To make your rabbit farming enterprise commercially viable, you will need to think and plan in large quantities. To supply an export market with rabbit skins, you will need to fill a container, which means about 70,000 skins. Spanish abattoirs slaughter around 10,000 rabbits on a weekly basis.
Many rabbit farming breeds have been bred for a specific purpose whether it is for meat or for fur
One of your first considerations will be which type of rabbits to raise. The American Rabbit Breeders Association recognizes 47 distinct breeds of rabbits, which is quite a variety to choose from, if planning a rabbit farm. There are coat and eye color variations within some of these species and a range of different sizes exist. The Netherland Dwarf rabbit, for example, weighs barely 2 and a half pounds (1.1kg), while a meat rabbit such as the New Zealand rabbit can weigh in at around 12 pounds (5.4kg).
Not all meat rabbits are huge, though. The Florida White, bred in the 1960s to be suitable for both meat and laboratory use, hits the scale at between 4 and 6 pounds (1.8kg to 2.7kg).
The Altex rabbit, first bred in Alabama in the mid-1980s, can reach a weight of 20 pounds (9kg). Careful genetic selection tailored its impressive size.
The Californian Rabbit is one of the most popular meat rabbit breeds. First developed in the 1920s from New Zealand White, Himalayan and Chinchilla stock, its weight averages between 7 and 10 pounds (3.2kg to 4.5kg).
The Lynx Rex rabbit appeals to both the meat and the fur industry, with its fine velvety pelt and its size. Despite its name, the New Zealand Rabbit, which occurs in white, black and red, was actually bred in America. It is popular for meat, fur and laboratory use, but can be aggressive.
There are various types of Angora rabbits such as the French Angora and the Giant Angora, which are bred for their wool. These occur in colors such as white, grey, tan, brown and black.
When selecting the best bucks and does for rabbit breeding, you would need to look at how prolific their ancestors were. The female is usually ready to mate at a younger age than the male. Expect the female of one of the medium sized rabbit breeds to be sexually mature around the age of 5 months. Once the male is ready, he can mate up to 7 times a week.
Mate breed with breed, as it may be difficult to sell a rabbit of mixed parentage for farming purposes. The larger rabbit species may only be ready to reproduce at the age of eight months.
Choose the breed of rabbit according to the products you hope to supply, whether it will be meat, wool or pelts. Your rabbit stock can increase rapidly. One female is able to produce up to 50 live rabbits per year, which will be a good start to your rabbit farming adventure.
