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The Wingham Advance-Times, 1973-02-01, Page 17publishod ovory lip The Lisfowid Bonnet, Th. Winehom Advanc.4 and Th. Wisimiatiforest Copfedarate by Wenger Bios. Limitst ▪ ThIs.limony hod ears ptuued back Have you ever 4100r4 a rabbit with its ears pinned back?. This. MAY be atelOYOU Will be. skeptical ahogtrbtlt there le safety .pin in the office , of The Trenton (Ontario) Trentonian * newspaper to verify it. TWO Trenton residents, Gordon Muffle and Norman Whitney, . were fishing in the wood* about IS miles north of Trenton. While, • driving along a wooden trail, at least five milers from any known residence, they spitted. an . owl eating a rabbit.", * They stopped their car, got out and when they approached, the owl tried to flyaway-y/1th the Tabs: bit in its talons, The Prey was toe . heavy and the owl was forced to drop it and fly away. • • The ,two men examiried the • rabbit and Mr, 'Whitu4" removed -it one and one-half inch garter. safety pin from , the rabbit's' left ear. The safety pin was 'fastened and "closed through the animal's 4 How did the safety pin get there? One might ask Mr. MOifitr JorMer game warden,. who hair.. • 'never, seen such a thing before in his Many years in the w =, The rabbit "was aboni,111 Parts grown• and Mr. uggested that its mother must ave pinned AS ears bae)(., I (At the• time of this "unOiat lit event, the Trenton newspaper was called The Courier -Advo- cate. It has since been incorpora- • ted by the tri -weekly Trentonian publication.) litiprissR4BITRy at RR 3, Blyth, showing, workshop with cages, feed, screen Ina a othee rabbit r\ncher supplies, IIr Federation will promote rabbits "" 40 The Ontario Rabbit Federa- ; • - tion, `TORF' for short, has 're- - gently been formed to priimote • ace of The rabbit industry in $ , diaries Clay of Bewdley, On- tario, the Federation's first president, says the orgarliZatkin encompasses. many member' organizations of the Ontario eouticill of Rabbit Clubs and bull- vidual Members of the Canadianrn . Comercial Rabbit. Growers' Atseciation. ° • The new federation hopes to' providee a stronger, unified voice during negotiations with both provincial and federal govern- d Mint bodies. ' • (mint' Including equipment suppliers, hobbyists, growers and depot operators; a surprising number of people in the lietirtiand of Mid. Western Ontario are involyedim Ontario's commercial rabbit in- dustry. , Some suppliers, -whoNalso oper. al, grow ng busi nesses and act as 'shippers or ate commerci depot operators, are kerb Hawk-- ins and 'Mina Baker who operate Annoy., pub Rabbitry at RR 3, Brussels- Paul Fretz' BunnyviewvnghbleY 21 Wrtsr riise;'Gordon S. 'Hughes of RR' Blyth,aiirritalph .Bowman of RR 1, Atwood. . Bunny Hub Rabbitry Herb Hawkins and Mina Baker, who have been in the business since 1959, three miles .east of Brussels, usually ship rabbits every second Saturday year- round .and draw from a wide area. Herb, who is under doctor's or- ers to slow down, says Bunny Hub'sbiggest shipping day on re - cord was 5,300 pOunds-4,700 of which went to one buyer. "We have slowed down- a bit since then and, we now average about '2,500 pounds every ship- ping day," says Herb, "but we produced an awful bunch of rab- bits - ourselves this past sum- mer." Herb and Mina, when pressed • for names of their growers, re- plied -"with locations since "so darn many people:come here, we dont know the half of . , ors it ,rabbits frem. growers in Palmerston, Teeswater, Gads - hill, Mitchell, Clinton, Goderich, Mildmay, Listowel, ehesley and several other areas. Bunnyview Rabbitry Paul Fretz, a founding member and past president of the 'Cana- dian Commercial' Rabbit Grow- ers' Association; operates one of Ontario's largest rabbit opera- tions. He supplies breeding stock,. wire mesh cages, certified laboratory rabbits to research ZEALAND WHITES are the mainstay of Ontario's rabbit meat industry and the . family above were kind enough to hold their. positions for the photographer. Rabbits are Interesting critters —The medium -type ' New Zealand White is the most popu- lar meat