Meat is one of the most consumed foods, but despite the huge amount of its production and consumption, sometimes situations arise when this product may be in short supply.
Rabbit farming is a profitable investment
We often see this situation: in stores there are only a few types of meat, these are beef, pork and lamb. The rest of the meat, rabbit, is unprofitable, so it is not so often found on the shelves. If you use the opportunity correctly, it will only play into your hands: all you need is effort and initial capital.
In this article, we will tell you how to build a rabbit business, and also provide a preliminary business plan for raising rabbits at home or on a farm in the countryside.
Rabbit farming as a business is no longer a new idea, but its implementation has not yet gained demand. This is the advantage of keeping rabbits: you can easily create a business, this will be facilitated by low competition in this market and the need for fresh homemade meat, because it will always find its buyers.
Yes, significant investments will be required, as in any other business, so before you start your business from scratch, think about how realistic it is for you to raise rabbits, and save a certain amount to start. Further, investing in a business will also be costly: maintaining a farm in conditions suitable for rabbits to live is not a cheap pleasure.
But there is no doubt that the profitability of rabbit farming will be high, because if you have initial capital, rabbit breeding as a business will be your most profitable investment.
Is it profitable to breed eared animals?
People who want to keep rabbits for business at home often wonder: is it profitable to breed rabbits? To answer this question, we can confidently say that rabbit farming is a profitable business.
Not only has competition in this matter not reached a high level, but the type of meat itself also plays an important role. The thing is that rabbit meat is best absorbed in our body (about 90%), moreover, it is practically low-fat, which is why it is dietary.
Quite a few people today are going on a diet (the reasons for this phenomenon are very diverse), so dietary meat will certainly be popular among this category of consumers. There are also many dishes that would simply lose their flavor without rabbit meat.
Rabbits provide tasty and dietary meat
If you put in some effort, you can quickly establish contact with retail outlets, or, if you're lucky, even with a restaurant. In this case, you will have the opportunity to set your own price for the product.
- market with little competition;
- demand for meat;
- own price for manufactured products;
- profitable business.
The downside is large capital investments.
I think you no longer have any doubts about whether it is profitable to breed rabbits. But here, as in any business, acumen is very important, so if you are starting a business from scratch, try to immediately establish contact with the consumer market so that rabbit breeding as a business does not bring you losses.
How to develop rabbit farming professionally?
Rabbit farming as a business in our country is underdeveloped. Keeping rabbits at home is more typical for rural residents, but it can only be called a business with a stretch: the number of animals usually does not exceed fifty, and they are raised exclusively for personal purposes (own meat).
Mini-farm - the optimal solution for beginner rabbit breeders
The main reason for the unprofitability of the rabbit business is that farmers simply do not have knowledge in this area. Regarding breeding rabbits at home, then, taking into account normal conditions, the animals could even live in an apartment.
But there is no better option than raising rabbits on a mini-farm or farm, because there are completely different conditions and, even more so, the opportunity to expand the business.
Acquisition of the younger generation
Starting a business from scratch is always difficult; this article will tell you what to do and in what order.
The first step will be the acquisition of young animals. You need to determine for what purpose you will raise rabbits: for meat or skins.
If the focus is on meat products, then the emphasis should be on early maturing breeds of rabbits:
- giant (gray, white);
- silver;
- chinchilla.
At two months of age, such rabbits can weigh up to 2 kg.
White giant rabbits
In the case of raising animals for skins, breeds must be selected based on their fur (it must be thick and of an unusual color):
- Alaska;
- fiery black;
- Thuringian.
It is worth saying that in Europe such breeds have long been bred on a large scale. These species are still rare in our area, so they will be a little difficult to buy, and their skins will be expensive in cost.
But in reality, there is no point in raising rabbits just for their skins, since there will be nowhere to put the products. In order for the skins to be of high quality, careful care of the animals is required: separate cages (so that the fur is not damaged in fights), which will incur extra costs. In addition, such breeds weigh little and grow much more slowly.
This means that breeding rabbits will be profitable if you get rabbits of such breeds as Flanders, silver, chinchilla, and gray giant. These breeds weigh a lot, reproduce quickly and have high-quality fur. As a result of experiments, you yourself will choose which breed will be optimal for farming.
Buy adult rabbits from the very beginning; the ideal option would be to purchase a pair of females with a male. Typically, a female can give birth six times in a year (6-7 rabbits on average). As a starting point, this is a great option.
For breeding you need to buy adult rabbits
Farm space
When you start a business for breeding these animals from scratch, you need to pay attention to the area where the animals will live. A good option is a farm in a place remote from the city, quiet and peaceful.
In principle, five acres of land will be enough for you, but it is better to have plenty of space (if you are going to start a large-scale business).
Since it will be possible to build a room in which food will be stored, or make a lawn for rabbits to walk.
If you live in a private house, then everything is much simpler here: a barn or shed can become a home for animals, the main thing is that it is warm and equipped for rabbits to live in.
Let's summarize: in order to build a farm from scratch, you will need a spacious plot, preferably in a village (in an apartment, rabbit breeding is possible exclusively for your own purposes).
A promising site is if it has space not only for a rabbit farm, but also soil for growing animal feed (your own clover, oats, and alfalfa will save you a lot of money in the future).
Raising rabbits requires a lot of space.
Habitat arrangement
Rabbits are bred in two ways: in cages and in pits. We will look at them in comparison and determine which method is more profitable and convenient.
The cage requires a lot of care: it needs daily cleaning, and it takes a lot of time to pour food and water into each cage. The advantage of raising rabbits in pits is that they are cleaned once a week, and the food is poured into a common feeder, which is much more convenient.
If we take a closer look at cleaning the premises where animals will live, then manure is much easier to remove from the floor in pits with a shovel than to pick it out of the cages.
Another important detail for the farm owner is the productivity of animals, their ability to reproduce quickly. And here again, keeping animals in pits wins: in such conditions, there are practically no cases of empty nesters (missed pregnancies). For comparison: in a cage, a female rabbit can give birth up to four times in one year, while when breeding in pits, this number increases to approximately eight times.
Another factor is feed usage. When breeding rabbits in pits, food is used more rationally, since it is not wasted: there will always be an animal willing to eat.
A group of rabbits in a pit
There is an opinion that by running through burrows, rabbits gain weight more slowly. But that's not true. Rabbits raised in pits, on the contrary, weigh 200-300 grams more than cage ones, since they have an accelerated metabolism.
Up to two hundred rabbits can be kept in one pit, but it is recommended that the number of animals does not exceed one hundred. Again, savings: instead of so many cells, one hole that will save food, labor, materials and space.
In addition, the risk of rabbits being stolen is reduced, because in this case the animals will simply hide in holes, from where it is much more difficult to get them out.
As you can see, raising rabbits in pits is much more economical and convenient than keeping them in cages; you will simply simplify the care of the animals and the premises. But the choice is yours.
Purchase of feed
In order for rabbits to gain sufficient weight, their diet must include a complex of nutrients, vitamins and microelements. Compound feed in this case is an ideal option, but it should not be a single food; add hay, fruits, vegetables, grains, and mineral supplements can be given in winter.
Hay is an important component of a rabbit's diet.
Business plan
Here we will roughly calculate what the initial investment should be, what future expenses will be, and what profit rabbit breeding will bring you in the future.
Expenses
Land rent will cost on average from 20 to 80 thousand rubles per year. If you have your own plot, this amount is not taken into account.
Purchasing cells
If you purchase Mikhailov’s mini-farm, its purchase will cost you 19 thousand rubles (calculated for 20 individuals). For industrial cultivation you will need at least three of these cells – already 57 thousand rubles.
If you are going to raise rabbits in pits, the amount will decrease significantly - you will only need a minimum of materials to furnish housing for the animals.
