Rex Rabbit Farming Opens a New Path to Prosperity for Farmers
"Don't let their small size and modest appearance fool you -- they're actually useful in so many ways. The meat can be made into all kinds of dishes, the fur can be processed into clothing, decorations and mattresses, and the manure can be fermented into biogas and spread on the fields as fertilizer. See? Every part of them is a treasure!" Xu Chuanxian said happily recently while feeding the rabbits at a rex rabbit farm in Shanglou Village, Jinhua Township, Wancheng District.
When asked why he had chosen to develop a rex rabbit business in the first place, Xu Chuanxian talked on and on. He and his family had previously worked away from home for years, living a drifting life of rushing from place to place. By chance they came into contact with rex rabbit farming and immediately fell in love with these fluffy little creatures. They then learned that rex rabbit farming offered many advantages -- low cost, quick returns, low risk and high profits -- and the idea of returning home to raise them themselves took root.
In 2010, after years of drifting away from home, Xu Chuanxian returned to his hometown and set out on the path of rabbit farming. He said that after returning home he told the township officials about his idea of raising rex rabbits, and with the government's support, two medium-sized farms were built before long.
In the commercial rabbit rearing house, rows of hutches are neatly arranged, and the snow-white rex rabbits look charmingly naive -- some wriggling their plump bodies as they eat feed at the trough, others quietly hiding in a corner with their eyes closed, resting. "Some of the rabbits can be sold after being raised a while longer. It's convenient now -- one phone call and the buyer comes to the door, so you can easily make money without even leaving home. Raising rex rabbits really is profitable." Looking at the rabbits in the cages, Old Xu was in an especially good mood. He took a rex rabbit out of its hutch and did some calculations for the reporter. He said that raising rex rabbits is not just about selling meat -- it is mainly about selling fur. Commercial rabbits are generally ready for sale at just over 4 months old. The rearing cost is more than 30 yuan per rabbit, and the door-to-door purchase price is more than 50 yuan per rabbit for both fur and meat, which works out to a net profit of 20 yuan per rabbit. In months of high demand, one rabbit can sell for more than 100 yuan, which is a quite considerable profit.
Several years of rex rabbit farming experience have allowed Old Xu to gradually work out a complete set of rearing methods. With vaccinations, breeding and disinfection, the survival rate of the rex rabbits has reached over 90 percent. "Every rabbit has to be vaccinated. At one month old they get a rabbit plague vaccine, and 10 days later a Pasteurella vaccine. Usually, as long as you pay attention to strengthening the management of the hutches, the rabbits will grow up normally," Old Xu said. Rex rabbit farming looks difficult, but in fact it is quite easy as long as you do the following. First, choose good breeding stock: breeding rabbits should be selected for being strong and vigorous with well-proportioned bodies, while does should be chosen for high milk yield and a gentle temperament. Second, feed them scientifically: choose feed that is palatable, varied and easy to digest, ensuring comprehensive and balanced nutrition to meet the rabbits' needs for growth, development, reproduction and weight gain. Third, adopt a feeding method that is fixed in time, quantity, quality and caretaker: determine the amount of feed according to different physiological stages, add feed frequently but in small amounts, so the rabbits eat their fill without waste, and ensure the feed is varied and high in quality. Fourth, keep the hutches clean and dry, the drinking water clean and hygienic, and the ventilation good.
One strand does not make a thread, one tree does not make a forest. Today, the rex rabbit population at Old Xu's farm has grown from just a few dozen at the start to seven or eight hundred now. Because he raises rex rabbits well, many people from nearby villages have come to him, some to learn the trade and obtain breeding stock, others to consult him for advice and experience. Old Xu plans to bring the villagers together to raise rex rabbits ecologically and develop the business as a cluster. He said: "I already have farming experience, so if the villagers raise them along with me, they'll avoid many detours. My greatest wish is for all the folks around me to become well-off." Old Xu plans to pass on all the rabbit-raising experience he knows to everyone, providing them with breeding rabbits and feed free of charge, guiding them on disease prevention and management, and buying back the rabbits at market time in a unified way. In this way, the scale will expand and the villagers' incomes will also rise.