Dec 11
12
Setting Up Your Rabbit Farm
When you begin planning your rabbit farm, you will need to formulate a plan, which will often need to be submitted to an agricultural or planning board for the region in which you wish to set up this venture. Each area has its own legislation, and you will need to find out which regulations you will need to submit to, to receive your licences and permits to continue with your proposed business.
Once you have established whether the rabbit farm will be permissible at the site you have chosen, you will need to plan the structure of the farm. One major factor in the smooth running of your farm will be how your rabbits are housed, and how the effluent is effectively dealt with.
Rabbits are accepted to be an intensive livestock agriculture, as they are spaced in close proximity and at high density in a confined area. Rabbits are generally housed in wire cages, with a wire floor, which allows rabbit pellets to drop to the ground. Cages need to be organised in such a way that cleaning the floor underneath the cages is easy yet thorough. Access to all cages also needs to be easy and efficient, both for caring for the rabbits and for maintaining the cages and feeding them.
Effluent can be removed either by dry cleaning , like sweeping away, and use of spays to control bacteria, flies and odour. This is usually the case when the rabbits kept equal 15 breeding does, and up to a total of 1800 rabbits at a time. Wet cleaning is usually considered if the rabbit population is kept at under 75 breeding does and a total of 900 rabbits at a time. Both require that the effluent be removed in a safe and hygienic manner.
Feeding and watering the rabbits is another major consideration. Feeding on a large scale can account for 90% of the labor needed if the farm is driven manually. This is why commercial farms go to the expense of installing automatic feeders and drinkers. Although this is expensive to install, it is fairly reasonable to maintain, and when the costs of labor saved are taken into consideration, this is the more economical way to set up the rabbit farm, where more than 100 rabbits will be kept. The feeding and watering lines will need to be checked and maintained daily, however, as the rabbits should never be left without food or water.
It is also necessary to include a quarantine area on your farm. This will ensure that all new rabbits introduced to the farm do not inadvertently bring in illnesses with which they infect the rest of the farm. All sick animals should also be moved to this area during treatment, to ensure that diseases do not spread throughout the farm. This is a major risk, as all the rabbits are situated in such close quarters.
With proper planning, the setup of your rabbit farm can make labor a breeze and health among the rabbits a guarantee.
