The Lucknow Sentinel, 1998-03-18, Page 39gross '98 Page 23
ay be oddball, but rabbit farm ng s lucrative
by Pat Livingston
ome people may call it oddball",
yt
,rabbit larmng.hasbecome aucratiy Agri*business for Brian and
13r
oda W iistead,, ;former hog fanners:
Tho Wellsteads, who awn 134 acres in.
East Wawanosh Township; decidedeight
years ago,when hog tanning was not too
profitable, to change direction,.The three -
tion, they went was •to rabbit farming,
raising, them for meat; and renting out.
. their land..
Those early day during the transition:
period, the Weltsteads. had 25 does
(feinales), using the upstairs of their barb
Today their breeding 'stock consists of
350 does u itlt the goal being 400, .Party
btu ks -handle the breeding. Now their
whole barn is used for the rabbit produc-
tion, •
The'Wetlsteads am continually learn—
ing
earn •ing methods .of bettering their production
Short
sweet
and
cheap
Sugar sours the world
of potato chips where con-
sumers • . preferlight.
golden .chips. But until'.
recently, testing for a high'
sugar (glucose) Content;
the hidden dark force in
stored, .,Patatne.s ,,hada:M
'been a long, expensive
process. Now, producers
can avoid dark -brown.
crispers thanks to a test
similar to the one used by
'doctors to test blood glu-
cose levels. Scientists at
Agriculture and Agri -Food
Canada's Potato Research
Centre in Fredericton,.
New . Brunswick, ' have.
developed a 'sugarmeter'
able to assess a sample
in less thantwo minutes,
and for about a dolar'-per- •
test.
. ReconditiQtryng pota-
toesin warmer storage
effect.iv'ely. :• red'uces
unacceptable sugar°levels.
Contact: ' George Tai,
Fredericton Research.
Centre, Agriculture. and
Agri -Food •Canada,.
Fredericton, NB: ; (50.6)
452-3 6O
It's kind: of a trial and error system,
.because :there really isn't pauch informa-
tion out there regarding this type of farm.
ing.
Their herd
consists of New
Zealand White'.
and Californian:
breeds — the best,
for meat prQduc!
ing 'rabbits,..A
crossbreed of the
two gives the best
of bothworlds
say Brian.
The does are.'.
bred one week,
then rebred again
a week later to
ensure they are
impregnated.
Brian explained
that you can't do' a preg-cheekon the .
does until' two weeks alter the, first breed-
ing, The double breeding en:4MS there i;
no interruption to
theproduction
cycle.
Rabbits prof.
erate •quickly,
Thirty-one days:
after ing bred,
the doe kindles
(gives birth),
Two weeks later .
she is rebred and
then after'anoth-
er two weeks, the
.litter is weaned,
Two: weeks after
that, the doe kin-
dles --- and thus
the cycle goes
Brian
nd Bretnda Wellsteac
The Wellsteads' production figures
currently stands at &7 'horn per liner.
with 6.2 per litter shipped. "our l roduc -,
tion rates are in reasing all' the time.” said
Brian.
Wlt'hie it does vary, a doe is usually
good for producing for about .two years.
They cull out the best front their fryers as.
replacement. stock. The does can .be bred.
at I$•weeks.of.age- • •
-They aim for Shipping, at 10 weeks' of
age, However, with their biweeeldy ship-
ping sctedul'e they average about. 'i l
weeks, when the fryers are about S lbs:,.
the Optimum, weight, where the best pride
is obtained for a fryer. Currently :than
price sits at $1Jlb.. live weight. The differ-
ence in price is'Considerably lower when
the live weight goes higher. A 5 lb, rab-
bit will. dross ont•about 3 'I/2 lbs,
..,see Whip' page 24
on.
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19;16 Dods &and Csfav*.t l.E
1Qnty iia t1 ken,' toacie t
Ince: roar captains chairs,
showroom condition.
$22 995.
1993 BUICK CENTURY 131;1.
t.eaded,: 1 ownoar I ko
new, 80 km.
'11,995.
1992 BUICK L.ASABRB LTD 1992 FORD AERO$TAI XL.
Loac ed',1 owner, fantastic 7 pass., V6. auto, Q/D, AM/FM
buy, 146 km. • vasa., air, finished in green
$4*gt i" 414 ' $9,995. $6,995.
1993.FOUR RUNNER
4 cyt., 5 spd., running boards
fully loaded, p. group, alt:
. s1 1x,995.
1996 TOYOTA COROLLA LE,..
• ,Furry loaded:'1':glr, Auto..Cti/b;
p. group, only 33000 km, '
°$14,995.
1990 CHEV SCQ . ,DALE PICKUiP,
1'/2 ton„x05,
auto, QID, air,
.crulse, excellent condition,
110000=kris,
°$8995,
.,:1950 TOYOTA;CAMRY' LL:
V6 (Anniversary Model)
Fully loaded, ince power
moon roof, AB$; 2 tone•paint..
Sf ON, $6
1991 TOYOTA PREVIA LE VAN.
Loaded.) owner, sold
serviced from now. Onl8y.
. 94 000. Kris
4
s. $11 995
1992,OLDB'88, L$
< Loaded, highway tulles,,
immaculate cond.
INCREDIBLE BUY.
$5 495
1993 CHEV S=10 TAHOE
V-6, 5 spd,, topper, rally
wheels,running: boards, bed'
rnat, chrome pkg., sass„ .etc,
pax $8995.
1995 HONL)A'ACCDRD'EXR
• V6, imirtaculatel Fully loaded
including ABS, p,w •moon,roof
.5.,19 495K.
1995 TOYOTAAV�ALON XL$
`Every possibtapp lbn except
;leather 1 oWner.;Soid R serviced
by us from new. You must see.
935.
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1994 TOYOTA COROLLA DX
5 spd., air, tilt. cass., split'fgid
own rear seat. 1 owner.
Finished in beige.
S,4 '11 995.
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1994 MERCURY SABLE LS
Superb condition; loaded, no
charge 6 mei/10000 km.
power train warranty.,
..$19 95.
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1991 MAZDA . 26
Auto., 'air, AM/FM cass,
finished in white, nice car
;$5,995
1994 TOYOTA TERCEL ' LS
Auto, low mileage Cass;;,
clock, value pkg.,
only 50000 km.
s $1 0.495
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242 Main St; Vit"., EXETER`.
235-2353 or 1-800-361-0677
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