As earlier promised that I’ll teach on step by step approach to a profitable rabbit farming in Nigeria, Farmers need to classify their stocks into breeding stock and meat production stock for rabbit farming to be recognized in Nigeria meat market.
As a farmer who wants to raise rabbits for breeding stock, you would have your integrity and quality control to contend with because all rabbits are not fit for breeding purpose. Hence, culling of rabbits will segregate the stock into meat production and breeding stock.
Today’s topic is focused on rabbit meat production because we need to understand this in order to gain acceptance in the Nigerian meat market.
Before we proceed, I will like you to understand that there are two classes of rabbit meat namely:
- Fryers 2. Stewers
Fryers are growers which have attained the required market weight of 1.7kg to 2kg. This weight can be achieved within 90 days (that’s 3 months) with fast growing rabbit breed kept under good housing system, well ventilated, good weather condition and proper feeding.
At this weight, there is high return on capital employed and labour cost.
The Dressing Percentage (Weight after Slaughtering %) is measured by dividing the weight of dressed rabbit (slaughtered rabbit) by the initial live rabbit weight. For example, if 2kg fryer is dressed at 1.5kg, the dressing percentage will be 1.5kg divided by 2kg *100=75%.
Also Read: What does RABBIT MEAT taste like?
This Carcass Yield percentage (Dressing Weight) varies from breeds to breeds and rabbits to rabbits, this is mainly practical not theory. Two live rabbits of different breeds with same weight might weigh differently after slaughtering, this happens as a result of several factors which I will discuss briefly below:
Factors like, breed of rabbits and feed affects their dressing percentage. Rabbits with well-sprung ribs and deep chest, carrying the width and depth of the body uniformly from the shoulders to the hips, give a higher carcass yield than narrow, rangy animals. “A long, well-developed lion is desirable.” The amount of ingested feed in the digestive tract also has a bearing on dressing percent.
If the animal has been without food and water for several hours before being slaughtered, with a consequent smaller quantity of material in the digestive tract, the dressing percent will be higher. Some farmers give unhealthy feeds to Fryers few days or hours to the time of sale in order to get fraudulent heavy weight. This is not only peculiar to rabbitry but also in other aspects of farming such as fishery, piggery etc.
Stewers are mostly adult rabbits, and are usually culled rabbits(eliminated non-productive rabbits) from breeding system. In most cases their live weight will be above 3kg.
They normally yield average of 65-70% carcass of their live weight. Whether it is economically sound or not, they are sold to save labour cost, cage space, and feed cost.
From the above differentiation between fryers and stewers, we can now discuss steps on how to enjoy profitable rabbit meat production.
It is the expectation and prayer of every farmers to make Profit, no one wants to be at a loss, so I’ll be sharing from my personal experiences in the rabbit farming and summarize them into points below.
- The rabbit breed must be fast growing: Keeping a rabbit for meat purpose simply means the rabbit must be fast growing, if it’s growth rate is slow, it’s a NO.
A fast growing rabbit should be able to attain the weight of 2k in 90 days from birth unless if you ration it’s feed. Examples of fast growing rabbits include Hyla, Pure New Zealand White, Palomino, Magpie, American Chinchilla, California White etc. In selecting a rabbit for meat, you are less concerned about it’s colour, the rabbit must have well-sprung ribs, deep chest, carrying the width and depth of the body uniformly from the shoulders to the hips. You can also improve the small breeds like Dutch for some generations if you don’t have access to a direct fast growing rabbits.
Don’t ever use a pure small breed for meat production because you will be highly disappointed by the body mass and weight during the harvest period.
- To enjoy a profitable meat production, you need to ensure the feed and method of feeding are carefully considered. Your feeds must be specially and specifically formulated for meat production. Do not make the mistake to give breeding stock feed to meat rabbit, otherwise you’ll run at a loss. You need to avoid too much of fiber in meat rabbit feeds. Despite the high importance of fiber in rabbit digestive system, too much of fiber lowers the weight gain, too much hay for a meat rabbit will affect rapid weight gain, wilted forages and a very well processed dried cassava peels can be used along specially formulated feeds for meat. I normally advise farmers to use Bella Heavyweight Feeds for rabbit meat in order to boost weight gain. Weaners and Breeders Pellets are not meant for meat. On the aspect of feeding, there are two basic feeding systems, namely; Ad Libitum (Free Choice Feeding) and Limit Feeding System.
