Commercial Rabbit Farming and the Food Supply, Complete Breeder's Guide (Classic Reprint)

There are three kinds of rabbits Commercial Rabbits, Game Rabbits and Pet Rabbits. Commercial rabbits are of several types, chief amongst which are, the Rufus Red Belgian Hare, theN ew Zealand Rabbit, the Flemish Giant Rabbit. We will consider these different types in the ensuing paragraphs. GAME RABBITS Game rabbits are wild rabbits. The common wild rabbit, the jack rabbit and the hare come under this heading. It is well-nigh impossible to raise any of these types in captivity, as they seem to pine away and die. Even if it were possible to domesticate them, it would not be practicable to raise them for commercial purposes, as in most states there are game laws which prohibit the sale of game stock during certain months or seasons. Thus, it is well to bear in mind that commercial raDD its are not game rabbits and are not, therefore, subject to the game laws. Passing over this question of whether it would be practicable to attempt to domesticate wild rabbits, the fact remains that wild rabbits are so small that it is not worth while. PET RABBITS Pet rabbits may be classed roughly as those of fancy colors, such as theD utch Rabbit, the Angora Rabbit, the Himalayan Rabbit, the Polish Giant Rabbit, etc. In this class also may be included the numerous types of vari-colored stock raised by boys everywhere. The smaller types of pet rabbits are not worth raising for food because of their insignificant weight, but the main argument against ,all of them, from a commercial point of view, is that their color somehow makes people reluctant to kill and eat them. It is said by many breeders that a white rabbit is just as good to eat as a commercial or game rabbit, while others claim that the meat of the pet rabbit is too sweet to be palatable. On this point I venture no opinion. I would not like to eat a white rabbit myself. Certain it is that very few women will prepare a
(Typographical errors above are due to OCR software and don't occur in the book.)