How to start a rabbit farming business in Uganda (2022).

Many people enjoy keeping rabbits as pets. Did you know that you can also start a rabbit farming business? Nowadays, there is a steady growth in the consumption of rabbit meat and other rabbit products such as urine have found application in the agricultural sector. This is good news to all rabbit farmers and those planning to start a rabbit farming business. In this post, we shall walk you through the start-up process so that you can smoothly move through to start a rabbit farming business. We shall also look at the important aspects of a rabbit business and tips to get ahead of others in this sector.

What is Rabbit farming?

Knowing what rabbit farming is if you are going to start a rabbit farming business is important. let’s get over it. Rabbit farming is the practice of breeding and raising domestic rabbits as livestock for their meat, urine, fur, and droppings. To get all the above, it’s important to raise rabbits on a large scale to get realistic amounts of the above-mentioned products.

Why start a Rabbit farming business?

There are many good livestock rearing businesses but I’ll surely discuss that a few or none is better than this. Anyway, it all depends on your strategies and how you achieve your targets. Below are the reasons you should start a rabbit farming business.

Rabbits produce white meat whose demand is growing and highly recommend by health personnel. No wonder its meat is way more expensive than others. This is good news to all prospective rabbit farmers.

Rabbits provide lots of products. Some of which are listed below;

• Rabbit meat
• Droppings as manure and fish feeds
• Urine as organic fertilizer and pesticide or insecticide.
• Skins to make leather and more.

They have a higher conversation rate than any other livestock.

It requires less capital and skill to start. These are some that caught my eye, you can think and suggest more and share them in the comment box below for further reading.

Read also: How to start a produce business in Uganda.

Is rabbit farming profitable?

This is a question you should ask before starting any business and the rabbit farming business is not exceptional. The answer is yes. That is if it’s done the right way. The right way I’ve discussed in this post. You needn’t worry? All you need to do is read this post and you’ll be good to start your business. A Kilogram of rabbit meat goes for (25000-35000) Ugx currently in Uganda. On average, a hybrid rabbit can yield 3 kilograms. You can do the math.

How to start a rabbit farming business.

Now we shall walk you through the different steps and look at them in detail on how to start a rabbit farming business.

Plan your rabbit business.

It all starts with planning your rabbit business. Planning is very important and so you should take it seriously. We highly recommend you plan your business according to the scale of your rabbit business. Here are key elements you should look at in your rabbit business plan.

Executive summary, Business Description, Business goals and objectives, Market analysis, Sales strategies, Funding, and more.

For detail on what you should include in all these components, we have a detailed post about how to write a business plan. This can be of help.

Select a good breed to raise.

Breeds have different genes and growth characteristics. They resist diseases differently and some cannot easily adapt to the weather conditions in different geographical areas. Therefore, it’s very important to choose a good breed that shall meet your needs especially of size (use), weather, and disease resistance.

Rabbits are further classified in sizes and weight I.e., small rabbits that weigh 1-2kgs at maturity. These are usually the locals, medium that weigh 3-5 kgs. Most of these exotics listed below lie in this category and hybrids (giants) that weigh 5+ kgs.

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Common breeds of rabbits in Uganda.

California Rabbits

These are usually white with grey or black or greyish noses, ears, and legs. They grow to a weight of 3-4 kgs at maturity.

Dutch rabbits

This has black eyes and ears with a black back. The color can vary from black to brown. This breed is not so common and doesn’t grow so big. It weighs 2-3 kgs at maturity.

Flemish giant

The Flemish Giant is a very large breed of domestic rabbit. These are not so common in Uganda. They weigh 5+ kgs.

New Zealand white and New Zealand black.

This is the commonest breed of rabbits in Uganda. These are purely white for new Zealand white with reddish eyes and black for blacks. They grow to a weight of 4-5 kgs at maturity.

Chinchilla.

These are grey/ brown breeds that also grow to a weight of 3-4 kgs.

I would advise if you are to start a rabbit farming business to try California, New Zealand, and chinchilla Breed as they do so well in Uganda.

There are many more rabbit breeds though these are the best for starters in Uganda. You can do more research to find out more breeds.

Read also: How to start a poultry business in Uganda.

Raise capital.

To start a rabbit farming business, you’ll need to raise capital for that cause. The capital requirement for a rabbit business varies from small to big depending on your scale of production. Most of the funds go into rabbits’ structures i.e., the hutches. We shall discuss these in detail at a later stage.

