Good practice factsheet: outdoor rearing of rabbits

This factsheet is an example of a possible way of breeding and rearing rabbits outdoor. The main advantages for rabbit welfare will be described as well as the main issues that might appear, particularly related to health. The farm used as example is a small scale farm producing 300 rabbits a year in organic production. On average five bucks are used for 25 to 30 does. Females are housed by groups of 3 and will stay permanently together in an outdoor enclosure of 150 m². Each enclosure is furnished with collective shelter with straw bedding, three individual smaller nests, trees, grass and bushes or scrub. The fence is approx. 60 cm high. Electrical wire is installed at the bottom and the top of the fence. Rabbits are weaned between 40 and 50 days, when weighting approximatively 1 kg and are housed in similar enclosures.