Yerington times. [volume] (Yerington, Nev.) 1907-1932, 1914-01-10
FORTUNES MADE FROM HARES
ON SMALL LOTS.
An Industry That May Solve the
High Cost of Beef.

from S5,lUU 10 9lOOUU per year, rails
ing hares or rabbits on less than an
acre of ground.
To those who, like myself have
killed, dressed, taken to town and sold
rabbits for from five to ten cents
each, the above assertion sounds more
like fiction than fact, but it is abso-
lutely true, nevertheless.
Those who are in a position to
prove it are the men who run the
West Coast Hare Farm, which is To-
Gated at Sawtelle, about Is miles from
Los Angeles, California. They are
raising New Zealand Red hares,
which are cross between Red Bel
gian and English White rabbits.
The owners of this rabbit ranch
have been in the business four years.
They have. more than |, 500 hares at
the present time, and they expect to
increase their stock to 1000 or more
during the next few months. Just
now they are marketing from Us to
200 young hares each week, and the
fiat rate, or average price is 50 cents
each Nearly the entire output of
the ranch goes to the big hotels and
cafes OF Los Angeles.
The rabbit ranchman butcher once
a week-Friday night-for the Satur-
day trade. They find ready sale for
IL. rahhtts ~ tba htu hYnh
class hotels. but they occasionally sell
some OF their butcher stock to pri-
vate individuals who send in their or
ders regularly each week, buy at live
weight and are willing to pay little
bit more than the catering trade will
allow. Rabbits which are raised for
the butcher block are killed when II
weeks old They then weigh three
pounds each, and they dress away
one-half. By the pound they sell for
from 80 to IS cents averaging 50
cents each, the year round.
Is there profit in the enterprise
Well, it costs just five cents to raise
a rabbit big enough to butcher and
sell at the above mentioned prices.
So say the men who raise them, and
they ought to know, for they are able
to tell just how many ounces OF alfalfa
hay rabbit consumes in year, "a
well as how many cents worth OF
rolled barley it will eat in month.
They have rabbit breeding reduced to
scientific system, and they are now
turning their attention to the matter
OF systematic marketing
These men raise few Belgian
hares. but mostly they have New Zea-
landers, and il is their intention to
keep none but New Zealand Reds
after the Belgian blood runs out. In
their belief, as is the opinion of many
another rabbit raiser have interview
ed. the New Zealand hare is the best
thing to keep for money-making pur
poses. Ii grows faster, eats less, and
has finer flavor than any other hare.
The Sawtelle rabbit ranch is bet
ter paying investment than any other
that | have visited. and | can see no
reason for this, except that these men
have a different system OF feeding.
They feed no green stuff, while others,
with whom have talked, feed let
tuce, cabbage and green alfalfa; the
latter IN great quantities. | am told
that lettuce and cabbage leaves be-
cause of the nits, bugs and woms upon
them, invariably give rabbits bowel
troubles, particularly the dysentery,
winch is nearly always fatal. The
feeding OF green stuff, too, has a tend
ency to cause spotted liver and make
the meat Shiny and tasteless. Dry
food makes the rabbit grow more rap
idly and look plumpcr when dressed
tor market, and no ills arise from the
feeding of it.
The only green food that should be
given is raw carrots. Each rabbit
needs one small raw carrot twice a
week. This is for tonic. 1t may
be fed at any hour.
The only disease which is apt TO
visit rabbits is scab-ear, which some
times develops when rabbits rub their
ears with dung stained feet The dis
ease manifests itself in the early
stages inside the ear and close to the
head. 1t can be cured in a single night
by the application of little carbola-
ted vaseline, chicken feather being
used as swab. If the disease is
deep in the ear, put in little sulphur
and sweet oil.
There are times when rabbits refuse
to eat. This condition is usually
brought about by overeating. At such
times take all food away and give
nothing but very dry bread and car
rot tor three or four days. This meth
Cd oa1IN.~. E.: