Rabbit Management

Prof. G.H. Laswai

 Introduction
Rabbit classification
• The domestic rabbit may be
classified zoologically as:
– Kingdom: Animalia
– Phylum: Chordata
– Class: Mammalia
– Order: Lagomorpha (pikas,
rabbits, hares)
– Family: Leporidae (hares and
rabbits)
– Genus: Oryctolagus (European
rabbits)
– Species: caniculus (underground

passage)
 Rabbits v’s Rodents

• In the past literature rabbit is classified wrongly

as rodentia (order).
• Rabbit resembles rodents in that it possesses
chisel-like or gnawing teeth similar to those of
rodents.
• Rabbit differs from rodents by having two upper
and two lower incisor teeth and two smaller
pulp teeth behind the upper incisors, making a
total of six rather than four as characterised by
rodents
• They differ also from the blood characteristics
 Rabbit v’s Hares
• Hares differ from rabbits in that:
– They are born fully haired with the eyes
open
– They are able to run within few minutes
after they are born
– Their legs are longer than those of
rabbits
– The young ones are born in open
without a nest.
 Breeds of rabbits

• Various breeds of rabbits have been

developed since the 18th century
• There are now several hundred
varieties throughout the world
• They vary in colour, body size, type
of hair coat and other production and
reproduction characteristics
• 38 breeds representing a wide range
in size and other characteristics have
been recognized by the American
Rabbit Breeders Association
• Breeds are grouped according to
adult size as follows:
– Heavy breeds (weight > 5 kg)
– Average breeds (Wt 3.5 – 4.5)
– Light weight/small breeds (Wt.2.2–3 kg)
– Small breeds (Wt. above 1 to 2 kg)
 Common breeds
– Angora (wool)
– New Zealand White
– California White
– Blue Vienna
– Chinchilla
– Flemish/Giant Belgian
– Polish small
– Danish White Land
– Danish Giant (Broiler Rabbit)
– French Vodder (Broiler)
Reading Assignment

Lebas et al. 1986. pg. 67 – 107

McNitt et al. 2000. pg. 36 – 41
 Purpose of keeping
Rabbits
i. Meat- It has been estimated that
more than 5.4 mil kg of Rabbit meat
is consumed annually world wide
ii. Research purpose
iii. Wool- Production of wool from
Angora breeds was popular at one
time, but presently there is little
commercial production of Angora
wool
iv Pets or for hobby
v) Skins
vi) Manure
 Merits of rabbits
• The relative merits (production
characteristics) of rabbits as meat
producer in developing countries
i. Feeding habits are flexible
– They can feed on grass, root, household
waste etc.
– They can utilise high fibrous low quality
feeds
– Have less competition with humans for
grains. Rabbits can be raised on
feedstuffs that are largely non-
competitive with direct human needs
ii High feed efficiency

• Weanling rabbits can have feed

conversion ratio of 2.0-2.5 feed/g
lwt gain on concentrate diets

• About 20% of the feed protein

consumed by the rabbit is retained
in the form of edible meat
Comparison: Chicken 22-23%
Pigs 16-19%
Beef 8-12%
Depending on the production system