Mikhailov's mini-farm
Buying rabbits
If we take the average cost, then one individual rabbit is estimated at 300 rubles (of a regular breed). Considering that you will need approximately 60 animals, you will spend 20-30 thousand rubles on this.
Purchase of feed
The fattening period lasts four months, during which time the amount of food eaten by one rabbit reaches 15 kilograms. Let’s take 12 rubles for the estimated cost of feed, then the total costs will be about 30 thousand rubles.
In total, the starting investment should be from 120 to 170 thousand rubles, but this is only if you initially decided to launch large-scale production.
Income
On average, a female rabbit produces from 36 to 48 offspring per year. If all the rabbits survive, then each individual, upon reaching four months of life, will weigh 2-3 kilograms. By simple calculations we get 144 kilograms of meat per year (and this is only from one rabbit).
With the cost of rabbit meat being 200 rubles/kilogram, the revenue for the product will be 28.8 thousand rubles.
The sale of rabbit skins (if you take 48 offspring) will amount to an income of 9.6 thousand rubles.
Beautiful rabbit skins are highly prized
Of course, this business plan was made without taking into account force majeure, losses, and so on. When you draw up a business plan for rabbit breeding, take into account the mortality rate of young animals - 30% per year.
Rabbit farming is a profitable business if you start it right. Yes, it will require a certain initial capital, arrangement of life and care for animals, control of the life of rabbits, their nutrition and productivity. But what kind of business will become profitable without effort?
Naturally, it will take a lot of your energy to start your own business from scratch. But in general, if you take up the business with grasping hands, calculate everything correctly and invest money wisely, then raising rabbits will not only pay off within one year, but will also help the farm owner in the future to receive a stable income from the development of the business.
Igor Nikolaev
Reading time: 7 minutes
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Rabbit farming as a business is both simple and complex at the same time. Its profitability depends on the volume of the sales market in your region. There is no rush demand for rabbit meat in our country, since the population is not sufficiently aware of the valuable qualities of this meat.
The success of this enterprise will depend on how carefully and competently you approach the search for buyers. According to statistics, the payback period for such a business is from two to four years.
The prospects of rabbit farming as a business
Abroad, rabbit meat is a very popular product, which is explained by its nutritional value. For example, in America, large-scale scientific work is underway to breed new rabbit breeds and increase the nutritional value of this type of meat. During the era of the Soviet Union, especially in the 70s of the last century, there were large fur farms that specialized exclusively in breeding rabbits. New breeds were imported and active breeding work was carried out. However, in the 90s of the twentieth century, all the efforts of domestic rabbit breeders were reduced to nothing.
At the moment, rabbit meat is poorly represented in the meat balance of our country, which is why the demand for it has fallen.
However, given the dietary properties of rabbit meat, this situation tends to improve. Currently, the shortage of domestic rabbit meat is compensated by foreign supplies, which means that, given the policy of import substitution, there is still a prospect.
If you engage in rabbit farming wisely, its profitability can be very decent. The main thing is to take into account the main risks, which include:
- low level of labor productivity;
- sharp temperature fluctuations in the Russian climate;
- risk of mass mortality of animals from infectious diseases.
The prospects of rabbit breeding as a business are supported by the fact that within one year one individual is capable of reproducing a mass that is 50 times its own weight.
Advantages and disadvantages of rabbit farming as a private business
In this business, as in any other, there are both certain advantages and disadvantages.
Experts include the following advantages:
- fairly fast payback period;
- good profitability of rabbit farming;
- beneficial properties of the resulting products;
- mating can be carried out all year round;
- versatility of this business.
The disadvantages include the following:
№ Helpful information 1 The cleanliness of rabbits requires constant and regular cleaning of the places where they are kept, otherwise the risk of animal disease increases 2 these animals quickly get used to their owners, but not to strangers; they are very timid, afraid not only of strangers, but also of unfamiliar smells and sharp sounds, and this negatively affects their physiological state; known cases of rabbits dying from fright 3 caring for rabbits requires constant attention; for example, many novice farmers complain that a mother rabbit eats her babies, but in fact it turns out that immediately after giving birth they forgot to pour water into her drinking bowl Legal registration of business on rabbits
It’s worth noting right away that this business does not require significant initial investments. For example, a farm for 1000 heads can be organized on a standard dacha of six acres. Additional savings will come from making cages, feeders and drinkers yourself. But before you start work, you need to choose the organizational and legal form of your future enterprise.
Typically, a beginning rabbit breeder chooses between the form of “personal subsidiary plot” (abbreviated as private household plot) and “individual entrepreneur” (abbreviated as individual entrepreneur).
You need to choose based on who and how you plan to sell future products. If the circle of your potential clients is limited to relatives and acquaintances, as well as buyers of agricultural markets, then the best choice will be the form of private household plots, since it is not subject to taxes. However, if you subsequently decide to expand your business and, as a result, enter new markets, you will need the legal status of an individual entrepreneur. This is a more expensive form in terms of organization, taxation and reporting, which requires obtaining appropriate permits to engage in private entrepreneurship in the field of your choice. The regulatory authorities monitoring the work of private household plots are city or rural administrations, and individual entrepreneurs are already controlled by a state body such as Rosselkhoznadzor.
Rabbit breeding for beginners. Where to begin?
The answer to this question is quite simple - you should start by obtaining the necessary knowledge.
Before you start breeding these animals, you should learn more about their lifestyle, diet, the living conditions they need, how they reproduce, what diseases they suffer from, and so on, and so on... These, albeit purely theoretical, fundamentals of rabbit breeding are very will help you in further practical work.
And remember - breeding and keeping rabbits, like any other pets, is not entertainment, but daily painstaking work.
When starting your farming journey, you should be patient. Beginners tend to make mistakes, but in rabbit farming, as in any other business, experience comes as a result of real work.
You can start breeding rabbits at any time of the year, since these eared fidgets are ready to mate all year round.
It also doesn’t hurt to get acquainted with the basic characteristics of the most popular and productive rabbit breeds.
After you decide on the breed, equip places for keeping the animals and purchase the necessary food. It is better to house rabbits in cages specially adapted for this purpose, which can be placed outdoors. It is best to buy young animals from experienced rabbit breeders with a good reputation, who, in addition to selling you high-quality and healthy rabbits, can also help you with advice at first.
A successful rabbit breeding business begins with choosing a breed, in which you should pay special attention to:
- quality characteristics of the resulting meat,
- growth rate (live weight gain);
- feed conversion indicator, the essence of which is the following: how much feed an animal eats for one kilogram of weight.
Most often they start with hybrid breeds, which are cheaper than purebred animals. Particular attention is paid to the breeding stock, the main characteristic of which is how many rabbits one rabbit can give birth to and feed.
There are no rabbit breeding centers in Russia, so you should focus on foreign breeding farms, which, as a rule, have their distributors in our country. In addition to the animals themselves, such enterprises usually offer high-quality equipment for this business, and also provide training services for novice rabbit breeders.
Equipment for rabbit breeding
Currently, there are the following systems for keeping rabbits:
- aviary;
- semi-aviary;
- cellular.
Reviews from practicing rabbit breeders indicate that the first two systems are quite rare, so attention should be paid to the cage system for keeping these animals. It allows you to organize competent mating and proper feeding of rabbits, and also makes it possible to organize timely matings.
In addition, such a system allows rabbits to be kept outdoors all year round, which can significantly increase the body’s resistance to various diseases and improve the breeding and productive qualities of rabbits. The only disadvantage of cage keeping is, perhaps, that in such conditions it is problematic to produce offspring in the winter.
