RABBITS MANAGEMENT

                                                RABBIT MANAGEMENT
 

General introduction to Rabbit Management

Rabbit are used for meat, for vocational projects, as laboratory animals, as teaching tool, as animal research model and for pets. Because of their use in a wide range of enterprises, it is necessary to have a good knowledge of the different aspect of their management and nutrition. The domestic rabbit descended from wild rabbit found in the Mediterranean countries and was introduced in to England in the late 11th and early 12th century. The different breeds of modern domestic rabbit have evolved as far back as the 18th century. In early 1960, united state department of Agriculture (USDA) was involve in introducing more rabbit to western states of Nigeria. Rabbit can be quickly grown and are a cheap source of protein. They can be reared for consumption or commercial undertaking.

1.0 Main Content

1.1 Advantages of keeping rabbits

1) They have fairly small body size which makes it relatively possible to beraised in a confinement. There is a low cost of production in other words startingrequires modest production compared to other farm animals.

2) Rabbit meat is of high quality animal protein which can be relied upon where otherprotein sources are absent.

3) Rabbit are efficient feed converters to high quality protein, they uses local foragesand food wastes that are of no direct value to humans.

4) Rabbit production can be use to minimize the protein intake in-balance in Nigeria.

5) There is excellent product acceptance with respect to social and religious traditions in other words it is not restricted by any strong taboos or particular beliefs that prevent the eating of rabbit meat or its promotion as food.

6) Curative and preventive drugs are available for most rabbit diseases.

7) Rabbit is a small body size animal and convenient for ‘one meal size’ with no need for storage.

8) Rabbit also gives useful by-product like the fur which is useful for making cardigans.

9) It is an attractive animal for handicapped children who enjoy being involve in its care and management.

10) Rabbit is a suitable animal for learning basic skills for animal husbandry; it responds to careful handling but can withstand the sometimes rough handling of the beginner. It also lend itself to simple record keeping e.g. of weekly live weight gain and reproduction and so can introduce the idea of management recording to new students of animal production.

1.2 Disadvantages of rabbit keeping

1) Rabbits are highly vulnerable to prey like how persistent a dog can be when trying to break into a rabbit hutch. This constitutes a challenge to the farmer.

2) Rabbit production is not easy it takes a great deal of skill, a lot of hard work and a lot of food.

Problems or Constrains of rabbit production in Nigeria

1. Most people are not ready for rabbit production that demand daily care and attention and many don’t see the reasons for keeping the rabbits anyway.

2. Most people are not aware of the skills needed in rabbit production.

3. Unavailability of improved parent stock that are adaptable to our local conditions

Guidelines on promoting rabbit production

Two methods of promoting rabbits include formation of rabbit clubs or groups and organizing competitions, some of the suggestions is to study the people and the situation; for instance, are the people ready for rabbit that demand daily care and attention or they rather go for another animal? consult with village leaders to get their approval and explain your plans for a meeting with interested people. Encourage an open discussion and agree on the objectives of the club and the reasons for keeping the rabbits. Don’t talk about rabbits all the time, consider inviting extension officer or other suitable organization to act as an adviser.Don’t be disappointed if a club fails; think why it didn’t succeed and in a few months try again, perhaps with other people in a different village.Competitions are a useful method of encouraging good rabbit husbandry. People always like to be the best; the best hutch builder, the best rabbit keeper the best rabbit Skinner and cleaner, the owner of the best rabbit e.t.c.

Biological classification (taxonomy)

Kingdom Animalia

Phylum Chordate

Sub-phylum Vertebrata

Class Mammalia

Order legomorpha

Family Leporidae

Genus Oryctolagus

Specie Oryctolaguscuniculus

Commonly used terminologies

Buck - mature male rabbit

Doe - mature female rabbit

Littler or kittens – young or new born

Caecotrophy- the practice of eating a type of faecal pellet produced in the caecum of the large intestine

BREEDS OF RABBITS

Common international breeds of rabbit

California breed

This is the second most popular breed for meat production. The colour is all white but with black tipping on the nose, ears, feet and tail. The weight range for the mature Californian is 3-4.5 kg

New Zealand white

This breed is the one used most widely throughout the world for meat production. It is all white in colour and usually weighs 3-5 kg when mature.