• Rabbits utilise the protein in

roughage more efficiently than other
livestock animals
iii) High reproductive rate
– Age at first mating vary with
breeds
Small breeds 4-5 months
Medium breeds 5-7 months
Large breeds 8-10 months
- Short gestation periods 31 ± 3
days
- Short kindling intervals - rabbits
can be bred back the day they
kindle
• The female does not exhibit a true
oestrus cycle, will mate and conceive
to an aggressive male
• Ovulation is induced rather than
spontaneous
• Theoretically 10 litters per doe per
year
• Practically 5-6 litters per doe per
year
• Litter size depend on breed
Polish or Netherlands dwarf <4
Angora 4-6
Dutch 6-7
Chinchilla 6-8
New Zealand/California 8-
10
iv) High growth rates
- Compared to broiler chickens
- Can be slaughtered at an age of 8
weeks if brought up as broiler rabbits
- For rabbits born with weight 64 g and
gaining 35-40 g/day. This gives a
rabbit weighing about 2.4 kg at 2
months of age
- In the backyard production gaining
10-20 g/day and takes 4 months to
reach 2 kg
v) Slaughter and carcass
characteristics
- dressing percent 50-75
other species e.g. ruminants 40 – 50%
- meat:bone ratio 4:1 - Compares well
with other species
- High in protein content 21%
Comparison:
Chicken 18%
Beef 17.4%
Lamb 16.5%
Pork 15.7%
– Low in fat content - Unsaturated type
(mainly)
– Low cholesterol content 135 mg/100g
of
meat
Comparison:
Beef 230 "
Pork 230 "
Chicken 220 "
– Low sodium content, hence good meat
for coronary heart patients
– White meat
iv Other advantages
a) Small in size
- Convenient to handle
- Occupy less space- can be kept in the
backyards of houses
- Convenient to slaughter and dispose of the
carcass
- Rabbits, therefore can provide food and
income to landless people in some regions.
b) Rabbit manure/urine is a useful
fertilizer - relatively rich in phosphorus
and nitrogen. Rabbit manure is used as
animal feed for ruminants
c) Rabbit skins - used for
manufacturing of articles, such as
coats, shoes and rugs
d) Rabbits are not smelly or noisy. Can
be kept near residential houses
without causing disturbances
e) Rabbits are resistant to tsetse bites.
They can be kept where other
livestock species are limited eg.
Mtwara
 Problems of rabbit
production in Tanzania
i. Acceptability of rabbit meat
- The differences in religious believes,
culture, education and eating habits
affects consumption patterns and hence
production
ii. Unorganised markets
iii. Technological know how
– Minimal knowledge on the feeding and
management of rabbits
iv. Climate –
- In the tropics, rabbits are highly
affected by high ambient
temperatures. Temperatures above
30C make them suffer from discomfort
and stress with associated breeding
problems
- Fertility in male rabbits is impaired
- Embryo mortality in females increases
- Feed intake is reduced

v. Diseases - Respiratory, pneumonia

etc. cause high mortalities
vi. Nutrition
The major nutritional problems are diet
related problems such as enteric
diseases, fur chewing, pregnancy
toxaemia and feed spillage
vii. Breeding stock
- No reliable breeding stock
- Lack of rabbit breeding centres
- Lack of breeding policy
- Increased inbreeding due to
continuous mating within small
flocks
viii. Limited Capital
- Limited capital investment in housing,
stock and feeding
- Unreliable credit facilities

ix. Crop destruction

- If the house is not properly built, rabbits
may become pests. eg. in Australia after
World war II
 The rabbitry and its
equipment
• Rabbit housing and equipment differ
from one location to another. Factors
that affect their design include;
• Climate
• Raw materials (availability and cost)
• Scale (large, medium or small)
• System of production (intensive,
semi-intensive or extensive)
• Expertise of the rabbit production
Functions of the rabbit house;

i) House offer physical protection

against
- extreme heat, cold and rain
- wind (draughts)
- predators
- theft
ii. House creates micro-environment
within which routine and prompt
management practices may be
organized & executed
e.g-mating schedule
- disease inspection/treatment
- isolation of diseased
- sexing/sex separation
- restricted feeding
Basic requirements of Rabbit house

• The general objective is to ensure

total comfortability of the animals
 Specific requirements
i) Offer enough space for living, feeding
& exercise
ii) Provide adequate ventilation
iii) Adequate light;
- Smooth day-to-day operations
- Effective germicide
- Normal animal movement
- Vit D synthesis by skin
- Normal eating & Drinking
- A cycle of 12 hours of light and 12
hours of darkness is satisfactory for
routine housing of rabbits, but
increasing the light period to 16
hours, with 8 hours of darkness,
facilitates breeding activity

iv) Facilitates easy removal of manure

 Site for Rabbitry
• Well drained place i.e free from
water-logging to minimize incidence
of disease outbreak
• Place with natural shade trees or
possibility of planting trees
• Rabbitry should be fairly isolated
from residential areas for calm
atmosphere ie minimize chances of
banging noise

