1. Rabbit Farming at the CYEC

2. Who are the players?
Paul Maina - Founder and Director of the CYEC Janelle Larson - Head of Penn State/CYEC collaborative program Jannath Bhagar - Part-time “volunteer” helping in Farm Management at the CYEC Alayna Blalock - PSU junior in Community, Environment, & Development; developer/researcher of rabbit farming initiative Joseph – Within Co-op, Head of CYEC rabbit initiative; being trained in rabbit keeping Alex Smith - President of CYEC Cooperative; being trained in rabbit keeping

3. Why Rabbits? Nutrition Rabbit meat is all white meat.
Rabbit has 795 calories per pound. Compare: chicken at 810, veal at 840, turkey at 1190, lamb at 1420, beef at 1440 and pork at 2050.
Rabbit has the highest percentage of protein.
Rabbit has a lower percentage of fat than chicken, turkey, beef, or pork with unsaturated fatty acids at 63% of the total fatty acids.
The cholesterol level in rabbit meat is much lower than chicken, turkey, beef, pork.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture has stated that domestic rabbit meat is the most nutritious meat known to man.
Rabbit meat compares very favorably to veal.

4. Why Rabbits? Quick to Breed
Takes only 90 days from the mating of the doe until litter of fryers is ready for consumption
The gestation period is only 32 days and one doe can produce about 15 litters in her lifetime
Does are also able to rebreed immediately after kindling (giving birth). This means that a doe can birth a litter, breed again immediately, wean the first litter around 30 days, and give birth to the second litter a few days later. This results in very high production.
The typical litter size for a New Zealand White breed is 7-8 bunnies

5. Why Rabbits?
Price
A bunny can be purchased for about $1USD in Kenya (if a bunny is purchased it takes six months for the rabbits to mature enough to begin breeding)
A 5kg fryer can be sold for about $24 USD (2000 Ksh)
One litter (8 fryers) will then sell for $192 USD (16000 Ksh)

6. Current State
8 Hutches
4 rabbits, but will most likely be replaced with better breeds
Not being used for anything currently
Alex and Joseph being trained in caring for rabbits, with Joseph leading the project

7. At high-intensity breeding:
Potential Production
7 does, each in her own cage with her own litter
1 buck in his own cage
At high-intensity breeding:
Day 1- Mate all 7 does
Day does give birth to an average of 7 bunnies (49 total)
Day 33- Mate all does again
Day 64- First litter weaned, give birth to second litter (98 total)
Day 65- Mate all does again
Day 96- Sell first litter, wean second, give birth to third
In 96 days you can birth 147 rabbits: 49 milking, 49 weaned and growing, and 49 sold. Every 32 days you can earn $1,212 (98,000 Ksh) if the rabbits are sold for 2000 Ksh/each*.
*This price assumes that fryers at age 64 days will weigh approx. 5 kg

8. Costs
Food (can be reduced by feeding forage every other day and growing own sorghum for grain)
Price of stock (8 rabbits used for breeding)
Transportation (Where are we selling them?)
Future hutches
Re-payment of loans for original up-front costs
Possibility of renting hutch space

9. Unanswered Questions:
How much will new, but experienced, rabbits cost?
How many rabbits can be kept per hutch? (Is doe plus 2 litters too many?)
Where will we sell the rabbits?
How will we get them there?
How much will that transportation cost?
How much did our hutch cost?
Where would we put additional hutches? (Max possible)
How many youth interested?
Does anyone at the center know how to cook rabbit?
Cost of teaching/where?

10. Top Constraints
Training
Getting new rabbits
Determining buyer

11. For Spring…Where do we want this to go?
Let’s at least get the business running!
Strictly for sale: Even CYEC buys them
Ag program has two tracts: livestock and crops
Rabbits would be project of livestock tract
Would have to go through “financial training” as well
Key: Produce something and establish a buyer

12. Thoughts on next 3-5 years?
Solid incorporation into Ag Program
Must go through “financial training” to receive loan
Youth living in center develop rabbit farming as a livelihood
Expand project to Eco-Village (with beginnings and training at CYEC)

13. Works Cited Rabbit images:
Nutrition facts: