The Economics of Rabbit Farming: A Pilot Study on the Impact of Different Housing Systems
Abstract
:Simple Summary
Abstract
1. Introduction
2. Materials and Methods
2.1. Data Collection
2.2. Cost Calculation
2.3. Data Analysis
- Yearly productivity of the walkable cage area (kg/m2): this was obtained by dividing the produced live weight in one year by the area (m2) of cages available to rabbits. This is equal to the cage floor for BI and DP cages, and the cage floor plus platform for WRSA cages. This index includes the areas of both fattening and reproduction cages.
- Productivity of the base cage area (kg/m2): this was obtained by dividing the slaughtered live weight in one year by the area (m2) of the cage, which excludes the platform area in WRSA. This index includes the areas of both fattening and reproduction cages.
- Productivity of the total shed area (kg/m2): this was obtained by dividing the slaughtered live weight in the year by the area (m2) of the shed declared by farmers. In the all-in/all-out system, all shed areas are considered in the calculation.
- Cost indexes (EUR/kg): these were obtained by dividing the yearly expenditure for each cost items by the produced live weight in one year, expressed in kg. “Total variable costs” (VC) includes feed, drugs, energy, and reproduction. The economic information comes from the farm accountancy, the data recorded by the breeders, or both. “Total fixed costs” (FC) includes the depreciation costs of the shed and cage.
3. Results
3.1. Effect of the Housing System
3.2. Farm Effect
4. Discussion
Author Contributions
Funding
Institutional Review Board Statement
Informed Consent Statement
Data Availability Statement
Acknowledgments
Conflicts of Interest
References
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Housing System | Conventional Cages for Does and Bicellular Cages for Growing Rabbits (BI) | Conventional Dual-Purpose Cages (DP) | Structurally Enriched Cages (WRSA) |
---|---|---|---|
Farms, number | 3 | 2 | 2 |
Observations, number | 9 | 7 | 3 |
Group-housing system | Growing rabbits | Growing rabbits Does with kits | Growing rabbits Does with kits |
Available surface (m2/animal) a | 0.105–0.167 | 0.296–0.331 b | 0.452–0.508 b,c |
Expected d | Good level of feeding, health, and biosecurity measures | More available space compared to BI, group housing of fattening rabbits favouring natural behaviour | Standard cages with plastic/wire-mesh platform, improved animal welfare and allows biosecurity measures |
Item | Purchasing Cost a | |
---|---|---|
Housing system | EUR/cage | |
BI | Cages for rearing rabbits | 18.30 |
Cages for reproducing does with kits | 44.77 | |
DP | Cages for reproducing does with kits and growing rabbits | 70.15 |
WRSA | Cages for reproducing does with kits and growing rabbits | 78.08 |
Structures b | EUR/m2 | |
Automatic feeding system (with silos) | 24.40 | |
Cleaning system (scrapers) | 15.70 | |
Masonry works | 318.10 | |
Air conditioning system | 41.85 | |
Electrical and water system | 47.95 | |
Total | 448.00 |
Housing System | Bicellular (BI) | DP | WRSA |
---|---|---|---|
Observations (number) | 9 | 7 | 3 |
Slaughter weight (kg) | 2.81 (0.08) | 2.71 (0.07) | 2.66 (0.05) |
Walkable cage area (kg/m2) | 193.47ab (0.08) | 196.82a (0.07) | 158.08b (0.05) |
Base cage area (kg/m2) | 193.47a (36.76) | 196.82a (27.46) | 180.63a (27.62) |
Total shed area (kg/m2) | 115.94a (36.76) | 100.26a (27.46) | 118.69a (20.20) |
Total variable costs (EUR/kg) | 1.26a (0.13) | 1.36a (0.14) | 1.25a (0.12) |
