MOTHER'S CHILDREN: IM A HARE RAISING KID!

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When you move your "little people of the forest" into their new homes, put a good-sized board in each pen. The animals will be able to sit comfortably on the planks and give their feet a rest from the wire floor.

GIVE THEM A BALANCED DIET

Most rabbit rations sold at feed stores and granaries are scientifically balanced to give the animals all the nutrients they need, but you may have a problem deciding how much your bunnies should have. The best way I know to figure that out is called "hand feeding". Give the long-ears a lot of food one morning, and then check the next morning to see how much is missing. Do that for two more days . . . figure out the average amount the rabbits ate each day . . . and limit their daily feed to that average ration from then on.

The best feeders are the ones that allow the eats to be put in through a top opening and come out into a bottom tray. It's easy to wire these to the side of a pen Small cans are no good for holding food, because they're too easy to tip over.

Don't use little cans for waterers, either. I've found the storebought models that attach to the side of a cage are best. These have a spout that sticks outside the cage for easy refilling. You can just pour water down the spout . . . or wire a clean dish-soap bottle, filled with water, upside down over the spout. Whatever system you use, make sure your rabbits always have all the water they want.

BREED WITH CARE

You'll have to be careful which bucks (males) you breed your does (females) to. The first time my doe was bred, the buck had just gotten over a cold. The guy was so weak that his "wife" didn't kindle (give birth). Never let that happen. Make sure the buck you use is healthy.

The second time I bred my doe, I used a buck at a rabbit show. The man who owned the father asked for the best baby of the litter as a stud fee. To make sure he'd collect his payment, the owner wouldn't give me a copy of the buck's pedigree for my records until after the litter was born and I paid up. (Unfortunately, I lost the man's name and address, and I had a hard time tracking him down.)

The gestation period (pregnancy) of a doe is 30-32 days. About a week and a half before the blessed event is expected to happen, put a nesting box-lined with some straw or hay-in the rabbit pen. The baby bed should be big enough to give the expectant mother plenty of elbow room, but not too spacious. You can buy a metal nest box or just get plans from some other breeder and build one your— you do make—your aw";R -U' sure to use good hardwood and secure the sides with glue and thin nails.

Keep the mother-to-be on her regular rations until she kindles Don't worry if the doe loses her appetite when the birth date gets close, but as soon as she starts eating again after kindling, be certain to give her all the feed she wants and continue to let her have as much as she can eat . . . until her children move out.

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