288 



Nature-Study Agriculture 



Two meth- 

 ods of 

 housing 



Mating ; 

 the young 



said to have been taken originally from Scotland to New 

 Zealand. They are of a reddish buff color and are a 

 little larger than Belgian Hares. The Flemish Giants, 

 the largest of all, should weigh fifteen pounds or more. 

 All of these are kept chiefly for meat. The American 

 Blue rabbit is appreciated for its beautiful fur, as is also 

 the Himalaya. The Himalaya is a white rabbit about 

 half as large as the Belgian Hare. 



The commonest way of keeping rabbits in this country 

 is to pen each one, except the young, in a separate 

 house called a " hutch." The hutches may be made 

 like the one shown in Figure 238, four feet long, two 

 and a half feet from front to back, and eighteen inches 

 or two feet high. If the floor is made of slats separated 

 by narrow cracks, it is much easier to keep the hutch 

 clean. Sometimes a number of rabbits are kept together 

 in a pen to which shelters are joined ; but unless the 

 inclosure is very large, the ground cannot be kept clean, 

 and diseases that are fatal to rabbits will develop. 



Rabbits should not be mated until they are about 

 eight months old. A nest box twelve inches wide, 

 twelve inches high, and eighteen inches deep should be 

 placed in one corner of the hutch. A little soft straw 

 or engine waste should be provided. With this the 

 mother will make her nest, lining it with her own fur. 

 The young should be weaned when they are about seven 

 weeks old. The doe may be mated again when the young 

 are two months old, and thus a new litter will come 

 every three months. 



Though rabbits make more work than chickens, 

 having to be kept in separate hutches, they will eat 



