Today we are going to be talking about a form of farming that may seem a little bizarre
to many, Rabbit Farming. The calm and friendly pets many own these days are sometimes mass-produced
in these farms. Did you know of Rabbit Farming?
If not, we have done thorough research on this topic and are here to provide you all
the information you need to know about Rabbit Farming.
But before we get started, be sure to like this video and subscribe to our channel for
more videos like these. We follow a farm Rabbit’s whole life cycle
throughout this video so be sure to stick around till the end so you don’t miss out
on anything. We are taking a trip down to one of the modern
rabbit farms that mass produces rabbits for commercial purposes.
These farms are modern, fully equipped with everything they would need for Farming.
The farm is temperature-controlled because the rabbits are sensitive to excess heat or
cold and need to be kept at a regulated temperature. The whole farm is divided into sections, each
section is used for a designated task. The female rabbits are called a doe and the
male rabbits are called bucks. They are both kept separately, the only purpose of a buck
in these farms is for collecting semen for artificial insemination.
Big production farms always prefer artificial insemination, for it provides better results
and they can ensure the buck that impregnates the rabbits is healthy and can produce healthy
offspring. After the Bucks are taken to collect their
sperms, their role ends there until it’s time for the next breeding.
While the semen that is collected is first approved by the laboratory and then injected
into the female rabbits. The Buck should at least be 8 months old before
he is considered fit for breeding purposes and the Doe is ready for breeding at six months.
This a standard procedure followed by small bio-farmers but things are done differently
in Commercial farms. Due to regular demands of meat supply, they
can’t afford to wait for six months, in that case, breeding is done immediately after
weaning is completed, and that is five to six weeks after birth.
The semen is injected directly into the Doe’s body and if impregnated, the female rabbits
start ovulating within 10-14 hours. The gestation period of a female rabbit is
somewhere between 30-35 days. They have rapid birth procedures which is why they birth nearly
4 litters in a year for commercial farms. During the gestation period, they are kept
in individual cages that are fully functional to deal with after birth care. Rabbits have
a habit of nesting for their newborns, this is an attempt to keep their kits warm and
safe. Commercial farms normally fill the litter
box with a generous amount of wood shavings before their birth.
In bio-farms rabbits are provided with hay, and they make their own nest sometimes they
even shred their own fur to cover the nest and make it even warmer.
In the wild, Rabbits dig and bury their kits under the ground to save them from predators
and keep them warm, even some bio farms allow this technique because they see the kit is
always healthy this way. In all the cases, the mother keeps an eye
on her litter at all times. Female rabbits generally birth around 1-14 kits at a time.
The kits are born hairless, deaf, and blind and are dependent wholly on the mother's care.
By day 10 the rabbits slowly start to develop hair and senses. During the first few days,
regular feeding is essential to develop the rabbit's health.
The kits are kept with their mother for four to five weeks, where they develop to a healthy
weight and then are moved to the weaning section of the farm.
Now that the rabbits are moved they can no longer be dependent on their mother’s milk
and so, in the weaning section, they are taught to eat solid food.
For the next few days, solid food is slowly added to the rabbit’s diet.
After spending a few days in this section, they are ready to move onto the adult cages.
Each rabbit is categorized by its weight, the final few days are spent fattening the
rabbit’s meat. Food and supplements being the essentials
for this process, they are provided with good quality hays and vegetables to munch on.
They are also given a specific amount of Pallets that provide them with added nutrients. Water
supply is available round the clock. This is where they spend the last few days before
moving on to the slaughterhouse. The cages are cleaned once a week but this
factor of cleanliness wholly depends on how litter trained the rabbits are. The rabbits
are also cleaned regularly to prevent any unwanted spread of disease.
Though rabbits are one animal that doesn’t get sick easily, if properly taken care of,
this is something that’s not too concerning for the farm owners.
But just in case they have a sick rabbit among the flock, it’s immediately separated and
treated individually. This is to prevent the spread among others, if a sick rabbit is left
unattended in a flock, the disease spread rapidly among others.
