St Bess brothers get bounce rearing giant rabbits
PETTING AND rearing giant rabbits is a pleasurable exercise for brothers Stevon and Damien Nembhard of Stevens Run in Nain, St Elizabeth, who are determined to create a viable business out of what, to them, is more than a hobby.
Stevon, the younger of the two, told The Gleaner that rearing rabbits has been in his family from as far back as the 1960s.
“Our uncle was raising local Jamaican rabbits so we followed his footsteps from an early age,” he said, noting that, like chicken or other meats, rabbits can be prepared in enticing ways.
“You can stew, curry, jerk, soup it, or make sausages and burgers out of the meat. The only thing is you will have to put in some emphasis when preparing it, but it is very tasty,” he added. “Rabbit meat is highly nutritious and has easier digestible proteins than the chicken breast. They taste almost the same, but it’s healthier.”
Rabbits, unlike other animals, do not have a mating season and that is the advantage of rearing them, Damien explained to The Gleaner.
“When the doe is in heat, it is easier to put it in the buck pen. If you feel like, as the farmer, you want to put her with the male but she is not ready, you have a threeday period to see what happens. If nothing happens you can try her for six hours after. Continue trying within the three-day period until she gets pregnant.
“With giant rabbits, I ensure they mate as early as five or six months of age because they tend to get fat and big so they don’t give you an increase the older they get. However, the benefit of having them is that whenever you are ready for them to breed, you can put them to work. Productivity of rabbits is constant and you can increase any time, regardless of the season,” he added.
Although they are excited about the direction in which their business is headed, both brothers acknowledged to The Gleaner that it was challenging at first.
“Knowledge is very important because when we started, we weren’t sure about what we were doing. We had two giant rabbits and on the second breeding, we did not know that rabbits had two wombs. We put the rabbit out to mate and 10 days later we tried the rabbit, but unfortunately, the rabbit had a double pregnancy,” said Damien.
“She delivered one and died delivering the other, which resulted in a loss for us. The giant rabbits take special care and it is not the same as a regular rabbit. The nest box for them is much bigger because it is easier to go in and out. If we put them in a smaller box, we will have more deaths,” added Damien.
Reminiscing on some of their fun experiences, the brothers say what they find most satisfying is to see their customers’ needs satisfied.
“Persons are like ‘wow!’They are amazed at the size of these rabbits. Rabbits are so calm and we can easily pet them. We want to venture into a school-based venture where students can come and pet the rabbits,” Damien said.