Rabbit raising froma Pakistani view By Mrs. Farzana Panhwar President Sindh Rural Women's Uplift Group Pakistan

Rabbit raising froma Pakistani view By Mrs. Farzana Panhwar President Sindh Rural Women's Uplift Group Pakistan
"COUNTRYSIDE: We came to know you through the Internet. We are very impressed by your articles and would like to contribute to your magazine.
I am basically a bio-chemist working in the field of organic agriculture, the effects of pollution on the environment, and human and animal health."
Rabbit meat is versatile; there are many ways of serving it. It is lean, with little fat, little waste, high meat-to-bone ratio and low cholesterol. Rabbits were used for meat in World War II in Europe. Killing and dressing rabbits for the table is an easily acquired skill.
Rabbits can be raised on pellet feed or garden scraps without the use of drugs or growth-stimulants such as anabolic steroids which are given to farm animals for rapid growth. The rabbit crop becomes ready in 9-10 weeks. They are small, easy to handle, usually docile, mature very quickly and require only a small garden. The rabbit is an economically cheap protein producer.
People raise worms for fishermen in the rabbit manure. The cages need cleaning once or twice a week because rabbit urine has a strong smell.
Lifestyles and their characteristics
Rabbits are not true rodents. They have very powerful teeth. Tame rabbits, especially in-bred ones, are sometimes born with the teeth badly aligned. This is called malocclusion and it can be seen at about eight weeks of age. It is a genetic fault and should be traced and eradicated, that is, make sure animals which have it are not bred to transmit it on to their offspring.
Rabbits have large eyes and are able to see well at night. The ears are mobile and independent, like radar scanners. The blood vessels in the outer ear also help to regulate the body heat.
Rabbits communicate by scent-there is a gland under the chin which produces droplets of scent with which they mark their territory. Adult rabbits have a respiration rate of 45 breaths per minute when resting, but the rate increases when the rabbit is under stress, and in the young.
The rabbit has a seven day mating cycle. At seven day intervals hormones releasing the follicle from the ovary are only produced as a result of stimulation, usually in the presence of the buck. Autumn and winter are marked by the retraction of the testicles in the male and therefore winter production becomes a problem. A month after mating the doe makes a nest with soft hay and she plucks fur from her underside to line the nest. This helps to expose her teats, which are normally lost in the fur. (Newborn rabbits chill and die if they are not protected in the nest.) Tame does make a nest in the hutch-they like a quiet dark place. The young are usually fed only once a day, and baby teeth develop after a week, which are replaced by permanent teeth. Does need good food to produce milk for the babies, which is rich in protein-12-14%-compared with cow milk (3%).
The false pregnancy chances are reduced when a doe is re-mated while still suckling her previous litter. Before breeding, a lot of fighting may take place between females to identify who become the boss.
Myxomatosis is a disease harmful to rabbits. It is a member of the poxvirus group, and is transmitted by mosquitoes, biting flies, fleas, and direct contact. The spilopsyllus cuniculi are spread from a dead rabbit to a healthy one. There is no vaccine available in the U.S., and no cure, so euthanasia and burying or burning the carcass is necessary, according to the 8th edition of The Merck Veterinary Manual (1998). Rhinitis and pneumonia are also common.
There are various breeds of rabbits: New Zealand White, New Zealand Red, Dutch, Californian, Rex, Flemish Giant, Beveren, Havana. The New Zealand White is most commonly used as a meat rabbit.
Rabbit cages
The best time to purchase a rabbit is after it is weaned, between eight to 10 weeks of age. At the age of four to five months, they are ready for breeding.
Some people use hutches with wire floors and a tray underneath to catch the droppings. It is very important to keep rabbits dry and snug, with no drafts in the sleeping quarters. Outdoor hutches need to be protected from the weather, so the roof should have projecting eaves on the front and back to keep off the rain, and they should be weather proof. The hutches should have a front which is partly wire and partly solid wood so that the rabbit can shelter behind the solid part if they wish. Rabbits raised outside are healthier because indoor rabbit keeping has a problem with ammonia in the urine and they need proper ventilation and lighting. A doe and litter will need eight square feet, 4x2 feet, or more for the large breeds.
Rabbits need a lot of water, especially lactating does and in hot weather.
Rabbit feed
Rabbits are herbivores that eat mostly green food, grain and roots. Adult rabbits will eat about four ounces a day, and does with young need about eight ounces.
Carbohydrates: Provide energy-rabbits will balance their own ration when they can. They will eat more food if it is low in energy and less if it is high, if they are given the choice, but a high energy diet could produce a deficiency of other nutrients.
Proteins: Rabbit food must contain 16% protein to build the tissue, but the pregnant doe needs extra protein to produce her litter. Some people give soaked dried peas. Alfalfa is an equally good source of protein.
