JF RABBITS: FOREMOST RABBIT BREEDER IN NIGERIA

Biometeorology is the study of the relationship between the environment and living organisms. In homoeothermic animals, the goal is to maintain a stable body core temperature under most  conditions.      Earth in danger of heating      Environment affect nutrition: Ambient temperature and humidity are the variables that most affect nutrition. Both directly influence the energy equilibrium of the animal, changing the flow of heat between the animal and the environment.

As I write this piece I am overwhelmed with joy because every day we keep getting new people into the rabbit industry, starting to raise their own rabbits in pairs and sometimes in hundreds.  Some new entrants in their own little way want to do just what I call ‘ Augmentation ’ of their income through the profit they will be making in their new venture. Others just want a new meat source; having lost their loved ones and country men to herdsmen carnage. Others just want to make good profit and others want to make huge and unrealistic profits from rabbit farming within a very short period of time. The last group of new entrants into the rabbit farming industry in Nigeria just want companionship and attachment to the furry creatures, in the ears of whom they can safely whisper their hearts. You  might be wondering what precisely I am talking about today. Well, am simply just want to appeal to you my dear reader to keep reading, whether you are newbie, and old...

In Kenya, rabbit keeping is traditionally a hobby for teenage boys. But Moses Mutua is not only changing perceptions, but proving it can be a commercially viable venture. In the last three years he has been running Rabbit Republic, a company that rears rabbits, processes their meat and works with other rabbit farmers.    Moses Mutua (CEO Rabbit Republic) 

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.  

Common Causes and Treatments There are many reasons a rabbit can lose fur, some of them completely normal, and others a sign of health or behavior problems. In this article, Dana Krempels , Ph.D. highlights some of the causes of normal and abnormal fur loss

    Factors affecting cuniculture in Nigeria   Cuniculture in Nigeria has not been without its setbacks, factors such as climate, disease, time and a host of others have had their turns in militating against the development of cuniculture in Nigeria. Over the years, it has been climate in one region of the country and a different factor in another. I have taken time in this post to briefly discuss the most common problems affecting rabbit production in Nigeria.  

  Starting on a sad note, it is true that the country is in recession and is not recovering well. Citizens now taste, smell and feel the recession’s unhealthy pot. It is even worse and appalling out there were a population of teeming youths are only good at designing eye catching CVs and waiting for white-collar jobs without making use of their youthful vigor and education to invent and workout positive ideas that will positively affect and turn around the economy. Such is the case with Nigeria.   In this post  I am going to share with you some financial benefits of starting a rabbit farming business and hoping you start one tomorrow and get yourself out of that job seekers zone. Or perhaps diversify your farming project, or better still make a decision to save money and your family's health by raising your own meat rabbits at home.  

Rabbit farming in Nigeria Raising rabbits has been a long standing tradition in Europe, North America and Asia. Africa however, in Nigeria precisely, we are yet to see the type of large-scale type industrial rabbit farms we can find in England, China, US and Italy. On a small-scale platform however, Nigeria with its 100,000,000 population was known to be the leading rabbit meat producer in Africa decades ago. In recent times, countries including Kenya, Egypt and Burundi have taken leading positions in curniculture business while Nigeria with its massive population follows reluctantly.   The United Nations Organization in the past has sponsored a number of curniculture researches and projects in more than a dozen African countries ( Nigeria  included ) for the following reasons:  

  Checking for pregnancies in rabbits by feeling the stomach palpating a rabbit     Palpation is possible from 10 days and onwards after mating. Place the doe facing you on a table, a bench or the floor. Put both hands on the sides and a little under the belly, gently pressing them towards each other and upwards. Of course, you can feel a lot in the belly. Amongst others, right behind the left ribs you can feel the liver; all the way up in the abdomen on both sides and just under the spine, halfway back you will feel the kidneys.

Rabbit farming in Nigeria       Pros The advantages of raising rabbits can be anything from a profitable hobby to a full-time living. Rabbits fit well into a balanced farming system. They complement well with vegetable growing. Excess and waste from vegetable gardens and kitchen goes to feed the rabbits, whereas their manure is used to fertilize gardens, thus forming a profitable cycle and aiding the balance of nature. Consumption of animal protein in Nigeria still remains low  at about 3.0-6.4 g/head/day many years after the 13.5g/head/day prescription by the World Health Organization (Egbunike, 1997).

Try to imagine 80 million people packing the Abuja national stadium, throughout the street and the city, across the bridges, down on the highways.   It's hard to imagine but these are the people who will not get enough to eat today, these are the people on the brink of starvation. And what we don't realize is that our prospects of being able to address this challenge are getting worst and if the Nigerian farmers are unable to make a significant change, the situation could be getting far worst. Let me explain why.

  Rabbit farming in Nigeria is an undertaking in the agricultural industry which is one the biggest sector of the economy. Many youths ignore the Nigerian agricultural sector due to lack of support and encouragement from the Nigerian government and most especially the political class who in my view do not need empowered youths but rather educated and employable youths to till their empires. Thus, in Nigerian agricultural sector only some select smile to the bank while the primary producers remain in poverty with no whole heart support whatsoever from the Nigerian government. Animal husbandry is usually differentiated depending on the type of animals one keeps since each animal has its own requirements. Rabbits have fewer requirements compare to other forms of livestock in relation to capital operating costs and maintenance. Quick returns and high demand are additional factors that place rabbit farming in Nigeria on the profit side.   

Problems Affecting Rabbit Production in Nigeria Rabbit production in Nigeria has seen some setbacks due to but not limited to the following reasons: Reluctance to accept something new Most important in a situation where one is the first to start with rabbits is that often people are reluctant to accept something new. Whereas in Europe, Kenya and the U.S. there is a well-established market for rabbit meat, in the tropics the market becomes more and more organized for chickens; there are few countries with a ready market for rabbit meat. This reduces potential money income, but it should be no problem where the intention is to raise rabbits as a family enterprise, mainly to provide meat for the family where the diet may be lacking in protein.