rabbit. Other medium types such as Californians, are now acceptable because of their confermation. —ltabbiti were first -considered for food about 1,000 B.C. —In Ontario, thousands of rab- bits are processed weekly for hu- man consumption. '—rtabbits were first ranch- qi.) raised by man in Africa. —The rabbit is now considered an agricultural animal in Canada and the US. --Rabbits were first sold on the market about 1,000 A.D. in Eu rope. —Ribbit meat has proven helpful to people with stomach disorders due to easy digestion andis recommended by many doctors. Eighty-three per dent of a rimeh-raisedrahbit is white meat with only eight to ten per cent bone. —Rabbits are raised in all' Canadian provinces and territo- ries and in 30 other countries. —There are more than 46,000 farms raising rabbits in North America. —There are more than 50 dif- ferent breeds of rabbits. —A colony of 600 "wcerking" does can provide full-time em- ployment for one man depending on management and type of equipment. —Each rabbit in good •production is 'capable of an ap- proximate average profit of from $5 to $20 per year, depending on management, feeding, sanita- tion, marketing technique, etc, —Rabbits can be bred ail year if housing is adequate. -They are vegetarians and are clean, They have a ailday gestation and have from two to 16 young per litter. It is wise to leave from six to eight young with the doe. —Rabbits will produce from four to six litters per year under favourable condition. —Ranch -raised rabbits have never been known to carry 'tula- remia', a disease often found in wild rabbits. Only five processors There are at least five estab- lished or recognized rabbit meat" processors in Ontario. They are: John .11. McCallum and Sons, London; Lo -Rock Packers, Pio. ton; Halton Poultry, Rabbit Divi- sion, Milton; 'Rabbit Meat Indus- tries, Wardsville and Harvey Kuehn Rabbit packers of New tonville. labs inIGUelph and Toronto; an- nual shipments of rabbits to Scarborough . public schooks; `,• classroom study and haS successful record of prize 'wint • ners on 'the 'hobby' or show cir- cuit. ' The Fretz operation inelude three barns, a workshop, f room, sales room, office, packing , room, storage area and makes and sells more than 700 cages an - Gordon Hughes el RR 3, Myth, .is a pioneer among rabbit ranch- ers in Ontario, having first raised rabbits as early as 1944 at his farm outsideLondon. Since retiring from a paint and wallpaper business in London five years ago to"a small but sce. nic farm near Blyth, he and his wife Berenice, have established A successful rabbitry covering all aspects of the business, The Hughes farm, a mile west of Hwy. 4, just north' of'Alyth, boasts a modern, rebhit- ry with •about 100workmg does and 12 performing ,htiek$: ati°114 joining workshop for the produc- tion of wire cages to specifica- tion, the supply Of: wire 'and all other ranching supplies including • hay racks, water CUPS, and rabbit ,feecl, and pelt etS: There is alstra ,sitefiitalds',fOr receiving and weighing 'rabbits", . from approximately 35 ttr.40:areft • growers prier- to shipping; The Hughes operation ships ° every second Monday; year-round." addition, the farm supplitis tit(ny' growers withNOSZte3a, nd White and Californian breeding His kninviedge of 'rabbits and their habits is recognized and tivandluedsOhmYeinagrnYowienrsthecbOmWnesige to Hughes with sick aniMakfer Jils opinion, • SeriOus „Business The Hughes rabbitry is a no- nonsense, serious , commercial operation, utilizing the besthus- bandry and feeding methods. A sophisticated card index system f°eVe'jt 4 q their birth, evident doe is on each cage, 'service .