BREEDING AND CARE OF RABBITS 



years, and are becoming well posted on the different 

 varieties of rabbits. 



The present high cost of meat in America has 

 created a great demand for Belgian hare meat, and we 

 find many fanciers enjoying a fine trade on dressed 

 Belgian hare meat. Making the fur of Belgian hare 

 into Near Seal hats and other articles of clothing has 

 also created a demand for the skins which will be 

 developed rapidly in the next few years. 



Housing and Hutches. 



There are many arguments for and against outdoor, 

 open hutches, but the breeders who raise their Belgian 

 Hares in them are the ones that have been in the fancy 

 for years and are having the greatest success. It has 

 been proven many times that it is next to impossible 

 to raise Belgians, in any large quantities, in a closed 

 rabbitry. In another part of this book you will find 

 several difl:erent kinds of hutches, and the good points 

 of each. There are a few objections to outdoor, open 

 hutches, such as it being a hard job to feed the rabbits 

 in cold weather, and that their color becomes faded 

 from the sun. You can remedy the latter by having a 

 large awning or cheap roof over the entire collection of 

 hutches, or they can be built in the shade. Other 

 drawbacks are thieves and dogs. A good watch dog 

 would settle them. When the rabbits are cooped up 

 indoors and they catch cold, it is impossible to cure 

 them in the majority of cases, but if they are in the 

 open air you can cure them very easily in most cases. 

 It is amusing to see some of the fanciers who are op- 



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