Children's Garden Center, Kawangware


07 July 2008
Rabbit House at
Children's Garden Home

RABBIT PROJECT

 

Rabbit project was started on 21 April 2008 and is an income generation project with a micro-loan fund component. The concept is to provide children with a hobby and skills training children. At the same time the activity would produce 10 kg of meat at the end of each month. Meat is sold and the income saved in a micro-loan fund for the future use by the children who cared for the rabbits. 

Project was funded by SIDA/Forum Syd (Sweden) and Globetree (2008).
 

RABBIT HOUSE

Land space for the rabbit enclosure

Rabbit project site got into shape (01 May'08) with some boys who are keen in using the saw, cutter and netting the cages. Putting chick wire netting around the metal cages

The rabbit house is managed (cleaning, feeding. breeding) by 2 boys and their friends. Rabbit feed includes grass, vegetable rejects, and other plant materials. The boys take care of everything in the rabbit house, including keeping various records (mating, weights, births, deaths, etc), a close watch on any invasion of fire ants, termites, and dogs and other predators (rat, mongoose).


 

Rabbit Cages:
There are two types of metal rabbit cages.
(i) cages for breeding purposes.
(ii) cages for young rabbits. 
Cages for adult does (breeding stock) are small but the partition walls can be removed so that doe and bunnies or young rabbits can have double the space. There are such 14 "single" cages and 5 "double" cages. The structural frames of the cages are made of iron rods and the cages protected with chick wire netting. The floor is covered with wooden planks which can be flipped over during the cleaning of the cages.

    

         

Can you find the "odd" rabbit


The initial stock of rabbits came from the National Rabbit Breeding Center, Nairobi Children's Remand Home at Lower Kabete and private homes.


Preparing the Sweet Potato plot		 Outside the rabbit house, the boys have their own garden with flowers and pineapple and anything that they fancy growing. There is also a 200 m2 sweet potato plot to ensure a supply of foliage which is a component of an integrated system for complete recycling of of wastes.

Skin is preserved and used by the boys.
 

ACTIVITIES

Photos by Jacky Foo (09 May 2008)

Visit to the National Rabbit Breeding Unit, Ministry of Livestock, Fisheries Development & Agriculture, Ngong.

Ms Wilkister and Mr Stanley (with Pastor Alfred K) visit Mr Eustace Murith (Director). Students get excited and fascinated with rabbits of different sizes and colours.

    

 

Training Course (18-20 Aug 2008)
on Food Self-Reliance
One of the 5 topics during the training course was related to care and breeding of rabbits and the preservation of rabbit skins. A field visit was made to the National Rabbit Breeding Center at El Paso, Ngong with Mr. Eustace Muriithi as the teacher. Visits were also made to see rabbitories at Children's Garden Home and at the Nairobi Children's Remand Home. A demonstration on how to kill rabbits, skinning and preservation of the skins were made at Children's Garden Home. Up to 17 children participated in the visits.

Lessons learnt
(i) Chick wire netting that comes into direct contact with urine will corrode and start to break after 6 months. Use a wooden plank first to prevent direct contact e.g. betweeb floor and wall.

(ii) It is said that the doe feeds its babies only once a day. If there are more than 5 kits, we place the doe over the kits once a day to ensure that they get a second feed during their first week.

Project After Nov 2008
Dauglas, John and Dennis meet to discuss how they will manage the rabbit house from Dec 1st when project is handed over to them. Director Moses Ndungu of Children's Garden Center also makes his declaration that the rabbit project will continue.
Rabbit Count
 
Date Number of rabbits
<6 wks/
>6 wks)
19 May'09 Total= 11 adults
07 Mar'09 Total= 31
6 breeding stock +25 bunnies
Dec'08  Total= 27
02 Aug'08

Total=35
(17 adults,
18 bunnies)
 		 Contact:
Saco replaces Dennis in Jan 2009 and is appointed the supervisor for the children at the rabbit House

Former supervisors:
Alfred K.
Charles O.
Dennis.

Moses Ndungu (Administrator, Children's Garden)
TEL: 254 721 308678;  FAX: 254 20 311517
 

NEWS
 Från: Moses Ndungu [mailto:mosesndungu2002@yahoo.co.uk] 
 Skickat: den 19 maj 2009 11:40
 Till: Sam Samuelsson
Ämne: report on rabbit project
 here is the report of the rabbit project from Charles. At the moment we are having eleven rabbits in total both males and females and young ones. Male rabbits are four white. Female rabbits are six and only one young though we are expecting more in few months time. The rabbits mainly feed on weeds from within the garden or from the neighboring garden; they do also feed on grain. We have four boys who take care of the rabbits; they do the cleaning and ensure there is enough feeding and water. The number of rabbits has been reducing dramatically due to; Climatic changes, Diseases, Lack of proper treatment. Due to this effects, the project can not maintain and sustain itself effectively unless the setbacks are settled.Otherwise we are looking forward to develop our project.
thank you
Moses Ndungu
Administrator, 
CHILDREN'S GARDEN.

Persons involved (present and past) in the project

Past

Modified: 20 May 2009. Jacky Foo, Globetree-Program Officer, Environment and Sustainable Development
Project funded by SIDA/Forum Syd (Sweden)