How to Raise Rabbits: Everything You Need to Know: Everything You Need to Know, Updated & Revised Third Edition (FFA) - Softcover

Johnson, Samantha; Johnson, Daniel

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0760364176 ISBN 13: 9780760364178

Verlag: VOYAGEUR PR, 2019

Inhaltsangabe

In this freshly updated third edition of How to Raise Rabbits, you'll find practical advice for raising any number of rabbits in any environment—rural or urban, one rabbit or twenty. Brother-sister writing duo Daniel and Samantha Johnson expertly walk readers through all the basics on breed types, housing and food requirements, shows, kit care, and general healthcare for the rabbit.

Rabbits are wonderful animals to raise, whether as pets or as livestock on a farm. They are especially great as starter animals for children who participate in rabbit shows.

Before you embark on owning one of these lovable critters, however, there's a lot you need to know—for instance, which of the forty-seven rabbit breeds is best for you? Licensed by the Future Farmers of America, the guidebooks in our acclaimed How to Raise series have helped countless first-time animal owners across the United States confidently care for their new companions.

With clear and informative instructions, fully illustrated with beautiful how-to photography, How to Raise Rabbits continues to be an essential primer for the newcomer to rabbit care and a classic on any rabbit lover's bookshelf.

Über diesen Titel

Über die Autorinnen und Autoren

Samantha Johnson (Phelps, Wisconsin) and her brother, Daniel, have collaborated on a number of rural-living guidebooks, including How to Raise Rabbits and Beginner's Guide to Beekeeping. Both are 4-H alumni and live on the family farm, Fox Hill Farm, in far northern Wisconsin. Samantha is a certified horse show judge and raises purebred Welsh Mountain ponies and Dutch, Holland Lop, and Netherland Dwarf rabbits.

Daniel Johnson (Phelps, Wisconsin) and his sister, Samantha, have collaborated on a number of rural-living guidebooks, including How to Raise Rabbits and Beginner's Guide to Beekeeping. Both are 4-H alumni and live on the family farm, Fox Hill Farm, in far northern Wisconsin. Daniel is a professional photographer whose work can be seen at foxhillphoto.com.

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How to Raise Rabbits

Everything You Need To Know Breeds ? Housing ? Health And Diet Showing ? Kit Care

By Daniel Johnson, Samantha Johnson

The Quarto Group

Copyright © 2019 Daniel Johnson and Samantha Johnson
All rights reserved.

ISBN: 978-0-7603-6417-8

Contents

1 GETTING STARTED, 
2 ESTABLISHING YOUR RABBITRY, 
3 HOUSING YOUR RABBITS, 
4 FEEDING YOUR RABBITS, 
5 THE HEALTHY RABBIT, 
6 RABBITS FOR MEAT, FUR, OR FANCY, 
7 YOUR PET RABBIT, 
8 MANAGING YOUR RABBITRY, 
9 KINDLING, KITS, AND CARE, 
10 SHOWING RABBITS, 
RESOURCES, 
INDEX, 
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS, 
ABOUT THE AUTHORS, 
WHAT DREW YOU TO RAISING RABBITS?, 
YOU ARE THE ONLY ONE WHO CAN, 
ANSWER THAT QUESTION., 

CHAPTER 1

GETTING STARTED

WHAT DREW YOU TO RAISING RABBITS? YOU ARE THE ONLY ONE WHO CAN ANSWER THAT QUESTION.

It may be as simple as knowing that you've always loved Rex rabbits and promised yourself that if you ever had the opportunity to raise rabbits, Rex would be your number-one choice. Or it might be a bit more complex. Perhaps you want to raise a popular breed so that you will have plenty of competition at the shows. Maybe you want to raise a breed that is recognized in a multitude of colors, or you might want to raise one specific color so that you can focus on achieving perfection in that particular shade. Perhaps you love lop-eared rabbits, or you don't. Maybe you love the idea of raising an Angora breed for the wool, or you can't imagine the grooming commitment. Perhaps you want to raise rabbits for meat, or you want to raise them for showing purposes.

Or perhaps you just don't know what's right for you. It is always good to start with the basics, which is why our first chapter is devoted to discussion of the forty-nine breeds recognized by the American Rabbit Breeders Association (ARBA), as well as information on the various sizes, shapes, fur types, and colors that you may encounter along the way. We'll also take a look at some of the rare-breed rabbits and discuss why you may want to consider raising them in your rabbitry. Let's get started.

NAVIGATING THE WORLD OF RABBITS

One of the first things that often surprises newcomers to rabbits is the vast array of breeds and varieties. With forty-nine breeds currently recognized by the ARBA, there are rabbits of every shape and size imaginable, and in every color, too. The scope of these breeds cannot be fully explored within the limitations of this chapter. I recommend my previous book, The Field Guide to Rabbits, to anyone wishing to gain knowledge of the details and history of each of the forty-nine rabbit breeds. In this chapter, however, we can certainly give each breed a quick overview.

