Rabbit Farming in Cameroon

Konu

Farming

Tarih 8 July 2021

 

Rabbit Farming in Cameroon

Rabbit farming is a business that involves the rearing of rabbits for home or commercial purposes. Many people have rabbit farms in their homes due to the small space needed to keep rabbits. The main problem with keeping rabbits is the need for constant feeding.

Advantages of Rabbit Farming

The main benefits of  rabbit farming business are listed below:

l  Rabbits are very fast-growing animals; hence, they can be raised to selling age within a very short time for fast returns and for new ones to be put in their place.

l  Their food converting rate is better than other animals. This enables the farmer to use as little feed as possible for higher output per season.

l  One female rabbit can give birth to about 2 to 8 kids each time. This enables the rabbit cages to be filled within the shortest possible time.

l  Rabbits can be raised within a smallspace. This reduces the amount spent on logistics, hence the total amount of capital needed to start a rabbit farm.

l  Production costs per animal are less compared to other large-sized animals.

l  Rabbit meat is very tasty, nutritious, and easily digestible. All aged people can eat it without any problem.

l  There are no religious taboos onconsuming rabbit meat; hence, more people are consumers. This enables commercial rabbit farmers to produce and sell large quantities of rabbits.

l  In the case of meat production, rabbits are placed after poultry. Rabbit meat is one main source of meat; hence, it can subsidize chicken and beef.

l  Kitchen wastes, grass, plant leaves, etc., are the favorite foods of rabbits. So you can raise some rabbits for your family's needs, using this type of low-cost and easily available commodities.

l  Rabbit farming requires less labor compared to other animal farming businesses. You can easily use your family labor for a successful commercial rabbit farming business.

l  Commercial rabbit farming businesses require relatively less capital, and you will get back your investment within a very short period.

l  As it is a highly profitable business, so commercial production can be a great source of earning and employment. You can meet-up your family's nutritional demands by raising a few rabbits.

How to Start Rabbit Farming Business

READ: Fish farming in Cameroon

Rabbits are small-sized animals. So it's very easy to start a commercial rabbit farming business. Make a proper business plan before starting.

1.        Choose Rabbit Breeds

There are many rabbit breeds available throughout the world. Among those breeds, Dark Gray (internal), Fox, Dutch, New Zealand White, New Zealand Black, New Zealand Red, Belgium White, and Chinchilla, etc., are highly productive and popular breeds. You can choose the proper breed for your production, depending on the availability of breeds in your area.

Rabbit Farming Method

You can start raising rabbits in both deep litter and cage farming methods. Here we are describing more about these two types of raising methods.

a)        Deep Litter Method: 

This method is suitable if you want to raise a few rabbits. A concrete floor is more suitable for a deep litter system. Make 4 to 5 inches depth litter husk, hay, straw, or wood shavings. In this method, you can raise a maximum of 30 rabbits in a house. Keep the male rabbits in a separate room from the female. In a deep litter system, the risks of diseases are high. And sometimes, it may seem very difficult to manage the Rabbit in this system.

b)       Cage Method:

For the commercial rabbit farming business, the cage method is the best. In this system, the rabbits are kept in a cage, which is made with wire or iron plates. The cage system is very useful for raising a maximum number of rabbits. Keep sufficient space and necessary facilities inside every cage. Keep the male and female rabbits separated from each other. Keep them together in a separate cage during the breeding period.

The minimum recommended cage size is 1.1 meters for living space; height should be 2-3 meters (depending on rabbit height) and  9.7 meters area for playing or movement.

However, a perfect cage for Rabbit farming commercially or hobby or use another measurement 36 inches wide, 30 inches deep, and 16 inches tall which suitable for rearing all types of Rabbits.

But,

Other sizes may also work well. However, the most important part is providing enough space for movement. Other factors to consider include:

l  Multiple compartments: A rabbit requires a good-sized hutch or cage, preferably with two chambers.

l  Cage Materials: The cage must be made of steel and wood. If you made a cage through wood, then it will be more effective with the same measurement.

l  However, there is a little offbeat for males or doe during pregnancy. They do like to build their own nest by using a straw and their own body hair. 

l  Playing  Space: If you are growing them commercially, then you have to consider a minimum amount of run/exercise space (able to take three hops). This is essential and ensures healthy animals.