Newborn rabbits are also examined for health factors and sick rabbits are separated from
the healthy bunch. Some rabbits develop skin diseases that discolor
their furs, in that case, injections are provided by vets.
Before we move onto the meat production procedure, did you know what happens to the rabbit dunk?
It is said that rabbit dunk makes a great fertilizer, quality even better than that
of cow dunks and other animals. The dunk can be directly used as a fertilizer without much
processing. In commercial farms, the dunk is sprayed wash
into a septic tank but among the bio-farmers, who know its value, it’s a very popular
and effective fertilizer. Four months after their birth, and spending
the last few days in extra care, the rabbits are now ready to move on to the final stage.
The rabbits are selected according to their weight, the rabbits who have reached or surpassed
the designated weight are picked up and taken to the slaughterhouse.
While the others are kept a few more days and till they reach the required weight.
Rabbit meat production is an in-house process because rabbit farming is still not among
popular demands farms usually have their own slaughterhouse.
So unlike many other livestock, they are not shipped elsewhere, only moved from one room
to other. Even in the presence of modern machines, the
majority of the work is done by human hands. There are two preferred ways of meat production
and it depends on the area and how the market demands the meat.
Some places like to sell the whole carcass, while others prefer their meat to be sliced
and cut into pieces. We are going to see how both of these are done.
The first process is to hang the rabbits by their hind legs and stun them to ensure a
painless slaughter. Then the skinning takes place, where the skin is cut on their legs
and pulled out manually. There is a market for rabbit hides and fur
and so the skin is taken away for further procedure.
After the skinning is done, it is now time for meat production to began. The carcass
is moved on to the next procedure, where it is cut in and the intestines and organs are
removed manually. The insides are cleaned thoroughly before
storing them. In the final stage, here there are two ways to progress.
If the market demands a full carcass, then the procedure ends there as the meat is moved
to the final stage of packaging, where it is packaged in a vacuum-sealed pack, labeled,
and then shipped off, ready for the shelves. If the region demands otherwise, then the
carcass is moved further where it is cut open and the excess layer of fat is removed before
it’s divided into different pieces and packaged, again it is vacuum-sealed and shipped off
to the designated market. Every year nearly 1.8 billion rabbits are
slaughtered to meet the growing demands for their meat. The main places that lead the
export, import, and consumption of rabbit meat are Italy, Spain, France, and China.
Rabbit meat is considered ‘white meat’ they are said to be very good for consumption
as they are rich in high-quality protein, omega-3 fatty acids, vitamin B12, and minerals
like Calcium and Potassium. Not just that, it is also low in Cholesterol and reduces
the risk of heart disease, making it a popular choice in some countries.
Not just the meat, rabbit’s fur is another extremely popular, in-demand item, that make
the rabbit farming industry so successful. Although it was once a low-priced commodity,
it is considered valuable today, especially in making fur hats and coats.
Some small bio-farms use rabbit farming and breed ‘pet rabbits’ for pet purposes while
others sear the Rabbit fur for wool making. When we hear wool, I know our mind goes to
sheep but hear me out, there is rabbit fur wool and it is quite popular.
We all know how soft the rabbit fur is and that is exactly why there is a market for
anything related to its fur. Farmer shear the rabbit's hair when it’s 5 to 6 cm long.
They are sheared at an interval of 10 - 11 weeks, and to get premium quality wool this
has to be done with care. Shearing is not done when the weather is extremely
cold or when the Doe is pregnant. The Angora rabbit breed is a popular choice for searing
wool. They produce between 16 to 20 ounces of angora
wool per year, and the breed as a pet is also most profitable.
In short, Rabbit farming can be tried by anyone who wants more income with less investment.
The animals consume less demanding food and commodity in comparison to other livestock
and take up less space as a whole. Rabbit Farming is becoming more and more popular
by the year, with a steady demand for meat and fur.
Now that you have had an insider look at Rabbit Farming, what are your thoughts about it?
Let us know in the comments, thank you for watching. See you next time!