American chinchilla

This breed is blue-grey in colour with a white belly. It has a characteristic ruff or dewlap.This is a thick fold of skin around the front of the chest which is very obvious when the rabbit is in good condition and sitting in a resting position. The weight range for the mature Chinchilla is 3-4.5 kg. 

Dutch

The Dutch is a small breed with a mature live weight of 2.5-3.5 kg. It has a wide white band

of fur around its body at the shoulders as well as a white stripe down the middle of its face. Its front feet fall within the white and the tips of its back feet are also white.

Flemish giant

This is a giant breed which at maturity can weigh well over 6 kg. It is usually light grey in

colour but may also be sandy blue or white. This is not a suitable breed for the beginner.

New Zealand red

This breed is essentially a red New Zealand white type which has not been as intensively selected for growth rate. Mature live weight is lower than the white type, at 3-4.5 kg.

There are over 40 recognized breeds of domesticated rabbit in the world. Other common breeds include Champagne d’ argent, English spot, Simon ire, Lop e.t.c.

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Principles of Feeding Rabbit and Feed Resources

Mouth and teeth

The rabbit’s teeth: Incisors are for cutting and the premolars and molars are for grinding. The front surface of the incisors has a thick layer of enamel which forms a sharp edge at the cutting point of the teeth. The incisors are said to be upon rooted,meaning that they continue to grow throughout the rabbit’s life as they are worn down by chewing. The food is mixed with saliva as it is ground by the molars to reduce its particle size. After this first processing period the food is swallowed and passes down the oesophagus to the stomach.

Stomach and small intestine

The stomach represents about 40% of the total volume of the digestive system. Food in the stomach is exposed to acidity and some enzyme digestion begins. Weak muscular contractions in the stomach push the food in to the first loop of the small intestine, the duodenum. The food is first bathed in bile which enters via the bile duct. Bile is produced in the liver and is stored in the gall bladder. The bile salts assist in the digestion of the fats in the food. As the food passes further along the duodenum it is mixed with enzymes produced in the pancreas and which enter via the pancreatic duct. Enzyme digestion is rapid and food proteins are broken down to amino-acids which are absorbed through the intestinal wall into the blood system. Fatty acids, glycerol, glucose and other simple sugars are the end products of fat and carbohydrate digestion and these are also absorbed as the food passes along the small intestine.

Caecum and large intestine

The rabbit is sometimes referred to as hind-gut ferment, meaning that food is broken down by bacteria at the end of the digestive system. The major site of this breakdown is the caecum. The large caecum has absorbing and secretory cells throughout its large area. The caecum contains many bacteria that grow and multiply on the partly- digested food. These bacteria are very important because the synthesize B vitamins, particularly thiamin, and because they breakdown plant fibre. The breakdown results in the production of acetic,proprionic and butyric fatty acids, which are absorbed from the caecum and large intestines and used as sources of energy by the rabbit.The rabbit produces two types of faecal pellet, one soft type containing many bacteria which

is re-eaten, and one that is hard and passed out in the normal way.Water is reabsorbed throughout the caecum and large intestine. This results in the relatively hard, dry faecal pellets which are characteristic of rabbit faeces.From the above it is clear that the function of the digestive system is to transform the digested food to chemical, physical and biological processes in such away that the organism can use the nutrient of the food for maintenance, growth and reproduction. The digestive system of the rabbit is well adapted for the utilization of roughages and feed of plant origin. The digestive system occupies the large portion of the body cavity. The development of the digestive system is almost completed at 9 weeks of age, the caecum and the colon start to develop around 3-5 weeks of age when feed ingestion other than milk start to be significant and a micro floral population becomes important in those organs. The size of different part of the digestive system varies with age, breed, physiological status and type of feeds given to the rabbit. The amount of time the feed stays in the digestive system affects the time of enzyme and micro-organism activity.This time is 17-18 hrs. The longest retention time occur in the stomach and in the caecum.Retention time in the small intestine is relatively low.

Nutrient requirement of rabbits

The domestic rabbit will eat most type of green vegetables, grain, tuber and root. Therefore,the ration may consist almost entirely of ingredients from plant sources.Kitchen wastes such as uncooked vegetables, cereals and remain of meals can be fed torabbits provided certain rules are followed:

1. The waste must be fed when fresh and unsoured.

2. It must be removed after a few hours if it is not eaten.

3. It should represent less than half of the rabbit’s daily ration.

Water

Water should be supplied ad-libitum. Rabbits have high requirements for water in relation to their body. Water is necessary for maintenance, production and lactation because dry matter intake is related to water intake. Any restriction in water intake causes a decline in dry matter consumption. However, if feeding is restricted, water intake may increase water should be clear, fresh and free from biological and chemical contaminants.

