Introductory Chapter: The Domestic Rabbit and Farm Management

Rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus) are the only lagomorph domesticated species originating from the Mediterranean region. They are reared for multiple purposes, such as meat, fur, and hair, and serve as laboratory model animals and companion animals. The expected lifetime of rabbits can reach 10 years, but rabbits have a short reproductive life of up to an average of two years. Rabbit production is versatile and can vary from small-scale, that is, subsistence and familiar rearing, to large-scale. In the last five decades, a significant evolution of housing systems occurred using commercial rabbit lines, some of which were selected for more than 30 years to achieve high levels of production. This introductory chapter highlights relevant issues to contextualize worldwide rabbit production, focusing on high-producing animals. General zootechnical and veterinary management of rabbits as well technical-economic indexes of the rabbitries are approached.