If you're looking for the cute factor (and many of you probably are), then you can't go wrong with the Holland Lop, the American Fuzzy Lop, the Netherland Dwarf, or the Polish. With weights ranging from 2 to 4 pounds, these petite bunnies are inevitable crowd-pleasers and very popular with those who like to show. Entries for Holland Lops and Netherland Dwarfs usually outnumber most of the other breeds at shows.

If the lop-eared look catches your fancy but you would like something larger than a Holland Lop or an American Fuzzy Lop, you might want to consider one of the other lop-eared breeds, such as the Mini Lop, the English Lop, or the French Lop. Mini Lops are a midsized rabbit with an ideal weight of 6 pounds, while the English and French Lops are larger breeds, often 10 pounds or more.

If you like the fuzzy appearance of the American Fuzzy Lop but would prefer a rabbit breed without lop ears, then you might consider one of the other wooled breeds, such as the French Angora, the English Angora, the Satin Angora, the Giant Angora, or the Jersey Wooly. Of these breeds, the Jersey Wooly is the smallest, with the Giant Angora (you guessed it) the largest, and the French, English, and Satin breeds ranging in between. All of these breeds boast the gorgeous angora fur that makes these rabbits unique.

Some breeds are particularly noted for their distinctive color patterns. These breeds include the Dutch, the Californian, the Checkered Giant, the Hotot and Dwarf Hotot, the English Spot, the Harlequin, the Himalayan, and the Rhinelander. The Californian and Himalayan breeds have similar patterns that feature a creamy-white body accompanied by dark points (ears, nose, tail, feet) to create a distinctive look. The Himalayan, however, exhibits an extremely different body type than the Californian, so don't worry about confusing the two breeds. The Hotot and Dwarf Hotot are entirely white with eyes encircled by a dark ring. The Harlequin is unique in that it is an unusual combination of calico coloring, accompanied by orange in the Japanese color variety and white in the Magpie color variety. Spots are the distinctive features of the Checkered Giant, the English Spot, and the Rhinelander, with each breed's standard differing slightly with regard to the placement of the spots. And finally, there is the one-of-a-kind Dutch, with its tuxedo-type coloring of a white chest and darker colored body.

Two breeds have developed over time that are well known for their white coloring: the Florida White and the New Zealand White. Both breeds are commercial in type and are very popular. The New Zealand is also found in other colors, including Red, Broken, and Black, but White is the predominant color. On the opposite end of the color spectrum, you will find the Havana, which is similar in build to the Florida and New Zealand Whites, but is found in Black, Chocolate, Blue, Broken, and Lilac.

Historically, chinchilla coloring was so popular that three ARBA-recognized breeds evolved with this specific coloring. These include the American Chinchilla, the Standard Chinchilla, and the Giant Chinchilla. Of these, the smallest is the Standard Chinchilla, with the American Chinchilla being a bit larger and the Giant Chinchilla larger still. The American Chinchilla was an extremely popular breed during the 1920s but is now listed in the "threatened" category on the Livestock Conservancy's list, meaning that few American Chinchillas remain, although the population has risen a bit in recent years.

If you like the full arch variety of rabbit type, then you will definitely want to take a closer look at the Belgian Hare and the Britannia Petite. The Belgian Hare has the distinction of being the foundation of domestic rabbit interest in the United States during the rabbit boom at the turn of the twentieth century. The Britannia Petite is exactly as its name implies — petite — yet it is a very charming creature in spite of (or perhaps because of) its small size.

THE SUCCESS OF THE LIONHEAD

In recent years, the Lionhead breed has taken the United States by storm, appealing to a broad base of rabbit enthusiasts and increasing in popularity practically overnight. But achieving recognized breed status with the ARBA took many years and extensive efforts by enthusiasts.

The Lionhead is a charming little breed, characterized by its trademark wooly mane. This distinctive trait is believed to have been the result of a genetic mutation that was first observed in the 1960s. The first examples were brought to the United States in 1998 and were approved at their first ARBA presentation in 2005. Subsequently, they failed their second and third presentations in 2006 and 2007, and though the Black, Tortoise, and Ruby-Eyed White varieties did pass their first presentation...

Details zur Ausgabe

• Verlag: VOYAGEUR PR
• Erscheinungsdatum: 2019
• Sprache: Englisch
• ISBN 10: 0760364176
• ISBN 13: 9780760364178
• Einband: Taschenbuch
• Anzahl der Seiten: 192
• Kontakt zum Hersteller: Nicht verfügbar
• Verantwortliche Person: Nicht verfügbar