RABBITS 



253 



An English Lop-Earf.d RAr.r.iT ( Ff.malic) 



the owner or the person who 

 feeds them does it. Rabbits 

 are afraid of strangers, and if 

 they approach, the terrified 

 mother will jump upon her 

 young to protect them, and 

 in so doing smother them. 



To raise rabbits with profit 

 it is necessary, above all, to 

 have suitable hutches, for 

 which purpose large bo.xes or 

 barrels can be used. If boxes 

 are chosen they must be so 

 placed that they will be dry 

 and sanitary. The hutches 

 for the females, which should 

 always be rather larger than 



tliose for the males, must be three feet long, 

 two and a half feet wide, and twenty inches 

 deep. Ihey must be ])i-ovided with lattice 

 doors. When the mother rabbit is about to 

 bring forth young she should be |)laced in 

 a " nest hutch." It is not necessary that this 

 should be the size of the above, and the o])en- 

 ing need be only large enough for the mother 

 to pass through, with a few holes abc)\-e for 

 ventilation. The young ones will then be well 

 lodged and protected against inclemencies ol 

 weather. Above all, it is necessar)- to make 

 siu'e that these hutches be i)laced in dry 



Ax English Lop-Eared Rabbit (Male) 



A Leporide Rabbit (Female) 



situations, as in a barn or 

 shed, where neither wind nor 

 rain can reach them. If the 

 rabbits must be kept out of 

 doors, a shed made of planks 

 and covered with tar paper 

 should be built o\'er the 

 hutches ; the roof should be 

 tarred and the inside [parti- 

 tions whitewashed. 



If it is desired to have a 

 good rabbit home, se\'eral 

 boxes of uniform size may be 

 placed together in groups of 

 three or more. The\' should 

 never stand directly on the 

 ground, but should be raised 



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