animal across the loins.

Sexing

A part from the sex organs, physically the buck is usually smaller than the doe and often has a broader head.  In the buck, a protruding sex organ appears as a rounded tip, while in the doe the organ is slit-like or v-shaped, and will slope slightly downwards towards the anus.  When the bucks are mature the penis and testicles are easily observed.

Identification

It is important to properly identify your rabbits in order to help you keep records about them. The most common ways of identification for rabbits include tattooing and ear notching. Tattooing is the most relevant in rabbits due to their high turnover. For exhibition purposes rings with official marks are used.

Records

Keep proper records of all your rabbit unit activities:

• Breeding records
• Growth
• Sales and expenses

Feeding:

Rabbits are monogastrics/non ruminants (have single stomach) and feed on plant materials and require nutrients such as proteins, energy, minerals, vitamins and fats in specific measures to help rabbits grow well.

• You can feed your rabbits by providing the following

a)    On a variety of green plants including grasses, weeds, sweet potato vines, desmodium, alfalfa and vegetables such as cabbages and sukuma wiki
b)   Root crops such as carrots, sweet potatoes and cassava
c)    Grains such as maize, wheat, barley and sorghum
d)   Hay
e)    Protein supplements e.g. soybean meal, peanut meal

• You can also feed your rabbits on commercially pelleted feed available from different manufacturers. When using commercial pellets, care should be taken to avoid aflatoxin contamination
• Commercial rabbit feed nutritional content normally vary as follows: Protein - 13-18%, Digestible Energy - 8-13% and fibre - 8-18%
• Feed requirements for rabbits vary with individual animals. Proper amounts should be fed to keep the animal in good physical condition without allowing it to be become too fat.
• Reduce the amount of feed for the doe to one-half on the day of kindling and gradually but increased gradually from the 3^rd day to the 7^th day.
• After a week, the nursing doe and its litter should be provided with food at all times.
• Salt can be provided either by mixing into the feed at one percent or in the form of commercial salt cakes.
• Vitamins: vitamin A is available from root crops and hay, vitamin B in greens and roughage. Rabbits also get their vitamins from re-ingesting their droppings
• When using pellets, ensure they are fresh and not contaminated. NEVER feed your rabbits on mouldy hay or pellets
• It is advised that you feed up to 130g of pellets for adult rabbits per day in combination with other feeds. It is however important that amount of pellets is kept low to reduce cost of production
• Ensure that from the time of weaning, your rabbits are supplied with at least a handful of hay per day for to help rabbits digest better
• When feeding greens, allow them to wilt before feeding. At the time of weaning, introduce wilted greens a little at a time to avoid diarrhoea
• Rabbits produce soft and hard droppings. They re-ingest soft droppings which are rich in the B vitamins
• Rabbits need to be fed on dry matter (forage) and where possible supplementation with concentrates is advisable. Clean water should be availed on a daily basis. A new type of feed should be introduced over a period of a few days.

Diseases:

Diseases of Rabbits

Recognition of health and disease

• Coat should be smooth and shiny
• Eyes should be bright without discharge
• Movement should be easy and free, relaxed breathing evenly and silently
• Appetite should be normal
• Droppings should be normal in amount and appearance
• Body should be well fleshed. If bony or pot bellied it may be an indication of disease
• Weight and growth of adults should be fairly constant.
• Discharge from the eyes, nostrils, mouth, vent, teat and anus are signs of disease.
• Sores and swellings are not normal
• Normal temperature is 39◦C and normal pulse ranges from140-150

Prevention of disease

In a well-managed rabbit unit, diseases should be infrequent. To avoid feed contamination, hutch floors should be made of wire-netting so that the urine and the droppings do not accumulate inside.

• Good management; this entails proper housing and good feeding.
• Buy breeding animals from a reputable breeder
• Have quarantine quarters where sick rabbits are confined or new arrivals to the farm are kept for two weeks before being introduced to their cages

Common Diseases

The commonest diseases in the rabbitry are:

(a)        Coccidiosis

Most affects the young rabbits. Symptoms include diarrhoea which sometimes may be white in colour or blood stained, loss of appetite, dehydration and death if the animals are not treated.  When pregnant does are affected, there is a risk of passing this disease to the unborn kids, and this usually leads to liver coccidiosis in which there are white sports on the liver. It is controlled by use of coccidiostats in feed and drinking water and by isolating all affected stock

(b)        Ear Canker (mange)

This condition is caused by mites, and it affects the inner side the rabbit ears.  The disease is mild but disturbs the animals.  The earliest signs are:  Constant head shaking and scratching of the ears due to irritation.  There is a scab or crust formation on the inner side of the ear.  Due to heavy infestation, the affected ears may drop downwards. Control by avoiding rats in the rabbitry since they are the vectors for these mites.

(c)        Other Diseases

Ø  Pneumonia - common during cold weather and in poorly ventilated hutches.
Ø  Gastro-intestinal complication mainly arising from feeding.
Ø  Internal parasites like ascaris especially when fed on greens.  Therefore regular de worming at least 3 months is advisable. It is also important to avoid use of roadside forages to feed your rabbits as they may be infested by worms
For treatment of all rabbit diseases, farmers are advised to visit their nearest Veterinary OfficeHere are some markets for rabbit meat:
1. Five Star Hotels are hot rabbit farming markets

All leading hotels would like to have rabbit meat on their menu. The problem is lack of regular supply. There is no enough rabbit meat. To serve a hotel like Nairobi Serena you would have to guarantee daily delivery. This is only possible if you have a large group of rabbit farmers working together. Alone you can’t manage.
2. Schools provide huge markets for rabbit farming
Another great market for rabbit meat is the many schools in Kenya. Schools include; universities, colleges, secondary and high cost primary schools. If constant supply is assured, they will order.
3. Restaurants are here to support rabbit farming
Restaurants are willing to have rabbit meat on menu. The story is the same. There is no enough meat to sustain the delicacy on the menu. This is a huge market because there are thousands of middle to high class restaurants in Kenya.
4. Butcheries are great outlets for rabbit farming number on product – meat

Middle and upper class butcheries don’t sell rabbit meat because of poor supply. If you assure butcheries in Nairobi’s Westlands of regular rabbit meat supply, they will gladly give you an order.
5. Laboratories are the best markets for rabbit farming
Demand for rabbits for medicinal use by drug manufacturing companies is on the increase. From secondary schools to universities, they need live rabbits for science work. Some laboratories require rabbit urine to manufacture drugs.
6. Value Addition can push rabbit farming to high profitability

Value addition strategies may include; sausages, kebabs and pies. Instead of selling rabbit meat, why not add valuable yourself. Produce rabbit meat sausages and supply the product to hotels, restaurants, supermarkets, chips and chicken dens, etc. This way you make a lot more money.
7. Export Markets make rabbit farming a highly lucrative adventure

The export market is huge. These international markets include; China, Canada, France, Germany, Australia, Denmark, and Spain. According to the Export Promotion Council, France alone needs 400,000 metric tones per year from Kenya. Kenya is unable to reach that target.
Rabbit farming requires little space