Animal Husbandry

1. Why do Angora rabbit farming ?

1.1 Angora rabbits are mainly raised for their wool, which is known for its quality. Angora rabbits are of many types. The differences are mainly in the amount of wool produced and the percentage of guard hair in the wool. Among the various types, German Angora is the best and annually yield 1000 to 1200gm of wool under ideal management practices. Rabbits can be adopted to any set of circumstances right from a kitchen garden to a large intensive commercial enterprise. The wool produced by rabbits are preferred for manufacturing of high value woollens which have got very good export potential.

1.2 The advantages of rabbit farming are

i) Rabbits are highly prolific in nature

ii) Consume a large amount of forages from diverse origins and so can be reared on small amounts of costly concentrates.

iii) They can be reared in the kitchen garden/backyard of farmer's house

iv) Initial investment cost is low

v) Quick returns i.e. six months after the establishment of farm

vi) Income generation at quarterly interval makes the repayment easy.

Vii) Apart from providing wool rabbits also provides income from manure etc.

viii) Residual feed, together with rabbit manure is highly suitable for vermicompost which in turn provides excellent manure for fertilising the fields.

2. Scope for rabbit farming and it's national importance:

2.1 Rabbit farming is another livestock activity with great scope as it is relatively easy, rewarding and takes little space compared to other livestock activities. Rabbit farming can also provide a very valuable additional source of income in the rural areas. Another important consideration is food production cycle, which shows that rabbit need not be in competition with man for it's food. For producing high quality woollens, blending with other fine quality fibres is essential. The other livestock species which is source of wool is sheep. The wool produced by Indian sheep breeds are of not fine quality. Therefore, currently we are importing the fine wool. The wool from Angora Rabbits is of very high quality and it's blending with carpet wool of sheep and silk improves the quality of woollens to a great extent.

2.2 Good strains of rabbits suitable to our climatic conditions were developed with the constant efforts of North Temperate Regional Station (NTRS) of the Central Sheep and Wool Research Institute (CSWRI), Garsa, Kullu and management practices were standardised . Further, it has created adequate infrastructure for training of the interested farmers for taking up the rabbit farming on scientific lines. However, Angora rabbit can be reared only in hill areas. Therefore, Angora rabbit rearing is a boon to the farmers of hill areas, where the scope for other livestock activities is very limited.

3. Financial assistance available from banks / NABARD

for Rabbit farming

3.1 NABARD is an apex institution for all matters relating to policy, planning, and operations in the field of agriculture credit. It serves as refinance agency for the ground level institutions / banks providing investment and production credit for various activities under agriculture and allied sectors for ensuring integrated rural development. It co-ordinates the development activities through a well organised Technical Services Department at the head office and Technical cells at each of the regional offices.

3.2 For undertaking the rabbit farming on scientific lines, loan from banks with refinance facility from NABARD is available. For obtaining bank loan the farmers / entrepreneurs should apply to the nearest branch of a Commercial, Co-operative or Regional Rural Banks in the prescribed application form, which is available in the branches of financing bank. Necessary help or guidance can be obtained from the technical officer attached to or the manager of the bank in preparing the project report, which is a prerequisite for sanction of the loan.

3.3 For Rabbitry schemes with very large outlays, detailed project reports will have to be prepared. The items such as land development, construction of sheds and other civil structures, purchase of the breeding stock, equipment, feed cost upto the point of income generation are normally considered under bank loan. Other items of investment will be considered on need basis after providing the satisfactory information justifying the need for such items. The cost of land is not considered for loan. However, if land is purchased for setting up the Rabbit farm exclusively, it can be considered as beneficiaries margin money upto a maximum of 10% of the investment cost.

4. Scheme formulation

4.1 In case of commercial rabbit units, the banks are expected to submit a project for availing the refinance assitance. The format/check list of the commercial rabbit projects is given as enclosure (Annexure - I). The scheme normally should include information on land, livestock markets, availability of water, feeds, veterinary aid, breeding facilities, marketing aspects, training facilities, experience of the farmer and the type of assistance available from State Government's Regional Rabbit breeding centers.

4.2 The scheme should also include information on the number, breed and cost of animals to be purchased, their production performance, technical norms and input and output costs with their description. Based on this, the total cost of the project, margin money to be provided by the beneficiary, requirement of bank loan, estimated annual expenditure, income, profit and loss statement, repayment period, etc. can be worked out.

5. Requirements of a good project

A format prepared by NABARD for formulation of rabbitry development schemes is given in Annexure - I. The scheme so formulated should be submitted to the nearest branch of bank. The bank's officers can assist in preparation of the scheme or filling in the prescribed application form. The bank will then examine the scheme for its technical feasibility and economic viability.

A Technical Feasibility - This would briefly include :

a) Nearness of the selected area to veterinary hospitals, breeding centers, marketing outlets for wool and other products and the financing bank's branch.

b) Availability of good quality breeding stock from nearby breeding farms.

c) Source and availability of training facilities.

d) Availability of concentrate feeds and kitchen garden/ vegetable market waste.

e) Availability of medicines, vaccines and veterinary services etc.

f) Reasonability of various production and reproduction parameters.