• It is wise to house rabbits where they

cannot hear noisy from species, such
as dogs and nonhuman primates, as
they are disturbed by intermittent
loud noises
 Types of rabbit housing
i) Hutches
– Slatted or raised hutches are recommended to
facilitate faeces and urine drop freely down to
the floor

Indoor hutches: These are kept inside a building

Outdoor hutches: Hutches are located outside
Outdoor rabbit hutch
Indoor housing of rabbits
Hanging Hutches
 House orientation
• Rabbit house like other animal
houses should be constructed in such
a way that it has its long walls facing
North-South and its narrow or short
walls facing East-West
 Design of Rabbit house
• Design of the rabbit houses tend to vary
with geographical location of the units
• Materials- Selection of building materials
may consider:
a) Locally available in the locality
b) Affordable in terms of cost & supply
• Knowledge of climatic pattern is necessary
• Production system and expertise.

For the purpose of tropical environment the

design may follow the following principles;
 Walls
• To cater for good ventilation & aeration
thereby effecting cooling
• Semi-solid walls may be considered
desirable.
• The remaining half may be constructed
using wire mesh
• Walls can be made of concrete blocks,
mud, poles & sticks
• The inside finish of the walls should be
fairly smooth to eliminate hiding places
(crevices/cracks) for lice & fleas.
 Roof
• To improve the temperature -
moderation effect, high roof may be
considered desirable
• Corrugated iron sheets, thatching
grass or coconut/palm leave may be
used as roofing materials provided
they render leak proof
 Floor
• Hard and self-draining or sloppy
floors are of choice. This eliminates
chances of urine accumulation
• The floor can be made up of cement-
sand mixture or hard paddled soil
Equipment in the rabbit house
 Cages
• Adult rabbits are housed individually,
preferably in cages made of stainless
steel. The sides are perforated or
made of fine wire mesh to provide
circulation, and the front door should
allow visualization of the animal
• The cages should be raised up.
• Arranged in single, double or triple
tiered to utilize vertical space within
the room.
• If the room is enough single tier
cages are preferable
– most convenient for observing the rabbits
– save time and labour in feeding and
management
– Provide individual cages for mature
rabbits
– Normal rearing cage - Normally these
are cages used for rearing and mating
 Cage / hutch size (Space allowance)
Class/Age group of Measurements Measurements
Rabbit in inches in cm
Buck 20"x30"x18" 50 x 75 x 46

Doe 24"x30"x18" 60 x 75 x 46

Doe with its litter 76 x 122 x 46

6 kids (6-24 wks) 30"x30"x18" 75 x 75 x 46

3 kids (>24 wks) 30"x30"x18" 75 x 75 x 46

In general the minimum space:

