The Rural Voice, 1989-04, Page 31males should be kept in separate pens.
Nesting boxes are supplied with straw
for warmth in winter, and ice packs
for summer cooling.
The outer coat should be plucked
before nesting so that the fur the doe
plucks from herself to line the nest is
made of shorter fibres. These will be
less likely to tangle up the babies.
While a female might produce four to
thirteen bunnies, the survival rate
might only be two or three, even with
a good mother.
Feeding medicated rabbit pellets
in spring and fall is a good idea.
Offering a handful of alfalfa hay in a
feeder once a day helps keep bits out
of the wool. Bucks and does give
equal wool, although guard hairs
become more predominant with age.
After age six the wool becomes less
fine. The animals can be sold for
meat, and some breeders prefer to
interbreed meat and wool rabbits.
The larger German and French
Angoras seem to be the preferred
breeds, offering less matting of the
wool and requiring less care. The
English Angora is smaller, and needs
more care to prevent its smaller quan-
tity of finer, silkier wool from matting.
French and English come in several
colours, including brown, taupe, grey,
and beige. Ardis Montgomery in
Kakabeka Falls, Ontario is raising a
newly developed breed called Jersey
Wolsies, which are small and combine
the attributes of several breeds. A pet
Angora might be purchased for $15; a
well-bred animal could cost $150.
Angora wool is eight times
warmer than sheep wool because of
the air pockets in the fibre itself. The
plucked fibres can be ten centimetres
long. Spun together, these fibres do
not pull out and shed like the yam
spun in factories from short-cut
pieces. A very luxurious yarn can be
made by plying one strand of angora
with one of silk. The fibre also takes
dye well. The end product, whether
knit or woven, becomes fluffier and
more beautiful with use.0
(To contact the Ontario Angora
Producers Association, write Leslie
Samson, Old Onodaga Road, R. R. 1,
Brantford, N3T 5L4.) Dee Burnlees is
a spinner and weaver at Sauble Beach,
where she writes from Clo Mhor.
LOW PRESSURE
MANURE TRANSFER PUMP
• Will handle unlimited amounts of straw
• Adaptable to most cleaning systems
• Few moving parts — low maintenance
• Fast
For a demonstration & prices call
CLARKHILL
FEEDERS LTD.
R R 5,
Goderich,
Ont. N7A 3Y2
Phil Clark
519-524-4367
COTE,
DRAYTON
KINSMEN
‘1414NVp�ARM
*04
SSSUSSUSSUSS
$1000 DOOR PRIZE
IN MERCHANDISE
of your choice from any or
the pardoiparng exhbitas
at he Farm Show.
Qualifying winner wil be
drawn ran paid
admission at he door.
FAR*I TOY SHOW
Hours: 5:30 p.m. to 10
pm. daily
'SPECIAL COLLECTOR
TRACTOR'
GREEN BO
1116 scala, 160 produced
LIMITED EDITION -
saleR up to and
dung he show
at PEEL-MARYBOROUGH-DRAYTON ARENA
Banquet — Tuesday, April 4
Speaker Carl Hiebert, "Gift of Wings"
Social: 6 p.m. — Dinner 7 p.m.
Tickets $10 each — available from the
Drayton Co-op, any Kinsmen member,
or Nieuwland Feed
All Proceeds
for Community
Betterment
FARM SHOW
Wednesday & Thursday
April 5 & 6, 1989
TIME: 10 a.m. to 10 p.m.
Admission $2
APRIL 1989 29