Why raise rabbits

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 10 COOL REASONS TO GET YOU STARTED (RABBIT RAISING)

In this post I will be sharing with you some amazing reasons why you should have to start rabbit farming. I guess most of these reasons have never crossed your mind.

With increased awareness of what makes a healthy diet and the economy in a turmoil, now is a good time to consider rabbit farming business. The best way I know to put money in the pocket and good food on the table, without a large investment, is raising rabbits.

The profits can come in many ways: You can sell the urine for laboratory use, the manure for fertilizer or worm growing, even the feet for good luck charms. Selling them as pets will also fetch a reasonable sum. Meat, however, is by far the most important product.

Let’s look at what a male and female bunny can offer: With 30 days gestation period the rabbit is able to produce 8-10 kits in 30 days – one or two may die. An average of 50 kits in a year fits in for our projections. With each set maturing and attaining 2-3kg weight in four months, an average of 100 kg in 17 months.

In Nigeria currently the minimum amount for a kg  is N450. In 17 months, one female rabbit would have fetch you N45000. Multiply that by 10 if you were to start with 10 does and you won’t believe your eyes, yes, it’s real. That N2000 bunny has made you N45000. No other livestock can do  so much. As I write this, I expect my 10 does and three bucks to produce 640 rabbits during the  coming season. That converts into more than 1600kilograms of good white meat. 

Rabbits are usually disease free animals but negligence is the only factor that causes complications.

I have listed below 10 (ten) reasons why you should partake in this venture. 

1. There are few religious or other taboos on rabbit meat (except in vegetarian cultures). Islam does not prohibit eating rabbit meat, for example. 
2. Initial capital outlay is minimal. With some scrap wood or bamboo, a hutch can be constructed. Also, the space required to build a rabbitry is quite small thus lower costs and since they reproduce very fast, there is always room for expansion. A few does (females) with a ram or buck (male) is enough to start, once the kindling begins the herd rapidly increases in size (if done well and with no bad luck) so that very soon one can slaughter the young males. Feeding rabbits can also be very cheap. Even though supplementation with concentrate or grain is sometimes necessary and definitely will increase growth rates, roadside grass, kitchen offal, garden leaves, etc. can provide the main feed at almost no cost. 
3. Rabbit droppings manure can be used for vegetable growing. The manure does not smell too much, and rabbits do not make much noise therefore the neighbours will not complain. 
4. Children learn to tend for and appreciate animals. As such, a rabbit is a nice present for a child on a birthday or for a neighbor who will marry.
5. Rabbits are livestock, and very good livestock too, (the cleanest and most disease-free of all). 
6. The skin is valuable if there is a market for it, possibly in local handicrafts.
7. Rabbit farming is adoptable to any location. They can withstand heat or cold and are less affected by common  livestock diseases in the country. For disease management, all that is required is cleanliness and caution then you won’t have to worry about vaccination or treatment of diseases. 
8. The meat is tasty, good quality and similar to chicken meat. This is known in many rural, tropical communities. Their meat is considered as white meat and better than other types of meat. The rabbit meat is in high demand because Cholesterol and fat level in rabbit meat is much lower than chicken, turkey, beef, and pork. For this reason rabbit meat has been used and is suitable for special diets, such as those for heart disease patients, diets for the aged, low sodium diets, weight reduction diets, etc. 
9. Rabbit meat is richer in Protein, Calcium and phosphorus than other types of meat,  in addition to the above nutrients, rabbit meat has high deposit of iron. 
10. A single doe will have multiple litters every year, and those litters will reach breeding age within months; that means a rabbit can produce six pounds of meat on the same amount of feed and water it takes a cow to produce just one pound. Thus high returns are expected. 

No doubt this long list could be extended to include many more reasons for keeping rabbits.