Category Individual Minimum space

weights (kg) per rabbit (sq.
cm)
Groups 1.3 - 2.3 930

Individual 1.3 - 2.3 1160

adults
2.5 - 3.6 2325

Nursing 1.3 - 2.3 3720

females
2.5 - 3.6 4650
• The given measurements exclude
space occupied by feeders and
drinkers
 Feeding equipment
• Feed hoppers, troughs, hay mangers,
waste tins etc
• Should be large enough to hold several
feedings, to save time in filling
• Should prevent spillage and contamination
of the feed
• Feeders should have a lip that prevents
animals from scratching out and wasting
the feed
• Should be designed such that the young
rabbits cannot jumped over them and
contaminate the feed
• Feed hopers can be constructed from
metal, wood and other locally
available materials
• Can be placed within the cage or
suspended on the outside
• The opening through which the
rabbits obtain feed should be not
more than 10 cm above the cage
floor so that the young rabbits can
readily obtain feed
Feed hoppers
 Roughage/Forage rack
• It can be fitted inside or outside of
the hutch)
• It must not limit feed intake
• It must contain fresh succulent
forage
 Drinkers
• Water tins - fasten them in the
cages so that the rabbits will not tip
them over
• Concrete containers - They are
heavy, can be placed inside the
cage
 Nest boxes
• The purpose of the nest boxes is to provide
seclusion for doe at kindling.
• A nest box is normally made to imitate the dark
conditions used by rabbits
• It provides comfort and protection of the young
on the first days of life
• They are normally made of wood or metal with
door which allowing the doe to come from the
normal cage to the nest box
• Nest boxes should be large enough to prevent
crowding and not too large to keep the young
together
• The size can be; 48 cm long, 24-28 cm wide and
28 cm high
• Should provide good drainage and proper
ventilation
 Maintenance of equipment
• Water and feeding trough must be
washed regularly (daily)

• Use clean rag (cloth to dry the feeder)

• Disinfection of the water and feeding

trough at least once in a week to
prevent disease outbreak

• 4.
• Roughage rack and cage must be
cleaned once in a week and disinfect
when young ones are not there

• Checking for the development of

sharp edges in hutches and on
equipment which may cause injury

• Nest box must be removed after

weaning (5-6 weeks), wash and
disinfect in preparation for next
breeding period
 Care of the herd during extreme
temperatures
Hot temperature
• Symptoms of heat stress in animals
are characterised by;
– extreme restlessness
– rapid respiration
– excessive moisture around the mouth
– occasionally slight haemorrhages
around the nostrils
– Newborn kids and does advanced in
pregnancy are most susceptible to high
temperatures
Control measures
• Provide adequate shade to the
animals during the hottest part of the
day
• Consider housing design to moderate
climate
• Good air circulation in the building
but avoid strong draughts
• Provide an abundant supply of
drinking water
Cold weather
• Cold weather, draughts and high
humidity are conducive to the spread
of respiratory infections
– For young litters provide nest
boxes and sufficient bedding to
keep them warm
 Reproduction
Selection of breeding rabbits
• Important factors to consider during
selection of breeding rabbits;
– Select potential breeders at an age of 2-
3 months and reselect at 7-8 months old
(after observing their growth
performance)
– Select animals with short fur as are
known to tolerate heat load
– Select animals from a reputable family
in terms of fertility, fecundity and
prolificacy
– Select animals appearing free from skin
diseases and those free from any
morphological deformity and with good
health records
– Males selected for breeding should be
intact and well developed physically
– Select calm animals with good
temperament
 Age to breed
• Proper age of bucks and does for the
first mating depends on breed and
individual development
• Smaller breeds develop more rapidly
and are sexually mature at a much
younger age than medium-weight or
giant breeds
• Desirable mating age for both bucks
and does
• 4-5 months for small breeds e.g. Dutch,
Polish
• 5-6 " " medium weight breed e.g. New
Zealand White,
California
• 8-10 months for large or giant breeds e.g.
Flemish giant
• In commercial production it is the
general practice to hold bucks a
month longer than does before
breeding for the first time
 Breeding procedure
• Rabbits do not show regular oestrus
cycles.
– The doe will mate and conceive at
almost any time is exposed to an
aggressive male
– Ovulation is induced rather than
spontaneous
– Ovulation usually does not occur in the
female unless she is stimulated by
mating
– In commercial production for meat
breeding animals is throughout the year
• Breeding is performed by moving the
female to the male cage and not vice
versa.
• The male will normally take time to
mate if it is moved to the female
cage
• The date at mating should be
recorded so as to tress the
pregnancy
 Factors limiting conception
i) Pseudo-pregnancy