Protein

The quality and quantity of protein are not critical in rabbit as in poultry because rabbit can adapt to poor and low protein situation but production will not be optimum.With high and good protein quality, however, optimum production can be achieved. Crude protein is an approximate measure of the total amount of amino-acids. For rabbits there commended crude protein level in the dry matter of the ration is· over 18% for newly weaned rabbits;16-18% for rabbits from12 to 24 weeks;15-17% for a breeding doe.12-14% for all other stocks.

Energy

The energy requirement of rabbit are made from fibrous components of the feeds. Energy requirement is between 2390 and 2500kcal of digestive energy. This energy can be supplied from fats grains, maize, cereal bran and fibrous feeds.

Fats

Rabbit can handle up to 20-25% fat in the diet depending on their age. Fat provide energy as well as supplying essentially fatty acids. Fat also provide palatability and reduce dustiness in feed.

Carbohydrates

Grains are the readily available carbohydrates.

Rabbit eliminate fibre and digest non fibrous component of the feed. Anti-peristals is wave on the proximal colon in conjunction with normal contraction in the caecum are responsible for the separation and excretion of fibre. The digestion of cellulose is low.

Minerals

Calcium is the bone constituent which is involve in blood clothing controlling excitability of nerve and muscles and in maintenance of acid base equilibrium. Phosphorus is a component of cellular constituent such as adenosine triphosphate (ATP) and deoxy ribonucleic acid (DNA), ribonucleic acid (RNA) and phospholipids. Phosphorus is also a component of the bone. Calcium absorption is experience by its level in the feed.Dietary phosphorus and vitamin D factors have not been critically studied in rabbit. Calcium level in the serum (sera) of rabbit is higher than what is obtained in other species, this is because other species maintained a regulated constant level of calcium through a process called homeostasis, since this homeostasis is absent in the rabbit dietary calcium level is directly reflected in the blood unregulated.

Vitamins

Vitamins are chemicals that are required in very small amounts to speed up chemical reactions within the rabbit’s body. The most important vitamins are the vitamins A and D, andthe B vitamins choline and thiamin.

Caecotrophy

One aspect of rabbit nutrition that is particularly interesting, it is sometimes called refection.Caecotrophy is the eating of faecal –like pellets produced in the caecum.

Types of faeces produced

The rabbit produces two kinds of faeces viz:

1) hard faeces

2) soft faeces or caecotropus

The rabbit has a specialized mechanism that retain ingestion in the proximal colon and caecum for microbial utilization of nutrient and also to allow the formation of the two types of faeces. The faeces suitable for consumption are the soft faeces. It originates from the caecum (cecotropus) while the other which the rabbit don’t eat is called the hard faeces.

Feeds and feeding

Rabbits kept in hutches or colonies are totally dependent on the keeper for their food. They can eat only what the keeper provides. Wild rabbits pick and choose their own food. They have instinctive wisdom which helps them to select a good balanced diet. The rabbit keeper does not have this instinctive wisdom and must therefore think carefully about what is the best food for the rabbits.

Feeding systems

There are three possible feeding system and each system has it’s own advantages and this advantages. These are:

Extensive system: total dependence on forages and kitchen wastes.

Intensive system: total dependence on prepared concentrate foods from the feed mill

Semi-intensive system: the use of forages supplemented with prepared concentrate foods.

Extensive Cheap, easy to provide the quantity of food required everything depends on the keeper to choose the correct foods. Supplies of forage may vary throughout the year. Quality is variable and is often too low, for reasonable production needs a lot of labour and may introduce diseases and health problems.

Intensive Needs little time for feeding. High levels of production can be obtained.Little risk of diseases being brought in with the food Very costly. Depends on the supplies from the feed mill

which may not always be available or of good quality.

