JF RABBITS: FOREMOST RABBIT BREEDER IN NIGERIA

We’ve been living with them for as long as we can remember. From the days man hunted them for meat till now that we raise them in our backyard for meat.     Cottontail rabbit   Rabbits are 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 and even urine/manure. Their meat is considered as white meat and more suitable for special diet people.   The rabbit meat is highly touted because cholesterol and fat levels in rabbit 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.   Why should you raise rabbits in your back yard? Bad economy, the huge gap between demand and supply of rabbit meat, rate of unemployment, grotesqu...

Cuniculture Have you ever considered rabbit farming as a top business opportunity?   Though rabbit meat may not be as common as chicken, beef or pork, there is no doubt it is a very lucrative business; every year, over one million tons of rabbit meat is consumed worldwide.   In Africa, the consumption of rabbit meat is speedily taking off and many farmers on the continent are already enjoying the benefits of this niche business.     Rabbit meat contains the highest amounts of digestible proteins and the lowest cholesterol and fat of all types of meat. In addition, rabbits are easy to raise; they are clean and require little capital, labor, time and space to manage.   Currently, China, Italy, Spain and France are the leading producers of rabbit meat, which has earned a reputation as a ‘ super meat ’ due to its nutritional and health benefits.

Did you know? Everything on the rabbits body is useful!   Brown rabbit coat

   Rabbits in harmony with nature    There are many benefits to raising rabbit: they're utterly prolific, they're clean, they're quiet, they're waste converters... I could go on and on.   But one thing many people may not realize is that rabbits are ecologically-friendly animals. Here are seven ways that rabbits help contribute to a healthy environment.  

Cecotrophy Cecotropes are special poops made by your bunny. They are partially digested foods that are passed from the bunny and then eaten by bunny. You may not see your bunny do this, but when it appears to be bathing its belly and comes up chewing, your bunny is probably eating a cecotrophe. It is from these cecal pellets that a rabbit gets the majority of its nutrition. Related: Related: Benefits of rabbit cool manure

Cecotrophy Cecotropes are special poops made by your bunny. They are partially digested foods that are passed from the bunny and then eaten by bunny. You may not see your bunny do this, but when it appears to be bathing its belly and comes up chewing, your bunny is probably eating a cecotrophe. It is from these cecal pellets that a rabbit gets the majority of its nutrition. Related: What do you do with rabbit urine?

Cecotrophy  Cecotropes are special poops made by your bunny. They are partially digested foods that are passed from the bunny and then eaten by bunny. You may not see your bunny do this, but when it appears to be bathing its belly and comes up chewing, your bunny is probably eating a cecotrophe. It is from these cecal pellets that a rabbit gets the majority of its nutrition. Related: Benefits of rabbit urine

      Butchering: "Rabbits are the easiest animals to slaughter," says Pasternak . "Mother Nature designed them to die: They are at the bottom of the food chain; you don't have to pluck feathers; it's easy to twist their necks; and skinning them is really fast and easy."   Fryers are butchered between 8 to 12 weeks of age, weighing 4 to 5.5 pounds and should dress out at about 2 to 3 pounds (usually 50 60 percent). Rabbits over 5.5 pounds are considered roasters. The feed conversion per fryer is about 1 pound of meat per 4 pounds of feed.  

soft fecal mater When a rabbit produces and consumes its soft mushy poop (cecals) it is called Caecotrophy. Cacotrophy is a normal behavior for a rabbit. A rabbit’s diet of plant is hard to digest efficiently, and it will poop out lots of undigested nutrients. By eating this soft mushy poop, it gives them a second shot in using all of the nutrition in their food. Also, a rabbit’s poop contains vitamins produced by their intestinal bacteria. Rabbits are unable to absorb the vitamins through the intestinal walls, but can absorb them by eating the poop.