294 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



SErTEMBER 10, 1904. 



draughts 

 If a 

 generally. 



RABBIT KEEPING IN THE WEST INDIES. 



The following is tlie concluding portion of 

 Mr. Barclay's notes on rabbits. This instalment deals 

 with the common ailments of rabbits : — 



T>ISEASES. 



While rabbits are hard}', they are, like many other 

 animals, subject to certain troubles. It would serve no 

 purpcse to describe many of these here fully. They all ari.se 

 from (1) errors of diet, (i) bad hou.sing — expcsure to 

 and rain, (3) dirt, or (i) inbreeding, 

 rabbit looks out of sorts, look to your treatment 

 (1) See that your hutch is water-tight. (2) See 

 if wet green stuff is being fed, and if so, stop it ; diarrhoea 

 is the result of feeding this sort of food. (3) See that too 

 much corn or dry stuff is not being fed ; this results in 

 constipation. If so, give only green food and sweet jjotatos. 

 The following preventive and curative treatment should then 

 be immediately acted upon. [Remendier that rabbits have 

 claws and that the kick of their hind legs can give a deep 

 scratch. They also bite, though not badly.] Lift by the 

 ears with one hand, supporting the rabbit by holding the 

 thighs with the hand. Sit down and place the animal 

 between your knees, pressing it gently with them, pinch 

 the side of the mouth with your fingers when it will 

 open a little, insert a tea-spoon not quite tilled with 

 castor oil and dip it into the throat. Then Iiy the ears 

 pull the head up gently and hold the mouth, when the 

 oil will be swallowed. The ne.Kt day give sweet oil (cocoa- 

 nut, cotton-seed, olive, etc.) instead of castor: repeat the 

 castor oil on the second day, and the day after sweet oil 

 again. Then stop. 



This is a general preventive treatment when illness is not 

 specifically diagnosed. Reduce dry food and increase the green 

 food. This is especially the food for preventing constipation. 

 For diarrhoea give the same doses of castor oil and sweet oil, 

 but increase the dry food and reduce the green food. Especiall}- 

 good for diarrhoea is a little tlry boiled rice— not .sloiijiy. 



ColJ ill the Head. — This is often caused by a crack in 

 the hutch which causes the rabbit to be always in a draught. 

 See to this at once. Remember prevention is always better 

 than cure. If the rabbit has taken cold it will be constantly 

 sneezing and running at the nose. 



Give warm food, such as bread and milk, boiled sweet 

 potatos, served warm, mixed with a little cornmeal ; in each 

 feed put eight drops of sweet spirits of nitre, and if the 

 rabbit will not eat its food when this is mixed with it, put 

 the spirits of nitre in a little milk and pour down its throat. 

 Constipation. — 1 have referred to this above. This 

 complaint oidy makes its ajipearance when there has been a 

 lack of herbaceous food. The symptoms are as follows ; 

 The rabbit is .seen sitting in one corner of the hutch taking 

 no notice of food, and .sometimes the body is swollen. 



It must be tempted to eat green food, such as Spanish 

 needle, 'Rabbit Feeding,' banana or cabbage leaves. 

 Should this fail to bring about the desired result, put a little 

 salt and water down its throat; put in just enough salt to 

 make the water saline, and put a few drops of 'Healing Oil' 

 in it. A few days of this treatment will put matters right. 



Diseased Liver. — This is a complaint the rabbit keeiier 

 must be on the lookout for, as any sign of diseased liver will 

 spoil the sale of his produce. There is a difficulty in 

 breathing which is heavy and sometimes audible, and the 

 rabbit should at once be killed. It is little use trying to 

 doctor, in fact, it is not worth the trouble unless the 

 animal is a very valuable one. 



In ca.se a remedy is wanted, the following will be 

 useful: — Give twice a day a tea-.spoonful of castor oil, and 

 plenty of young 'Spanish needle' amongst the green food. 

 This disease will be prevented by not allowing tlie rabbit to 

 eat off the floor, and by avoiding feeding corn, and cornmeal 

 much. 



Drrtpsy or Fot Bel/i/. —Th'vi is one of the commonest of 

 rabbit diseases and one to which the young stock are most 

 liable. An excess of wet green food in large quantities, 

 or large quantities of the same fed at irregular hours, or 

 hutches too small — these are the general causes. 



The animal's body becomes swollen, as the rabbit will 

 keep on eating, if allowed ; the complaint is aggravated and 

 death soon ensues. 



Induce it to have a run on dry ground. Give dry food, 

 such as a few peas — leaves of the fianana or plantain are 

 good — and give a little parsley, thj-me, or sliced carrots ; 

 but any other green food or roots must be given sparingly. 

 A proper allowance of sweet hay and corn with limited green 

 food, fed at regular hours, is the prevention. 



t'inujfies. — A common disease is a form of cold, called 

 'Snuffles.' The animal sneezes repeatedly and matter collects 

 on its nostrils. Put a pinch of permanganate of potash in 

 water, and bathe the nostrils, then touch them with 

 eucalyptus oil. Do this dail}' until better : keej) the animal 

 dry and comfortable. It is expo.sure to damp, often the dri[i 

 in a leaky house, that causes snuffles, and if neglected, this 

 may turn into eonsunqition, which is incurable. 



If a rabbit becomes very bad before it is niiticcd, 

 it is better to kill it than attempt a cure. 



FISH OILS FROM DOMINICA. 



The Dominica (iti.ardinn makes the follow iny 

 reference to the note in the Agricultural News 

 (Vol. Ill, p. 2o3) on the above subject : — 



This industry has heretofore received too little notice 

 here, albeit one that promfses development as well as reward 

 to those who would endiark in an organized venture in that 

 direction. Sharks are jiretty common in our Avater.s, but it 

 is only lately that the ti.shcrmen bring them to the shore, 

 little regard being paid to the value of its oil, which is very 

 seldom extracted. 



Shoals of black fi.sh i)rank in the offing at all hour.s, 

 but they are seldom interferetl with, and only occasionally do 

 we see one being taken to the market, probably when other 

 fish are scarce. These are sold in large junks for a couple 

 of pence which makes the catch scarcely worth the fishers' 

 while. In some instances the oil has been extracted, and 

 here again there is discouragement, there being no market 

 for it. We know of one or two instances where ventures at 

 shipment have been made, with poor results, proliably 

 becau.se the .shippers did not know where to go to with the 

 article, as most certaiidy £1-0 to £18 per ton would give a 

 fine margin of profit. Now that the Department of Agri- 

 culture has taken the matter to a certain extent in hand, with 

 good results, it is to be hoped that they will not allow it to 

 rest there. 



