Page:Care and Management of Rabbits.djvu/172

158 eater of the two. He certainly is the most expensive. The breeder can generally afford one pure-bred doe, pedigreed if not registered, and there is no reason for maintaining a herd of run-down scrubs which return little or no income on the investment.

As in other forms of live stock, the most important element in selecting the breeding stock is health and constitutional vigor. Without vigor an animal is not a good breeder. That should be self evident to all who know anything about breeding at all.

Pure bred animals generally have health and vigor. That is due to the fact that their blood lines have been carefully preserved and they have had the sort of care and attention which fosters good constitutional vigor and stamina. Do not breed runts. You might as well try to breed mules to eagles and succeed in getting something worth while.

Constitutional vigor is apparent in many ways. The individual animal will have a strong, robust, upstanding appearance. His