COUPLE BUSY TO MEET HIGH RABBIT MEAT

LOCAL MEDIA reported that the high demand for rabbit meat as satay, burgers and meatballs has kept a couple in Kampung Chengal, Ketereh, Kota Bharu, Kelantan busy preparing more than 500kg of rabbit meat for customers every month. Mohd Saupi Hassan, 55, said he and his wife Noriha Ahmad, 49, only raised about nine rabbits two years ago.  However, the number jumped to 500 as he has to meet the high demand received from satay makers in Johor and Kuala Lumpur. They supply customers with processed rabbit meat (slaughtered, cleaned and marinated). As the orders for satay, burgers and meatballs increase, on average, I have to supply more than 500kg of meat (roughly about 500 rabbits) a month. They sell processed rabbit meat at RM38 per kg. Bookings are received from satay makers as far away as Johor and Kuala Lumpur. Touching on the farming methods, Mohd Saupi said that due to the increase in demand for rabbit meat, they have always made sure the animals get the necessary nutrition to ensure the quality of the meat. He said he built the rabbit cages at the back of his house to facilitate the feeding and drinking process to be carried out on a scheduled basis. Food is most important in the effort to fatten rabbits for the production of a lot of quality meat so that these rabbits weigh two to five kg each. They raise chinchilla and New Zealand White rabbits and they are sold from RM30 to RM150 each, depending on the categories and their age. Mohd Saupi said the animals multiplied quickly, which takes about four months to mature and reproduce. He said that within a month, one single female rabbit (doe) can produce seven to eight babies per litter. Mohd Saupi said most rabbit breeders such as himself are facing a problem of having to spend a lot to feed the animals. So to solve this, he decided to diversify the food for the animals, including giving them grass to save costs. “We don’t feed them with 100% pellet food but give these rabbits more organic plants such as banana leaves, ulam raja, sireh cina and belalai gajah that I can collect around my house. “Pellets are usually given once a day at 12pm while in the morning, I feed the rabbits with grass and organic plants and I also make special containers for them to drink from,” he said. Blog "Anim Agriculture Techology' share the info with Bernama. Thanks...

By,

M Anem,

Putrajaya,

Malaysia.

(March 2022).