- Does may be stimulated sexually and

ovulate yet fail to become pregnant
- This can either be due to infertile mating or
sexual excitement when one doe rides or
is ridden by another doe
- Does which become pseudo-pregnant are
unable to conceive until the false
pregnancy period is over
- Pseudo-pregnancy lasts for 16-17 days
- After 18-22 days the doe may give evidence
of termination of false pregnancy by
pulling fur and attempting to make a nest
- When false pregnancy has terminated, doe
will resume normal reproductive activity and
may be bred

- Remedy;- Separate does that are to be mated

and put each in an individual cage 18 days
before mating
ii) Season of the year
– Extreme temperatures especially
sudden changes to high temperatures
may cause the rabbits to go into a
barren period
• The ovaries of the does may become
inactive and fail to produce normal egg
cells- result into increased embryo
mortalities
• Bucks loss libido
• The sperm cells may be inactive, low vitality,
abnormal or absent
• Remedy; Select offspring of parents
that are adapted to the environment
and they produce regularly
• Restrict mating during the cool
times of the day
• Moderate the environment
iii) Age
• Young does may not be sexually
mature at the time of service
– Do not attempt the first mating until the
does are sexually mature and properly
developed
• Old does may have passed their
period of usefulness and fail to
conceive
iv) Physical conditions
• Rabbits which are abnormally thin or
fat may have their reproductive
powers impaired and the conception
rate will be low
– Feed balanced diets and avoid delaying
mating
v) Diseases
– Do not mate rabbits when they show
any symptoms of disease
– Hold such animals in quarantine until
they recover
 Care during Pregnancy
• Pregnancy diagnosis should be done 12-14
days after mating
• This is usually done through palpation
• Handle the doe gently when palpating
– The foetuses at this time have developed into
marble-shaped forms.
– With slight pressure on the abdominal area,
you can easily distinguish the foetuses as they
slip between the thumb and fingers when hand
is gently moved forward and backward
• Gestation period- the period from
mating to kindling of domestic rabbit
is 31±3 days.
• Small litters tend to be carried longer
than large litters
• During pregnancy routine care and
feeding
• In the last two weeks of gestation
does will need good quality feed to
meet the faster growth of the
foetuses.
• The feed should have at least 16%
CP.
• A day or two before kindling does
usually consume less feed than
normal. Make them as comfortable
as possible. Provide greens.
• Provide nest boxes three weeks after
mating. This allows the doe to
prepare a nest in advance and
assumes a proper place for birth of
the young
• Nest box should be provided with
hay, straw or some other bedding
materials
• The young will be trampled or
abandoned if the nest box is not
provided
• Shortly after or before parturition the
doe pulls hair from her chest and
abdomen to line the nest
• The quality of the nest will normally
depend on the age of the doe
• Mature does normally prepare good
nests
 Care after kindling
• Rabbits are born hairless, blind and
helpless
• Observe and count the kids for
recording
• Remove the dead once
• Do not touch the kids with bare
hands as the doe might abandon
them
• Some does may have more kids per
litter than others
• Transfer some of the baby rabbits
from a large litter to a foster mother
that has small litter
• The young that are transferred
should be within 3 or 4 days of age
• When the kids are very young in the nest
box nursing is once per day, usually
performed during the night or early
morning
• The young double their weight in about 10
days and begin to leave the nest
• The eyes of rabbit kids are open and hair
grown during the 2nd week
• They start eating dry feed at about 3
weeks of age
 Management practices of young
rabbits
• Identification
– Mark each breeding rabbit for
identification
– Ear tattooing is commonly used
- A permanent number is tattooed on the
central groove inside the pinna, where
the number is easy to see
• Sexing
– The sexes of the kids can be
determined at the 3rd week
– This will easy the separation of
sexes during weaning for
controlling breeding
• Sexing can be done by holding the animal
in position where it turned so that the
upside part is down
• Fingers are then placed before and behind
the genital area
• With a little pressure the inner surface of
the genital organ is exposed
• In the female rabbit, a slit-like V which
slopes towards the anus is observed
• In the male rabbit the organ protrudes
slightly and appear rounded/oval (0).
• Castration
– Castration of bucks may be desirable for wool
production (Angora)
– In producing domestic rabbit meat there is no
justifiable advantage to be derived from
castrating males
• Weaning
– Conventional weaning is 6 weeks of age
• Re-mating
– may take place three days after mating
– Mating ratio is 1:10 i.e 1 male to 10 females
 Rabbit nutrition and feeding
Physiology of digestion
• Rabbits are herbivore animals (such as
cattle, goats or sheep)
– They can consume and utilize nutrients present
in forages
– Thus, they can be fed on varieties of herbage
and grasses
• Rabbits are monogastric animals (same as
pigs)
– Have simple stomach
How are they able to utilise forages?
Rabbits are able to utilise forages due to;
i) Fast rate of passage of digesta
- The rate at which the digesta moves in the
GIT of a rabbit is fast
- The rabbits take large amount of low
quality feed
- Fibrous feeds have a rapid rate of passage,
during which the non-fibre components are
digested and absorbed
- This is advantageous to rabbits as it
facilitates intake and utilization of
roughage
- Rabbits are poor in digesting crude fibre
Crude fibre digestibility (%) of alfalfa
fed to different animals
Animal Species CF Digestibility
Cattle 44
Sheep 45
Goat 41
Horse 41
Pig 22
Guinea pig 33
Rabbit 14
ii) Practice of caecotrophy

