How to Raise Rabbits in Rural Areas? A Detailed Guide to Rabbit Farming Methods

Rabbit farming is not yet particularly common in our country. Many people only keep rabbits as pets. In fact, rabbits can be kept not only as pets; their meat is also very tasty and very nutritious. Many people probably think rabbits are very cute and cannot bear to eat them!

How to Raise Rabbits in Rural Areas                             

Rural areas are also divided into the south and the north. In the south, it is better to raise Tianfu meat rabbits. Generally, rural areas have plenty of raw materials and a good environment. So you can feed them directly with fresh grass and mix in some feed. If it is on a large scale, you must pay attention to the feed link, and also build good rabbit cages (especially when raising meat rabbits).  

1. Management factors should also be noted, and disease prevention should be done well  

2. Choose a good market, and observe market conditions at any time  

3. Go and learn what subsidy policies the local animal husbandry bureau has  

4. As a breeder, you should learn more related knowledge and read more related materials.  

5. If this is your first time raising them, you should proceed gradually and not be too hasty.

Can Rabbits Eat Chicken Feed  

The editor believes that young rabbits cannot eat chicken feed. Chicken feed contains small stones for chickens to grind their teeth, and rabbits cannot digest them.  

The correct feeding method is as follows:  

1. If the young rabbit has already been weaned, feed it purple alfalfa grass, timothy grass, rabbit pellets and water. If timothy is not available for the time being, you can use green foxtail as a substitute. When young, they eat more purple alfalfa grass than timothy grass. If the young rabbit cannot bite through the alfalfa grass, it means it has not been weaned yet, so give it milk.  

2. For young rabbits, alfalfa grass is the main feed and timothy grass should be fed less than alfalfa. For adult rabbits, timothy is the main feed and alfalfa should be fed less than timothy. The specific ratio can be checked on Baidu Rabbit Bar.  

3. There must be no water on the grass (important). If the leaf surface is wet, the grass must be completely dried in the sun before feeding it to the young rabbit.  

4. Grass should be placed in the cage at night. They eat more at night than during the day. Rabbits mainly eat grass.  

5. Grass by roadsides with especially many cars may not be very good, as the pollution is too heavy. Find grass with less pollution. It can be washed clean, dried in the sun, and then fed. Make sure the grass is not damp.  

6. Rabbits also need to drink water. Find a bowl and fill it with cooled boiled water.  

7. For young rabbits, find a small porcelain bowl or plate. Water does not need to be limited. The bowl must always be kept beside the young rabbit, and there must always be water in the bowl. This is a must.

How Much Money Can You Make Raising Rabbits in a Year  

This figure changes with the market. The calculation method is as follows: Rex rabbits have one litter a month. Each litter can have as many as 14, or as few as 6, and generally around 8. What we grasp is letting them give birth to 6 litters (cycles) per year. If each litter (cycle) is calculated at a 5-rabbit survival rate, one female rabbit can produce 30 commercial rabbits in a year. If each commercial rabbit is calculated at a recovery price of 50 yuan each, the gross income in a year can be 1500 yuan. For each commercial rabbit, when feed resources are abundant, the cost shared per rabbit can be 15 yuan. When feed resources completely rely on buying or are very particular, the cost shared per rabbit can be 25 yuan.  

From this point of view, at the high end you earn 35 yuan per rabbit, and at the low end 25 yuan per rabbit. For 30 commercial rabbits in a year, you can earn 1050 yuan. If calculated at the low end, earning 25 yuan per rabbit, then in one year each breeding rabbit can gain a profit of 750 yuan. Everyone cannot yet meet the conditions for selling breeding rabbits for the time being. If the conditions for selling breeding rabbits can be met, then at that time the profit for each breeding rabbit will be more than 3000 yuan.  

In addition, it also depends on whether you are raising meat rabbits or pet rabbits. Meat rabbits are all sold by weight, ranging from 15 to 25 per jin, depending on whether it is a male or female rabbit, or a black or white rabbit. Female rabbits and white rabbits are somewhat cheaper. If they are pet rabbits, the retail price is generally between 80 and 150 each, and they can usually be sold in 1 month. Wholesale is somewhat cheaper.

How Is Rabbit Farming Now  

1. Small investment, quick results, large returns  

Compared with raising other animals, meat rabbits require a relatively small investment and have a high input-output ratio. For rural households, the investment in raising meat rabbits can be roughly divided into breeding rabbit costs, feed costs, epidemic prevention costs, and cage and housing costs.  

2. Less land occupied, less labor needed  

Meat rabbits can be raised on the ground or in three-dimensional housing; indoors or outdoors; on the ground, underground, or on rooftops. Small-scale household raising can use courtyards or idle rooms and old sheds. An ordinary household courtyard can accommodate a scale of about 30 foundation female rabbits. Rabbit raising involves no heavy physical labor, and both the elderly and children can do it. Rabbits like to move at night, so raising rabbits does not conflict with farming. Farmers can completely use their spare time to do it without delaying farm work.  

3. Multiple births and high yield, short raising cycle, high meat yield  

Meat rabbits reach sexual maturity early, at about 3-4 months. They are generally first mated at the beginning of 6 months. The gestation period is 1 month. Each litter averages 7-8 young. After giving birth, they can come into heat and be mated, and can produce more than 6 litters a year. Young rabbits grow quickly, are weaned at 1 month, and after weaning can reach 2.5 kg for market in about 60 more days. One female rabbit can produce 35-40 offspring in 1 year, equivalent to 20-25 times the female rabbit's own weight. For cattle and sheep, it is only 0.35-0.63 times. Among the other livestock currently raised, it is very difficult to compare with meat rabbits. Therefore, vigorously developing the meat rabbit raising industry is an important way to solve people's source of meat and enrich people's shopping baskets.

From the above analysis, it is not hard to see that the prospects for rabbit farming are very great. Before raising rabbits, you should first fully understand the types of rabbits and their living habits, because different types of rabbits have different living habits and required growing environments.