HOW TO BEGIN 53 



which has no tinge of yellow. The body 

 should not be pot-bellied, but lean and firm. 

 Of course rabbits that are very thin are likely 

 to be in poor condition. If the dung is firm 

 and in round balls you can assume that the 

 digestion is good. 



You may need the assistance of an experi- 

 enced breeder to determine the good or bad 

 points of a rabbit which you are buying, and 

 such a precaution should be taken if you are 

 paying more than a nominal price. You your- 

 self, however, can judge of the rabbit's condi- 

 tion if you bear in mind the points just dis- 

 cussed. 



One very important matter is to be sure of 

 the sex. Parhaps no more trouble has been 

 experienced in buying rabbits than by having 

 the animal you bought for a buck turn out to 

 be a doe, or vice versa. This is a matter where 

 many breeders who are selling stock err. 

 Some of them, without doubt, sell a buck for 

 a doe, trusting that the buyer will not discover 

 the mistake until so much time has elapsed 

 that he will not feel like making a complaint. 

 It is a simple matter to determine the sex of 

 an animal after it is a few weeks old. Turn 



