50 NATURE AND ITS 



Belgian Hares for Market and Breeding. 



I always had success and no diseases. I kept them in a 

 large yard so no dog's could get at them and a fence high 

 enough. A rabbit must be on a free range so to speak, or a 

 large yard to run in and a lot of boxes in a long shed partly 

 underground, high and dry, .with a small opening in the box 

 about 6x6 inches. When the doe has her young she closes 

 the hole up tight so no buck can get at the young and he 

 will not take the trouble to open the holes. When you feed 

 them you can do it on a large scale, also watering them and 

 no doors or gates to open. 



A woody underbrush is an excellent place to raise hares 

 in. They eat bark, grass, clover and brush, and they love 

 hazel brush. Have a load of straw in the yard and a lot of 

 little houses all over the yard, and in each of these little 

 houses have a bench fourteen inches high for the doe to go 

 up on so the young cannot bother her when she is at rest. 

 Have a box in the ground, say three feet long 12x12 inches 

 and a hole in one end for the doe to go in, and on the other 

 end a pipe three foot long attached to the box for air for the 

 young. This pipe should go about a foot above the top of 

 the ground. When she closes up the hole the young will 

 have air through this pipe. 



A good plan is to change bucks every week and keep the 

 ones you have had in the yard in a large room or in separate 

 boxes and feed them on oats, hay and water. This will 

 give them a rest and they will not overdo themselves. The 

 bucks get very poor if they have too many does to care for 

 in breeding. 



Feeding the Hares. 



Hay, oats, corn and clover. Hay is the best food, and 

 onions and cabbage. Not too much green food should be 

 given them and all the water they want. Onions are the 

 best medicine for colds in hares and is good for indigestion. 