• Caecotrophy is passing or recycling

of digesta twice through the
alimentary canal
• Rabbits produce two types of faecal
material:
- Dried faecal pellets (hard faeces)-
produced from larger particles of digesta
- Soft faecal pellets produced from small
particles after they have been subjected to
several hours of microbial action in the
caecum
Formation of the two faecal pelets
• Refer digestive physiology of
rabbits-Review by Lang J. 1981
on digestive system of a rabbit
Composition of hard and soft faeces (% DM)

Hard pellets Soft pellets

Dry Matter 58.3 31.0
Crude protein 13.1 29.5
Crude fibre 37.8 22.0
Fats 2.6 2.4
Minerals 8.9 10.8
NFE 37.7 35.1
• Soft faeces have much lower DM (31%)
and higher CP (30%) contents than hard
faeces (53 and 13%)
• The rabbit removes soft faeces directly
from the anus and swallow it whole i.e.
caecotrophy
• This behaviour is called "caecotrophy" or
pseudo-rumination from the characteristic
of ruminants of chewing cud, which is
digesta regurgitated and chewed again
• The soft faeces are then subjected to the
usual digestive processes
 Factors affecting caecotrophy
Light:
• Domestic rabbits produce soft faeces during night
when is dark and had faeces during the day
• In wild animals the pattern is reversed. Most of
the ingestion of soft faeces take place during the
day while the rabbit stays underground
Environment:
The process of caecotrophy need a quite
environment. Dogs which can frighten the rabbit
and unfamiliar noises should be avoided
Health: Diarrhoea stops caecotrophy. Also
coccidiosis and enteritis may impair caecotrophy
Form and composition of feed:
Fine feed particles and highly digestible diets are
pushed back to the caecum and result in the
formation of toxins that may cause death of
rabbits
Age
Caecotrophy has been shown to start at 3 weeks
and appreciable extent at 6 weeks of age