The different ways you can raise capital are through partnerships, bank loans, loans from friends, savings to mention but a few. We have a full blog post about how to raise capital for your business. You can find the details there.

Read more: How to raise money for your side business.

Set up Rabbits’ houses (Hutches)

If you are to start a rabbit farming business, Rabbits’ hutches shall take 70% of startup capital their construction and design are very important. The hutches should be of a good size not to waste space and not to make the rabbits uncomfortable but keep them healthy and lively.

They should be large enough for exercise, and to accommodate the doe and its nesting box during the time of multiplication.

Buck houses should not be too big to tire the male during the time of service.

They should safeguard rabbits from bad weather and wild animals

And finally, should be easy to clean and keep tidy.

Modern self-cleaning hutches.

These are the many types of hutches constructed in different designs.

What is most important is;

• How easy is it to clean the structure?
• Is the structure spacious and aerated?
• Is it safe from predators like cats?
• The durability of the structure is also important.

The modern design of the rabbit hutch comprises of;

The mother structure.

This is the big structure that houses the hutches inside.

It should be roofed with iron sheets so that it’s waterproof.

It should be high with the roof raised at least 1.5 m from the top most hutch to avoid heat from the roof as it stresses rabbits.

Its walling should be made from materials resistant to water and strong to resist thieves. Such as tree offcuts or bricks.

It should be big enough to house the required hutches.

The internal rabbit hutches.

This houses the rabbits themselves. They are made from timber prices or 10*10 cm for frames, iron sheets to tap urine from the upper hutches, and rabbits wire mesh that is coated with plastic.

Does hutch measure 1*0.5*0.5 m and buck hutches are half the does hutch. i.e., 0.5*0.5*0.5 m

Roof angles for hutches should be at 30- 45 degrees for easy flow or rabbit urine and drooping off the roofs to the gutters.

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Buy tools and equipment.

To start a rabbit farming business, you’ll need to buy several tools and equipment o be used in the business other than the construction of hutches. some of these include nesting boxes, feeding bowls weighing scale, and many more that shall be of great use in your business.

Start your business.

When you have all the above in order, what’s next is starting your business. As we discussed, the breed is very important and can lead to the failure of your business if the right breed is not selected. Now that you are starting your business, it’s time to look for the breed you selected. It’s good you look for your Breed from respected breeders in your area.

To start a rabbit farming business, three months old rabbits should be purchased. At this age, they are mature enough that they don’t require a lot of special care and young enough to adapt to their new home before they start breeding at 5- 6 months.

Rabbit health care.

The health of your livestock is important for your success. What is most important in health care is proper feeding that we shall talk about in detail later, general cleanliness, and disease or disorder control.

The self-cleaning rabbit house should be adopted for healthy cleanliness. Further, dropping should be removed from the gutters and on rooftops of hutches daily.

Proper feeding should be practiced as we shall see later to avoid nutrient deficiencies and disorders.

Vaccination against diseases is a good disease control measure. Further, deworming and dusting can help control parasites hence healthy animals. Inquire from your veterinary personnel for details about vaccination.

Bunnies are not as resistant as mature rabbits, therefore, you should give bunnies extra care and attention. We shall look at this in detail later.

Read also: 3 ways to get your business online in Uganda.

Feeding your Rabbits correctly.

The key to a successful rabbit farm is keeping the animals happy and well-fed! It’s funny how the whole success of the business is summarized in feeding correctly. It shows how important It is. In this section, we shall discuss that in detail.

Feeding rabbits correctly is not only about giving them enough food and pellets. It’s about;

1. Giving your rabbits clean and enough water.

This can be done using a lot of methods. ie.

Using rabbit nipples.

This is the best method. Nipples can be connected to bottles or a nipple system interconnected with tubes and to a tank. It’s wise to use the tank nipple system, especially on a large scale. It’s easier to expand it and to manage.

Using bowls.

These bowls are usually made of clay to prevent playful rabbits from pouring the water. It’s not so good to use bowls as the water in the bowls is stagnant and usually contaminated by rabbits themselves.

2. Feeding the rabbits with sufficient greens and pellets.

Rabbits are naturally green eating animals(vegeterians) and their diet should comprise 80% greens for proper digestion and 20% pellets.

Pellets are important to;

Give supplementary nutrients that may be lacking in greens and promote fast growth especially in the bunnies.

The greens are good for proper digestion and keep the rabbits busy chewing.

Therefore, a good meal should comprise clean water(always), pellets, and plenty of greens.

Some of the common examples of greens that rabbits eat include.