Fiber: Wild rabbits eat more fiber than tame rabbits. Young rabbits require less fiber than the adult. Adult rabbit food must contain at least 25% fiber.
Minerals: Rabbit food must contain all the minerals except cobalt.
Vitamins: The last part of a rabbit's intestines contains bacteria which produce vitamin B-complex and vitamin C. Vitamins A, D and E are needed in the diet.
It is important that the rabbit is not overfed, so it is easier to regulate the diet if you feed them twice a day. Fermented and sour food is very bad for a rabbit. If pellet food is used it increases their weight three ounces/day. The food for adult rabbits is made on the basis that they eat a portion of mash about the size of a tangerine. This can be made from stale bread, porridge (oats are good) or boiled potato peelings, anything like that moistened then dried off with bran.
The useful wild plants for rabbits include young trees, leaves and shoots. Clovers and vetches are legumes but their seeds are poisonous. The useful wild plants are: coltsfoot, comfrey, chickweed, cow parsley, docks, sorret (sour dock), dandelion, fat hen, groundsel, heather, Plantain, Shepherds Purse, sow thistle, watercress, bind weed, celandine, foxglove, wild iris, fool's parsley, henbane, and lettuce.
Growing crops for rabbits
During the winter months most of the wild plants are in a resting period. We can grow vegetables, shrubs and flowers for the whole season's supply: curly kale, cabbage, fodder, beet root, sunflower seeds, mangold, comfrey, dandelion, chicory, artichoke leaves, pea pods, kohlrabi, sugar beet, and herbs.
Breeding methods
Crossbreeding: Parents of different breeds cross breed and produce "hybrid vigor." This method is used mostly to improve meat.
Pure breeding: Two unrelated animals of the same breed. This is mostly used for further breeding of offspring.
Line breeding: In this method they use a good related buck and good doe. This could result in intensifying all the bad characteristics.
Inbreeding: Here, related animals are bred to concentrate the genes that are predictable (good characteristics).
Take the doe to the buck's pen for mating. The gestation period is 31 days but it can be four days on either side of this. During this period she needs good feed. Commercial does will only last 1-1/2 to two years, but biologically a rabbit's life is nine years. Artificial insemination is sometimes used, but it is not common.
Health
Rabbits need a warm dry bed and a variety of fresh natural foods, if you don't use pellets. The common diseases of rabbits are:
Scouring: Bad diarrhea can kill a rabbit. The cure could be hay and plenty of water or dry bedding and a handful of blackberry leaves. Astringent or binding plants like burnet, plantation, or clovers, and parnips are also good.
Constipation: Dandelion, groundsel and fresh young grass is good laxative. Castor oil, one teaspoonful for adult rabbits and one-half teaspoon for the young.
Parasite control
Parasities can be transferred from neighboring cat or dog caged to rabbits.
Tapeworm: Wild garlic is a good solution.
Fleas: Fleas can carry the myxomatosis virus. A dusting of insect powder is a solution.
Canker: Canker is contagious so the rabbit needs a well cleaned and disinfected hutch. This is caused by mites, and it attacks the ears of rabbits. The solution is benzyl benzoate at about five day intervals, or Otodex.
Sores: Sores are usually found on hocks due to wet bedding or floors. Sometimes wire cages also cause this. White clover should be given in feed. (Ed. note: If sores are due to the wire cages, place a board inside the cage for the rabbit to perch on.)
Sneezing and colds: Dust hay can cause it. Garlic and onion is the solution.
Coccidiosis: There are two types-intestinal and hepatic. Intestinal coccidosis is caused by the organism Eimeria performa and Eimeria magna and is transferred through droppings. Liver coccidiosis is caused by Elimeria steidae. The cure is garlic and fumigation by cayenne pepper burning which kills the residues of poison.
Enteritis: Animals on a high pressure, fast growth diet are more prone to this disease. Making sure it has a dry bed, a little milk and hay or comfrey is the treatment.
Dystokia: A difficult kindling (birth).
Rabbit meat uses
Roasting, rabbit paté, rabbit pudding, rabbit pie, boiled rabbit, curried rabbit, fried rabbit.
Golden Brown Fried Rabbit
1/2 cup all-purpose flour1-1/2 teaspoons salt1/2 teaspoon pepper1 rabbit fryer, cut up2 tablespoons olive oil
Mix the flour and seasonings in a plastic bag. Add the rabbit pieces and shake well to coat. Place the pieces in hot olive oil in a heavy skillet over high heat, turning to brown evenly on all sides.
Reduce heat to low, cover and cook slowly, about 40-50 minutes or until tender. For a crisper coating, uncover for the last 10-15 minutes.
Recipe from "Storey's Guide to Raising Rabbits", by Bob Bennett, available from the Countryside Book Store, $21.45 ppd. 1-800-551-5691.