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Producing Quality Meat Rabbits: A Comprehensive Guide for Successful Rabbit Farming

Explore the essentials of raising quality meat rabbits with housing tips, nutrition advice, health considerations, and effective marketing strategies. Learn about common diseases, reproduction traits, and best practices for ensuring top-notch rabbit meat. Discover key steps from housing to marketing plans for a successful rabbit farming venture.

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Producing Quality Meat Rabbits: A Comprehensive Guide for Successful Rabbit Farming

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  1. Producing Quality Meat Rabbits

  2. Quality Assurance • WHAT is Quality Assurance? • Quality • Standard • Assurance: • A pledge or a promise • To consumers

  3. WHO is responsible for Quality Assurance? • Everyone involved in food production! • Livestock producers • Food processors (packing plants, milk plants) • Grocery stores & restaurants • Consumers

  4. Commercial Rabbit Industry • 8 to 10 million pounds of rabbit are marketed each year in the US

  5. Nutritional Value of Rabbit Meat

  6. Parts of a Rabbit Carcass Foreleg Rib Lion Rump Hind leg

  7. What are the steps to quality meat rabbits??? • 1st – Housing • 2nd – Nutrition • 3rd – Health/Breeding Programs • 4th – Marketing Plan

  8. Housing • Housing • Many types and Varieties • Need to provide • Ventilation • Protection from drafts

  9. Housing • Provide a dry environment • Provide plenty of space • General rule of thumb: ¾ square Foot per pound of body weight. • Example a 4lb rabbit would need 3 square feet of cage space or a 18”x 24” cage

  10. Nutrition – meat type rabbits

  11. Health • Common Diseases of Rabbits raised in a meat production system: • Digestive Disorders • Pasteurellosis • Parasites • Sore Hocks

  12. Digestive Disorders • Newly weaned rabbit is most vulnerable • Enterotoxaemia is the most common disorder • Coccidiosis is a protozoa that causes diarrhea.

  13. Pasteurellosis • Respiratory Disease (Snuffles) • Larger groups of Rabbits • Poor Ventilation and high ammonia levels caused by urine.

  14. Parasites & Sore Hocks • Two main types of Parasites • Mites: cause ear and skin mange • Protozoa: Coccidiosis • Sore Hocks • The main disadvantage to wire cages • Wear of the fur on the hocks and can create open sores on the hocks

  15. Reproduction • Traits of concern: • Number of kits born • Number of kits weaned • Litter Weights at weaning • Litters per year (usually 5-8)

  16. Marketing • Things to consider with meat rabbits: • Slaughtering Facilities • Packaging & Labeling • Potential Buyers

  17. Marketing • Selling Rabbit Meat • From the Farm- can be slaughtered on farm and labeled as not inspected, no license required. • At a Farmers Market- Must be processed by a licensed slaughter facility, mobile retail food license required. • Grocery or Restaurant-Must be processed by a licensed slaughter facility, retail food establishment license required.

  18. References • DATCP- Division of Food Safety: Wisconsin food Regulations Overview for Farmers and Market Gardener Wishing to Direct Market. • Backyard Production of Meat Rabbits in Texas. Texas Ag. Extension Publication E-138 • Agriculture Alternatives- Rabbit Production. PennState Cooperative Extension Publication 1994. • http://www.elook.org/nutrition/beef/4434.html • http://www.elook.org/nutrition/lamb/3909.html • http://www.ams.usda.gov/poultry/standards/AMS-RabST-2002.htm

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