Single-tier cages should be placed on wooden posts. The height from the floor of the cage to the ground should be 80 centimeters. It is best to use double cages. Hay mangers made of metal mesh usually act as partitions between cages. The floor and walls of the nesting compartment should be made of simple planks, and the aft compartment should be made of metal mesh. The roofs of the cages must be made of well-fitted boards. Which should provide a slope of 15 degrees. It is also necessary to provide 20 cm visors. The top of the roof is covered with roofing felt. When installing floors, you also need to provide a slope of 5 degrees. This will ensure natural drainage of animal urine. Young rabbits can be placed in one cage of three or four individuals. One paddock, which is a wooden frame covered with a metal mesh, should accommodate 10 young rabbits.
This system greatly facilitates animal care and makes it possible to mechanize the processes of watering and feed distribution, which allows doubling labor productivity. With this kind of housing, the rabbit breeder is able to simultaneously serve up to 130 females and up to 1,200 rabbits that have not yet been placed.
The size of shads can be up to 120 centimeters and up to 270 cells. The floor in the passages is usually concreted with a slope on both sides. The width of the intercellular passage is 130 centimeters.
The length of the cages in the sheds is 140 centimeters, the depth is 70 centimeters, and the height of the rear wall is 36 centimeters, the front wall is up to 55. The cells are arranged in two rows in two tiers. The bottom row is for animals of the main row, the top row is for separated young animals.
To fatten young animals for meat, double-sided shads are used, with mechanized distribution of feed and water. Feces collection is also being mechanized. Such shads can accommodate up to 600 young individuals. The cage itself is a wooden frame covered with a metal mesh. For mechanical watering, automated float-type drinkers are used.
On meat and skin farms, with a minimum number of breeding stock of 1200 individuals, two-tiered one-sided shads are used.Where to start organizing your mini-farm?
Before starting construction of a rabbitry, you need to coordinate its location with the local administration, since there are standards for its distance from residential sectors. Violation of these norms entails administrative liability.
To begin with, you can take a ready-made rabbit farm plan and adapt it to your needs. It is best to place the rabbitry on a hill so that water does not accumulate around it during rain or when snow melts. The optimal solution is to concrete the ground under these structures. This will prevent water from stagnating.
Feed is stored in a separate room, which should also not be forgotten.
It is better to buy concentrated feed in bulk. This results in significant savings.
In the feed storage itself, it is necessary to ensure that the temperature regime and a certain level of humidity are maintained in order to prevent mold from appearing on the feed.
The place for slaughtering animals must be equipped with a blood drain and an oven for the destruction of slaughter waste in it. It is advisable to locate refrigeration chambers near this place for storing the resulting products.
To store rabbit manure, you should equip a cesspool with a depth of at least three meters.
The walls of this pit need to be concreted, and to protect it from snow and rain, a canopy must be built over it.
To avoid gross mistakes when choosing an animal to buy, experienced rabbit breeders give the following advice:
Difficulties encountered when breeding and keeping rabbits
The main problems that beginning rabbit breeders face are:
- nutrition problems. Rabbits are extremely sensitive to rotten and moldy food, which often makes them sick. On the other hand, they choke on very dry food. You should also add the necessary vitamins. A well-chosen and balanced diet is the key to health and productivity in rabbit breeding;
- vaccination. These animals need to be vaccinated periodically. If the conditions of detention meet all the necessary requirements, then the animals should not get sick. But it’s still better to be safe. The main vaccination is against myxomatosis, pasteurellosis and VGBV;
- problems with cellular contents. These animals love to chew on everything, so the material for the cages must be of high quality;
- temperature regime. The optimal temperature range is considered to be from +2 to +30 degrees. For reproduction and rapid fattening, the temperature should be between +13 and +26 degrees Celsius.
Where to sell the products?
Typically, the formation of a customer base begins with a close circle of relatives and friends, and then “word of mouth” attracts their acquaintances, acquaintances of their acquaintances, and so on into the circle of your customers.
You shouldn't skimp on advertising. Especially in promotional materials, pay attention to the beneficial properties of dietary rabbit meat. It's fashionable now. Don't overprice! In conditions of low purchasing power of the population, the price should be affordable, which will allow you to expand the circle of your customers.
Veterinary documents are not required to sell meat through friends.
They willingly buy rabbit meat in restaurants, but they always require a veterinary certificate for the product (form No. 2).
Selling rabbit meat through stores with small volumes of products is unprofitable. Lots of expenses for annual permits and quality certificates. In addition, large retail chains usually give a very low purchase price.
In addition to meat, you can also sell rabbit skins. They are purchased by enterprises producing fur products. To be fair, it should be said that their prices are not very attractive.
Rabbit droppings can also be sold as organic fertilizer.
The main source of income is the fertility of rabbits. With the proper level of maintenance, feeding and care, one female is capable of bearing offspring up to 10 times a year, which allows you to get up to 60 rabbits from one queen.
For example, let's take a farm with 120 females. We receive 7,200 cubs per year. This is an average of up to 14 tons of 400 kilograms of rabbit meat.
At a selling price of 200 rubles per kilogram, average annual revenue could be 2 million 880 thousand. Costs account for approximately half of total revenue, or 1 million 440 thousand rubles. These funds go to:
- purchase of feed;
- fare;
- payment for electricity;
- wages for hired workers (if any);
- purchase and repair of cages;
- payment for veterinarian services and vaccinations.
Some costly items can be eliminated if, for example, you do not hire outside staff and vaccinate the rabbits yourself.
Based on the above figures, we find that profitability can reach up to 100 percent (but this is ideal).
When starting rabbit farming from scratch, you need to draw up a competent business plan. Rabbit farming, like any other business, requires taking into account expected expenses and income.
This business plan, on the one hand, must include all initial material investments, one-time and regular expenses. On the other hand, planned income from primary and secondary products is taken into account. In this second part, you should definitely take into account the specifics of your region, since prices in different regions of our country vary significantly.
Initial costs include:
- purchasing or renting a plot of land for a rabbit farm (you can start with a plot you already have);
- expenses for legal registration and preparation of necessary documentation;
- costs for landscaping;
- expenses for the purchase of materials for the construction of a rabbitry, feed storage and the purchase of cages;
- purchase of necessary inventory and equipment;
- costs of purchasing animals (you can start with 50 pieces).
Of course, starting your own rabbit farm does not require any crazy expenses. You can get by with small investments, gradually increasing the scale of your activities. Plan your work so that you can spend at least three to four hours a day caring for your animals. Over time, this can become the main source of income.
Rabbit breeding has been known to mankind since ancient times. Its relevance is not lost in the modern world: the products obtained from this sector of the national economy are extremely in demand on the market. It will be useful for novice rabbit breeders to learn the basics on which successful rabbit breeding is based, and what to do to make a rabbit farm profitable.
The goal of any livestock farming is to obtain the required products in the maximum possible quantities. Rabbit breeding has proven itself exceptionally well. The following reasons contributed to this:
- unpretentiousness. Rabbit breeding does not require large economic costs;
- productivity. The livestock is increasing at a rapid pace;
- demand. Demand for rabbit meat and fur is stable and reliable.
Rabbit products:
- meat. It is the main type of income. Experienced livestock breeders specialize in producing meat. Sold wholesale or retail. Especially popular in restaurants. The share of meat from the total weight of the animal is approximately 50%;
- fur. Used in light industry as a material for elegant and warm clothing;
- directly rabbits. Purebred individuals are valued as pets;
- Rabbit excrement is considered an excellent fertilizer for many crops.
The profitability of rabbit farming is approximately 70%. This is a large indicator indicating a high probability of success for the enterprise. Many people know about the fertility of rabbits: a sexually mature female can produce up to 30 rabbits in a year, which guarantees a quick return on investment for the business. Animals grow quickly: in 1 month the mass of an individual increases approximately 10 times. After just three months, the average rabbit weighs about 2.5 kilograms.
The choice of breed directly depends on the goals. However, most experienced farmers prefer universal breeds. Example: accelerated rabbits, gaining weight in just a couple of months.