2.        Feeding

Feed consuming rate and nutrient requirements vary, depending on the Rabbit's age and breed type. For proper nutrition of adult rabbits, their food should contain 17 to 18 percent crude protein, 14 percent fiber, 7 percent minerals, and 2700 kilocalories/kg of metabolic energy. Green leafy vegetables, seasonal vegetables, spinach, carrots, muller, cucumber, green grass, and vegetable wastes are common food for rabbits. For commercial purposes, you can serve them poultry feed. In accordance with providing nutritious feed, supply them sufficient amount of clean and fresh water according to their demand.

In general, we could divide the Rabbit's feeding as follows:

l  80% hay or fresh grass

l  15% fresh food (leafy vegetables or wild herbs)

l  5% concentrate feed

3.        Breeding

Usually, rabbits become mature and suitable for breeding purposes within their 5 to 6 months of age. But don't use the male rabbits for breeding purposes until they reach their first birthday. Doing this will ensure quality young rabbits for commercial production. Always try to use healthy rabbits with proper body weight for breeding. Never bred the females if they are ill. Take special care to the breeding male and pregnant female rabbits, and provide them nutritious feed. The gestation period of rabbits is about 28 to 31 days. And each time, a doe can give birth to 2 to 8 kids.

4.        Marketing

In some areas, marketing rabbit products is not so easy. So it will be better if you determine your marketing plan before starting. You can try your local markets or the nearest town.

Common Diseases of Rabbits

l  Internal parasites such as worm infestation, coccidial infection, etc. Deworm animals regularly and avoid giving animals moldy feeds. Also, administer coccidiostat at an early age or anti-coccidial drugs.

l  External parasites such as mites and lice infestation. Clean the hutches regularly.

l  Bacterial infections such as Salmonellosis, Escherichia coli (E. coli), etc.

l  Viral infections such as Myxomatosis (Big head disease), Rabbit Calicivirus disease (Viral hemorrhagic disease).

Though the rabbit farming business is a lucrative one, it requires a lot of attention, especially on occasions when the doe gives birth or when a rabbit is injured or sick. They also need constant monitoring to warn off predators that seek to handicap or even kill the rabbits. Apart from these drawbacks, the rabbit farming business is the best animal rearing business one can think of.

 

How to start fish farming in Cameroon

Konu

Farming

Tarih 20 June 2021

 

How to start fish farming  in Cameroon

As a major component of aquaculture, fish pond (pisciculture) farming in Africa dates back to the 1930s, when it was first introduced (Jamu and Ayinla, 2003). Although fish farming in Cameroon started in the late 1940s. Currently, the country meets only half of its domestic demand for fish.

Advantages of fish farming in Cameroon

l  Fish farming is a lucrative business that can fetch a lot of income for the farmer and employ lots of youths who still keep parading the streets of the country looking for jobs.

l  It is one of the businesses with self-sustainability, though the output may be low in such a case.

l  It reduces the amount of fish imported because of the internal supply from fish farms, hence contributing to the GDP f the country.

 

The fish farming process is divided into the following steps, which are not completely exclusive. Still, for the sake of better understanding, I have divided the process into nine phases The process which leads to the start of a successful fish farm in Cameroon includes:

l  Get a good location for your farm

 the location should be around a clean water source with little or no pollutants, especially in a swampy area where the ground is water-logged to prevent rapid infiltration of water. In places where there is no available source of clean water, other artificial sources of water can be used

l  Get a good source of water

A good water source like a stream or river is needed to carry out fish farming in Cameroon. This method is less expensive though there exist other types of fish farming in which the source of water is not natural or local but is transported through pipes to the point of fish cultivation.