Semi- intensive system Most suitable for the small scale producer. Make the best use of forages and prepared concentrated food sat the critical times (during last third of pregnancy,lactation and post-weaning.Falls between the extensive and the intensive system

Feeding skills

This can be achieved by close observation and monitoring. Observation is the skill of seeing and remembering the different sorts of plants and their location in the local area which are useful for rabbit feeding. Observation also helps to see how rabbits react to the different foods they are given, so that you can learn which foods they like and which they do not.Arising out of this observation exercise it would be interesting to make a list of local plant that prove to be useful in rabbit feeding and to discuss this list with other rabbit keepers.

Summary

In this unit we have studied that:The domestic rabbit will eat most type of green vegetables, grains, tubers and roots.Kitchen wastes such as uncooked vegetables, cereals and remain of meals can be fed to rabbits provided certain rules are followed:-

1. Water should be supplied ad.libitum.

2. For rabbits the recommended crude protein level in the dry matter of the ration is over 18% for newly weaned rabbits;16-18% for rabbit’s from12 to 24 weeks; 15-17% for breeding does; 12-14% for all other

stocks.

3. Energy requirement is between 2390 and 2500 k/cal of digestive energy. Rabbit can handle up to 20-25% fat in the diet depending on their age. The digestion of cellulose is low.

Caecotrophy is the eating of faecal –like pellets produced in the caecum.There are three possible feeding systems in the rabbit these are Extensive system which is total dependence on forages and kitchen wastes. Intensive system is total dependence on prepared concentrate foods from the feed mill, while Semi-intensive system is the use of forages supplemented with prepared concentrate foods.

 Rabbit Reproduction

parts of the body like the ovaries. Hormones are produced in very small amounts. They are transported to the organ they controlled (target organ) by the blood circulation system.Different hormones act on different parts of the reproductive system at different times to ensure successful reproduction.

Breeding stock should be selected from does who are good mothers and who have good body size and shape. Also to be considered is the live weight of the rabbits, select the heaviest but take account of any differences in age if selecting from more than one litter.The size of the litter of which the rabbit is a member, give selection preference to rabbits from the largest litters if there are enough liters to give a choice.Select rabbits free of any signs of ill-health. Males should be checked to confirm that each has two testicles in its scrotum.

Mating

On forage based systems, does are normally ready for mating at about 8-10 months. At this age their growth will be slowing and they will be able to direct a larger portion of available food to reproduction. The weight at mating varies according to breed. Effort should be mad to  determine the optimum weight for mating for any breed in question.The same applies to bucks as to does, but bucks can usually be used for mating from 6-8months, depending on the condition. The ratio of does to bucks should not exceed10:1. However, for safety, it may be sensible to have two bucks for more than six does and three for more than twelve.Experience has shown that early morning or evening mating is best. It is advisable to avoid the hottest periods of the day.For mating , the doe should be taken to the buck’s hutch if it is done the other way round the doe may attack the buck and cause injury. If the doe is ready to be mate she will stand still within a few seconds, stretch out and slightly raise her hind quarters so as to allow the buck to mount and mate, as successful mating is signaled by the buck thrusting forward and literally falling off the doe. This is very easy to see. If the buck slides backwards off the doe and does not fall, then mating has not taken place. Once mating has taken place the doe is removed from the buck’s hutch. The doe may be returned after an hour or so for a second mating. This is good practice for new keepers to follow.

Pregnancy

Pregnant does will often accept the buck during pregnancy, so refusal to mate cannot be used to confirm pregnancy. The first real confirmation of pregnancy can be obtained at about 14days after mating. The doe should be relax and sitting naturally. If fingers are then gently run along the abdomen, between the back legs small bead-like lumps can be felt if the doe is pregnant as shown above fig.3.3 these are developing foetues.Inexperienced keepers should practice detecting pregnancy in does that are 20 days pregnant,at which stage the fetuses are easy to identify. By around 28 days the mammary gland will have developed significantly and this can be regarded as final confirmation of pregnancy. At around 29 days the doe will begin to remove fur from her abdomen to make a nest.Pregnancy or gestation is the time from fertilization to the time of kindling or parturition which take 31 or 32 days. On the average, pregnancy period last 30 days in the common commercial breed. During this period the doe should be well fed and protected from stresses such as dogs and general noise.Gestation period- this is the time from fertilization to the time of kindling or parturition which take 31 or 32 days. On the average, pregnancy period last 30 days in the common commercial breed.About 4-5 days before kindling a nesting box should be brought in with some wood shaving of fine straw placed on the floor of the box. It will soon be found that the doe begins to remove hair from her abdomen and sides and place them in the box to prepare a warm cushion for the young ones soon to be born. The young ones of rabbit are born naked and blind. Their mother uses the hairs in the box to cover them to keep warm.