• Blackjack
• Cabbages
• Banana peelings
• Potato vines and more.

Commercially, rabbits can be feed on;

Potato vines

Chloris Gayana/ Rhodes grass

Timothy grass

Oat grass

Alfalfa

Rabbit feeds should be withered especially greens to control bloating and pellets should not comprise of fish. Rabbits don’t eat meat. All their nutrients should be plant-based. For the case of good pellets, consider purchasing from a reputable producer.

Maize bran is not good for rabbits as it’s dusty and may cause coughing and sneezing in rabbits.

Rabbits should be given feeds at least twice a day and should always be availed with clean drinking water.

Rabbits are so active at night. It’s a good practice to keep them busy at night by providing greens at night for them to chew.

Read also: How to start a beekeeping business in Uganda.

Breeding and reproduction.

The success of the business depends also on breeding to multiply and have more rabbits. The gestation period of rabbits is 30 days. And rabbits are ready to start producing at 5 months+ does and 7+ for bucks.

Rabbits can breed monthly but it’s not a good practice. Always give a doe time to breast feed and thereafter resting time. It’s wise to service the doe 1.5 months after her previous birth. This enables her to give birth to strong and healthy bunnies and additionally, breastfeed them well.

Serving the does.

Does should be transferred to the buck’s house for one day for mating/ servicing, not vice versa to prevent fights. The male that serves the doe should be older by at least 2 months. The bucks’ hutch should be smaller i.e., 0.5* 0.5*0.5 to prevent tiring the buck while chasing the doe.

A doe should be given to the back for service at a time to prevent doe-doe fights.

A buck related to a doe shouldn’t serve it to prevent inbreeding and thereafter its negativities such as poor-quality offspring.

Caring for pregnant does.

Just like any other animal, does too need special care when pregnant. They should be given more nutritious food and water.

Pregnant does should live alone in a 1*0.5*0.5 hutch.

Pregnancy can be confirmed in does by smoothly caressing the belly of the does. A feeling of round balls in the belly is a pregnancy sign. This can be felt at 1-week pregnancy. Care should be taken not to injure the unborn bunnies. Do it after learning from experienced personnel.

3 days to her delivery date, she should be provided with a nesting box properly prepared with dry grass, not wool or cotton. This is because some does tend to eat the wool which can lead to intestinal blockage and death.

Read also: How to start a car washing business.

Caring for bunnies.

If you start a rabbit farming business, Bunnies are the future of your business so it’s very important to give them a lot of attention and care.

When bunnies are born, check that they are all alive and remove any dead ones while wearing gloves.

Check that the bunnies are well fed by checking if their bellies are a little swollen with milk. If the bellies are shrunk, consider forced breastfeeding or giving them to others does.

If the bunnies are well fed, then you are good to go for the day. Do the same tomorrow until the bunnies jump out of the nesting box themselves, i.e., at 1+ months.

Weaning bunnies.

After bunnies are one month old, they should be gradually removed from the doe. Bunnies should be given pellets and greens 3-4 times a day with sufficient clean drinking water.

Sudden death in bunnies.

It’s so common you’ll find a bunny dead in your hutch. Here are the causes of sudden death in bunnies.

• Stress and shock/ fear.
• Hunger.
• Inadequate nutrients in feeds
• Any slight disease attack or worms.
• Cold

To avoid sudden death, it’s is advisable to prevent the above. i.e.

Give bunnies enough nutritious feed all the time.

Contact your veterinarian personnel as far as disease is concerned.

Market your Business.

Marketing your business is very important when it comes to rabbit business. You need to implement the marketing strategy that you planned in the business plan. Some marketing hint is to look out for restaurants and hotels that have rabbit meat on their menu. These are potential customers. A requirement for this is to have the capacity to supply. That is 200+ rabbits.

There are many more ways you can market your business. Here are some tips.

1. Join a rabbit farmers group in your area. This can help market your rabbitry.
2. Create awareness of your rabbit business. Let people know your business and what you provide.
3. This can be through;
4. Social media platforms like Facebook.
5. Create a website for your business and do good SEO.
6. Giving out free products such as rabbit urine is a good way to market your products such as rabbit urine itself.

Read also: The key elements to success for a new business.

Conclusion.

There we are. You have all it takes to start a rabbit farming business at this stage. If you had one already, then I guess you’ve learned something. The most important aspect of rabbit keeping is feeding and caring for the rabbits well including the rabbits living in a good hutch. if you have these in order, then you’ll have a lively and productive farm.

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