Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
Rabbits have high fertility rates (some breeds can pro-
duce 60 offspring per year), fast growth rates (1.75 kg at
8 weeks of age) and a food conversion efficiency of 2.5:1.
A killing-out percentage of around 50 head-off, hot car-
case weight can be achieved. A measure of the potential
of the rabbit as a meat-producing animal can be gauged
by comparing it with a breeding ewe. A 70 kg ewe is
capable of producing 40 kg of lamb carcase per year,
whereas a 4.5 kg doe is able to produce 75 kg of rabbit
meat in the same time.
Rabbit meat is low in fat (3.8%) and high in protein
(20.7%), which compares favourably with chicken (2.5%
fat and 21.5% protein), beef forequarter (18.9% fat and
18.3% protein), lamb leg (17.5% fat and 18.7% protein)
and pork ham (19.6% fat and 19.7% protein).
Rearing is often a large-scale enterprise in Europe,
where farms of several thousand does can be found,
but rabbits are mainly kept on small farms where
labour costs are low. The average size of a rabbit farm
in the United Kingdom is a 40-50 doe unit. For the
industry to be successful, it must develop on the same
lines as the poultry industry, that is, highly organised
with specialist attention to the cost of labour, food,
equipment, breeding, nutrition, disease prevention and
housing.
The optimum weight for slaughter lies around 2.7 kg,
which is achieved at about 12-14 weeks of age, although
this depends on factors such as breed, feeding systems
and management but mainly the environment.
Rabbit-processing plants have to conform to EC
standards. Integrated premises have facilities for rearing,
slaughter, refrigeration and packing, the end products
consisting of whole fresh rabbits, sausages and burgers,
stewpacks and cooked and coated portions as in the
poultry industry.
Stunning is by electricity, as opposed to home killing
where animals are stunned by a blow to the head, which
is immediately removed, or the spinal cord is broken in a
manner similar to that for poultry.
Imports of Chinese rabbits have been a serious source
of competition for the British industry, but they are not
of the same standard as British supplies.
While the rabbit is an animal which can utilise many
types of feedingstuffs unsuitable for human consump-
tion, it is susceptible to certain conditions such as the
enteritis complex, which may be a form of nutri-
tional deficiency allied to an infection caused by micro-
organisms. Respiratory diseases are also common, and
these, along with the above, represent important areas
for research as well as good husbandry. Labour input is
very high for rabbit breeding, and one person can only
manage a maximum of 250-300 does.
Deer
The farming of red deer has now become firmly estab-
lished in the United Kingdom and other European
countries and on a much larger scale in New Zealand. In
the latter country, the emphasis is on the production of
antler in velvet for the lucrative oriental trade, a practice
prohibited by law in the United Kingdom.
There are three different kinds of pasture land which,
taken together with the system of livestock production
practised, provide a basis for the classifying of farm units
into hill farms, upland farms and lowland farms. Hill
deer farms produce weaned calves which are sold to
upland and lowland farms, where they grow much faster
to breeding or slaughter live weights. Upland farms breed
stags which may be suitable for use on hill farms and sell
breeding stock and store calves to lowland farms; they
can also produce prime venison. Some upland farms will
also export breeding stock and import new bloodlines
from abroad.
Lowland
farms sell breeding stags to the
upland farmer and can import and export livestock as
well as being a major producer of prime venison.
It was estimated by the British Deer Farmers
Association from the Agricultural Census in 2005 that
300 deer farms operated within the United Kingdom
farming 33 000 deer. Park deer are also increasingly
being used for venison production. Estimates made in
2005 show that Scotland had at least 300 000 wild red
deer with an estimate of approximately 500 000-600 000
roe deer across Britain.
While most of the deer farmed in Britain are red
deer, smaller numbers of fallow, roe, sika and wapiti are
also kept.
New Zealand's 1.5 million farmed deer graze on
approximately 4000 farms. Average herd size is about
375, although the largest herds comprise several thou-
sands. Deer are processed in specialist plants. Revenue
from New Zealand venison exports is known to fluctu-
ate widely with the amount of venison exported rising
from 16 000 to 27 000 tonnes between 2002 and 2006;
however, due to a reduction in price the value of these
exports only increased marginally from US $210 to US
$250 million (Deer and deer farming - Venison exports,
Te Ara - The Encyclopaedia of New Zealand). The major
market group was Europe, with Germany the main
importer, followed by Scandinavia and France.
Consumer demand for lean meat is fully met in veni-
son, which has a low fat content (5-10%) compared with
levels of 25-40% found in some traditional cuts of beef
and lamb.
Husbandry mainly centres round the red deer (
Cervus
elaphus
) because of its ease of handling compared with