Kindling

The doe usually kindles or gives birth, at night. Once kindling has finished the doe will pluck more fur from her abdomen and cover the young rabbits. It is best to leave her undisturbed for 2-3 days after kindling unless there are obvious problems. It is a good practice to have some cotton wool ready to cover the litter if the doe has not done this properly herself.

Sexing

Sexing of rabbit can be done any time as from the moment of weaning. Close to the anal opening is another orifice (opening) which is the sexual aperture. In both sexes, there is no difference of external look of this opening, but when the opening is pressed open with the aid of thumb and forefinger, the difference become quite vivid. In the female, a longitudinal slit will be seen, while in the male a round opening is observed and the penis can be seen protruding out of this opening. If sexing is delayed longer, the testes of the male would have developed fully and could be seen protruding out clearly from the body between the two hind legs. This makes the identification of the male easy. Any rabbit no thaving these testes protruding out is female.Another method of identification of fully grown rabbit is the size of the animal. The doe is usually smaller than the buck within the same breed and she is a lot more docile than her opposite sex.

Weaning

Weaning is the separation of the doe and the young. It should be done around 6-8 weeks after kindling. The best method of weaning is to take the doe away from the litter. To do it the other way round will put too much stress on the litter.The period after weaning is another critical time for the young rabbits and it is a time for feeding some concentrates if available. Small amounts of concentrate at this time will have a big effect on growth rate. As the rabbit grow they may be gradually taken off concentrates but their growth rate will slow as a result. The litter will soon require extra hutch space.After weaning, the doe should be allowed time to recover her body condition before remating.Weekly weighing is the only sure method of checking that she is regaining her body reserves. Does can usually continue breeding until they are 3 to 4 years old.

Rabbit Housing and Equipment

Rabbit housing (hutches and cages) and equipment differ from country to country. Factors governing their design include climate, availability and cost of raw materials, scale and system of production and the expertise of the rabbit keeper. There are, however, some basic requirements which all hutches an equipment should satisfy and any new or existing hutches and equipment should be assessed against these requirements.

Housing requirements

Any rabbit hutch should provide adequate space and protection for the rabbit and also convenience to the rabbit keeper.

Space

Since the rabbit is going to be in the hutch for life there is need to provide enough space to minimize restriction of movement. For the rabbit to be able to stretch itself and carry out its normal activities then horizontal and vertical space are all important. Space is also critical for good ventilation and temperature regulation within the hutch. These are necessary to maintain good health and prevent diseases.

1.2 Types of housing

Basically there are two types of housing these are

1. outdoor hutches - this are kept outside all the time

2. indoor hutches - this are kept inside a house or open shed.

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Outdoor hutches and indoor hutches

The requirements of space, protection and ease of management can be achieved through appropriate design, construction and siting typical hutch dimensions for a general purpose hutch are as follows:

· 1 m above the ground approximately;height of hutch: 60 cm at the front, 50 cm at the back;width: 50-60 cm;length: 90-120 cm

Indoor hutches

The hutches within the house can be much simpler than outdoor hutches and simple boxes made from wired frames can be used. These can be hung in a number of ways Indoor hutches are appropriate for the established keeper with good markets to justify the expenses in setting them up.Indoor hutches and their inside arrangements are shown below:

Out door rabbit hutch

The advantages and disadvantages of outdoor and indoor hutches.

Type of hutches Advantages disadvantages

Outdoor Relatively cheap.Appropriate when starting production Impossible to met all the

protection requirements all the time e.g. in storms Hutches difficult to clean and keep dry.

Not easy to increase the number of hutches quickly.

Indoor Good conditions for the rabbits and the rabbit keeper.Rabbits are more easily observed.

Individual hutches are easier to keep clean and use particularly useful where many rabbits are kept.