How to start?
Before you start, you should take care of the legal and economic aspects of the enterprise. A business from scratch will require the following resources:
- growing space. You will need a plot of land, the desired size of which is at least 15 acres. It is legally prohibited to grow near residential buildings;
- electricity, water, heat. Like any other living species, rabbits require basic conditions to survive;
- equipment: drinking places, food, cages, tools;
- carnage. Necessary for direct production of products;
- feed.
The listed resources are required for both a large enterprise and a mini-farm. Optionally, staff may be required if the novice rabbit breeder is not going to work alone.
The lion's share of expenses will be taken up by feed. It is recommended to acquire a special warehouse with supplies for several months in advance. It is easier to purchase food in bulk: large quantities at a cheap price. Animals' favorite food is hay and grains. The experience of professionals has shown that rabbits do not like crushed cereals. It is best to make mixtures from different crops.
A small enterprise should start with 2-3 mini-farms, which will include 3 females and 1 male. If we take into account equipment and feed, the final amount of starting capital will be approximately 120,000 rubles. A small business has low risks and requires modest investments.
Advice: 16 females is the ideal number for productive and profitable activities. As the event grows, you should reach this figure.
Thus, a sample business plan would look like this.
Legal side of the issue
A rabbit farm can be opened in two organizational and legal forms: individual entrepreneur and private household plot. The comparison is given in the table below.
Which one to choose? Personal farming is suitable for small farms, since there is no tax burden. On the other hand, market agents and state enterprises are more willing to cooperate with individual entrepreneurs. In addition to individual entrepreneurs and private household plots, you can also create peasant farms. By the nature of its activities, a farm is no different from an individual entrepreneur. Two nuances of peasant farms as an organizational and legal form: legal uncertainty (vague rules of law) and the opportunity to receive support from the state. Bottom line: for participation in the market, the best solution would be an individual entrepreneur, for a modest enterprise “for oneself” - a subsidiary farm.
How to buy?
A start-up business needs to take care of the sex ratio of individuals. In practice, the most common ratio is 1 male per 10 females. The sex is determined simply: put the rabbit on its back and pull the tail up. The presence of a tube-shaped process indicates a male; its absence indicates a female.
Where to buy animals? Private organizations are selling them. There is little point in going to a pet store - there is a high probability that they will not be there. General advice: look for suggestions from professional farmers. The Internet, newspaper advertisements and information from friends will help. There are dozens of rabbit farms in each region.
When purchasing, you should be guided by the following rules:
The correct choice of the initial stock has a decisive influence on future breeding. The next important point is the breed of the animal.
Choosing a breed
It all depends on the goals set by the beginning rabbit breeder. If the goal is meat production, then preference should be given to meat breeds, if fur, then to skin breeds.
Large quantities of meat are guaranteed from the following breeds:
The preferred method is cellular. If you have a large population, you can use shads, which are essentially a type of cage. Advantages of the cellular system:
- feeding regulation;
- planned matings;
- light breeding work;
- isolation of a sick animal.
It is the cellular method that provides maximum productivity. The meat and skins are of high quality and are valued on the market. In the CIS countries, professional rabbit breeders mainly use cages.
Rabbit farm: structure and features
A mini-farm is a system of cells that are combined into one structure. The net takes up little space and can accommodate a large number of animals. The approximate area of the mini-farm is 2 m², which can accommodate up to 40 animals.
Types of mini-farms:
- decorative;
- mini-dachas;
- homestead;
- industrial.
The most acceptable option for breeding is home gardens. Decorative ones are not used throughout the year, but large ones require considerable investment. Homestead mini-farms are economical and spacious. Depending on the number of tiers, single-tier and multi-tier farms are distinguished. The choice is based on the size of the enterprise.
The design of any mini-farm should include:
The construction of a rabbitry needs to be given close attention - the health of the rabbits and even the farmer’s maintenance costs depend on this. What types of rabbit hutches are there? In our article you will find drawings, tools and materials, photos + videos.
To increase efficiency, a hopper feeder will also be required. Its presence contributes to compliance with sanitary standards: feed is safely loaded once a week. A characteristic feature of rabbit mini-farms is good functionality and increased autonomy. Such qualities ensure a constant flow of products and minimal costs.
Despite the abundance of structures, the so-called Mikhailov farm has gained the greatest popularity. And not without reason. By now it is considered a classic. It is worth examining it in more detail.
Making a Mikhailov farm
The following components will be required for construction:
- lumber. The wood is pre-treated with antifungal agents. The timber is purchased in regular sizes (20-40 mm);
- plywood;
- iron;
- tools: hacksaw, jigsaw, drill, hammer, scissors, pliers;
- nails;
- net. Previously, metal mesh was used, now soft materials are popular, since rabbits can get hurt;
- roof.
The Mikhailov farm is a structure consisting of 3 interconnected elements: upper and lower tiers and a stand. The upper section has a walking section, the lower section has a feeding trough and water. The upper tier is jigging and mother. In the uterine tier, the queen is crossed with a breeding male. Young animals are raised in the jigging chamber.
The cells have an area of about 1.5 m². Each can accommodate up to 20 individuals. Mikhailov's farm is essentially multi-tiered shads. Most often, two-tier structures are used.
Characteristic features of Mikhailov's design:
- autonomous cleaning. All animal waste goes directly into the garbage compartment without human intervention;
- unlimited water and food. The system uses simple laws of nature: food is supplied as it decreases due to gravity, and water is supplied due to the law of connected vessels;
- heating system providing a constant and favorable temperature environment in winter;
- complete satisfaction of animal instincts. The design resembles natural rabbit holes and holes;
- functionality. Young animals can be moved to another compartment without harm to them.
The lifespan of the Mikhailov farm is approximately 20 years. This is almost twice as much as using traditional models.
Making a Mikhailov farm:
The finished mini-farm can be placed anywhere. It doesn't take up much space. Experienced rabbit breeders advise stirring the structure in the open air - this promotes the healthy development of the offspring. With this placement, you will have to take care of insulation - rabbits do not tolerate drafts well.
What can and cannot be fed to rabbits?
Without understanding the basics of feeding, healthy rabbits cannot be raised. From here you will learn what kinds of food there are for rabbits and how to feed long-eared rabbits correctly, you will find the norms and feeding regimes. And in you will learn what to feed rabbits is strictly prohibited.
Features of Mikhailov's technique
Igor Nikolaevich Mikhailov is a Russian rabbit breeder, whose rabbit breeding technique has become a standard and a textbook example. As a result of long experiments, Mikhailov managed to develop an acceleration technique that ensures maximum productivity. It has been proven in practice that the Mikhailovsky method significantly reduces the cost of caring for pets.
Legend of rabbit breeding - Igor Mikhailov
Characteristic features of the technique:
- the need for a mini-farm. Without it, proper and successful breeding of animals is impossible;
- ensuring communication between the young and the mother. The offspring are fed by the female for the first 3 months (traditionally it was only 3 weeks), after which they switch to regular food. Such long feeding from the mother ensures rapid growth and increased immunity;
- waste products should not get into the feed. This is guaranteed by the design feature of the truss;
- micraxel. The fur obtained as a result of using Mikhailov’s technique is highly valued in light industry.
As a result of using Mikhailov’s method, each rabbit breeder receives about 100 kilograms of meat and approximately 40 skins per year. Stable profits and a constant influx of clients are guaranteed.
Setting up a farm is the most important technological process, as a result of which the rabbit breeding business will pay off in the first year of operation. When choosing between different designs, a novice rabbit breeder should pay special attention to Mikhailov’s technique as a time-tested practice.