(hreedh4), kindling, Per- formance ' cation. A as bilayeajor 0 01:;e.0..atitemptwedit mo ad fat: as 'WO ,vance. T 'cat Mi 4631)40;iaobirritbat;:e.situlluit: 0 and don't service every threidays, the doe having an approximate gestation of 31, days, Our 12 bucks Are kept Pretty busy on a yearleund basis servicing our 100 or o does," „ added Mr, Hughes, It was 11011004 to note the name tags on 'the cages in the Hughes rabbitry,. Some a the bucks are Mulled Biff, Bing* Bang, Boom and Wow.' Husbandry important "I believe most of Us 'halo an • average of eight rabbits a litter •and four and 014410 litters A year per doe. nOvireVe, we have had 4$ many as =Per Utter and spme doesproduced boreal) four ounces 01 pellets a clay awl no More, Theronly exception*** • does vil)leit are *boat to l'irth. They ideW down co feed for about two days prier I* birth, and a couple more birth and then they est • crazy" ‘‘Youhavetoharden sonletim eat more -but if they amz is • fed,, they won't breed buck is no good,'"saysan , tic Mr, *Mee. , SkIpAtRigktWeeks tignk most ot shfp at shod eight weeks, at the 'erne time we 'wan Sold Mr. • Oughei,i*ithaugli it ..waYa ImPPen; onettter outol three rlght out01 the idndlibg gage, but it rere nualtIr. g, s bearing the message 'visitors welcome' greets motorists pass ing the establishment atiVinter. bourn - • Hughes Rabbitry Gordon Hughes offers the com- plete rabbitry :service including the supply of breeding stock, Wilding cages to specification, wire mesh, water, cups and all other rancher supplies including feed. The Hughes Rabbitry operates with about 50 working does year round- and Mr. Hughes reports the market is always better in winter than summer but the past couple of years has been very good in the summer as well. Other. people who are both growers and depot operators are Ralph Bowman and Brian Cogh- • lin of RR 1, Atwood; Ray Hanna, RR 2, Auburn; Ken Lichty, -Poole; Lloyd Shantz, RR 2, Waterloo; Len Vollett of -Durham and more in Dungannon, St. Jacobs, Wailenstein, St. Cle- ments and St, Agatha. Among the many growers and hobbyists are Gary, Les and Ste- phen Caldwell of RR 3, Blyth; Lyn Hunter's Sleepy Hollow Rab- bitry at RR 3, Wingham ; Ben Walsh and Mrs. Adrian Voss of Blyth; Ivan Blake and John Thompson of Kinburn; Joe Kuntz of RR 5, Mildmay; Arend Run - hart of RR 2, Atwood; Don Blan- chard, RR 4, Walton; Robert Gil- bert, Brodhagen; Arthur Brown, Monkton; John Johnson, Ford- wich; Paul Bristow, Listowel; Elton Vines, Gowanstown ; El- wood Wilson of Atwood; Alfie Dahmer of Mount "(west; Saul Abate of Arthur and no doubt many others. Scots to export rabbits to Europe One Scottish firm wants to send rabbits to Europe, according to a recent Scottish Farmer report. The Flower Group, of companies say a new ferry opening this year linking Plymouth to Rosscroft in Prance will open up new export- fng Opportunities to Europe. 4• Rabbits will produce meat quicker and cheaper than any other form of domestic animal, says a spoltesMan for the com- pany, which is looking forward to selling live rabbiti as well as car - CAM* to the European market. llatilinpfeffer, anyone? (thatitarabbit stew). ENGLISH LOPS are charming fancy rabbit breed. A rabbit such as this one is bred and raised for showing at fall fairs and rabbit shows and not for commercial consumption. President critical of fact sheet Bill Dickey, RR 1, Centralia, president of the Canadian Com- mercial Rabbit Growers' Asso- ciation and a' long-time rabbit grower:Was quick to point out the following opinions were his own and not necessarily those of the CCRGA. "Rabbit raising can produce an ideal secondary income, for both young and old alike, as long as the raiser starts with good foun- dation stock from a recognized commercial grower. "The reasons are many but a few of the important ones are- -Commercial growers breed stock for maximum production, for faster growth rate, accustomed to Wire floor cages for a hardier animal and most rommercial growers maintain a good stand- ard of animal perfection for eco- nomic reatons. "Rabbit growers should main- tain accurate recordt and prac- tise good management with re- gard to sanitation, ventilation and animal husbandry. After this, the profit is strictly in feed conversion, the same as any other form of livestock." • Processing Plants In regard to processing plants for rabbits, Mr. Dickey had these comments: "I have said the fed- erally inspected plant at Picton is ten years ahead of its time be- cause the cost of a plant suitable to meet qualifications for federal inspection requires so much overhead that the plant must operate