culture

There is a family, called a rabbit raising house, in neighbourhood unit No. 4 of Sosin-dong, Ryokpho District, Pyongyang. 

The family raises hundreds of young rabbits every year with over 10 breeding rabbits.

Housewife Ri Song Hui has gained a wealth of experience as she raised rabbits for over 10 years.

“Rabbits can be raised with only grass. That is why the cost of rearing rabbits is very low,” she said.

According to her, the village of Sosin-dong has a rich source of grass as there are a farm and a small river in its surroundings.

What is important in rabbit rearing is anti-epizootic work, she said, adding that her family sterilizes rabbit coops with fire and paints them with lime powder on a constant basis and disinfects the footboard of rabbit houses by sunlight once a day. She said that young rabbits are vaccinated lest those with impaired immunity should have diseases and locally available medicinal herbs are mixed with feed, thereby remarkably decreasing the rate of death from various kinds of diseases. 

Her husband Jon Myong Hwa said that particular attention should be paid to ensuring the supply of feed. 

The family feeds rabbits by securing a great deal of nutritious and soft grasses. It rationally set the amount of feed, frequency and time and breeds rabbits in a scientific way. 

In particular, big efforts are channelled into ensuring the supply of feed in the period when the season changes and in the rainy season and winter. 

In the period when the season changes and in the rainy season, they dry up acacia leaves and other grasses to some extent and then mix them with wormwood to feed rabbits in order to prevent diseases.    

In winter, they chop fine dried grasses, corn straw, bean straw and others, soak them in salt water for a few hours and feed them by adding to a certain amount of processed grain by-product. 

Besides, the family preserves by-products of vegetable in salt to use them as feed.

They improve the variety of rabbits by interbreeding excellent breeds with native breeds. That is why the family’s leverets are bigger and more productive than others, and therefore are in great demand among breeders.

“Rabbit rearing is interesting and profitable. We improve our dietary life as we make various dishes with the meat and we become better off as it gives us extra income,” said Ri Song Hui.

Today, many people visit the family to learn their experience in rabbit rearing.