Establishing and sustaining a commercial rabbit farm in the tropics.

Meat production has always depended on inefficient systems that degrade the environment we live in through pollution and global warming. In pursuit for better meat productive systems especially in developing countries, new strategical plans need to be implemented. The following project consisted of implementing a new source of protein rather than the traditional animals (cattle, swine, poultry) raised for meat. The project settled for small livestock due to their rapid production, fast growth rates, high feed conversion ratio, less pollution and affordable initial investment. After investigation, it was decided to implement rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus). The rabbits were introduced at the Integrated Organic Farm (FIO) located at EARTH University. FIO was the preferred farm because it is spacious, has collaborative workers and the farm’s manager partly sponsored the project. The objective for the project was to establish a rabbit pilot project in FIO as well as elaborate a guide on the sustainability of a rabbit farm. A 175-paged rabbit production manual was written covering 16 important topics in rabbit farming. Unfortunately, the pilot project faced many challenges from diseases to climate change. The breeding stock was bought from San José, which experiences cooler climatic conditions than the hot and humid ones at the project’s location, EARTH University. The heat-stress reduced the rabbits’ appetite which made them lose their corporal condition and productivity. The high humid conditions exposed them to fungal infections while the attack by the virus myxomatosis caused high mortality rate killing four of the ten rabbits. Although there were many complications, the project managed to save six rabbits from its original stock and bought three more. At the end of the project the nine rabbits were slaughtered, the meat was sold to the EARTH community and the money earned was given to FIO to recuperate the initial investment.