Guide to rabbit production and marketing in k enya introduction our advice for people with conditions like arthritis and gout, high blood pressure is to desist from eating red meat and instead use white meat as their protein source. There are many species in the rabbit family but all domesticated rabbits are believed to have descended from a single species known as the european rabbit. It is a significant change bearing in mind that for several years, rabbit production in kenya was limited to school clubs and youthful farmers. Production characteristics and constraints of rabbit. Performances in the table involve data gathered from both rabbit field. Refer to the information sheet starting a rabbit enterprise for additional insight of advantages and. The rabbit food and agriculture organization of the united nations. Ways to raise capital to start your rabbit farming business in zimbabwe. Rabbit farming is a recognized enterprise in kenya for livelihood support, hunger and poverty alleviation. For a long time, commercial rabbit farming in k enya for meat production has not been taken seriously. Rabbit production practices among smallholder famers in kenya. After that, the next step is identifying the market.
The primary data was collected using questionnaires. A farmer with no land will enjoy this trade as little space is required. However, to build a successful, sustainable commercial rabbit farming business, you require sufficient knowledge of how to efficiently raise the rabbits, good management skills, and a good rabbit farming business plan. There is a great opportunity of rabbit farming, and commercial production can be a great source of income and employment. Types of rabbit production fanciers pets, breeding stock, and show animals laboratory furhair angora rex meat largest rabbit market. While these may be pursued as a secondary market for rabbit farmers, the focus of this article is on meat production. However, to build a successful, sustainable pig farming business, you require sufficient knowledge of how to efficiently raise the pigs, good management skills, and a good piggery business plan. Starting pig farming business plan pdf startupbiz global.
A stay at home mother can tend to the rabbits and keep her children entertained at the same time. Rabbit farming, rearing a complete project guide agri. A survey was undertaken in 7 counties in kenya covering a total of 300 rabbit farmers. Pig farming business is a very profitable business, and many people are making money all over the world by starting a piggery business. Rabbit farming business is a very profitable business, and many people are making money all over the world by raising rabbits for meat. Rabbit meat consumption in kenya munich personal repec. A complete handbook on backyard and commercial rabbit production. The rabbit known as microlivestock can be a great source of food production. Its headquarter is located in thika kenya, housed in thika west district livestock production office. Factors influecing adoption of commercial rabbit production among. The use of local feed resources to reduce production cost should be more a primary concern for dairy farmers most of farmers use homemade concentrates, plus byproducts and commercial concentrates homemade concentrates comprised of local feed resources decrease feed cost of production, by adding value to the own production.
Rabbits are characterized by small body size, short gestation period. The field work was carried out in parts of central, nairobi and rift valley provinces, kenya. Rabbit production business is for anyone with the desire to raise livestock for a living. Rabbit production is a fast growing industry in kenya. Rabbit farming has several advantages in the farm household. Some people find it difficult to slaughter rabbits for consumption because they. Certain traditional rabbit production systems particularly adapted. The rabbit production business plan includes technical aspects of how to keep and to take care of the rabbits. Rabbit diseases sanitation getting started before investing your money in rabbit production, get all available literature, talk and visit with other producers, visit a rabbit processor, and talk with your county extension agent. Rabbit producers, feed manufacturers, animal nutritionists, and others interested in rabbit production will find this book to be the new authority.
Pertinent rabbit production data are especially needed from developing countries. Young adults not sure which path to take educationally can benefit from farming life. Finger millet farming in kenya is an important agricultural activity in western kenya and uganda. Production characteristics and constraints of rabbit farming in. Rabbit meat contain more protein and less in fat than beef, turkey, pork and even chickens meat. To fulfill the food demand for growing population, we have to find out different ways of food production. Rabbit farming has grown from raising a few rabbits for family consumption to large commercial operations with hundreds of rabbits. Drivers of commercial rabbit production for nutritional diversity in kenya sylvia moraa, dennis olumeh, david otieno university of nairobi, agricultural economics, kenya abstract rapid population growth and declining land sizes in developing countries have necessitated innovative shifts in enterprise mix towards more intensive farming systems that.
Rabbit project development strategies in subsistence. Starting rabbit farming business in zimbabwe and the. You need to start a profitable rabbit farming business to boost your income. Though rabbit keeping dates back to the colonial days, deliberate efforts to promote rabbit production in kenya was heralded by national rabbit development program of 1980 following a bilateral agreement between the government of kenya and german international development agency gtz. We also took it further by analyzing and drafting a sample rabbit farming marketing plan. Rabbit production has experienced a steady growth in the past few years, with gender biases associated with its production fading away. Rabbit meat is popular in countries such as italy, spain, france and china.
