MOTHER'S CHILDREN: IM A HARE RAISING KID!

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The youngsters'll be ready to be on their own at eight weeks of age. (They'll start to nibble on solid food when they reach four weeks of age.) If you don't have enough room (or money! to give each little animal its own cage, the young bucks can be put into one pen and the new does can stay with their mama . . . at least for a while. (That's what I had to do.)

JOIN 4-H OR ARBA

A good 4-H club can teach you more about raising rabbits than any article can. Feeding amounts, cage designs, and ways to check for disease can all be learned at a 4-H club.

By the way, are there any adults out there who think 4-H is just for youngsters? I hope not . . . because there are several grown-ups in my club, and they learn just as much as the young people do.

The American Rabbit Breeders Association can also be a big help. When you join it, you'll receive the ARBA yearbook, a year's subscription to the periodical Domestic Rabbits, and The Official Guide to Raising Rabbits. This guidebook is a real encyclopedia of information. I have a copy and I've used it many times.

To join ARBA just send your name, address, and membership dues to Eddie Peifer, Secretary, American Rabbit Breeders Association, Dept. TMEN, P.O. Box 426, Bloomington, Illinois 61701. The standard membership costs $10 per person, but a married couple can join for $13 . . . and anyone aged 9 to 18 can get in for only $5.00. If you have a name for your hutch setup (mine's the Bunny-Hop Rabbitry), send that in, too.

SHOW YOUR BEST RABBITS

It's fun to "gamble" with your rabbits by entering shows. When you do, you get a judge's opinion of your animals . . . the fun of competing against other breeders . . . and maybe a ribbon, rosette, trophy, or leg (which is one step toward a championship). The gettogethers are good places to buy, sell, or breed pedigreed stock, too.

You can also market your rabbits (mostly as pets) at fairs. If you do, try to be there all day on the last day . . . especially near closing time, when stock can be taken home (animals have to stay at the fair through the final day for exhibition purposes). At this point, rabbits usually sell like wildfire!

MONEY AND BUNNIES

When I first got interested in rabbit raising, I figured I'd order my animals and supplies from an advertised rabbitry that offered everything from cages to advice. After adding up all the items I wanted to buy from the company, though, I found that I'd amassed a start-up cost of $250! Fortunately, I joined a 4-H club before filling out any order blanks . . . because I learned—through 4-H-how to start my rabbitry for only around $90 in seed money! (My expenses came to $80.68 for wire, wood, waterers, feeders, and feed. My first pair of bunnies cost $10.)

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