RabbitLore is about rabbits. It was created to accompany RabbitStax, a set of four HyperCard stacks:
1) Rabbits, a set of rabbit cards for bucks and does
2) Pedigrees, a set of cards to record geneology
3) Calendar, a stack that collects to do lists
4) Help, a stack of on-line help cards
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These stacks were designed for managing small and large rabbitries. Dates for maturity, breeding, kindling, counting, weaning, and selling are calculated on the rabbit cards. A "to do" button searches for dates and produces related "to do lists" or takes you directly to a calendar for scheduling selling dates. A "pedigree" button takes you to a rabbit's pedigree card or sorts the rabbit cards by ear number. Also, a "closer view" button provides projected dates of kindling, rebreeding, and selling from a given breeding date.
Introduction:
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A rabbit is not a rodent, but a domesticated farm species, lagomorph, a gnawing animal of a different order. A rabbit is not a hare, either. Hares are a related wild animal species and born with hair and vision. Rabbits are born with no hair and blind.
Rabbits were domesticated several centuries ago. The most important development in the domestication of the rabbit in the United States happened in 1913 when sailors brought New Zealand Reds to the Pacific Coast.The easter bunny legend comes from the Teutons: a godess changed a bird into a rabbit which was so grateful of this miraculaous change that when the goddess celebrated her spring festival it would lay colored eggs for the occasion. Rabbit feet as good luck charms comes from an old superstition: the left hind foot of a rabbit taken into a churchyard at midnight when the moon is full will shield its owner from evil.
Middleweight breeds of rabbits include New Zealand Whites, Californians, Satins, and Champagne D'Argent. Smaller breeds include the Tan, Dutch, and English Spot.
Normal rabbit fur is about an inch long and returns quickly to its natural position when stroked toward the rabbit's head. Rex fur is short and plushlike, and feels like velvet to the touch. Satin fur has a more lustrous coat as each hair has a more transparent hair shell than normal fur. The length of Angora wool can be as long as three inches. The market for fur is unpredictable, rabbits are sold primarily as fryers in the United States so the pelts are not mature and prime for garments. Rex rabbit pelts, on the other hand, are fetching good prices for some rabbit producers.
Housing:
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Rabbits need plenty of light and ventilation. They can take plently of cold, but need protection from winds and drafts. They cannot stand extreme heat and it needs to be dry and clean.
For the hutch, the all wire is the best. Use welded wire: 1/2" x 1" mesh for the floor, 1" x 2" for the sides and top. The floor should be two by three feet, and the sides should be eighteen inches high. All pieces are fastened together with "J" clips, which also serve as hinges for the cage door.
Hutches should be kept under a roof, with plenty of ventilation. It is best to suspend them above the ground, hanging them from the rafters with wire or inexpensive chain.
Equipment:
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Feeders: "J" feeder self-feeders are best to use and cost less than five dollars. It has a screened bottom to allow the fines in the feed to fall through.
Watering: Earthen ware crocks may be used, but are labor intensive. A semi-automatic watering system can be made with a five to ten gallon holding tank, plastic tubing. and "dew drop" founts.
Nest Boxes: Nest boxes should be made of pine. Size for middleweight breeds should be 18" long, 12" wide and 9" high. Make one end 3" high to allow for entrance into the nest box.. The remaining 6" may be used for a top above the other end, providing a restful place the doe, however uncovered nest boxes provide the most ventilation.
Feeding:
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Rabbit pellets provide all the nutritional needs. An eighty pound bag of pellets can be purchased from the local grange for under $10.00.
Each rabbit should receive two to three ounces of feed per day. Provide the doe and her litter all the pellets they want.
Hay may be fed once a week as a preventative against enteritis. Greens may be given to rabbits older than five months, especially to lactating does.
Managing:
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Rabbits reach maturity at five months of age. When mating rabbits, take the doe to the buck and observe the mating, usually within ten minutes. After service by the buck, take the doe back to her hutch.
Gestation is usually thirty one days. Kindling of newborn kits is usually on the thirty first day. Place the nest box, filled with straw, into the doe's hutch on the twenty eighth day. The doe, prior to kindling, will pull fur from her body and make a nest.
Good litter size is eight kits. They are born without hair and sight. In about ten days, their eyes will be open. The nest box may be removed in three to four weeks, depending on the season. The doe may bred again as early as twenty eight days, normal practice is every ten weeks.
The litter can be weaned as early as four weeks, usually at six weeks. It causes less stress on the rabbits if the doe is moved to a new cage, unless the animals are sold directly from the mother's hutch. Middleweight breeds are usually ready for maket at eight weeks of age.
Breeding:
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Most successful rabbit breeders us a form of linebreeding. Outcrossing may also be used to maintain variety in the gene pool of the herd. An easy rule of thumb is to always breed back to an original sire.
Disease:
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Isolate all new stock a week before introducing them to the rabbitry . Maintain a good feeding schedule, never give greens to very young rabbits.
Keep water fresh and pure, if you use dew drop founts, make sure they are working properly and flush the system regularly. If rabbits are not eating, they may not be getting enough water.
Keep a close watch on your stock, checking for that bright eye, glossy coat, firm fresh, and observe their activity. Check footpads for sore hocks.
Watch the droppings. They should be large, round and firm. Take action at the first sign of any diarrhea. Watch for runny noses and sneezes. These are signs of snuffles
Medicine:
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Treat the water once every three weeks with Terramycin. Disinfect the hutch floor prior to removing nest box. Occasionally sprinkle lime on the manure below the hutches, especially in hot weather.
Glossary:
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Breeding: Mating rabbits to maintain and improve the special qualities of their race or breed. Rabbits are usually bred every ten weeks.
Buck: A male rabbit.
"Dew Drop" Founts: Used to dispense water to the hutches from automatic or semi-automatic watering systems.
Doe: A female rabbit.
Gestation: Development oif embryos between mating and kindling. Ususally between 28 and 34 days.
Hutches: Usually all-wire cages suspended above the ground.
"J" clips: J-shaped metal clips used in hutch construction, applied with special pliers.
"J" feeder: Inexpensive feeder that hooks to the outside of the hutch to provide pellets for the rabbit.
Junior: a young rabbit less than five months of age.
Kindling: Birth of newborn rabbits, usually on the thirty first day after mating.
Litter: Group of newborn rabbits, usually eight in size at birth.
Maturity: Rabbits are fully developed adults at five months of age.
Nest Boxes: Used by the doe to make her nest prior to kindling. Place in doe's hutch three days before kindling.
New Zealand White: a breed used primarily in commercial production.
Pedigree: diagram that indicates a rabbit's lineage and geneology.
Pellets: Rabbit feed that contains all the nutrients necessary for growth and breeding of rabbits.
Rabbits: Small gnawing mammals of the order Lagomorph.
Weaning: Seperating the young from the doe, usually at six weeks of age.
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Rabbit Encyclopedia
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RabbitLore
Introduction
Housing
Equipment
Feeding
Managing
Breeding
Disease
Medicine
Glossary
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Click on any of the topics above.
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If you like RabbitLore, please mail $5.00 to:
RabbitStax
c/o R. Charles Flickinger
4135 Cedar Lane
Medford, Oregon 97501
Questions about RabbitLoreΓäó or RabbitStaxΓäó may be in writing or by telephone:
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