The Economics of Rabbit Farming: A Pilot Study on the Impact of Different Housing Systems

This research evaluates the economic sustainability of rabbit farms using different housing systems—bicellular (BI), conventional dual-purpose (DP) and enriched cages designed according to the World Rabbit Science Association guidelines (WRSA)—through a field-based study involving six farms over the...

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Autores principales:	Chiara Mondin, Samuele Trestini, Angela Trocino, Guido Di Martino
Formato:	article
Lenguaje:	EN
Publicado:	MDPI AG 2021
Materias:	bicellular cage dual purpose cage enriched cage production costs animal welfare Veterinary medicine SF600-1100 Zoology QL1-991
Acceso en línea:	https://doaj.org/article/e69103a358e449d1a1354eaf131276e6
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spelling	oai:doaj.org-article:e69103a358e449d1a1354eaf131276e62021-11-25T16:14:00ZThe Economics of Rabbit Farming: A Pilot Study on the Impact of Different Housing Systems10.3390/ani111130402076-2615https://doaj.org/article/e69103a358e449d1a1354eaf131276e62021-10-01T00:00:00Zhttps://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/11/11/3040https://doaj.org/toc/2076-2615This research evaluates the economic sustainability of rabbit farms using different housing systems—bicellular (BI), conventional dual-purpose (DP) and enriched cages designed according to the World Rabbit Science Association guidelines (WRSA)—through a field-based study involving six farms over the course of five years. The cages were compared based on three productivity indices expressed in kg of produced live weight/m<sup>2</sup> and on eight cost indices expressed in EUR/kg of produced live weight. The results showed that WRSA significantly reduced the productivity index per walkable cage area in buildings and cages, thanks to the longer platform area included in the cage compared to the other systems. Concerning cost indexes, total variable costs were not different among housing systems, whereas significant differences were observed within costs items. As for the feed costs, DP underperforms compared to BI or WRSA (1.15 vs. 1.02 and 0.99 EUR/kg produced live weight); for drugs costs, BI was less competitive compared to DP and WRSA (0.12 vs. 0.06 and 0.05 EUR /kg). In conclusion, under the conditions of the present study, the economic results of farms that adopted housing systems designed to improve rabbit welfare, such as WRSA enriched systems, were economically sustainable and, comparable to conventional housing systems based on BI or DP cages, also provided a significant reduction in drug use in the tested farms. A comprehensive collection of data from more farms at a European level would be necessary to confirm these results on the economics of farms adopting alternative housing systems for rabbits.Chiara MondinSamuele TrestiniAngela TrocinoGuido Di MartinoMDPI AGarticlebicellular cagedual purpose cageenriched cageproduction costsanimal welfareVeterinary medicineSF600-1100ZoologyQL1-991ENAnimals, Vol 11, Iss 3040, p 3040 (2021)
institution	DOAJ
collection	DOAJ
language	EN
topic	bicellular cage dual purpose cage enriched cage production costs animal welfare Veterinary medicine SF600-1100 Zoology QL1-991
spellingShingle	bicellular cage dual purpose cage enriched cage production costs animal welfare Veterinary medicine SF600-1100 Zoology QL1-991 Chiara Mondin Samuele Trestini Angela Trocino Guido Di Martino The Economics of Rabbit Farming: A Pilot Study on the Impact of Different Housing Systems
description	This research evaluates the economic sustainability of rabbit farms using different housing systems—bicellular (BI), conventional dual-purpose (DP) and enriched cages designed according to the World Rabbit Science Association guidelines (WRSA)—through a field-based study involving six farms over the course of five years. The cages were compared based on three productivity indices expressed in kg of produced live weight/m<sup>2</sup> and on eight cost indices expressed in EUR/kg of produced live weight. The results showed that WRSA significantly reduced the productivity index per walkable cage area in buildings and cages, thanks to the longer platform area included in the cage compared to the other systems. Concerning cost indexes, total variable costs were not different among housing systems, whereas significant differences were observed within costs items. As for the feed costs, DP underperforms compared to BI or WRSA (1.15 vs. 1.02 and 0.99 EUR/kg produced live weight); for drugs costs, BI was less competitive compared to DP and WRSA (0.12 vs. 0.06 and 0.05 EUR /kg). In conclusion, under the conditions of the present study, the economic results of farms that adopted housing systems designed to improve rabbit welfare, such as WRSA enriched systems, were economically sustainable and, comparable to conventional housing systems based on BI or DP cages, also provided a significant reduction in drug use in the tested farms. A comprehensive collection of data from more farms at a European level would be necessary to confirm these results on the economics of farms adopting alternative housing systems for rabbits.
format	article
author	Chiara Mondin Samuele Trestini Angela Trocino Guido Di Martino
author_facet	Chiara Mondin Samuele Trestini Angela Trocino Guido Di Martino
author_sort	Chiara Mondin
title	The Economics of Rabbit Farming: A Pilot Study on the Impact of Different Housing Systems
title_short	The Economics of Rabbit Farming: A Pilot Study on the Impact of Different Housing Systems
title_full	The Economics of Rabbit Farming: A Pilot Study on the Impact of Different Housing Systems
title_fullStr	The Economics of Rabbit Farming: A Pilot Study on the Impact of Different Housing Systems
title_full_unstemmed	The Economics of Rabbit Farming: A Pilot Study on the Impact of Different Housing Systems
title_sort	economics of rabbit farming: a pilot study on the impact of different housing systems
publisher	MDPI AG
publishDate	2021
url	https://doaj.org/article/e69103a358e449d1a1354eaf131276e6
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The Economics of Rabbit Farming: A Pilot Study on the Impact of Different Housing Systems

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