64 AGRICULTURE HANDBOOK NO. 3 09, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 



(Left) N 45955 (Right) B 83081 



Figure 33. — How to place a rabbit pelt on a shaper before hanging it up to dry (left) . 



Two sizes of rabbit pelts properly placed on wire shapers (right). Front feet 



casings (not shown in picture) are on other side of shaper. 



naphtha flakes. Never use salt in 

 curing rahhltskins. 



Marketins 



Domestic rabbitskins vary 

 <rreatly in density and quality, 

 depending on the degree of care 

 that breeders take in breeding. 

 Good fur can be produced on effi- 

 cient meat-producing animals by 

 selective mating. Better skins 

 command higher prices. 



Because of the relative cheapness 

 of rabbitskins, volume is necessary 

 for the dealer to market them satis- 

 factorily ; and since dressing 

 charges are so much per skin, the 

 larger skins, other things being 

 equal, will bring the better price 

 even when they are sold by the 

 pound, "^^^lether it will pay to 

 grow or condition heavier rabbits 

 for the market depends on the rela- 

 tive cost of feed and the market 

 value of the finished product. In 

 areas where similar skins are pro- 

 duced in quantity, it might be 

 profitable for several rabbit raisers 

 to market their skins cooperatively. 



White skins bring higher prices 

 than colored skins because of the 

 adaptability to use in the lighter 

 shades of garments and hats. 



If good and poor skins of differ- 

 ent sizes and colors are mixed in a 

 shipment, the entire shipment is 

 usually accepted at the price of 

 poor skins. Sort the skins (unless 

 you have too few) and offer them 

 in separate shipments. 



Grades 



All rabbitskins have some value 

 in the fur trade. About 85 percent 

 of domestic rabbitskins are from 

 rabbits 8 to 10 weeks old. These 

 skins are known in the trade as 

 "fryer skins." They are usually 

 sold by the pound as butcher run, 

 that is, ungraded. Five or six 

 fryer skins usually wei^^h a pound. 

 In full-fed rabbits weighing 4 to 

 12 pounds, the poorest skins come 

 from animals up to 134 days old. 

 Older animals produce a higher 

 percentage of better grade skins. 

 The better grade skins from older 

 domestic rabbits are usually sold 