It is easier to protect rabbits from predators.Requires a major initial investment, too costly for the

beginner

Floor methods of housing

This method involves keeping the rabbits on the ground, in a fenced area provided with simple boxes for shelter. In this system several does are kept in the same area. This method is particularly suited to very dry areas and or where producers cannot obtain or afford the materials to build proper hutches. In this method one of the most important requirement is toke ep the floor dry. An alternative method is to make a deep layer of dried straw, rice husks or wood shavings. Mud or wooden shelters that can be secured at night can be constructed to provide protection from predators. Rabbits may be allowed to burrow in floor system and may rear their young in these burrows, but kindling boxes are preferable. Bucks should be kept separate from the does and young rabbits unless there is plenty of space. To avoid fighting between does provide enough space at least 1 m2 per doe. For floor methods to be successful, observe strict hygiene and avoid overcrowding.These methods of rabbit keeping are not widely practiced and need a lot of management attention to be successful.

Hutch equipment

Hutch equipment consist of four items

1. water trough;

2. food trough;

3. roughage rack;

kindling box

In addition there may be need for a transport box and a storage facility for food and other items

Equipment requirements

For water and food troughs the requirements are

 It should be impossible to tilt over.

 It should have adequate size and depth.

 It should discourage scratching out of contents.

 It must not cause injury to the rabbit.

 It should be cheap and can be constructed locally.

Forage racks should be fitted inside the hutch and

it should allow the rabbit full access and not limit food intake.

Kindling boxes should:

provide a secure, draught proof dry container in which the doe can kindle;

prevent the young rabbits leaving until they are at least 2-3 weeks old

Maintenance of hutches and equipment

Proper maintenance includes the following:

· cleaning of hutch and equipment every 2-3 days;complete cleaning between litters using soap and water and if possible disinfectants. This should be followed by complete drying and disinfection in direct sunlight;checking and repairing loose boards, tins or wires which may allow the rabbits to escape or drop through or predators to enter.Checking for the development o sharp edges in hutches and on equipment which may cause injury.

Husbandry Skills of Rabbit Production

Many skills are needed if rabbit unit is to succeed. Observation, examination, record keeping,hutch design, building and siting, food identification, selection, production and storage, good management e.t.c. are all part of the skills needed for a successful operation.

Husbandry skills

Observation

This means not only looking but bearing in mind. It is an important ability for all animal keepers. It depends on the rabbit keeper having real curiosity and compassion for the rabbits.It is a talent that comes with practice but can be developed with the help of questions to be used each time you visit the rabbit unit. Questions like is everything the same as the last time i came? Are the hutches as normal? Is there any food left? Are there any signs of blood? Is the fence wire coming loose? Is there lots of hair in the hutch, suggesting moulting? This questions are only a guide you may ask yourself as many questions as you can with the aim of identifying any anomaly or problems.

Rabbit examination

Rabbit examination is required after a new rabbit is being bought or rabbits are being checked prior to selection for breeding. Examine for the following:Does it look healthy? Is its head on one side? Is it isolating itself from the other rabbits? Are there scabs on the skin? Are the nostrils clear or running with other fluid? Are the hard faeces normal? Are there any sores in the ears? Is the gait normal? How is the weight compared with the age?

Weighing

This is done to check on their growth and their general condition. Rabbits can be weight by

two methods: either by the use of a pan-scale or a spring balance

Nail trimming

Rabbit’s nails need to b trim from time to time because rabbits in hutches do not wear down the nails on their feet by burrowing or running about. The nails can scratch the keeper, and can injure the rabbit too. A pair of sharp scissors or human nail clipper can be used to trim the nails 

Identification

This is a way and means of recognizing ones animals (rabbits) and differentiating between one’s animals (rabbits) from another farmer’s own and differentiating between individual animals (rabbits). There are several methods employed to achieve this.

· Writing in the ear

· Labels

· Ear-notching

Writing in the ear

For rabbits that has light-coloured skin in its ear, a coloured or indelible pen can be used to write a number inside the ear. This will last a week and will have to be renewed regularly.

Labels

With care labels or leg bands can be fitted around the back leg of a rabbit for identification.This labels are hand made from in or plastic. Care should be taken to avoid injury or cutting the leg.

Ear-notching

This means clipping little pieces out of the rabbit’s ears at different places, to indicate different numbers. One such code is shown on fig.5.4 ear –notching is a permanent and effective method but requires a special notching instrument a livestock officer will assist the rabbit keeper.

Record keeping and analysis

A rabbit keeper with one or two rabbits recording may seem unnecessary, but it is necessary to keep records as the number increases. Two types of records are required.