l  Choose the appropriate type of fish pond

The type of fish pond used to carry out fish farming in Cameroon depends on the area that the practice is being carried out and the available material for the pond to be created. The most common type is the excavated hole dug in the ground such that the bottom of the pond is sloped to enable the fish to the surface to feed efficiently and the fish keeper to monitor their health easily. The deep portion (usually between 2 to 2.5 meters from the water surface) also serves as a point of escape from aerial predators like the kingfisher. The main point here is that the pond should be able to retain a large quantity of water. Hence, plastic can be used as a container for the pond with an inlet for fresh water and an outlet for used highly nourished water, which may be used to fertilize crops nearby. Nets are sometimes used to reduce the amount of fish lost to predators. In the excavated ground pond, the banks are supposed to be kept free from plants, especially grasses, that may serve as hiding spots for predators. 

l  Decide the right species of fish for you

The most common species of fish cultivated in Cameroon is the Clarias. However, the Tilapia and other species are also cultivated. It is usually for commercial purposes since it requires a lot of attention and finance in constantly monitoring the pond temperature, pH, and visibility. The Clarias, also called mud-fish is the most common fish cultivated because it requires less attention and finances. It can survive very adverse conditions like drought, and it can easily be reproduced.

l  Get healthy fingerling or juveniles

The Cameroon has many hatcheries found in various locations in the country where fingerlings can be acquired at moderate prices by any prospective fish farmer.

l  Understand fish feeds & feeding

The fish a farmer must know the sizes of fish pallets to give the fish and other alternatives that can be used as fish food in case of shortage or to supplement the fish diet.

l  Start Marketing your fish before they grow-up

This is a a very important point, especially for those raising fish for commercial purposes. It will reduce the amount of feed that the fish would have consumed for that particular farming season to a more economical amount since the amount of fish to feed would have reduced before reaching full maturity.

l  Be business-minded

This is also, another important point that will determine whether the commercial fish farmer will stay in business or not. A business-minded fish farmer would always look for ways of reducing cost without necessarily lowering the quality of fish that he is selling to the population. He would also make sure he can sell their fish to a wider market.

l  Get good and practical fish farming training

All the skills that a good fish farmer would need can only be gotten by acquiring adequate training on how to raise that species of fish in which they are interested. In this way, there is a reduced risk of losses due to newness to the business, as it would have been for an unskilled farmer during the first few seasons of fish farming.

In addition to the above steps, the would-be farmer must take into consideration the following points for the smooth start and running of their fish pond: 

1.        Feasibility studies

Evaluate the amount of money needed to start the type of fish pond they would like to start and the estimated amount of money that could be generated so that the profitability can be convincing before starting the fish farm. The expenditures will include acquiring the tools, land which normally should be located near a clean water source that has not been contaminated with many pollutants as is the case in local areas where streams are used as points of laundry and purchase of the fish breed that has been chosen. This also involves evaluating the site selected for this activity if it can actually retain water for a long time before drying out.

Feasibility studies also involve evaluating profitability, that is, Consider the supply and demand for that fish species you want to invest in, the capital costs, the operating costs, the legal aspects and the production capacity, which is usually small at the beginning because it is advisable to start a small fish farm before moving to larger fish ponds. Evaluate the current market and see if there is enough space and demand to accommodate a new fish farm.

Normally, the amount of money needed to start a commercial fish farm is always higher than that needed for a small scale personal fish farm. This is due to the improved human and material resources needed to successfully run a commercial fish farm.

2.        Training

Once you think that fish farming is a viable and profitable business, it is recommended that you go to a fishing farm to work to learn related knowledge. Before starting a business, you must improve some technical and management skills.

 

Finally, when your fish pond is created, you need to constantly check the fish for signs of sickness, including dead fish floating on the water surface or reduced reactions to the throwing of feed into the pond. A self-sustaining pond that does not need external influence should have a feed manufacturing plant nearby for easy access to feed at any time. Also, there must be effective ventilation in the pond without which the fish will suffocate and die, especially when the fish species involved are lungless.

READ: Rabbit farming in Cameroon