Practical tips for increasing the meat yield in meat rabbit farming

In commercial meat rabbit production, weaned (around 30 days old) young rabbits are generally used, fattened for a short period (that is, fattening of young rabbits), and slaughtered when their body weight increases from about 0.5 kg to 2.5 kg, with the aim of producing more rabbit meat. In commercial meat rabbit production, in addition to looking at the final output, production costs must also be considered, and economic benefits must be emphasized. In view of this characteristic of commercial meat rabbit production, the overall goal in feeding and management is to reduce diarrhea, increase daily weight gain, and lower feeding costs. Around the above goals, the following techniques should be emphasized: 

1. Ensure nutrition. For specialized farms and households in rural areas, the fattening method of supplementary concentrate feed (pelleted feed) plus green feed is advisable. It is recommended that the nutritional level of the supplementary concentrate feed be: digestible energy 12 MJ/kg, crude protein 18%, crude fat 3-4%, crude fiber 11-12%, calcium 0.7-1.0%, phosphorus 0.4_0.6%, and lysine and methionine 0.8% and 0.6% respectively. The daily feeding amount of pelleted feed can be gradually increased by stage according to live weights of 0.5, 1.0, 1.5, and 2.0 kg, while feeding 100-400 grams of high-quality green feed daily; for large-scale farms, complete pelleted feed is advisable, and its digestible energy can be lowered to 10-12 MJ/kg, crude protein 16-17%, crude fiber 12-14%, with an average daily feeding of 60-150 grams of pelleted feed per rabbit. It is required to gradually increase the feeding amount from small to large, adhere to fixed times and fixed amounts or consistently implement the method of free feeding, and fully ensure drinking water. 

2. Be skilled in management. First, fattening rabbits are generally kept in groups. They may be raised in separate cages or separate pens, with 8-10 rabbits per square meter. However, it is best to keep them in groups according to body weight, so as to prevent “the big bullying the small” and improve the quality of commercial rabbits when they leave the farm. In dry areas, about one month before slaughter, ground “pen keeping” may also be used, which helps with the turnover and use of cage space. Second, when the room temperature is below 10 degrees Celsius, insulation measures such as using bedding straw and properly closing doors and windows should be adopted; the sunshine time for commercial rabbits should not exceed 12 hours. Third, the setup of feeding troughs, drinkers, and hay racks should, as far as possible, ensure that rabbits in the same cage (pen) can eat and drink at the same time, while also preventing rabbits from trampling the feed and causing contamination of water and feed. 

3. Promptly cull sick and weak rabbits. In order to reduce feed and labor waste caused by weak young rabbits dying in the mid-fattening period or growing too slowly, and to reduce feeding costs, particularly weak and small young rabbits should be resolutely culled when fattening begins. Sick rabbits not only pose the danger of spreading disease, but also increase expenses, because young rabbits that become ill generally have a poor prognosis. Therefore, once a sick rabbit is found, it is best not to treat it and to cull it immediately; strictly prevent outbreaks and epidemics of rabbit plague and digestive tract diseases.