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Try the Rabbit: A Practical Guide

Posted By: step778
Try the Rabbit: A Practical Guide

S.O. Adjare, "Try the Rabbit: A Practical Guide"
1993 | pages: 58 | ISBN: 9290811080 | PDF | 5,5 mb

One of the main advantages of small-scale rabbit farming (rabbitry) is that it requires minimal capital investment. Young people can easily afford to start keeping rabbits with virtually no financial risk. The venture could begin as a backyard or garden enterprise, requiring very little space.
Rabbits are prolific breeders, producing large quantities of tasty meat for home consumption. Their rate of production is faster than that of pigs, goats or sheep. If properly raised and cared for, a female rabbit (doe) can produce more than 15 times her own weight in offspring in a year. Under natural conditions, she delivers a litter every 31 days. In controlled conditions, however, she should produce only four or five litters a year. The number in each litter is usually between 4 and 12.
Rabbits grow rapidly because they are efficient at converting food into meat. A baby rabbit weighs about 57 g when born. In 6 days it doubles its weight, and after 30 days its weight will have increased eightfold or more. By the end of the second month, the breed known as Californian or New Zealand White will, if well looked after, weigh over 2 kg. A young rabbit reaches maturity at 5 months but can be slaughtered at the end of the third month; at this stage, a Californian White would probably weigh about 3 kg. In Europe and elsewhere, it is common practice to slaughter rabbits at the age of 2 months but this is rarely done in West Africa, where the slaughter houses generally prefer mature animals.

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