Video - Breeding rabbits on a farm
The topic of rabbit breeding is discussed by a successful Russian entrepreneur who has been professionally involved in various areas of agribusiness for more than 15 years. Participated in the creation and development of both his own and third-party projects. Has extensive knowledge in many areas of agricultural production. The article contains a short but very comprehensive business plan for breeding rabbits (up to 1000 animals per year) with specific figures for income and expenses.
Surely you know the saying: “ The surest way to throw money away is to invest it in agriculture" Well, the time has come to completely refute this saying and forget about it once and for all. After all, we will talk about one of the most stable and profitable areas - rabbit breeding as a business. Namely, about creating your own rabbit mini-farm, which will provide you with a constant source of income all year round.
Firstly, rabbit meat has exceptional dietary properties. In addition to the fact that rabbit meat contains all the essential amino acids, it is absorbed by the human body by 90% (pork, beef and lamb by only 60%) and helps regulate metabolism. And you can play well on these properties of rabbit meat. Agree that there are now more than enough people on a diet for one reason or another.
Secondly, the rabbit meat market is practically empty, and it won’t be difficult to break into it. This is primarily due to the fact that no one can compete with rabbit meat: neither poultry farms, nor pig farms, nor livestock complexes, i.e. this niche is actually empty. And ask yourself, how often do you see an abundance of domestically produced rabbit carcasses on supermarket shelves?
Organizational and legal aspects of running a rabbit breeding business
Before opening a mini-farm, let’s consider the two most acceptable forms of doing business: peasant farms and individual entrepreneurs.
Peasant farm (peasant farm).
In fact, the activities of a peasant farm enterprise are the same as an individual entrepreneur, but with only one difference: it may include citizens who jointly own the property of the enterprise and have the right to carry out any economic activity. At the same time, the peasant farm does not have its own statutory documents, constituent agreement and its own name. By registering a peasant farm in your own name, you become its head, or more precisely, an ordinary individual entrepreneur.
But whether it is worth accepting new shareholders or not depends on the situation, but I would answer this - no. Since, if successful, problems will inevitably arise with partners (shareholders), which can lead to the complete liquidation of the enterprise. In addition, according to the law, you have the right to manage a peasant farm as one person. The advantage of a peasant farm is that it can count on government support in the form of all kinds of subsidies and tax breaks.
IP (individual entrepreneur).
To be honest, in my opinion, this is the most acceptable form of business organization for a rabbit mini-farm. The fact is that the legal field of peasant farming does not have clear boundaries, and there have been constant disputes around this for a whole decade. And the so-called advantage of peasant farms in receiving government benefits and subsidies is completely smashed against the bureaucratic wall.
For example, to get a preferential loan for agricultural producers, you need to submit an application to the local district administration. The commission that considers such applications will include good men and women who are vitally interested in receiving these very loans. Now guess who will win the tender for a soft loan?
Tax form for rabbit farming
As a taxation system for this type of activity, it is worth choosing from two forms of taxation: Simplified taxation regime, income minus expenses or the Unified Agricultural Tax.
Economic activity type code
OKVED with coding - A.01.25.2 will suit you. What does it mean: breeding rabbits and fur-bearing animals on a farm. This group has restrictions prohibiting the production of skins and hides of animals obtained as a result of hunting and trapping.
Organization of material and technical base
In order to mechanize as much as possible the entire process of raising and keeping rabbits, it is best to use a shed system. A shed is a shed with a wood or metal frame that houses rabbit cages under one roof.
Place for a mini farm
To build a mini-farm, no special permission is required. All you need is to have a plot of land outside the city, owned or leased. The only catch is the permissible distance of the mini-farm from residential buildings. Such things are regulated by local governments, so find out in advance where you can install a farm and where it is unacceptable.
The place for the farm itself should be on a hill or on a piece of land with a slight slope.
Try to avoid low areas, as rabbits cannot tolerate high humidity. Ideally, the entire site for the farm should be asphalted, concreted or filled with gravel, and a storm drain and water drainage system should be installed.
So, the mini-farm project will allow producing 700-1000 rabbit carcasses per year, and the farm area will be about 800-1000 m² of land.
- Sheds - 3 pcs. Total area - 360 m².
- The feed shop and the car access to it are 200 m².
- Room for equipment and spare building materials - 40-50 m².
- Premises for slaughterhouse and refrigeration equipment - 40-50 m².
- Manure collector - 30 m².
- The rest of the area is passages and passages for a mini-tractor.
Sheds.
Sheds for rabbit breeding
Due to the fact that the cages in the sheds are located in one place, this significantly saves building materials and time for their maintenance. Cages in sheds are installed in two tiers, on both sides of a covered passage. To allow more light and fresh air into the cages with rabbits, windows measuring 20x100 cm are made on their back walls, with removable boards on hinges. The length of the shed can be arbitrary (in our case it is 20 m), the height is 240 cm, the width of the passage is 120-140 cm. The floor in the passage is concreted or asphalted with a slope towards the cages.
Rabbit cages
The cage for the main herd has a length of 100-130 cm, a width of 60-70 cm, with a front wall height of 55 cm, a back wall of 35-40 cm. For ease of manure removal, the roof of the lower tier cages is made with a slope back and is a second solid bottom for upper tier cells. There should be a similar tray for the cells of the lower tier.
All cages are best made from galvanized welded mesh(cell size 18X18, 20X20, 16X48 mm).
The cages in the sheds are divided into two compartments - feeding and nesting, and mesh nurseries are placed between them (cell size 35X35 or 25X50 mm), but feeders and drinking bowls are located under the nurseries, which significantly saves space. Thus, one shed can accommodate 60 cages, in which up to 400 young animals can be raised in a year.
Feed shop
A feed shop is a room where an impressive supply of concentrated feed (compound feed, grain) will be stored, which should be enough for 2-3 months. If desired, the feed mill can be equipped with a professional grain crusher (production capacity of at least 500 kg/h) and a granulator to independently produce feed and save on this cost item.
Also on the territory of the mini-farm there should be a room for spare equipment (feeders, drinking bowls, etc.) and building materials (mesh, boards, fasteners, etc.).
Slaughterhouse and refrigeration equipment
In case of mass slaughter of rabbits, it is necessary to build a separate room, or rather an extension to the building where the refrigeration equipment will be located. In the slaughterhouse, a separate place for slaughter is allocated, which is equipped with a blood flow and special equipment. oven for burning offal (heads, paws, entrails, illiquid skins, etc.). This approach allows you to create a continuous process for processing rabbit carcasses. That is, they killed it, cut it up, immediately packaged it and froze it.
Manure collector
A manure pit is an ordinary pit with concrete walls and an open roof (canopy). The depth of the pit is at least 3 meters, the width and length are arbitrary. The manure collector is located in the farthest corner of the farm and as far as possible from the shads, feed shop and refrigeration equipment.
Business process: raising and feeding rabbits.
Let's consider business processes for raising rabbits for meat.
What breed of rabbits is it profitable to breed?
Since the main product of a rabbit mini-farm is meat, the breeds of rabbits must be meat accordingly. There should be no downy, meat-skinned, and especially crossbred rabbits. At first glance, there is no difference in weight between adult rabbits of meat and skin breeds, but the latter already reach a live body weight of up to 3.5 kg by the age of 3 months. There are only three of them: New Zealand red, New Zealand white and Californian.
- New Zealand red. Adult rabbits reach a live weight of 4.5-5 kg. They are characterized by high growth energy, especially at an early age.
- New Zealand white. These rabbits are also distinguished by high growth energy, meatiness and early maturity. The live weight of young animals already at three months of age is 2.7-3.5 kg.
- Californian. The average daily growth of young animals of this breed is 40-45 grams. per day until two months of age, as a result of which these broiler rabbits reach a weight of 4.5 kg by 5 months.
My advice to you: do not buy breeding young animals at poultry markets. The best place to buy is specialized agricultural supplies. Exhibitions. Here you can find good suppliers of purebred rabbits, evaluate their products on the spot and compare the rabbits offered with breed standards.
