Rabbits can be bought from almost any dealer in pets; but before making a selection the most important thing is to build a house for them, in order to have everything ready for their reception when they arrive.
Some boys seem to think that there is excuse enough for keeping their pets in a small box or barrel if they say that is the only place they have; but it is worse than no excuse, since they should give up the pleasure of owning animals if they can not care for them properly.
Rabbits need plenty of exercise, and that can be given in a limited amount of space provided the house, or hutch, be built in a manner to attain that object. A good one, suitable for from four to six rabbits, can be made by almost any boy who has any idea of using a hammer and saw. Build a box four feet square, three feet high at one side, and three feet six inches high at the other side, which provides for a sloping roof. Make the top nine inches larger all around, in order to have a projection which shall shelter the gimlet holes that are to be made for purposes of ventilation along the top of the sides.
Fasten the top or roof on with a pair of stout hinges at the upper or higher side, which will enable you to look in at the chambers of the house, and also to clean them. Any kind of a fastening may be used to hold it down when closed, and if there is any danger of the inmates being stolen, a staple and padlock serve the double purpose of protection and safety from their various enemies.
The hutch should be divided by a flooring about half way up, in order to give a dining-room and sleeping-room story. The upper portion should be connected with the lower by a hole cut in the floor, about six inches square, with a narrow strip of board laid at as much of an angle as the width of the building will permit. The lower story is to be used as a dining and sitting room, and holes should be bored in the floor, about two inches apart, in order that the water may run off, while a door from six to eight inches square should be made in one corner of the building, to communicate with the yard, which should be built of laths firmly imbedded in the earth. The upper floor is to be divided into four rooms of equal size, each one connected with the others by openings cut through the partitions, about six inches square.
A PET RABBIT.
Such a house may be made of rough boards; and with a medium-sized yard, where the rabbits can run during the day, they will be as contented and happy as possible. But their owner may not be quite as happy regarding them, since it will be only possible to see them while they are in the yard or by raising the roof of the house. To obviate this, the entire front of the house can be formed of lattice-work made of planed laths. If this is done, a shutter made like the sides of the house must be provided, so that the building can be closed during a storm or in cold weather.
Fill the chambers half full of hay; have a neat little drinking-trough just outside the door in the yard; and then procure your pets.
If you are anxious to raise young rabbits enough to provide all your friends with pets, get two or three females and one male. It is better that you get pure white ones, since those which are spotted are neither as cleanly nor as nice-looking.