Muawiya Mukasa, a rabbit farmer at Nambuyaga village-Kivumu in Nakaseke distric, says rabbit keeping is a profitable venture if practiced well.
He, however implores farmers to carry out ample research before they start.
“To benefit more from your rabbit business, you need to first carry out business research to acquire knowledge on what and how to do whatever you want to venture into. Some people incur huge losses simply because they copied an idea and started doing the same business without prior knowledge and initial preparation,” he says.
Therefore, before venturing into any business, do research first, have your plan, know your market, the challenges encountered in the business, and how to handle it. After setting all this, you can then set the business rolling.
How to start
Mukasa advises that you have to find a suitable location and construct a structure with good aeration. The structure should not allow direct aeration into the rabbits because they can’t handle that air. Good aeration neutralises ammonium in the house because with much ammonia the young rabbits will die.
He explains that rabbits are territorial animals; if you enclose two bucks in the same cage, they will castrate themselves as they fight to own the territory. Therefore, each buck should be in its own cage.
“While constructing our cages, we are guided by animal rights measuring 2ftX2ftX2ftX2ft X2.5ft. this spacing is enough because the longest rabbit is 2.5ft. After eating Rabbits normally stretch, therefore, they need enough space for exercising. This enables the rabbit to live in comfort as an animal as per the animal rights guidelines,” explains Mukasa.
This is important because when exporting, the European markets only buy standard products. As a farmer, you need to understand that standards considered include; housing structures, farm management, and food quality.
It is not advisable to construct metallic cages because they attract a lot of heat coldness depending on the weather conditions. However, if you are to use have metallic cages, use galvanized metals because they control temperatures. Therefore, wooden cages are the best because its readily available and maintenance costs are cheaper compared to metals.
Mukasa further advises farmers to look out for breeds that gain weight faster, get the right feeds and keep the houses clean.