at least four full days 'a week to remain solvent. Need Growers, Not Processors Mr. Dickey stressed what he felt the industry needs more than anything else, including federally inspected plants, are more grow - Expectant doe relaxes In her cage. ers and increased production from present growers. A 'federal plant cansell meat outside the province and the country but at present the industry cannot meet the consumer demand in Ontario, and probably won't for several years. "A provincially inspected plant would enable a processor to sup- ply all Ontario outlets as well as a federal plant and the cost of building and maintaining such a plant is considerably less than what is required for a federal plant. I believe we should work toward this goal to better the in- dustry and the people at Wards- ville and Milton seem to be pre- pared to up -grade their opera- tions to provincial inspection," said Mr. Dickey. Critical of Fact Sheet 'The 'fact sheet', prepared by Martin J. Jeager of the Econo- mics Branch, has been a great disservice to the rabbit industry and the author should be respons- ible enough to issue a statement of correction," said Mr. Dickey in reference to Mr. Jeager's report. . "To further explain my rebut- tal of this `fact sheet'; the South Huron Rabbit Breeders' Associa- tion has operated a co-operated marketing system since 1969, with complete success. In 1971, when this survey was made, South Huron Rabbit Breeders had 34 growers with an average of 30 does each for a total of more than 1,000 does. "According to the fact sheet, this would lead us to believe that South- Huron breeders accounted for one -twelfth of the entire rab- bit population of Ontario! This fact alone makes me feel certain that 95 per cent of the information is incorrect and could be proven so with very little research," con.. chided the Centralia rabbit grower. Rogl!' iding 1_ accept rabbit : though . , inuett thiarge consumers are aL nic groups in the bigger citiei who have eaten rabbit since theY- were.kide in EttroPe- • "I've been convincedfora long time it's purely a psychologkal thing about rabbits at pretty pink eyes and ching noses," said "It is really surprising* some- times when you stop to think that people go out and shoot wild rab-, - bits for eating ,and they are posed to many diseases ..and aren't fed like we feed our rab- bits." He was.quick to mention that he knew a lot of converts who eat as much or more rabbit today then they do thicken. • Both Mr. and Mrs. Hughes mentioned the importance of dist tinguishing the commercial 1.0, bit • grower from the hobbyist: Commercial growers are strictly in the business for consumption while the hobbyists, in most cases, raise their rabbits for pets or for showing at fall fairs and other organized rabbit shows. Can Make Money The small, backyard rabbit raiser will have a tough time making any money in this' busi- ne.ss and many have been dis- couraged over the years. *With good breeding stock, coupled with good husbantiry and consis- tent management, many farmers can earn a second incomein the rabbit business. All five recognized rabbit pro- cessors in Ontario can accommo- date all the rabbits they can get. These processors have regilkir pickups from a long list of depot operators right across the prov- ince. Their demand from some supermarkets and other smaller food speciality shorn and delica- tessens in such places at Strat- ford, London, Guelph and Toron- to is constant. Any person wanting to get into this business should be prepared to set up a proper rabbitry, obtain, good breeding stock and pay 'a good price for them. Does can range in price from $6 to $20 de- pending on age; weight and per- formance, with bucks about the same," pointed out Mr. Hughes. Starter rabbits shoukl be three to four months old in order to per- mit the owner to get to know them. The point was made that cern- merciel rabbits carry no disease which is communleable to man— except overeating—whieh in tura led to the rather 'amazing fact that today in Soidhent California, idrive,in rabbit restaurants' and 'Mr. Rabbir eitaMislmanta are doing* &wishing Witness.