Rabbit Breeding in Belgium 



93 



the silvered, and the Angora varieties. The native rabbits 

 of Belgium, when wild, are very small, and do not exceed 

 3 lbs. in weight, and their skins, while of excellent quality, 

 are too small to be profitable for manufacturers of hatters' 

 fur. The ordinary Flemish domesticated variety is the 

 Belgian wild rabbit improved by careful breeding. Its live 

 weight ranges from 6 to 8 lbs. Large numbers are killed 

 for Belgian consumption about Easter time, when they are 

 four or five months of age, and their dressed weight is from 

 3 to 4 lbs. 



The rabbits are bred in cages or boxes. When the cages 

 are placed immediately upon the ground ashes are usually 

 scattered on the spot, then a layer of loose stones is placed 

 on the ashes and finally the stones are covered with straw. 

 This method keeps the cage in a sanitary condition. For 

 fattening purposes a space of at least two feet square is 

 allotted to each rabbit, and the breeding cages are about one 

 yard square. Males and females are separated when three 

 months old, and kept apart until they reach the age of five 

 or six months. The young (eight or ten at one time) are kept 

 with the mother for three weeks and then separated. The 

 ordinary Flemish rabbit breeds four times annually. For 

 breeding the first specimens are selected, but it is not 

 customary to retain any special rabbits for this purpose. 



The rabbits are usually fed three times daily. The morning 

 meal is white or black bread, later, toward noon, grass or 

 greens are provided, and in the evening a mixture of boiled 

 potato peelings and bran. . Care is taken that the food given 

 to the rabbits is quite dry ; no liquid food is provided except 

 in very hot weather. Dry food and dry straw on which to 

 sleep are considered to be the prime requisites for successful 

 breeding. 



The season for the export trade is from the beginning of 

 September to the middle of November, when considerable 

 quantities are shipped to England skinned, and packed in 

 wooden crates containing fifty or sixty carcases. The rabbit 

 is then from five to seven months old, and its dressed weight is 

 between 4.1bs. and 5lbs. The skins, after being stretched and 

 dried, are sold to merchants, who collect them at an average 



