Three Hundred Things a Bright Boy Can Do

by Unknown

Although not so frequently seen, the Angora is an exceedingly handsome rabbit, but needs a good deal of attention to keep it as it ought to be. The great feature of this breed is the immense length of its wool—not hair, mind, boys—which should be of the finest quality, soft as silk, pure white, and well distributed all over the body; the face and ears have less wool, in proportion to the other parts, but finer and more silky. The head is not very broad, and is surmounted with a pair of small and neatly-shaped ears, the eyes being pink and bright, a beautiful contrast to the snow-white wool. The weight should not exceed seven lbs. or eight lbs., although from the amount of wool they carry, they look very much heavier. Angoras must be kept in large hutches, on the bottoms of which have nice, clean, soft, oat straw. To keep their coats in proper order, they must be gently combed and brushed at least every other day, care being taken to pull as little wool out as possible. Should any part of the coat become matted, do not “tug” at it with the comb, which should be a wide-toothed one, but disentangle it with your fingers, and use a little warm water on it to help; if it is too securely matted to enable you to loosen it, there is nothing for it but to clip it off, which will, of course, spoil its appearance till the wool grows again.

A healthy, well-groomed Angora is one of the handsomest pets possible; but on the other hand, if neglected, the coat becomes foul and matted, and a more disconsolate, miserable-looking animal it would be difficult to imagine. The hutches must be cleaned out thrice a week, and a manger fixed in which to put hay or clover, of which they are very fond, and which is good for them.

Belgian Hares.—The Belgian hare is a large and very handsome variety of our domestic rabbit. Although designated “hare,” it is not a hare at all, but a rabbit pure and simple, although it has more of the hare-like form and colour than any other variety. Being a large animal, scaling from eight pounds to ten pounds in weight, it is necessary that it should be kept in a large, roomy hutch. An old and experienced breeder says the hutch should be at least 5 feet long, by 2 feet broad, and 18 inches high, and the shaded sleeping compartment 6 inches wider than in the ordinary hutch. The Belgian in colour somewhat resembles the English hare, being of a sandy-brown or golden-foxey colour, ticked as evenly as possible with dark chocolate, thus giving the fur, which should be short, firm and glossy, a very handsome appearance; the head is of good size, broad between the eyes, and gradually tapering towards the nose; the eyes, a special feature in Belgians, are a beautiful brown colour, full, bright, and wild-looking; the ears, about five inches long, should be laced round the edges with black, and carried very neatly and closely together; the body should be long, giving it a graceful, hare-like carriage, so much esteemed, and the legs strong, long, and straight. Belgians are very apt to develop a dew-lap or pouch, or as some have called it a large double chin; this is a defect, but, owing to an undoubted cross at a remote time with the lop rabbit, is very difficult to avoid. Many specimens now-a-days do not show this point until they get old and fat. One of the best preventatives we believe is large airy hutches, and the avoidance of over-feeding. Where it can be done, Belgians should be allowed to run in a nice dry open shed, or failing this, an hour’s run three or four times a week on a nice, dry grass plot. Plenty of room, judicious feeding, and cleanliness, work wonders in the development of the Belgian hare.

Dutch Rabbits.—Unlike the Belgian, the Dutch rabbit is noted for its small size, and is generally called the dwarf or bantam representative of the domestic rabbit. There are few lads who have not been captivated by the handsome little Dutchman, and there are few large rabbitries where some of them are not kept, such great favourites are they. The breed being of small size should not exceed about five pounds in weight, and many grand ones are to be found under that weight. The pretty markings, combined with the various colours of this variety and the difficulties in getting both colour and markings exactly as they ought to be, makes the breeding of them very fascinating to those fond of experiments, and who delight in observing the various developments of the little animal.

Probably the most favourite colours are the blacks and the blues; but greys, tortoiseshells, and yellows, are all alike handsome. The head of the Dutch rabbit is shapely and not large, the ears small, neat, and carried slightly backwards; the eyes in this variety are frequently not both of the same colour owing to crossing for various colours, and the too frequent and pernicious habit of in-breeding. It is, however, necessary that both eyes should match, and be bright and sparkling; the body rises from behind the shoulders, curving nicely over the stern, and giving the rabbit a compact, well-put-together shape; legs, medium length, straight, and fine in bone.