B) Economic Viability - This would briefly include :

a) Unit cost - The average cost of breeding stock relavant to the area

b) Input cost for feeds, veterinary aid, insurance, labour charges, etc.

c) Output costs i.e. sale price of wool, wool producers of different age groups and culled animals

d) Income-expenditure statement and annual gross surplus.

e) Cash flow analysis.

C. Bankability :

Repayment schedule (i.e. repayment of principal loan amount and interest.)

Other documents such as loan application forms, security aspects, margin money requirements etc. are also examined. A field visit to the scheme area is undertaken for conducting a techno- economic feasibility study for appraisal of the scheme. The economics of model rabbitry unit is given in statements 1-8.

6.0 Sanction of bank loan and its disbursement

After ensuring technical feasibility and economic viability, the scheme is sanctioned by the bank. The loan is disbursed in stages against creation of specific assets such as construction of sheds, purchase of equipments and animals. The end use of the fund is verified and constant follow-up is done by the bank.

7.0 Lending terms - general

7.1 Unit cost

Each Regional Office of NABARD has constituted a State Level Unit Cost Committee under the chairmanship of RO- in-charge and with the members from developmental agencies, commercial banks and cooperative banks to review the unit cost of various investments once in six months. The same is circulated among the banks for their guidance.

7.2 Margin Money

NABARD has defined farmers into three different categories and where subsidy is not available, the minimum down payment as shown below is collected from the beneficiaries.

7.3 Interest Rate

Banks are free to decide the interest rates within overall RBI guidelines. However, for working out financial viability and bankability of model project, we have assumed rate of interest as 12% p.a.

7.4 Security

Security will be as per NABARD/RBI guidelines issued from time to time.

7.5 Repayment Period of Loan

Repayment period depends upon the gross surplus in the scheme. The loans will be repaid in suitable quarterly/half yearly/annual installments usually within a period of about 5-6 years with a grace period of one year.

7.6 Insurance

The animals may be insured annually or on long term master policy, where ever it is applicable.

8. package of common management practices recommended for rabbit farming:

Well established scientific management practices should be adopted to maximise the economic benefits from rabbit farming. The major norms and recommended practices are given below:

Selection of breed:

1. Select right type of the breed for maximization of economic benefits. Various wool type of rabiit breeds and their characteristic features are given in Annexure - II.

2. Breeding males and females should be of different sire lines, below one year of age, devoid of visual deformities like patchy wool, buck teeth, sore hock, visual reproductive defects and should be true to the breed.

3. Purchase of breeding stock should be avoided from rabbitries with high incidence of diseases like pneumonia, sore hock, coccidiosis, enteritis or with poor reproductive efficiency i.e. <50%.

Location and Housing:

4. Areas having temperature ranging between 10o C and 20o C and relative humidity ranging between 55 and 65% throughout the year are ideal for rearing Angora rabbits.

5. Ensure adequate facility for clean water, electricity, approach road, supply of breeding stock, feed, fodders, veterinary aid and nearness to market for sale of wool and meat of culled animals.

6. For small size rabbit farms hutch system may be adopted which is a self contained cage-cum-nest box with it's own roof.

7. In case of larger farms cages may be arranged inside the sheds in single or two tier under hanging or step wise rack system.

8. Provide adequate floor space per rabbit. The space (hutch sizes) requirement for different categories of rabbits is given in Annexure - III.

9. Rabbitry roofing should be preferably of asbestos, wood, thatch or other locally available cheaper materials.

10. Construct sheds in such a way that predators and birds do not enter the shed. In case of open hutches proper fencing should be provided to protect the rabbits from their predators.

11. Construct rat proof civil structures for feed and wool storage.

12. Keep the shed/pens clean by regular cleaning and disinfection to make it free from flies/mosquitoes and a foot dip should be maintained at the entrance of the sheds.

13. Rabbit cages should be cleaned regularly, especially disinfected before kindling.

14. During kindling period cage/hutch nest box should be kept clean so that kits do not pick up diseases like coccidia.

15. Feeders and waterers should be cleaned regularly and mash feed should be removed from the feeders which can be used for feeding other livestock species. Equipment:

16. Use scientifically designed cages and equipment. The ideal guage for floor of the cage is 14-16 with a mesh size of 19x19 mm or 25x13 mm. The walls and roof can be constructed with lighter guage i.e. 16-20 with a mesh size of 25x25mm.

17. The feeders should be designed and placed in such a manner that the feed can be poured from outside and should be 5-7.5 cm. above the cage floor to avoid contamination by urine, faeces or water.The rim of the feeders should be round and turned inward ½" so that the rabbits do not spill the feed/water.

18. The watering equipment of 400-500 ml. capacity made up of aluminum, earthen or any other locally available cheaper material may be used.

Feeding:

19. Production performance depends upon the quality of feed offered. For high production levels balanced pellet feed in combination with hay should be given.

