Backgrounder
If you have to buy meat, or if you’d like to earn some extra money, think about raising rabbits. Rabbits are popular because they have lots of babies that grow quickly into big rabbits that you can eat. One healthy doe, can produce five litters each year. That is about 30 kilograms of meat a year. The meat, when cooked, tastes like poultry meat: rabbit curry and chicken curry taste just the same. Rabbits are a good source of low fat protein.
A comfortable home To be healthy and productive, a rabbit needs a home that’s clean and dry and safe. Each rabbit should have its own cage. It must be protected from sun and rain and also from animals, such as dogs and rats, that might attack or frighten it. Put the cage in the shade of a tree or under the overhanging roof of your house. If there isn’t much space, you could build shelves on a wall or even build burrows in an old termite mound or hillside.
Generally, the safest and most convenient way to keep rabbits is in individual cages raised above the ground on sturdy posts. The bottom of the cage should be about a metre above the ground, a convenient height for you and your family to work with your rabbits. The cage should be big enough so that a rabbit and her young can move around comfortably. The floor could be up to 1 metre long and perhaps 2/3 of a metre wide, and the walls about 2/3 of a metre high.
Cages and floors can be made of sticks, split poles, or whatever material you have. Build a metal or thatch roof with a wide overhang to protect the rabbits from rain and hot sun. If you use metal use galvanized metal which reflects the sun and put palm leaves or wood insulation under the metal to keep the cage cooler. If your rabbits get too hot they may die. If the roof can be eaten by the rabbits it is not high enough.
If you keep several rabbits, you could build a simple grass roof on posts over all the cages. Make it high enough that you can easily walk underneath to tend the rabbits. If your cages are not under one big waterproof shelter, each cage should have its own overhanging roof to keep off rain and sun.
Self cleaning floor Clean the rabbit cages regularly and completely. This helps to keep the rabbits healthy. Remove uneaten food before each feeding or it goes bad. Also remove dirt and droppings. They may contain germs that will make your rabbits sick. And a dirty cage will attract flies that will bother the rabbits and may produce maggots.
Building the floor It’s easier to keep a rabbit cage clean if the floor of the cage has holes or spaces, so that manure and urine will fall through. If the cage is up on poles, the manure will fall through onto the ground below. You can then sweep up the manure and use it to fertilize your garden. Rabbit manure can be used on a compost heap or dug into the soil fresh. It will not burn your plants.
With all types of floor, the spaces should be just large enough for the manure to fall through easily. If the spaces are too large, it’s uncomfortable for the rabbit’s feet, and the baby rabbits’ feet may slip through the holes and their legs may be injured.