Organization of feeding
I very often heard the opinion that rabbits are herbivores and you can get tons of rabbit meat from grass alone. Believe it or not, this is not true.
Succulent and herbaceous food (grasses, hay, straw, etc.) in the diet of rabbits in terms of nutritional value is only 15-20%, the rest is grain flour feed. At the same time, there are a huge number of diets for feeding rabbits, as well as the characteristics of the feed given to them. In order not to confuse you in all sorts of comparisons, below I will provide a table of the combined type of feeding. Be aware that succulent and grassy foods in this table are interchangeable.
Table No. 1: Maximum daily yields of basic feed for rabbits in grams.
| Stern | Adult rabbits | Young animals aged, months. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| from 1 to 3 | from 3 to 6 | ||
| Grass of natural meadows | 1500 | 200-500 | 500-900 |
| Legume grass | 1200 | 150-400 | 400-700 |
| Green branches of deciduous trees | 600 | 50-200 | 200-400 |
| Beet tops | 200 | 50 | 50-100 |
| Feed cabbage | 600 | 100-150 | 250-400 |
| Cabbage leaf | 300 | 100 | 100-200 |
| Carrot | 600 | 100-250 | 250-400 |
| Fodder beet | 200 | 100 | 100-200 |
| Sugar beet | 600 | 100-250 | 250-400 |
| Turnips, rutabaga, turnips | 400 | 50-100 | 100-200 |
| Boiled potatoes | 400 | 50-150 | 150-300 |
| Raw potatoes | 150 | 50 | 50-250 |
| Silage | 300 | 20-80 | 80-200 |
| Hay | 300 | 100 | 100-200 |
| Cereal grain | 150 | 30-60 | 60-100 |
| Legume grain | 50 | 10-20 | 20-30 |
| Pancake week grain | 20 | 5-10 | 10-15 |
| Bran | 100 | 5-20 | 20-80 |
| Cake and meal | 100 | 5-20 | 20-80 |
| Meat and bone meal | 15 | 5-10 | 10 |
| Salt | 2.5 | 0.5-1 | 1 |
| Chalk | 2 | 0.5-1 | 1 |
But the following table will help you understand not only the annual feed requirement for each category of rabbits, but also calculate the feed requirement for each day.
Table No. 2: The annual feed requirement of rabbits with a combined type of feeding.
| Physiological state | Annual count kormodny | Feed in kg. | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| concentrates | hay | roots | green stern | ||
| Female rabbit and male during the non-mating period | 33 | 3.46 | 1.19 | 3.23 | 4.48 |
| Female rabbit and male during breeding period | 32 | 4.16 | 1.44 | 3.84 | 5.6 |
| Female rabbit | 120 | 16,8 | 6 | 15,6 | 23,1 |
| Lactating rabbit | 180 | 62,4 | 21,1 | 57.2 | 83,35 |
| For one head of young animals from 45 to 120 days | 75 | 10,14 | 3,14 | - | 11.97 |
| In total for 24 heads of young animals | - | 243,36 | 75,36 | - | 287,28 |
| Annual requirement of replacement young stock | 42 | 5,25 | 1,89 | 5,67 | 8,19 |
| Male annual requirement | 365 | 47,50 | 16,40 | 44 | 64 |
| Male share per female rabbit | - | 5,93 | 2,05 | 5,5 | 8 |
| For one female rabbit with offspring (24 heads up to 4 months of age) | - | 341,36 | 109 | 91 | 420 |
In the morning, rabbits are given succulent feed and greens, and in the afternoon and evening - concentrates (compound feed, grain). At the same time, rabbits must be provided with clean drinking water around the clock.
Rabbit breeding
When breeding rabbits, I use the following scheme. Shed has 60 cells, the upper tier of cells is occupied by females (14 cells) plus one male (1 cell). The remaining 45 cells are used to raise young animals. From each rabbit I get 3 litters: spring, summer and autumn. I keep young rabbits with a female together until they are 2 months old, and sometimes more (in late autumn). One female produces about 25 rabbits per year, which in total amount to 300-350 young animals (14 females multiply 25 rabbits).
It is impossible to determine the exact number of young animals, since mortality among rabbits is inevitable, so we will take a minimum of 300 pieces. This number of young animals is freely placed on the remaining tiers with cages (7-8 pieces per cage). As a result, we have the following data: 3 sheds multiplied by 300 pieces. rabbits and the output is 900 rabbit carcasses per year.
But I would not advise you to keep a separate herd for purebred breeding. If you calculate the maintenance of such a herd in terms of time and money spent on feed, then it will be easier to buy breeding replacement young stock every two years.
How to save on feed
As you understand, the main expense item in rabbit farming as a business is feed. It is very expensive to feed rabbits with purchased feed, it is impossible to grow grain on your own, and it is also impossible to reduce the amount of feed given, as this will lead to a sharp decrease in productivity. Therefore, the only way to reduce this expense item is start your own feed production.
All you need is a powerful grain crusher and a feed granulator, since rabbits are reluctant to eat ground grain. And, of course, raw materials in the form of grain and grain waste. This is precisely the essence of saving, because grain waste costs two times less than compound feed.
Below I will give 3 recipes for concentrated feed for rabbits of all ages.
1) Recipe No. K-92-1 concentrate feed for adult rabbits.
2) Recipe No. K-91-1 concentrate feed for young animals.
3) Recipe for concentrated feed for rabbits of all ages.
Do not try to prepare such succulent food for the winter yourself as silage and root crops. It’s one thing when you keep 20-30 rabbits, and a completely different thing when their number exceeds 1000. Procuring and growing such food will not only take a lot of time, but will also require significant investments in paying hired workers. The only exception is hay, since it is quite difficult to buy well-leafed and vitamin-rich hay.
Try as much as possible mechanize all manual labor. A good option in this case is a mini-tractor, which can be used to transport feed to the shads and remove manure. Also take care of automatic water supply for rabbits.
Ways of implementation
So we come to the main component of our rabbit business - the sale of meat. And here you need to consider all possible ways.
Own customer base
Creating your own customer base can be a good start. That is, acquaintances, relatives, acquaintances of acquaintances, and so on. This category of people should not be underestimated. There were times when I lost almost the entire batch of rabbits right from the yard. Some took live ones, others took ready-made carcasses, but something else is important, how to quickly and efficiently create this database?
With friends and relatives everything is clear, they called, came, bought, but strangers are attracted through advertising. Use any advertising: ads in newspapers, on the street, etc. The main thing is an acceptable pricing policy. Don’t raise the price of meat to the skies, make it affordable for all categories of buyers, and those who want to taste tender, homemade rabbit meat won’t have to wait long.
You can sell meat directly from the farm without any permitting documents. The exception is resellers who need a regular certificate from the veterinarian about the presence of rabbits.
Sales of rabbit carcasses through restaurants
Selling rabbit carcasses through restaurants seems very attractive at first glance. However, be prepared for the fact that almost every restaurant will refuse you. And all because most restaurants do not have rabbit dishes on their menus.
Therefore, you should not directly contact the administration of such establishments with an offer to buy rabbit meat. It’s better to contact the chef, and not with an offer to buy meat, but simply cook it and present him with 2-3 rabbit carcasses. For many, this approach will seem ridiculous, but believe me, it works great. Of course, not all restaurants will become your clients and at first you will lose some profit, but those who agree will become a stable sales channel.
However, here, unlike selling meat from the yard, you you will need a veterinary certificate form No. 2. In addition to the local veterinary department, be sure to contact the local SES, regional center for standardization and metrology. The fact is that all sorts of regulations governing the sale of meat are constantly changing, so you should get advice from the authorities described above.
