Cuniculture in Nigeria
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| rabbit farming equipment |
Rabbit farming, (cuniculture) is an undertaking in the agricultural industry, which is one of the biggest sectors of the economy. Rabbit farming in Nigeria has been growing because of its less requirements compared to other forms of livestock in relation to capital operating costs and maintenance yet they have high returns and high demand.
A rabbit is a burrowing animal, which has long ears and a tail. A male rabbit is called a buck, a female rabbit is called a doe and the children are known as kittens. They are usually reared for their meat, wool, fur, meat and even urine/manure. Their meat is considered as white meat and more suitable for special diet people.
Due to but not restricted to management problems coupled with high in demand for rabbit meat, most breeders are shy to enter the bigger markets.
Rabbit meat has been touted for many years by nutritionists and food activists like Micheal Pollan who believe that rabbits are the new supper meat. Their Cholesterol and fat levels are much lower; almost zero (nonexistent). For this reason rabbit meat is being used and is suitable for special diets such as those for heart disease patients, diet for the aged, low sodium diet, weight reduction diet etc. Rabbit meat has the highest in digestible protein percentage compared to other livestock.
Most breeds raised by breeders in Nigeria can produce six pounds of meat on the same amount of feed and water it takes a cow to produce just one pound. Farmers have been getting high returns on their investment even though their operations are relatively small-scale.
Because the space required to build a rabbitry is quite small and the lower cost involved, more rabbit farms are springing up every day.
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| Cuniculture |
The starting stock:
Most Breeders in Nigeria get to buy breeding stock from other local breeders.
Rabbits start to breed at the age of between six and seven months and give birth after a gestation period of 30-31 days. A female rabbit can produce more than 50 live rabbits per year at the average rate of 8 kits per birth.
Some of the already established local breeders in Nigeria include:
- Kezgeal Nigeria Limited
- Oakland farms
- JF Rabbit Breeders
The initial capital requirements are minimal because once there is a good structure in place, a few mature rabbits which will reproduce fast and increase stock can be used to start breeding. The initial budget can be less than N50 000 depending on the number of mature rabbits that breeder starts with.
The cost of acquiring a mature rabbit of any breed that is ready for breeding is between N2 000 to N4 000. The price of a mature rabbit is largely dependent on its weight and size. One hutch which can house either pregnant mother and kits, one male or kits from one mother cost N1 500 to build and between N3 000 to N5 000 for readymade.
Related: LEARN THE EASY WAY TO BUY BREEDING STOCK
Feeding:
Food for the rabbits is relatively cheap in Nigeria since vegetables and green leaves can be found easily, while pellets go for about N4 500 for 25 kg and will last the breeder for a whole cycle. A bag of hay goes for N4 000.
In addition, rice farms abound in rice straws which could add up to the hay (free food).
The common breeds of rabbit kept in Nigeria are Chinchilla, California white, New Zealand white and Flemish giant. They have unique features as shown below:
Chinchilla:
Have brown grey fur
Upstanding ears and brown eyes
The buck and doe attain weight of 6-7 kg at 5 months
Have brown grey fur
Upstanding ears and brown eyes
The buck and doe attain weight of 6-7 kg at 5 months
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| Giant Chinchilla |
California white:
Have a dense white fur
Upstanding black ears and black nose
The buck and the doe attain weight of 3-3.5 kg at 4-5 months
Meat yield is 2-2.3 kg
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| California |
New Zealand white:
Have dense white fur
Upstanding ears and red pink eyes
The buck and the doe attain weight of 4.5-5.5 kg respectively at 4 months
Meat yield is 2.1-2.3 kg
Have dense white fur
Upstanding ears and red pink eyes
The buck and the doe attain weight of 4.5-5.5 kg respectively at 4 months
Meat yield is 2.1-2.3 kg
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| New Zealand white |
Flemish giants:
Have brown fur
Upstanding brown white ears
Brown eyes
The doe and buck attain weight of 5-5.5 kg at 4-6 months
Meat yield is 2.5-3.0 kg
Flemish giants may have various colours; black, blue fawn, light grey, sandy steel, grey and white.
Have brown fur
Upstanding brown white ears
Brown eyes
The doe and buck attain weight of 5-5.5 kg at 4-6 months
Meat yield is 2.5-3.0 kg
Flemish giants may have various colours; black, blue fawn, light grey, sandy steel, grey and white.
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| Flemish giant |
Housing:
Rabbits can be kept in any part of Nigeria as long as they are housed properly and protected from predators and the elements (rain, sun, wind and draft).
Breeders in Nigeria use various ways to construct housing for rabbits. However, hutch construction depends on the size of their stock, location of the project as well as the materials available. A farmer can start with a rabbit pen with dimensions of 3ft on each side, which is sufficient to house a doe and her kits or a single male. Colony breeding system is also practiced in most parts of Nigeria – a system where rabbits are placed in groups with each group consisting of a dominant male and 10 or more females.
Related: sample rabbit housing and models
It is needless to say that as population growth continue to go up, sustainable ways of providing nutrition, empowerment and wealth for a population like Nigeria cannot be over emphasized.
For this rabbit raising is being promoted not only in Nigeria but also developed and developing countries throughout the world.
There is great potential in this undertaking because of the increased lifestyle change of most families towards healthy living. This is evidenced by the preference to white meat rather than red meat and increase in the demand for rabbit meat since it is the most nutritious of the white meats. The opportunity in Nigeria is immense based on the change in trends in the market coupled with the gap in the supply of the product.
