HOUSES, HUTCHES AND YARDS 67 



tion. In lieu of such a shutter, canvas, oiled 

 muslin, or even heavy burlap may be used^ 

 ventilating openings being bored at the ends 

 of each hutch. Some breeders use no front 

 covers, even in very cold months. 



Now that rabbit breeding has come to be 

 a recognized commercial industry, more at- 

 tention is being given to the construction of 

 rabbit houses. Several leading breeders have 

 long buildings with a series of alleys running 

 through them, and with two tiers of hutches- 

 opening upon each alley. These buildings are 

 arranged in such a way as to economize time 

 and labor, and it becomes possible for one 

 man to care for five or six hundred rabbits. 

 On the Pacific coast, some of the rabbitries; 

 have open sides all around, but are covered 

 with a broad roof to exclude the rain and hot 

 sun. The hutches, usually of the self-cleaning 

 type, are arranged in long rows under this 

 roof, usually back to back so as to face on 

 parallel alleys. Rabbit keeping in the warmer 

 parts of the country has some advantages, yet 

 the long rainy season is quite as hard for the 

 animals to endure as the kind of winter 

 weather to be found in the east and north. 