1. Financial records

2. Animal records

Financial records

Financial records can be kept in a small notebook. With label on one page ‘Expenditure’ and another page ‘Income’. All the money spent on the rabbit is to be entered under expenditure and all the money earn from them under income. If you eat a rabbit then enter the equivalent of its cost in the market under income but be honest.

Animal record

Table 5.1 an example of a doe record card

Doe name--------------------------------------- date of birth----------------------------------

Date mated, Buck used, Date kindled, No. born alive/dead, Date weaned, Number weaned

Notes

The column for ‘notes’ is for recording any health and husbandry details e.g. total litter weight at weaning. Other animal record can be constructed for growing litters to monitor their live weight gain, or how often they have been used for mating e.t.c.

Rabbit Health and Diseases

The healthy rabbit may become unhealthy and diseased if exposed to stress and disease organism. It is the responsibility of the rabbit keeper to maintain a healthy rabbit that is not stressed and in whose environment there are as few disease organisms as possible.

Signs of a healthy rabbit

To understand the diseased rabbit you should know a healthy one very well through the signs of a healthy rabbit and this include:

1. Normal eating and drinking.

2. Self –grooming.

3. Alertness, interest and curiosity.

4. Shiny, smooth, lean fur, especially on the front paws and around the anus.

5. A normal temperature of 37ºC-39.5ºC.

6. Normal silent breathing; 40-65 breath per minute.

7. Clear bright eyes without discharge.

8. Clear nostrils without discharge.

9. Normal caecotrophy, no soft faeces on the hutch floor.

10. Gaining weight or, if an adult maintaining its weight.

Conditions that make a rabbit susceptible to disease include

1. Insufficient water.

2. Insufficient food.

3. Toxic or poisonous food.

4. An unbalanced diet deficient in energy, protein, minerals or vitamins.

5. High fibre-only foods that can cause the rabbit to ‘blow-up’ like a ball;

6. Sour dirty foods that cause diarrhoea.

7. Dirty hutches and badly ventilated hutches that promote an increase in the number of

disease organisms.

Stress

Stress is any challenge to any system of the rabbit system for example its temperature control system, its digestive system, its normal behaviour pattern. Pregnancy, giving birth, lactation,weaning and mating are all periods of natural and unavoidable stress.

How to minimize major stresses

· Correct hutch design-windproof and waterproof;

· Correct placement of the hutch;

· Routine management steps to avoid heat stress;

· Avoidance of overcrowding in hutches;

· Exclusion of dogs, snakes and noisy visitors;

· An adequate well balanced diet;

· Overall good management, particularly ensuring clean dry floors and sufficient bedding.

Preventive measures for common diseases

Cleanness is very important in rabbit keeping. Waterers, feeders should be washed and dry in the sun every few days. Wash and disinfect cages when they  become empty, separate any sick animal from the healthy ones.

Internal parasites

Coccidiosis

Caused by a protozoan called coccidia. Affects both liver and intestine. Occur in overcrowded and dirty condition. Rabbit have swollen stomach and diarrhea leading to dehydration, lack of appetite and dullness. Coccidia are commonly found in the intestine without causing any obvious effects, but a period of stress, such as weaning or bad weather may result in them multiplying rapidly. The ensuing diarrhea dirties all the fur around and below the anus. If action is not taken flies may lay there eggs in the matted fur and there resulting maggots can eat away at the flesh of the rabbit leading invariably to death.Young rabbits are most frequently affected with coccidiosis just after weaning. The disease can develop very quickly and high mortalities are common. In older rabbits there may be chronic coccidiosis resulting in dullness and poor growth.

Control: Coccidioststs may be added to the drinking water to prevent coccidiosis occurring or to cure it as required. Hutch cleanliness is an important preventive measure. Avoid contamination of feed and water.

External parasites

Ear mange or skin mange

This is caused by external parasites such as mites. This cause a variety of skin and earconditions. With ear mange the entire ear may become filled with crusty scabs, withoutproper attention it can spread onto and over the face. Rabbits with ear mange may shake theirheads a great deal.

Control: by use of acaricide drops and creams. This are usually expensive. In many cases we used flowers of sulphur lightly powdered into the ear on a daily basis. Body mange can be cured by dipping the rabbit in an appropriate acaricide solution as recommended by a veterinarian.

