Rabbits are divided into four kinds—warreners, parkers, hedgehogs, and sweethearts. Burrowing under ground is favourable, it appears, to the growth of fur; and the warrener, though a member of a subterraneous city, is less effeminate than his kindred who roam more at large. His fur is most esteemed, and after him comes the parker, whose favourite haunt is a gentleman’s pleasure-ground, where he usually breeds in great numbers, and not unfrequently drives the hares away. The hedgehog is a sort of vagabond rabbit, that travels, tinker-like, throughout the country, and would be better clad if he remained more at home. Sweethearts are tame rabbits, and their fur, though sleek, is too silky and soft to be of much use in the important branch of hat-making.
Breeding.—The doe will breed at the age of six months, and her period of gestation is thirty or thirty-one days. It should be premised, that the buck and doe are by no means to be left together; but their union having been successful, the buck must be immediately withdrawn, and the doe tried again in three days: in fact, with rabbits, this business is conducted on the same principle as in the stud. Like chickens, the best breeding rabbits are those kindled in March. Some days before parturition, or kindling, hay is to be given to the doe, to assist in making her bed, with the flue, which nature has instructed her to tear from her body for that purpose. She will be at this period seen sitting upon her haunches, and tearing off the flue, and the hay being presented to her, she will, with her teeth, reduce and shorten it to her purpose.—Biting down of the litter or bed, is the first sign of approaching pregnancy. The number produced, generally between five and ten; and it is most advantageous always to destroy the weak or sickly ones, as soon as their defects can be perceived, because five healthy and well-grown rabbits are worth more than double the number of an opposite description, and the doe will be far less exhausted. She will admit the buck again with profit at the end of six weeks, when the young may be separated from her and weaned. Or the young may be suckled two months, the doe taking the buck at the end of five weeks, so that the former litter will leave her about a week before her next parturition.
A notion was formerly prevalent, of the necessity for giving the buck immediately after the doe had brought forth, lest she should pine, and that no time might be lost; and if it were intended that no time might be lost in destroying the doe, such, indeed, would be the most successful method. Great care should be taken that the doe, during her gestation, be not approached by the buck, or indeed by any other rabbit; as, from being harassed about, she will almost certainly cast her young. One doe in a thousand may devour her young; a sign that she ought to be otherwise disposed of. Some does admit the buck with difficulty, although often apparently in season; such should be immediately fattened off, since it can never be worth while to keep an objectionable individual for breeding, of a stock to be produced in such multitudes. Should the doe be weak on her bringing forth, from cold caught or other cause, she will drink beer-caudle, as well as any other lady; or warm fresh grains will comfort her; a malt mash; scalded fine pollard, or barley-meal, in which may be mixed a small quantity of cordial horse-ball.
Feeding.—Upon a regular plan, and with sufficient attendance, it is better to feed three times than twice a day. The art of feeding rabbits with safety and advantage is, always to give the upper-hand to dry and substantial food. Their nature is congenial with that of the sheep, and the same kind of food, with little variation, agrees with both. All weeds, and the refuse of vegetation, should be banished from rabbit feeding. Such articles are too washy and diuretic, and can never be worth attention, whilst the more solid and nutritious productions of the field may be obtained in such plenty, and will return so much greater profit. Rabbits may, indeed, be kept, and even fattened upon roots, good green meat, and hay; but they will pay for corn; and this may be taken as a general rule. Rabbits which have as much corn as they will eat, can never take any harm from being indulged with almost an equal portion of good substantial vegetables. However, the test of health is, that their dung be not too moist. Many, or most, of the town feeders never allow any greens at all; the reason, I suppose, because they feed almost entirely on grains. The corn proper for rabbits:—oats, peas, wheat; pollard, and some give buck-wheat, The greens and roots, the same as our cattle crops, namely carrots, Jerusalem artichokes, and if potatoes, baked or steamed. Lucerne, cabbage-leaves, clover, tares, furze. I have had them hoven, from eating rape; and not improbably, mangold might have a similar effect. Clover and meadow-hay, pea and bean straw.
Rabbits are generally sold from the teat, but there is also a demand for those of larger size, which may be fattened upon corn and hay, with an allowance of the best vegetables. The better the food, the greater weight, better quality, and more profit, which I apprehend to be generally the case in the breeding of all animals. Some fatten with fresh grains and pollard. I have tried all wheat, and all potato oats, comparatively; but could find no difference in the goodness of the flesh. The rabbit’s flesh being dry, the allowance of succulent greens may tend to render it more juicy; and I suppose the old complaint of the dryness of the flesh in Devon beef, entirely fed by hay, might be remedied in the same way. Rabbits are in perfection for feeding at the fourth or sixth month; beyond which period their flesh becomes more dry, and somewhat hard. It requires three months, or nearly so, to make a rabbit thoroughly fat and ripe; half the time may make them eatable, but by no means equal in the quality of the flesh. They may yet be over fattened, as appears by specimens exhibited a few years since, at Lord Somerville’s show, which were loaded with fat, without and within, like the best feeding sheep; and at the late London cattle show, two were exhibited, one of them exceeding the weight of fifteen pounds.
Castrated rabbits might be fattened, no doubt, to the weight of upwards of ten, or even fifteen pounds, at six or seven months old. The operation should be performed at the age of six or seven weeks. I have not succeeded in castrating the rabbit, but am informed it is successfully practised in the land of capons, namely, Sussex, near Chichester, where on the average, not one in three hundred is lost by the operation, which is performed at five or six weeks old.
In slaughtering full-grown rabbits, after the usual stroke upon the neck, the throat should be perforated upwards, towards the jaws, with a small-pointed knife, in order that the blood may be evacuated, which would otherwise settle in the head and neck. It is an abomination to kill poultry by the slow and torturing method of bleeding to death, hung up by the heels, the veins of the mouth being cut; but still more so the rabbit, which in that situation utters horrible screams. The entrails of the rabbit, whilst fresh, are said to be good food for fish, being thrown into ponds.