Page:Care and Management of Rabbits.djvu/144

From Wikisource
Jump to navigation Jump to search
This page has been validated.
130
CARE AND MANAGEMENT OF RABBITS

cause you a nice lot of trouble if fed in that fashion. Feed it promptly and give only what the stock will eat up clean.

Now a word about cabbage. There seems to be an impression among beginners that cabbage is the ideal green food for rabbits, because most of us have noticed now greedily the wild cotton tail goes after the cabbage in our gardens.

The rabbit likes cabbage and will eat it greedily, but it is not desirable for the reason that it has a severe effect upon the kidneys. Furthermore it causes a terrible odor around the hutches. Lettuce, dandelions or chicory leaves are all as good as cabbage and they do not have this injurious effect upon the kidneys, so cabbage should not be fed at all, or only very sparingly at most. It is apt to throw all of your stock into diseased conditions which the beginner cannot cope with.

Feed the rabbits intelligently and do not overfeed. It hurts the rabbits and your pocketbook as well. Do all that you should in the way of feeding, but why do more?