By Aak
Though the full impact of the Covid-19 pandemic is yet to be established across economies, its impact on the food industry is a major point of concern. Farmers can only ensure they have a safety net for themselves and the citizens by continuing to plant crops even in this time of uncertainty.
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By George Munene
Breeding is said to be part art and part science, in an amalgamation of scientific leaps and studied recorded repetition perfected over eons.
But it is worth the study, for getting your starter stock right ensures your rabbits attain their desired weights on schedule, are resistant to most diseases, and birth the right kit litter sizes.
To achieve this set. medium rabbits are preferred for meat rearing purposes.
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The easy to find breeds in Kenya that offer more bang for your buck are:
Perhaps the thoroughbred of meat rabbits, this variety has been bred for meat purposes since the 1920’s. 100 years of gene selection offers; good bone to meat ratio, fast grow out (attain about 3 kg in 5 months), good mothering ability, large litter sizes (7-14 kits), high disease resistance and less genetic malformities such as soar hocks within their gene pool . If there was ever a failsafe option in meat rabbit keeping, the New Zealand White would be it.
This are the second most common rabbits. They’ve also been bred for generations for their meat production qualities. They are though smaller in size to the New Zealand White weighing about 4 kg when mature compared to the New Zealand White which can weigh up to 5kg.
Both Californian and New Zealand Whites have commercial body types meaning they are evenly muscled and have ideal meat distribution.
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For giant rabbits:
Giant rabbit varieties can weigh up to 8kgs, which is almost double the weight archived by most medium sized breeds. It’d then follow that they would almost exclusively be the only rabbits sort for meat breeding in Kenya. This though isn’t the case as despite their being more expensive they share a couple of downsides; they have a small bone to meat ratio compared to moderately sized breeds and are comparatively slow growers. For what they offer in added weight they’ll take away by costing more to feed in the long run and their carcass having less meat on them and chunkier bones. Being that they are giants, they need larger housing, which may be impractical, especially in an urban set up.
The most common varieties in Kenya are;
This is the largest rabbit breed. They come in many color varieties with large V shaped ears. The minimum weight for mature bucks should be over 5kg and that of senior does over 6kg.
They are docile with characteristic long droopy ears. Its back is fully arched unlike most large rabbits making it a preferred meat breed as it has more room to pack in meat and muscle. They can attain weights of up to 6 kg
Chinchilla’s close to being purebred should have a dark slate blue to grey hue. Unlike the Ear Lop, they have perky ears.
It attains up to 6kg and is highly desired for its quick growth rate, for a giant breed. Under ideal conditions it can exceed 2.4kg in just 3months.
Both the French Ear Lop and Giant Chinchilla have semi-arched body shapes, they’re curved at their back-unideal for muscle and meat distribution.
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Crossbreeding rabbits is often adopted by commercial meat breeders as this takes advantage of heterosis. Sometimes referred to as hybrid vigor, different variety rabbits when crossed get to borrow the best of both worlds while camouflaging each other’s weaknesses. They gain weight at a faster rate, exhibit improved vigor, are healthier, more fertile and are less disposed to diseases that might have affected the parent stock.
The advantages of heterosis are more expressed in purebreds and less so in successively removed generations.
Its preferred to have a bigger breeding sires to the dams. Therefore, if possible, have giant rabbits as bucks within your breeding lot.
Write comment (0 Comments)By George Munene
A successful rabbit venture is underpinned by three essentials: appropriate housing, quality feed and perhaps most importantly, picking the right breeders.
Housing can be renovated whilst the enterprises chugs along, better feed can be sought in time, but picking a substandard starter stock will undercut your entire venture, with even the very best housing and feeds wasted on poor sires.
For this reason, here are the essentials to ensuring your rabbit venture isn’t a sunk cost even before the first kits are born.
A pedigree-registered rabbit whose bloodline is trackable is your best bet. But. in reality, things aren’t as straightforward. Anyone purporting to sell you pure-line rabbits in Kenya is probably taking you for a ride. Most rabbits in Kenya have been bastardised to some degree.
Your best bet would be ensuring that the rabbit has attained the requisite weight for its sex, age and breed (by Kenyan standards).
The rabbit should also exhibit phenotypically corresponding characteristics to its breed. As an example, a Californian White rabbit should have black markings on its nose, feet and tail, whilst its eyes will be pink.
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Due to the extra vigour that can be achieved sometimes through hybrids, there are particular crossbreeds that are particularly good options. For instance, a New Zealand, Flemish Giant cross has the Giant’s propensity to gain lots of weight and the New Zealand’s fast feed-to-meat conversion
Inbred rabbits - especially siblings within the immediate litter - will tend to be tiny compared with those of the same variety that are crossed with other lines and so ought to be totally avoided for breeding purposes.
This might seem superfluous, but anyone whose handled a wild rabbit has scratches that attest to it not being a fun experience.
Your breeding stock could be with you for more than two years. Does will need moving for breeding; rabbit hutches need daily cleaning and replenishing of feed and water. It is torturous ending up with bandages on your hands every time you have to handle your rabbits.
Rabbits, especially those you wish to breed, should be used to human contact from an early age.
Your rabbit should be blocky and filled with pronounced musculature. It shouldn’t be bony or lanky.
The pivotal areas for inspection are: the rabbit’s loins, that is, the back of the neck. You should feel meat and muscle, the rabbit’s spine shouldn’t be stuck out. The hind of the rabbit’s back should be well filled, their backbone mustn’t be easily felt. These parts are essential as they constitute most of the meat harvested from a dressed rabbit.
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Smooth fur and alert eyes are signs of a healthy vital rabbit.
Their ears can fester parasites, such as mites, which cause ear canker and might be transferred to your existing colony.
Scabs on the soles of rabbit feet could be a sign of soar hocks, which is genetically transferable.
This refers to both litter size and a rabbit’s ability to care for its young till weaning.
It can be ascertained by asking for her breeding records or those of her parents if she hasn’t yet given birth.
The fast growth of rabbits’ kits is also important. The rabbits should attain butchering weight, 3+ kgs dressing weight, in under 4 months.
Ngong Rabbit Breeders - a government-funded institution - is your best bet for buying tarter stock as they offer high quality breeders at a fair price. A young rabbit will set you back from Sh750 to up to Sh2500 for a breeding age rabbit. You can reach Ngong Rabbit Breeders on 0720 899299.
Alternatively, you could contact the Rabbit Breeders Association of Kenya, RABAK, on 0721707540, for information on rabbit farmers in your area.
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