Feed (EUR/kg) 1 | 1.02a (0.06) | 1.15b (0.17) | 0.99a (0.09) |
Drugs (EUR/kg) | 0.11a (0.05) | 0.06b (0.02) | 0.05b (0.03) |
Energy (EUR/kg) | 0.06a (0.03) | 0.07a (0.01) | 0.03b (0.01) |
Reproduction (EUR/kg) 1 | 0.08a (0.06) | 0.08ab (0.08) | 0.19b (0.14) |
Total fixed costs (EUR/kg) | 0.28a (0.04) | 0.30a (0.04) | 0.29a (0.14) |
Shed (EUR/kg) | 0.20a (0.03) | 0.23a (0.03) | 0.19a (0.03) |
Cage (EUR/kg) | 0.08a (0.01) | 0.07a (0.04) | 0.10b (0.02) |
Housing System and Breeders | Technical Indexes | Economical Indexes | |||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Walkable Cage Area (kg/m2) | Base Cage Area (kg/m2) | Total Shed Area (kg/m2) | Total VC (EUR/kg) | Feed 1 (EUR/Kg) | Drugs (EUR/kg) | Energy (EUR/kg) | Reproduction 1 (EUR/kg) | Total VF (EUR/kg) | Shed (EUR/kg) | Cage (EUR/kg) | |
Constant | 207.24 *** (9.48) | 207.24 *** (10.22) | 115.34 *** (5.56) | 1.33 *** (0.05) | 1.03 *** (0.10) | 0.14 *** (0.01) | 0.08 *** (0.00) | 0.08 *** (0.00) | 0.27 *** (0.01) | 0.19 *** (0.01) | 0.08 *** (0.01) |
BI | 0 a | 0 a | 0 a | 0 a | 0 a | 0 a | 0 a | 0 a | 0 a | 0 a | 0 a |
DP | −23.26 (15.48) | −23.26 (16.69) | −15.61 (9.08) | −0.01 (0.09) | −0.02 (0.02) | −0.07 *** (0.02) | −0.01 ** (0.01) | 0.09 *** (0.02) | 0.6 ** (0.02) | 0.03 * (0.02) | 0.03 *** (0.01) |
WRSA | −54.41 *** (17.73) | −11.38 (19.12) | 3.01 (10.41) | −0.04 (0.10) | −0.09 *** (0.03) | −0.07 *** (0.02) | −0.05 *** (0.01) | 0.18 ** (0.06) | 0.03 (0.02) | 0.00 (0.02) | 0.03 ** (0.01) |
BI X breeder A | 0 a | 0 a | 0 a | 0 a | 0 a | 0 a | 0 a | 0 a | 0 a | 0 a | 0 a |
BI X breeder B | −76.55 *** (17.73) | −76.55 *** (19.12) | −25.01 ** (10.41) | −0.26 ** (0.10) | −0.10 *** (0.02) | −0.12 *** (0.02) | −0.05 *** (0.01) | 0.01 (0.06) | 0.07 ** (0.02) | −0.05** (0.02) | 0.01 (0.01) |
BI X breeder C | 14.59 (17.73) | 14.59 (19.12) | 27.71 ** (10.41) | −0.02 (0.10) | 0.06 ** (0.02) | −0.03 (0.02) | −0.05 *** (0.01) | −0.01 (0.05) | −0.05 * (0.02) | −0.04 * (0.02) | −0.01 (0.01) |
DP X breeder D | 0 a | 0 a | 0 a | 0 a | 0 a | 0 a | 0 a | 0 a | 0 a | 0 a | 0 a |
DP X breeder E | 22.47 (16.19) | 22.47 (17.45) | 0.92 (9.50) | 0.06 (0.09) | 0.24 *** (0.07) | −0.02 (0.02) | −0.01 * (0.01) | −0.15 *** (0.02) | −0.07 (0.02) | −0.00 (0.02) | −0.07 *** (0.01) |
WRSA X breeder C | 0 a | 0 a | 0 a | 0 a | 0 a | 0 a | 0 a | 0 a | 0 a | 0 a | 0 a |
WRSA X breeder F | 15.76 (25.96) | −45.69 (27.98) | 1.02 (15.23) | −0.10 (0.15) | 0.14 *** (0.03) | −0.04 (0.03) | −0.01 (0.01) | −0.20 *** (0.06) | −0.02 (0.03) | −0.01 (0.03) | −0.01 (0.01) |
Adjusted R Squared | 0.602 | 0.519 | 0.523 | 0.221 | 0.579 | 0.704 | 0.921 | 0.511 | 0.556 | 0.492 | 0.829 |
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Mondin, C.; Trestini, S.; Trocino, A.; Di Martino, G. The Economics of Rabbit Farming: A Pilot Study on the Impact of Different Housing Systems. Animals 2021, 11, 3040. https://doi.org/10.3390/ani11113040
Mondin C, Trestini S, Trocino A, Di Martino G. The Economics of Rabbit Farming: A Pilot Study on the Impact of Different Housing Systems. Animals. 2021; 11(11):3040. https://doi.org/10.3390/ani11113040
Chicago/Turabian StyleMondin, Chiara, Samuele Trestini, Angela Trocino, and Guido Di Martino. 2021. "The Economics of Rabbit Farming: A Pilot Study on the Impact of Different Housing Systems" Animals 11, no. 11: 3040. https://doi.org/10.3390/ani11113040
APA StyleMondin, C., Trestini, S., Trocino, A., & Di Martino, G. (2021). The Economics of Rabbit Farming: A Pilot Study on the Impact of Different Housing Systems. Animals, 11(11), 3040. https://doi.org/10.3390/ani11113040