Rabbit breeders association of kenya rabak empowering. The four key markets for your rabbits daily nation. We found that the most common type of rabbit production in kenya was small scale with 68 percent of farmers keeping less than 10 rabbits. Rabbit production is a possible solution to the perennial meat deficit problem in the country. Drivers of commercial rabbit production for nutritional. The farm channel visits with farmer brown, a successful rabbit producer in ghana. According to agricultural scientists at the national rabbit breeding and training centre in kajiado county in kenya, rabbit farming can also be a source of pesticides and mosquito repellants on. Anyone can undertake rabbit keeping as a part or fulltime venture. The profit of keeping rabbits is found in their numbers.
The production of rabbits has steadily grown over the last few years. Protein from white meat is derived from sea foods, pork. Studies on rabbit production in kenya have not included indepth analysis of the. Tables 2a and 2b include data of meat rabbit production compiled with limited reports from various developing countries. Domestic rabbits are very cheap to raise as a domestic animal and. A beginners guide to raising rabbits, including a rabbit barn, pens, feeders and waterers, breeding stock, care and feeding, breeding, butchering, and meat sales. Multi stage sampling procedure was used to select 60 rabbit producers and subjected to descriptive and budgetary analyses. Every farmer looks for tricks to better tomato farming in kenya. It also includes a minidirectory with contacts which will prove to be helpful in launching and running the rabbit. It is also used to join substance together to build up the rabbit s body and to make products such as hair and milk. However small scale producers are constrained by such challenges. This excel assisted feed formulation model has been developed by use of simple arithmetics. Rabbit production and management in ghana detailed guide.
When properly fed they can offer a high protein lowfat meat for healthy eating. Rabbits in kenya are mainly for meat production 10 and their skin by products from the slaughterhouse 11. Another 100 non rabbit keeping farmers was similarly interviewed for comparison purposes. Okay, so we have considered all the requirements for starting a rabbit farming business. A complete handbook on backy ard and commercial rabbit. Comprehensive and uptodate, the book evaluates new information on such topics as protein digestion and requirements, nutritiondisease interrelationships, feeding behavior, and nutrional factors. Having taken you through essential knowledge about rabbit farming in kenya, it is fundamental for a farmer to master the process of commercializing the rabbit production. A beginners guide to raising rabbits mother earth news. The skins are disposed and there has been a challenge to dispose them 12. Helps diversify incomes and provides quality food, energy, fertilizers and renewable asset in over 80% of the rural households.
Poultry farming makes a substantial contribution to household food security throughout the developing world. The study covered the key areas of rabbit production including. With some knowledgeable input, the correct infrastructure and a contract that leaves the marketing to someone else, prospective meat rabbit farmers can be assured that this niche industry is growing at the same rate as the rabbit population that drives it. Pdf characterization of rabbit production systems in kenya. Rabbit breeders association of kenya rabak is an established association of small scale farmers which was registered in 2009 under the societies act. The present research investigated the profitability and constraints to rabbit production in osun state, nigeria. Rabbit project planning strategies for developing countries. Pdf possibilities to reduce feed conversion in rabbits pdf role of. Rabbit needs energy for contraction of muscles which enable the rabbit to move. As a result commercial rabbit farming in k enya is becoming popular day by day. The collected data were summarized, coded and tabulated.
It worth known that rabbit adjusts their food intake to try and satisfy. Rabbit farming is a viable option because of their prolificacy, fast growth rate and maturity, high genetic potential and feed conversion efficiency. The majority of information found in that handbook was an adaptation and revision of commercial rabbit. Rabaks headquarters is housed in thika west district livestock production office. The national rabbit breeding centre was then established at ngong veterinary farm with an objective of providing breeding material for farmers throughout the. Rabbit meat is one of the best source of protein and healthier than other meats. The mean age of the rabbit producers was 43 years, and 15% of the respondents were female. Questions on the survey instrument sought to identify consumption patterns of rabbit meat among the sample farmers. This is a significant change considering that for many years rabbit production in kenya was confined to the youth, mainly 4k club members and young farmers. How to start a profitable rabbit farming business pdf. This study provides information on production characteristics and constraints of rabbit farming in kenya. Rabbits can be produced for many different markets. Expansion is much simpler than other livestock alternatives because a large range of existing facilities can be modified for rabbits and land requirements are negligible.
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