Page:Care and Management of Rabbits.djvu/166

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CARE AND MANAGEMENT OF RABBITS

green food after the dew has gone off the grass in the morning or before or after rains. If the grass is wet or the other green food you want to get is wet, pass it up until later in the day. Wet green food has a bad effect on the digestive tract of rabbits of all ages.

There is no objection to feeding thoroughly dried or cured green food; the objection lies in feeding it when it is only partially cured or "heating." It is then somewhat sour and mouldy, especially if it has been piled closely together, and to feed it then will surely cause you to start a burying plot for some of your rabbits.

Roots of all kinds are good for the rabbits and can be used in the winter. They will even eat Irish potatoes when nothing else is available.

The green element in the ration can oftentimes be supplied in the ration by using vegetable tops, especially in the winter, provided the tops are clean and not diseased or frozen. If they are fresh and sweet they will take the