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🐄 Livestock
ANX-ANIMAL-0000009
Rabbit
Oryctolagus cuniculus
Domesticated rabbits raised for meat (and to a lesser extent fibre/fur), valued as a low-space, fast-reproducing livestock option well suited to peri-urban and small-plot farming.
- Species
- Leporid
- Family
- Leporidae
- Climate requirements
- Tolerates a wide range of climates provided housing protects against heat stress and direct sun; performs best with good ventilation and shade in Kenya's warmer lowland areas.
Husbandry
Care & Economics
- Husbandry guide
- House in raised, wire-floored hutches (to keep animals dry and reduce parasite/disease exposure) at roughly 1 doe + litter or 2-3 growers per hutch compartment, with continuous access to pelleted feed/forage and clean water. Breed does every 6-8 weeks once mature, and vaccinate/treat for common issues (coccidiosis, mange) as part of routine hutch hygiene.
- Economic importance
- A fast-turnover, low-land, low-capital meat enterprise attractive to peri-urban and youth farmers, with does capable of producing several litters a year, though the local market remains smaller and less developed than for poultry or dairy.
Genetics
Breeds
ANX-ANIMALBREED-0000010
New Zealand White
The most common commercial meat-rabbit breed in Kenya, pure white with red eyes, fast-growing and docile, well suited to hutch systems.
Productivity: Reaches market weight (1.8-2.5kg) in about 10-12 weeks; does can produce 4-6 litters per year of 6-8 kits each under good management.
Wide tolerance provided housing offers shade and good ventilation
Animal health
Diseases
No diseases recorded yet.
Nutrition
Feeds
No feeds recorded yet.
Veterinary
Drugs & Medication
No drugs recorded yet.
Value chain