20. Fresh green plants like bean, Alfalfa, berseem, grass, tender banana, cane and bamboo leaves, cutup pieces of the stalks of plants such as maize or banana, roots such as cassava, yams, carrots, beefs and turnips inedible portions of cabbage and cauliflower etc. can replace partially or wholly pellet feeds in case of low input and low output production system. Different types of feeds that can be fed to rabbits are given in Annexure - IV a.

21. If whole pellet is fed, feed is given at a time for many days.

22. If concentrate and hay are given, then concentrate should be offered preferably in the morning and hay in the afternoon. Recommended concentrate feed formulae for Angora rabbits are given in Annexure - IV b.

23. A practical combination of different types of feeds and regular timetable for feeding is advisable so that rabbits do not feel any stress due to changes in their daily routine. A practical feeding combintaion is given in Annexure - IV c.

Watering:

24. Water should be available round the clock particularly to a lactating doe.

25. Always give fresh and clean drinking water.

26. Always keep water pots clean and remove sediments daily. Water pots should be cleaned thoroughly every week.

27. Use of properly designed Automatic watering equipment can also be made.

Breeding Management:

28. The average age at first mating is about 5-7 months and it varies with the physical maturity of individual rabbit and also breed.

29. Mating should be done either early in the morning or in the evening.

30. The doe is to be taken to the buck cage and never vice-versa

31. The breeding should be planned in such a way that about 3 to 4 litters per doe are obtained per year during multiplicative stage.

32. The nest box is kept in the cage around 25th day of pregnancy with loosened jute wool or wood shavings.

33. Male rabbits can be used for mating until they are about three years.

34. Inorder to prevent inbreeding depression rabbits from the same family should not be bred. Therefore, replace male rabbit about once every year.

35. After three years, the full grown female rabbits should be replaced either by new purchases or females of own farm.

Care of young ones:

36. The nest box should be removed after 5 weeks of kindling.

37. Kits should be examined and dead ones should be removed daily.

38. If the bedding becomes wet it should be replaced by a fresh and clean one.

39. Weaning should be done at 5th or 6th week after kindling.

40. No sudden change in feed is advisable.

Disease prevention/control:

41. Clean sanitary conditions of rabbit cages, sheds and equipment, balanced feed and fresh clean water are essential to prevent chances of infection.

42. The rabbits should be prevented from coming in contact with the feaces.

43. Over crowding should be avoided.

44. Proper ventilation should be provided.

45. Flies which may act as carriers of the infection should be kept under control in the rabbitry.

46. The common diseases of rabbits and recommended preventive/control measures are given in Annexure - V

47. Rabbit cages should be disinfected with blow lamp after every shearing and kindling cages before the doe is shifted and after weaning.

48. Burn dead sick rabbits at once to keep the diseases from spreading.

49. The bedding of the nest box should be burnt after use.

50. The dead animals should be burried soon after post mortem (if required).

Shearing of wool/marketing:

51. Shearing of wool should preferably be done when the wool is 5 to 6 cm long. Certain quality standards adopted by rabbit wool exporting countries is given in Annexure - VI.

52. Young ones should be sheared a week after weaning and subsequently at every 10-11 weeks interval.

53. Shearing should not be done on extreme cold days of December and January

54. While shearing care should be taken to cut the wool as close to the skin in a single cut.

55. After shearing animal should be given protection against adverse climate for 15 days.

56. The wool should be sorted out into various grades for better marketing.

57. Ensure the constant and study demand for wool and pelts.

58. Avoid shearing of pregnant females 15 days before due date of kindling.

59. Wool should be delivered in a clean manner to fetch premium price.

60. Plan shearing of breeding stock 7-10 days before start of breeding in your flock to avoid poor reproductive efficiency.

Format for submission of schemes

Scheme : Angora rabbit farming for wool production

1. GENERAL

v) Specification of the scheme area

(Name of District & Block/s)

vi) Name of the financing bank's branches

2. TECHNICAL ASPECTS

a) Location, Land and land development

b) Civil structures (If required)

c) Housing

d) Equipment

e) Breeding stock

f) Production parameters

g) Herd projection

h) Feeding

i) Veterinary aid

j) Electricity

k) Water

l) Insurance

m) Manpower

n) Marketing of wool

o) Marketing of other products

3. FINANCIAL ASPECTS

i) Unit cost

iii) Yearwise physical and financial programme

iv) Financial position of the borrower / s (to be furnished in case of corporate bodies

partnership firms)

vi) Lending Terms

Annexure - II

Characteristic features of different wool breeds under Indian Conditions

Annexure - III

Housing specifications (hutch sizes) for Angora rabbits

Annexure - IVa

Different types of feeds suitable for feeding rabbits

Source: Rabbit rearing : State Bank Institute of Rural Development

Lingampally, Hyderabad - 500 019

Annexure -IV b

Recommended concentrate feed formulae for Angora rabbits

(Percentage)

Source: Rabbit rearing : State Bank Institute of Rural Development

Lingampally, Hyderabad - 500 019

Annexure - IV c

Feed requirements of rabbits

(gms/day)

Annexure - V

Common diseases of rabbits and their prevention and control