The shops
Wholesale centers, shops and supermarkets are not an option within our project. It’s just that everything depends on the volume of meat produced, and our volumes are small - 2 tons of meat per year, which are made up of the following indicators: 1 rabbit carcass - 2 kg, 1000 carcasses - 2000 kg. It's all about certification of the farm itself, the slaughterhouse, the processing shop, etc. The annual registration and confirmation of all these documents will eat up the bulk of the profit. But if you decide to use this option, then I advise you to contact the sales points directly and resolve such issues individually.
When trying to sell rabbit meat through retail chains, you will encounter large wholesale suppliers, and these will mean extremely low prices for your product. And they are low to such an extent that they can completely ruin your enterprise. Such a sales route is appropriate only when the volumes produced exceed 5-6 tons of meat per year and additional sources of income are added to this.
Additional sources of income
Let's look at how to use by-products to generate additional income.
Rabbit skins
For the majority of the population, rabbits are not only tasty and dietary meat, but also fur. However, the situation with the sale of skins is terrible, but not a dead end.
When slaughtering rabbits, be sure to preserve the skins, and it does not matter what they are, summer or winter, since there is a buyer for each product. It’s just that the price for them is quite low, about 30-40 rubles. a piece. They are purchased mainly by large enterprises producing leather and fur products. Therefore, in your free time, be sure to look for those in your region. Of course, on this income item you won’t earn much, but at least you’ll pay back part of the same feed.
Litter
Natural organic fertilizers have always been and will be in price, but you can’t make a lot of money from manure due to the small volumes. Vermicompost is another matter. Biohumus is a liquid, highly concentrated fertilizer obtained as a result of fermentation of manure in special biogas plants. Surely you have heard about this, when natural methane gas is obtained from animal waste, but vermicompost is a by-product of processing. I saw a similar fertilizer, bottled in plastic bottles, in stores for summer residents, and people readily bought it. So no one is stopping you from doing this kind of business, and vermicompost has a long shelf life.
Inventory
Hopper feeders, rabbit watering systems and cage batteries are always in demand. Many owners of country houses prefer to raise small animals for their own needs in the warm season. For example, a 3-cell cell battery made of galvanized mesh and metal. profile, as well as equipped with feeders and drinkers, costs about 5-8 thousand rubles on the market.
Income and expenses of a business raising rabbits
Initial investment.
But here, dear rabbit breeders, I cannot give exact figures for the initial investment, even if I wanted to. And I won’t take them from the ceiling to paint a beautiful picture (as is done everywhere), looking at which one gets the impression of easy and multimillion-dollar earnings. After all, everything depends on the specific situation.
Firstly, prices for building materials are different in each region. Secondly, some already have the necessary equipment, supplies of building materials, the same mini-tractor, etc., while others will have to start from scratch. Therefore, I will simply provide a list of the necessary equipment and building materials, based on which you can easily calculate the initial costs for yourself.
- Building materials - metal profiles, galvanized mesh, roofing and lumber.
- Preparation of documents for a land plot. Owning it is expensive, renting is almost free.
- Improvement of a mini-farm - storm drainage, water drainage, asphalt, concrete or crushed stone.
- The costs of building a farm are payments to hired workers or your own labor costs.
- Equipment - mini-tractor, freezers, grain crusher, feed granulator.
- Breeding rabbits - at least 50 pieces at the age of 3-4 months.
- Possible expenses include purchasing equipment (I don’t recommend it, it’s better to do it yourself).
Income per month and per year
Annual expenses.
- Feed consumption per 1 production unit is 340 kg, multiplied by 5 rubles. per kg, we get 1700 rubles. and add 300 rubles to this amount. for other expenses: paperwork, fuel, etc. As a result, one unit of production costs us 2 thousand rubles. in year.
- In a mini-farm of 3 shads, we have 42 production units (14 females in each shad), multiply 42 units by 2000 rubles, and the annual expense will be 84 thousand rubles. But, as you know, everything is beautiful on paper, but in reality it’s different, so let’s add a couple of force majeure events to this figure and round it up to 100 thousand rubles. in year.
Annual income.
- One production unit is 50 kg of rabbit meat (25 carcasses of 2 kg each). Let's be realistic, since most of your customers will not pay any attention to the dietary and beneficial qualities of rabbit meat. For them, the main thing is the price of the product, so we will set it within 200 rubles. per kg. And we get the following figure - 10 thousand rubles. from one production unit.
- Then everything is simple, from 10 thousand rubles. we take away our expenses - 2000 rubles. and we get net profit - 8 thousand rubles, which we multiply by 42 production units - 336 thousand rubles. in year. This is about 30 thousand rubles per month.
Of course, these are not petrodollars, but also not a meager salary at some municipal enterprise. This income will be fully consistent with your labor costs on the mini-farm, which will be 3-4 hours a day.
Last argument: no one is stopping you from expanding production over time. As soon as the system works and proves itself, and you realize that you are capable of more, then boldly move forward, exploring more and more new markets.
With the decline in popularity, farming has become much less natural and edible. Everything that is sold in stores, as a rule, is of dubious quality. In addition, buying any delicacy is becoming more and more difficult every time. That is why, in a new form and with increased intensity, private farms began to be revived, the distinctive feature of which is the production and sale of completely natural products. Today we will talk about one of the areas of farming, rabbit breeding, as a business: is it profitable or not to start this enterprise, and is it profitable?
Of course, every agricultural business has the goal of producing some basic product. Let's see what we're talking about in the case of rabbit breeding.
Table 1. What allows you to make money in the rabbit business?
| Product | Description |
|---|---|
| Every business has a main product that is planned to be sold. In the case of rabbits, it is undoubtedly meat - a dietary food product that has a pleasant specific taste. Since rabbit meat cannot be found in supermarkets, people who prefer to eat this type of meat are happy to turn to farmers to buy it. |
| In addition, they provide rabbits and skins, which are used to produce products such as: The purchase of skins is carried out by various companies, which are engaged in sewing the above products. |
| Moreover, you can sell not only the final product, but also live individuals, which, due to the fact that rabbits reproduce very quickly and actively, also bring excellent profit. Depending on what breed of rabbits you choose, the price of the rabbits will vary. You can make really good money from them. |
However, like any other business, rabbit breeding comes with various kinds of difficulties. We’ll talk about what exactly we’re talking about later in the material presented.
Requirements for keeping rabbits
So, you have decided to become a livestock breeder and get serious about studying the rabbit breeding business. The most important thing you need to remember is to take your time. First, let's find out what living conditions need to be provided for the eared ones so that they will help your business develop.
1. Dry rooms– the first and most important thing is that you should arrange for the rabbits. These creatures do not tolerate cold and humidity, so if you do not want your entire livestock to die overnight, try to provide them with decent shelter from the very beginning.
In this case, a decent shelter will be understood as a structure:
- capital character;
- heated;
- renovated;
- equipped with rabbit hutches.
In the room you have chosen, before the long-eared ones move in, you will have to carry out repairs:
- insulate walls;
- cover up the cracks;
- treat surfaces with special non-toxic substances that kill insects and other pests, etc.;
- concrete the floor;
- install storm drains.
2. Comfortable houses. As you know, you can breed rabbits:
- in cells;
- in the pits.
Table 2. Advantages and disadvantages of raising rabbits in cages
| Advantages | Flaws |
|---|---|
| Confinement in cells, like any phenomenon in the world, has its pros and cons. So, the positive aspects include the following: |
Table 3. Advantages and disadvantages of raising rabbits in pits
| Advantages | Flaws |
|---|---|
| Keeping in pits is a breeding style close to the natural way of living of rabbits, which has many supporters. Here are the main points that are considered an advantage regarding it: | However, the pit also has serious disadvantages that should also be considered: However, all the disadvantages listed above can be stopped and reduced to nothing with proper skill. |
In addition to the fact that you will have to decide how to keep your rabbits, you will also need to decide on the creation of a special room in which your rabbits’ food will be stored:
- hay;
- grain crops;
- compound feed;
- vegetables, etc.