Now to come to the markings of this little aristocrat of the rabbitry. From between the ears comes a narrow white line, gradually widening as it descends to, and encircles the smellers, and continuing round the face, this is called the “blaze,” the cheeks and ears are of the same colour as the body, whilst the chest, fore-legs, and shoulders are pure white, and the hind feet for about an inch and a half should also be white, the whole remaining part of the rabbit being a solid colour, as black, blue, grey, etc. The collar of white which runs round the shoulders should descend in a straight line, as though cut with scissors, encircling the fore-legs. The markings of a Dutch rabbit should be sharply defined, and not blur or run into each other. For instance, in a black Dutch, the cheeks, ears, and body from behind the shoulders should be a bright, solid, glossy black, and the remaining part pure white, a very beautiful contrast indeed. One great advantage in keeping and breeding Dutch rabbits is that they are small and can be more successfully brought up in cool, outdoor hutches.

If your rabbit has canker of the ear, clear out the discharge by gentle pressure with a sponge or soft rag soaked in warm water, taking great care that none of the water falls into the ear. When dry after this bathing, apply the following lotion, which any druggist will make up for you: sulphate of zinc 12 grains, water 2 ounces, wine of opium 1 drachm, mixed. Or you might try a mixture of one part Goulard’s extract of lead to five parts of pure olive oil. Hold the rabbit’s head on one side and pour into the ear half a teaspoonful of either of the above twice a day. Give plenty of the best food, for if the rabbit does not feed well the chances of recovery are slight.

Cage Birds.—Canaries.—Having determined to keep a bird, the first thing is to provide proper accommodation for it, and here let us suppose the lad has only accommodation for one, or at most, a pair of birds. Very well, then, procure a cage. Oh, yes, says the boy; of course, I know that. Just so, but do not forget that there are cages and cages, and that whilst some look very pretty and are quite an ornament, they are perhaps the most unsuitable and miserable of prisons for poor little Dick; avoid by all means round cages, which are the worst possible for the poor little inmates, who have no room to exercise themselves, and where it is quite impossible for them to get out of the way of draughts or shelter themselves from the scorching sun. The best and most convenient cages are those which have plain wire in front, the rest being made of wood; the larger the size the better, as a great thing is to give the inmates plenty of room for exercise. The size that I have used for years in which to keep a pair of canaries or other small birds, is as follows:—Length 24 in., depth, from back to front, 10 in., and height 15 in. In such a cage small birds will live healthily for years. Next in importance to size of cage is where to hang it, and a great deal depends upon this point. First, then, let me impress upon you never to hang Dickey (except, perhaps, for an hour or two’s change in fine, but not too sunny weather) in front of the window, for here the bird is exposed to draughts and every change of temperature, which is more injurious to the health and well-being of your pet than anything else. Select a part of the room against one of the walls as free from draught as possible, and where there is plenty of light and air; and be particular not to hang the cage higher than (but rather below) the level of the gas, as when that is lighted the air in the higher parts of the room becomes very hot, and anything but comfortable or healthy for the bird. Now that you have got your cage, which will be fitted with the necessary perches, drinking glasses, and seed hoppers, examine it carefully to see that it is clean and free from insects, then fill your water-glasses, and put seed in the tins or hoppers, and on the bottom of the cage a good supply of sand and small grit, which can be bought in penny bags at all corn chandlers or bird-shops, and your house is ready for Master Dick. Perches are usually too thin. They should not be like a lead pencil, but more like your thumb, and flat on top. Feed regularly each morning, on either the mixed seed, or, as we prefer it, buy some good, clean, sweet, canary seed and summer rape seed, and mix them yourself, one part of the latter to two parts of the former; clean water each day, and a wee bit of nice, dry, fresh, green food, such as groundsel, watercress, lettuce, chickweed, or plantain, as they are in season. Do not indulge your bird in luxuries, but Dickey will enjoy (and it will do it good) now and then, a morsel of sweet, ripe apple, pear, grape, or cherry. Following these directions, and keeping the cage thoroughly clean, you will find Dickey a delightful pet and one that will repay you for any little trouble.

Whenever you have occasion to go near the cage, either to look at the bird or to feed or clean it, always speak to it cheerfully but quietly, and so gain its confidence, and you will soon be surprised how earnestly it will greet you whenever you come into the room. It will greatly contribute to the health and vigour of your bird if you can now and then let it fly in the room where the cage is. Close the room door and windows, and, yourself and Dick being the only inmates, talk to him and then open the cage-door and sit down, and you will be amused at the bird’s antics; first he will hop on the ledge of the door, then, looking this way and that, he will either try his wings on a fly round the room or drop to a table or chair-back, and so investigate the whole surroundings; do not startle the bird whilst it is out or it will get frightened and dash itself about. If it seems unable to find its way back to the cage, talk to it and drive it gently in that direction, but never wave a handkerchief or paper at it or you will probably frighten it to death.