I04 PRACTICAL RABBIT KEEPING 



careful but cautious examination should be 

 made, and the dead rabbits removed from the 

 nest. A litter often runs as high as ten, and 

 may reach fifteen or sixteen. Now a rabbit 

 has only eight teats, and sometimes in the case 

 of the Belgian hare, only six. If there are any 

 excess young remaining alive, the weakest 

 looking of the lot should be destroyed. It is 

 much better to have a doe raise six or seven 

 robust, healthy youngsters than ten or a dozen 

 that are weak and undernourished. With 

 fancy stock, a foster-mother is sometimes used 

 for part of the litter. Dutch, does are consid- 

 ered especially good foster-mothers. Quite 

 often rabbit breeders are told that they should 

 have several does produce their young at the 

 same time, so that the litters can be divided 

 up. This is a much more difficult matter to 

 arrange, however, than it sounds, and seldom 

 can be worked out satisfactorily except on a 

 plant where a large number of rabbits are 

 kept. 



Being blind and naked when they are born, 

 the young rabbits are perfectly helpless. They 

 make rapid growth, though, and in less than 

 three weeks are to be seen poking their heads 