Snuffles

Is a bacterial infection of the respiratory system, similar to a cold in humans. Out breaks are more common where there is lack of ventilation, over-crowding and a build up of ammonia from accumulated urine. The signs are sneezing, noisy breathing, a runny nose and wet and mated fur on the face and inside of the front legs, as a result of the rabbit using its font legs to wipe its nose and face. Affected rabbits should be isolated from other rabbits. Treatment with antibiotics may appear to be effective but mortality is usually high and those rabbits that recover are often affected again if exposed to some new stress.

Myxomatosis

This is a viral infection and the signs include swelling of the eyes and convulsions. The disease spreads rapidly and is usually carried from rabbit to rabbit by fleas. There is no treatment and mortality is very high. It is possible to vaccinate rabbits against myxomatosis i fthe disease is reported in the area.

Killing and Processing

Rabbits are to be slaughtered regardless of the circumstances that are involve (party, family reunion, other celebrations e.t.c.). Rabbits that are on forage feeding reach table weight around 6-7 months of age. Regular weighing is the best way to determine when this point has been reached.

Requirement for slaughter and processing

1. A generally clean place away from any obvious source of flies or dogs.

2. Something from which to hang the rabbit whilst cleaning it e.g. a branch or a specially

placed pole or set of hooks.

3. A sharp knife

4. A bowl or source of clean water.

5. A container for the blood and guts and any thing that is being kept separate from the

meat.

6. A clean container with cover for the rabbit carcass.

7. Some string or thin wire

8. A skin drying frame

9. A stick the thickness of a pencil smoothly rounded at on end.

Killing procedure

Rabbit should receive water but no food in the 12-hour period before killing. This will help in partly emptying the digestive system and will reduce the risk of it breaking during cleaning of the carcass. If it breaks there is the possibility that the meat will be dirtied by the contents of the digestive tract. This in turn may lead to food poisoning in the people that consume the meat.

Killing should be carried out as quickly as possible and as efficiently as possible, with the minimum pain to the rabbit. There are two methods of killing rabbits. Both involve making the rabbit unconscious and then removing the head to allow bleeding.

Neck breaking

In this method the rabbit’s neck is broken in the same way as that used for killing hens in some areas. For a right-handed person, both the rabbit’s back legs are held in the right hand.The rabbit’s neck is then held from above between the first and second fingers- or the thumb and first finger – of the left hand. The rabbit is stretched over the upper part to the left leg an the rabbit’s neck is pushed down, whilst at the same time its head is bent back With moderate force the neck will suddenly give way indicating that the neck has bee broken by dislocation. The rabbit should be immediately hung upside-down by its back legs, the head is then removed to allow the blood to drain out of the body.This method requires more skill, alternatively, the fist step is to make an incision into the side of the neck and the followed by cutting the jugular vein and allow blood to drain away.

Stunning method

The neck-breaking method requires a little strength. Those without the necessary strength may prefer to use the stunning method. For a right-handed person, the rabbit should be held upside-down by its back legs with the left hand. It should be held so that the ears fall forward exposing the back of the head. The point at the base of the ears should then be hit sharply with a good-sized piece of wood o metal. The rabbit should then be immediately hug p and its head should be cut of to allow bleeding.It should be noted that this methods of killings has a limitation for the fact that they are not acceptable by some believes, example Islam advocate the use of a sharp knife in cutting the  throat and the jugular veins as swiftly as possible with minimum pain inflicted to the animal.

Skinning

Skinning is done easily when the rabbit is hanging y its back legs at shoulder height. Cut off the front legs at their midpoint, and then the tail. Next, cut the skin around each hook below where the string is tied. Cut from the inside of one hock down, around the anus and tail area and similarly down the inside of the other leg from the hock. No, using the round stick and with care gently work the skin downwards and off the body. The stick is used to separate the skin from the body without cutting it as would occur if a knife were used. Place the skin over the skin drying frame. It can be cleaned later.

Cleaning

The body is cut open and care is taken not to cut the intestines. The rabbit gut can now be pulled out. The heart, kidneys and liver can be separated together with other parts required for eating. It can then be taken down from the hanging position and tidied up, ready for passing to the cook. Once this is done the skin on the drying frame can be scraped clean, taking care not to cut it in the process.