Are Hares Protected Animals, and 2018 Farming Investment and Farm Construction Requirements

Hare refers to the collective name for animals under the genus Lepus, as well as four species in the genera Caprolagus and Pronolagus. So is it a protected animal? How much investment is needed for farming in 2018? What are the requirements for farm construction? According to animal encyclopedia data, there are many species of hares. In China, the mountain hare (eight species in China) living in high-altitude cold regions is listed as a national second-class protected animal. Apart from the mountain hare, the genera Pronolagus, Caprolagus and other wild animals of the genus Lepus are not included in the national protected animal list.

How much investment is needed to farm hares in 2018?

Hare farming investment can be large or small. Now let us take the example of introducing 100 hybrid hares (80 females and 20 males) to calculate how much investment is needed for hare farming.

Breeding hares cost 100 yuan each, totaling 10,000 yuan for 100.

With a kit survival rate of 80%, each female hare produces 5 litters per year, with 6 to 8 kits per litter. The annual commercial hare output from 80 female hares is 80 female hares × 5 litters/year × 6 kits/litter × 80% = 1920. Each hare costs 3 yuan for epidemic prevention and medicine, totaling 5760 yuan for the year, 3000 yuan for infrastructure, 3000 yuan/year for other expenses, and approximately 5000 yuan/year for forage planting and processing.

In summary, the one-year investment for hybrid hare farming is 10,000 yuan + 5760 yuan + 3000 yuan + 3000 yuan + 5000 yuan = 26,760 yuan.

What are the requirements for building a hare farm?

Building requirements:

1. Warm in winter and cool in summer, with good ventilation: A vent window should be installed on the roof. In winter, doors and windows are closed, and the vent window is used to discharge harmful gases. In summer, windows should be opened to reduce the indoor temperature as much as possible. The suitable temperature for adult hares is 15-25°C, and the most suitable temperature for young hares is 20-25°C. The suitable temperature for newborn hare kits is 30-35°C.

2. Sturdy and durable: Hares have a gnawing habit and can easily damage cages and feeding trough equipment. When choosing building materials, use locally available materials while also considering sturdiness and durability.

3. Sufficient lighting: The lighting area of hare house windows should account for 15% of the ground area, and the angle of incidence should not be less than 25 to 30 degrees. The window sill should be close to the ceiling to make full use of natural light.

4. Good drainage: The hare house should be equipped with drainage ditches, drainage pipes and a manure and urine pit. The foundation of the meat rabbit exercise area should be raised by 30 cm. The manure and urine pit should be located 5 m away from the house, with the pit opening 10 cm above the ground to prevent rainwater from flowing in. The pit walls should be sealed with cement so they do not leak, and the pit opening should be covered.

5. Quiet environment: Hares like quietness, resting during the day and coming out to activity at night.

6. Floor and walls: In production, cement floors are most common, and the floor should be 20-30 cm higher than the ground level outside the house. Walls should be sturdy, waterproof, fireproof, frost-resistant and corrosion-resistant, with a simple structure that is easy to disinfect, while also having good insulation and heat-shielding performance.

7. House height, span and length: In cold regions, the house height should be 2.5-3 m; in hot regions, it can be increased by 0.5-1 m. The span is generally controlled within 10 m. The length can be determined according to site conditions, farm layout and production direction, and is generally controlled within 50 m.

Environmental requirements:

1. Temperature: Hares have extremely underdeveloped sweat glands and dense fur on their body surface, so they are quite sensitive to environmental temperature.

2. Humidity: Hares prefer a dry environment. The most suitable relative humidity is 60%-65%, and it should generally not be lower than 55% or higher than 70%. High temperature and high humidity as well as low temperature and high humidity are harmful to hares, as they are not conducive to heat dissipation in summer or heat preservation in winter, and also make them prone to internal and external parasitic infections.

3. Ventilation: Ventilation is a good way to regulate the temperature and humidity of the hare house.

4. Lighting: Lighting plays an important regulatory role in the physiological functions of breeding hares. Suitable lighting helps enhance the metabolism of hares, improve appetite, and promote calcium and phosphorus metabolism; insufficient lighting can lead to a decline in libido and conception rate of hares.

5. Noise: Noise is one of the important environmental factors. In order to reduce noise, hare houses must be built away from high-noise areas such as highways, railways and industrial and mining enterprises, and external noise interference should be avoided as much as possible; feeding and management operations should be light and steady, keeping the hare house as quiet as possible.

6. Dust: Dust in the air mainly includes dry dust raised by wind and a large amount of dust generated during feeding and management work, such as sweeping the floor, turning bedding straw, and distributing hay and feed. In order to reduce the dust content in the air of the hare house, attention should be paid to the operating procedures of feeding and management. It is best to change powdered feed to pellet feed and ensure good ventilation performance of the hare house.