Nov 11
25
Starting A Rabbit Farm
There are many reasons a person or family might consider starting a rabbit farm. Commercial rabbits can be classified based on whether they are being used for wool, for stock for other breeders, for pelts, and for meat. There are different breeds that suit these different needs, and different levels of commitment, education, and skills will be needed.
Some of the first research you will need to consider will be checking to see if you need any type of permits or be within any other guidelines before considering if you can start a rabbit farm or how large it can grow. If your consideration is for meat sales, you must consider the best breed, the best age and weight to slaughter, whether you will have to slaughter them yourself or whether there is a local slaughterhouse that will handle slaughtering, portioning, and packaging for you. If you are considering breeding rabbits for clinical use, you must receive the guidelines from the educational facility or laboratory to determine if you can meet their standards. Since clinical data will be collected and the outcome will be very important, there are special controlled conditions and requirements that will have to be followed.
Regardless of how you intend to use the rabbits, sanitary conditions must be maintained to prevent the outbreak of disease and detailed genealogical, health, and other records must be maintained on each animal. Whoever buys the rabbits will want to inspect the pens and other areas where they are kept, slaughtered, or generally housed. You must be able to present the rabbits in a clean sanitary way to ensure sales.
Temperature control is very important. Rabbits do not survive well in hot temperatures and must have fans, or air conditioning will be essential if summer temperatures are high for a consistent part of the year. If a person is monitoring their start up costs they can build their beginning hutches themselves, keeping temperature control as an important part of the planning. Commercial cages can be purchased if the startup funding is available or if it will be a small operation to provide extra meat for one or two families.
For a relatively low startup cost, and with at least a buck (male) and two does (females) to start, production can be flowing within a few months, and the growth can be monitored closely to make sure the rabbits do not outgrow the farm before the farmer is ready. Considering a rabbit farm can be a rewarding endeavor for an entire family.
