Page:Care and Management of Rabbits.djvu/140

126 The rabbits will like a change, so every other morning alternate the feeding with a mash made by soaking whole oats over night in water. This is to soften the hulls and give the oats greater bulk. Then drain off the surplus water and add as much wheat bran as oats and then put in as much alfalfa meal. The bran and alfalfa meal is dry when mixed in with the oats and they absorb the excess moisture so that the mash is crumbly and not sloppy. Salt this mixture to taste, about a tablespoonful of salt to twenty rabbits. Give three ounces to each adult rabbit. Nursing does should have all they and the litter will eat.

If you can procure ground beet pulp add it to the mash after soaking over night. It will further balance the ration and add much to its value, besides cheapening it considerably.

The rabbits are given fresh water with each feeding and if the water crocks are dirty they should be scalded out thoroughly. Do not expect the rabbit to drink filthy water. It