Levels of VFA in the caecum

High levels of VFAs in the caecum are reported to
trigger the process. They stop formation of hard
faeces and initiate the formation and
transportation of soft faeces.
 Significance of caecotrophy
• It improves the utilization of protein and
dry matter in the diet
- The soft faeces have levels of total protein and
amino acids that are greater than those
present in the diet.
- The contents consist of undigested plant
materials and caecal microorganisms, which
contribute to an average CP content of about
24.4% in the dry matter
- The increased supply of essential aas resulting
from caecotrophy enables the adult rabbit to
survive on a diet of low protein quality
• Provides the animal with some
vitamins especially water soluble
vitamins e.g. B-vitamins
WHY CAECOTROPHY?
• In ruminants microbial action affects
the food before it reaches the main
regions of digestion and absorption
• In rabbits, microbial action takes
place on the undigested residues of
food
Nutrient requirements
Reading assignment
Nutrient requirements of rabbits.
i) Energy
ii) Protein and Amino acids
iii) Lipids
iv) Fibre
v) Minerals
vi) Vitamins
vii) Water
 Feeds and feeding of rabbits
• Hay- Grass and Legume
– Fine steamed, leafy, green, well cured and free from mildew or
mould Chopped in 3-4" length
• Green feed and Root crops
– They are rich in vitamins, minerals and protein
– These are high in moisture content (90%)
– Should best be used as supplement to grain feeds
Never through feeds on the floor of the hutch/cage why?
• Grains and milled feeds
• Protein supplement
• Miscellaneous feeds
• Pelleted Rations
– All-grain pellet to be fed with hay
– Complete pellet (Green pellet)
• Salt and mineral supplements
 Methods of feeding
Two common methods of feeding
rabbits are in practice:
• Hand feeding
– This entails weighing an amount of feed
depending on the animals’ needs and
place in feed troughs or hoppers each
day
Advantages-Efficient utilization of feed as
animals are given amounts required per
day
Disadvantages- Expensive in terms of
Labour
• Self-feeding or full-feeding
– This method utilizes a large hopper or
self-feeder which holds several days
supply of feed. In that way, feed is
available to the rabbit at all times and
they can feed at will.
Advantages:
i)Save time and labour
ii) Prevent contamination if the hopper is
properly constructed
 iii) Ensures rapid growth and economical
development of young ones to weaning
iv) Generally improve efficiency of feed
utilization as animals eat and slowly chew
their food thoroughly.

Disadvantages
i) Uneconomical due to feed wastage if
hoppers are not properly designed
ii) Possibility of feed going sour
Feed allowance for various classes of
Rabbits
– Growing rabbits > 8 wks 85 - 100g/day
– Pregnant doe 114 - 120g/day
– Pregnant doe (just before kindling)
230g/day
– Other stock: Max 110 - 120g/rabbit/day
– Best feed twice per day
Records and record keeping
• Record keeping is a necessary tool in the
whole task of "Decision making Process“
• A convenient and simple system of records
is essential for keeping track of breeding,
kindling and weaning operations
• You can use such information in culling
reproductive animals and in selecting the
breeding stock
• to calculate costs of production and
evaluate the progress made over
comparable periods of time
• Information can be obtained from the
Hutch record card (Tables 1 and 2)
 Table 1: HUTCH/CAGE CARD
Doe No. ........... Born .......... Breed ............
Sire ................. Dam ...........
Date Buck Date Litter Number Date Number
Bred No Kindle No young weaned weaned
d Born
Alive Dead
30.12.14 45 29.01.15 6 7 1 12.03.15 6
 Table 2: Buck Breeding Record
Buck No .........Breed .....Sire........
Date born ...........Dam .............
Doe Locatio Date Result of Breeding Weaned

No. n Bred

Kindled Passed

Alive Dead Date Number Weight

1 DASP
2 Cham
3 Dodo
4 Etc.
• Information can be accumulated
daily on a monthly summary form
• The monthly figures can then be
accumulated on an annual summary
form
• An annual summary of the Rabbitry
can be ascertained by posting the
accumulated investment, income
and expense figures on a summary
chart
 Table 3: Treatment record

Date Animal Sex Age Diagnosis Treatmen Remarks

No t
Table 4:GENERAL PRODUCTION RECORD

Litter Weaning Remarks e.g

No sales, deaths,
etc.
Number Age Weight