DOMESTIC RABBITS 19 



these structures are now devoted to other purposes, and 

 the needs of the fancier are met by a much simpler affair. 



General Care 



Rabbits do best when allowed plenty of fresh air. If 

 properly protected from draught and dampness they are 

 not affected by cold. Some few keepers of utility rabbits 

 advocate the use of large outdoor runs, after the fashion 

 of a warren. The success of such practice, however, is 

 doubtful, and it certainly savors too much of the hap- 

 hazard to commend itself to the careful breeder. 



Individual hutches, if a size commensurate with the needs 

 of the breed to be kept, will be found the most generally 

 satisfactory. An unheated shed or stable, well ventilated, 

 but free from draught and dampness, makes an excellent 

 shelter for the hutches. 



Many styles of cages are in use for housing rabbits. 

 Almost anything will do, of course, so long as it gives the 

 animals room to exercise and safely confines them. The 

 boy who keeps a pair of rabbits in his yard is indeed lack- 

 ing in ingenuity if he cannot devise, without specific direc- 

 tions, a suitable shelter for his pets. 



But those who go in more seriously for rabbit-keeping 

 must follow a well-established system. Most rabbitries 

 favor the stock cage, which permits the keeping of a larger 

 number of animals on a given amount of floor space. 



Belgian Hares, because of their active habits, and Flemish 

 Giants, because of their great size, require larger hutches 

 than most other breeds. For these rabbits the hutch should 

 be at least four feet long by two feet wide and high. Cages 

 as short as two and a half feet wide will be found large 

 enough for the smaller breeds, such as Dutch Rabbits. 



The material to form the sides of the hutches must de- 