In limit feeding system, a controlled quantity or limited amount of feed is given to the rabbit daily while in free choice feeding, feed is given to the animal without limit and measurements, usually more than what they can finish in a day. Both feeding system has its advantage, purpose and when to use it.
Free Choice Feeding is less labor intensive than Limit Feeding System and it is good when grooming meat rabbit against 90days.
Farmers need to be very careful with Limit Feeding in order not to restrict feed intake to the extent that weight gains are severely affected. Once the digestive system of weaners is developed, Free Choice Feeding System is encouraged.
- Avoidance of coccidiosis is one of the surest ways to achieve a rapid weight gain. A rabbit suffering from liver coccidiosis will experience retarded weight gain. Farmers are advised to treat their rabbits of cocci a week before mating the rabbit so as not to transfer it to its offspring. One of the ways to treat cocci is to serve them with Bella’s 75% Hay-Based Pellets, Tridax Grass, Bitter Leaves or Scent Leaves once or twice per week. Apart from cocci, ensure that your rabbits are free from any form of diseases in order to achieve rapid weight gain.
- Prevention of Parasitic Effects- Parasites can destroy the farmers labour by sucking the blood of animals and competing with every nutrient gotten from feed intake. To prevent this from hindering the farmers effort, it is advisable to inject all weaners that have reached the weight of 1kg with 0.2ml of Ivermectin Injection at the subcutaneous layer.
If you don’t know how to do it, you can invite any nearby experienced farmer or a Vet.
Doctor to help you. If you have phobia for injection, you can administer Oral Ivermectin in their water for 3days. However, injectable ivermectin is highly recommended because some rabbits may not drink water during this period especially if the weather is too cool or if forages are served. A rabbit with mange parasitic disease will have its weight to contend with.
- Another factor to consider is housing. Rabbits under fattening should not be crowded in a room, a free range cage is preferable, you don’t necessarily need to partition the cage into rooms, once they’re kept in a large space(free range) they’ll do well.
Let the cage look like a Hall, you will need to have different halls for different batch of your weaners. You can calculate the cage size capacity based on 3 weaners on every 2ft by 2ft space.
- Synchronization of mating needs to be adopted in Meat production rabbitry. Synchronization means mating your does in batches.
In those days when I had enough time in Bella Farm, I used to mate an average of 50-100 breeding Does from evening till daybreak. Artificial insemination would have been better if the facilities and technical know-how is available because natural mating is very stressful but the money there worth the stress. After 30-33days, the nesting boxes are full of average of 500-700 kits.
7.The next step is to ensure safety of the kits and prevention of high mortality. On the day of delivery, farmer needs to move round to ensure that there is no complication during labour. If there is an issue of delay or difficulty in delivery, you can inject it with little quantity of an Oxytocin Injection to deliver within 2minutes.
You can also buy jute leaf(ewedu), it’s generally believed that jute leaf eases delivery in both animals and human. Our forefathers believe that if a woman is experiencing delay during labour, Jute Leaves should be bought at the exact price the seller mentions and at the point of purchase, you don’t need to mention the leaves name or else it will lose its potency, this is an aged Yoruba belief. Many rabbit farmers have used it over the years and can testify that it works without any side effects.
On the other hand, one of the advantages and disadvantages in the use of Oxytocin Injection is high volume of breastmilk secretion after its administration. Oxytocin helps to boost the production of milk which gives avenue for the kits to easily get satisfied with milk within a short period of sucking time, this prevents mortality caused by poor milk secretion. But the administration of oxytocin injection also has disadvantage which is, if the milk is not completely consumed it may get infected, caked and become a serious issue like mastitis(This is an extremely painful condition affecting the mammary glands.
It is usually caused by poor hygiene or surroundings. Bacteria enters and infects the teats which become red, hot, sore, swollen and full of pus. Treatment consists of bathing the affected parts with warm water containing an antiseptic. Antibiotics may need to be used to cure it).
- You can also foster the kits to achieve a profitable meat production. In most cases, a good breeding doe should have nothing less than 8 teats, and some have up to 10. You need to consider the number of nipples to the kits born, to avoid unhealthy competition, try to leave an average of 6 kits per mother.
Any extra kit should be taken to a mother with lesser kits, but in a situation where you have extra kits, you can keep them in a nesting box away from mother care.
In this situation, you may need to use an oxytocin induced mother to force-breastfeed those kits for 10minutes per day till they grow up.Your rabbit’s kits are not necessarily to be in a room with any mother especially when very young.
We need to remember that rabbits that deliver inside ground hole, don’t stay with their kits.