a coat with no conspicuous guard hairs, giving a very attractive fur. In the United States, there has been extensive interest in Rex Rabbit production but it has yet to develop into an integral component of the American rabbit industry.
In Europe, there is extensive use of Angora rabbit wool in the manufacture of luxury garments. The main source of Angora wool production is China, which produces over 90 percent of the world’s supply. In the United States, Angora production is primarily a hobby, since the high labor costs preclude a viable commercial Angora industry.
Production of Pharmaceuticals
Associated with the production of rabbits for meat and fur is the preparation of pharmaceutical products. The brains, blood, and various internal organs are used in producing “biologicals” for medical use and research. For example, rabbit brains are a source of thromboplastin, which is used to control the dosage of anticoagulant given to prevent thrombosis (heart attack), phlebitis, and other abnormal clotting conditions of the human body. The blood is used to prepare complement, used in biomedical programs. Various enzymes for research are derived from rabbit tissues.
Youth Programs
The raising of domestic rabbits lends itself nicely to 4-H Club, Boy and Girl Scout, and FFA projects (Fig. 1.8). The fact that in many cases rabbits can be raised where larger farm animals or even poultry cannot be handled makes them especially useful animals for these groups. In this connection, rabbit breeders can be of material aid to these younger people by providing desirable breeding stock at nominal prices and by counseling with leaders and members of the youth groups with respect to methods for raising or caring for their animals. In many areas where the youthful rabbit raisers may need capital for developing their projects, local bankers cooperate with them and arrange to make loans for that purpose. A boy or girl signs a note and is expected to repay the principal plus interest out of the profits from the endeavor. This cooperation by business executives is helpful and gives the young rabbit raiser an insight into business procedure. Many youth projects have resulted in prizes and trophies being awarded at fairs and other exhibitions. Youth programs are an excellent way of teaching the concept of responsibility to young people.
Fig. 1.8. Youth members showing their rabbits. (Courtesy of the Webb Family)
To teach young persons the fundamentals of animal husbandry, youth groups may begin with young rabbits at weaning age. When the young members of a family group want to raise rabbits, it may be best to purchase an adult doe so that their interest may be kept keen by the chronological events, such as the doe making a nest and kindling and then the young people taking care of the litter, selling the products, etc. Many of these small beginnings on the part of young people have developed into sizeable undertakings.
Hobbies and Pets
Because the domestic rabbit is cage-raised, it lends itself more readily than other farm animals to handling by people with special needs and opens up a new field of activity for them. They derive a great deal of satisfaction from producing meat rabbits, spinning Angora wool and making garments, or just raising rabbits as pets.
People may want to raise rabbits because they enjoy working with animals and thus can advantageously combine a hobby with prospects of a supplemental income. There are many ramifications to this type of activity (Fig. 1.9). Some people may develop an interest in attempting to improve a strain of rabbits by studying its characteristics in an effort to produce animals as nearly perfect as possible and derive a great deal of pleasure from showing them.
Fig. 1.9. Rabbits make fine pets! (Courtesy of Susan Smith)
Complete rabbit rations can be purchased in small quantities at most feed stores, and these pellets are clean, easy to store, and convenient to feed. Caution should be taken in purchasing very young rabbits, such as Easter bunnies, etc., for small children. In too many cases the rabbits are improperly handled or cared for and may be abused and die. A rabbit purchased for a child’s pet should be at least six to eight weeks of age, because it has passed its more delicate stage of development and is less likely to be injured while the child is being instructed by the parent as to the proper method for holding and playing with it.
Laboratory Use
Rabbits have traditionally been used as laboratory animals. Because they are small and do not require a large amount of space in the laboratories and because the feeding and care are relatively inexpensive, this species is well adapted to certain types of research (Fig. 1.10). These include performing nutritional studies, testing new medical products, producing antibodies, developing information concerning inheritance of malformations, and studying diseases. The rabbit is being used more and more in connection with preliminary research tests with the larger types of farm animals, and its blood is used quite extensively in making antisera. Rabbits used in research are treated humanely. In some cases, as with the controversial Draize test for assessing effects of cosmetics on the eye, alternatives to animal testing have been developed and are in use.
Fig. 1.10. Rabbits are widely used in biomedical research. In this picture, a rabbit used in nutrition research is weighed. (Courtesy of P.R. Cheeke)
Factors Limiting Rabbit Production
Despite the promising potential of the rabbit as a meat- and fur-producing animal, a number of factors presently limit the profitability of rabbit enterprises. These are related to problems of nutrition, disease, genetics, and the high labor requirement for intensive rabbit production. Much less research has been conducted on the commercial production of rabbits than on the commercial production of other livestock species. Therefore, many more unsolved problems exist, and less information is available on optimal feeding, breeding, disease prevention, and management systems. In the area of nutrition, for instance, it is only since 1970 that data on specific nutrient requirements for energy, protein, amino acids, vitamins, and minerals have been obtained. In most cases, the existing data have been collected in experiments using small numbers of animals, with diets that are not representative of commercial feeds. Thus, much refining of this information is needed through continued research.
Diseases such as enteritis, snuffles, and viral hemorrhagic disease (VHD) are very important factors that prevent rabbit production from reaching its potential. Enteritis is a complex of several diseases that cause diarrhea, dehydration, and death of young rabbits. Until the early 1980s, very little progress had been made in understanding the causes of enteritis. Significant advances in the identification of types of bacteria and dietary factors involved in development of enteritis have been made since that time, but much remains to be done.
In the breeding and genetics areas, there has not been a sustained effort to develop superior breeding animals