By the way, making hay, as well as purchasing all other types of food, rests on your shoulders.
In addition, it is also necessary to have a separate room for slaughtering rabbits. That’s what it’s called – the slaughterhouse. According to sanitary rules, this workshop must be equipped with:
- running water;
- ventilation system;
- bloodstream into which the rabbits' blood will flow.
All surfaces of a given room, that is, floors, walls, ceilings, must be covered with materials that:
- cannot be subjected to corrosive changes;
- do not become overgrown with fungus.
The following materials are ideal for coating:
- metal;
- plastic;
- tiles, etc.
In addition, the slaughterhouse must be equipped with refrigeration units in which you will keep skinned animal skins.
To be able to trade the fur of these animals, you will need to acquire premises for:
- drying skins;
- their proper storage.
Note: Activities associated with breeding rabbits also involve working with the waste remaining from them. So, some of them can be burned in special furnaces, and rabbit manure can be stored in a special pit, the dimensions of which will be approximately 3 by 3 meters. The contents of this pit can be used independently as garden fertilizer, or you can also sell it, making money on almost everything that a person can get from a rabbit in one way or another.
It is also necessary to take care of finding a contact with an experienced veterinarian, since farming is closely associated with such a phenomenon as the fight against livestock diseases. Very often, even very successfully started enterprises for breeding these animals go bankrupt, since they did not previously take into account that the death of animals occurs very quickly: one gets infected and after a few days all die. Therefore, regular examinations and the help of a competent veterinarian can help your business like nothing else.
It doesn’t matter what you choose, a pit or a cage, as the main area for keeping rabbits, in addition to a veterinarian, in order to prevent diseases, you will need to acquire a cage-quarantine zone into which sick animals will be temporarily resettled.
Sales channels
Any, even the best business, implies that the product must find its buyer. In our country, rabbit meat, as the main product of this business, unlike in European countries, where it is sold in almost every supermarket, is not so popular, but, nevertheless, shops selling products from private farmers are ready for this purchase or resell meat.
However, you can sell carcasses yourself by opening a point of sale or standing behind a counter at the market.
As for the skins, this is already a by-product. It can be used like this:
- valuable fur is used to create rather expensive fur products, for example, fur coats, collars, hats, etc.;
- lower quality skins are turned into children's shoes and gloves;
- rabbit fluff is often used to create insulated wardrobe items;
- Felted products are made from short rabbit hair.
The skins will most likely be purchased by workshops or large manufacturers of similar products, of which there are many today, but you will still have to look for them.
As for young animals, young rabbits are perhaps the easiest to sell. This direction is very, very profitable, since with an average price of a rabbit of 400-600 rubles, a female is capable of producing 40 pieces per year. We multiply, and we get a good annual profit from one rabbit, and provided that you have, for example, 40 of them, very soon you will begin to earn approximately half a million rubles.
If you breed rabbits only to sell them, you can save yourself from the need to participate in the brutal killing of animals, and at the same time from the expenses that were originally planned to be incurred due to the need to set up workshops:
- for slaughtering and storing meat;
- for drying and storing skins.
In addition, if you don’t sell meat, then you don’t need to worry about obtaining quality certificates of approval. However, you will have to understand the following subtleties:
- how to properly conduct rabbit mating;
- how often can female rabbits mate;
- how to feed pregnant females;
- how to care for newborns, etc.
Grown-up rabbits are sold at the age of 2-3 months. At this age, an individual with proper care will weigh 2-3 kilograms, and sexual maturity usually occurs around 4 months.
Rabbit breeds
Determining your breeding goal and future distribution channels is very important before you start breeding, as this should determine the choice of breed you will raise. In total, three categories of breeds can be distinguished.
| name of category | Category description |
|---|---|
| Meat | This category represents a breed of rabbits whose wool is not suitable for sale and use, however, they are heavy individuals and produce a lot of tasty meat, for which they are, in fact, bred. |
| Meat-skins | Representatives of this category can equally serve as a source of both meat and skins, since both their flesh and fur are highly valued. Representatives of such breeds are especially profitable, however, you need to carefully monitor them, avoiding, for example, fights, since a damaged skin immediately becomes defective and depreciates in value. |
| Skin | Skin breeds offer long, soft and thick fur, however, their meat is not as highly valued. However, they are often used because fur is not cheap and is usually required in large quantities to create fur coats and other products. |
For example, the following breeds of rabbits are highly valued by livestock breeders:
- , whose weight reaches 6 kilograms per individual, while representatives of this breed are unpretentious in care and are suitable for keeping in areas with cold climates, and their skin and meat are of good quality.
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, whose maximum weight also reaches 6 kilograms, while one female produces offspring of about 12 individuals, which quickly gain weight under cage conditions, which are the most preferable for this breed.
- — the weight of this individual is approximately 7 kilograms, the female brings 9 rabbits each, the unpretentiousness is very high, and growth is rapid.
- - a heavy breed, one individual can reach 12 kilograms, you will have to tinker with breeding, however, it is worth it.
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- a meat-skin breed, each of the mentioned products provides excellent quality, while the weight is small, five kilograms, but the taste of the meat is really pleasant.
- — the weight of these individuals can reach 6 kilograms, the maximum number of baby rabbits born is approximately 8 pieces, the meat is of average quality, but the skins are large and highly valued.
To begin with, you can take several individuals, for example, two or three breeds, and, by experimenting with them, understand which one is right for you. Remember that only cages are suitable for raising animals for skins, pits are perfect for raising meat, and you will also need to acquire equipment appropriate to the breed.
What to feed
The better quality the rabbit is, the better the livestock breeder lives - remember this rule once and for all. There are several food groups that are suitable for your eared pets to eat.
Table 4. What do rabbits eat?
| Group | Description |
|---|---|
| Green feed | This category is literally represented by green food, that is: It is forbidden to give wild herbs to rabbits, therefore, they are usually fed with seeded crops, for example: |
| Roughage | This category also includes plant foods, however, more coarse ones, such as: Hay is produced, as a rule, from the same plants that are part of the green food category. According to available data, one female rabbit eats 40 kilograms of hay during the winter! As for tree branches that are used as food for rabbits, as a rule, we are talking about garden trees, however, they can also be used: |
| Juicy | This category includes food products such as: The following root vegetables are eaten by rabbits: Silage is a mixture of vegetable waste and grass. |
| Concentrated | This category is represented by such nutritious products that are suitable for feeding rabbits, such as: |
It is also important to give rabbits additional vitamins and other supplements, for example:
- vitamin E;
- vitamin A;
- bone meal;
- table salt.
In addition, it is important that animals always have access to a large amount of water, since one individual needs about half a liter per day.
Advantages and disadvantages of running a rabbit business
Let's look at the advantages and disadvantages of a rabbit business.
Table 5. Positive and negative aspects of the rabbit breeding business
With the right approach, the expenses you made to organize a business will pay for themselves approximately 10 months after the start, and then you will already be gaining momentum. However, this will only happen if:
- you will learn how to choose the right breed;
- properly equip a house for rabbits;
- find out their biological characteristics;
- learn how to properly feed, handle, treat rabbits, etc.
As you can see, there is a lot to learn.
Let's sum it up
Breeding rabbits is a business for the persistent. Despite its apparent simplicity, it is associated with a large number of different risks that appear seemingly out of nowhere. If you can handle them well, you can be sure that your business will take off. However, we advise you to think about the fact that this business, one way or another, is built on exploitation and cruelty towards animals. Not every person can handle this. Perhaps you should think it over and choose a different direction of activity. But if you decide to go all the way, start studying the relevant literature.
Video - Breeding rabbits as a business: profitable or not