Review: The Rabbit-Raising Problem Solver
Keeping a pet rabbit is easy – you can even train it to use a litter box – and the experience can show young children how to responsibly handle small animals. But how to begin?
Karen Patry, who has owned and operated Angora Rex Rabbit Ranch in Port Angeles, Wash., for years, has got you covered, whether you’re interested in feeding a family on rabbit meat or want to know what kind of breed to buy for a class pet.
As the webmaster of raising-rabbits.com, Patry has also spent years answering people’s dwarf, Flemish, foot-thumping, cardboard-chewing queries: What breed should you get if you’re raising meat rabbits? Why do false pregnancies occur? How do you shear a rabbit? What toys do they like?
The book is smartly laid out, organized in Q&A format with general information at the beginning, then specific chapters on breeding, housing, diseases and injuries. Most of the information is useful on a small or large scale, and the ethics of breeding and raising meat animals are discussed at length – for instance, Patry reminds us it’s “highly unethical” to breed animals with malocclusion, or teeth that grow incorrectly and cause pain and discomfort, sometimes cutting through a rabbit’s cheek.
The chapters on health go into great detail – there are sections on respiratory diseases, infections and intestinal issues, and instructions on how to take a rabbit’s temperature, identify mites and administer medicine.
What’s lacking are instructions on butchering – The Rabbit-Raising Problem Solver is concerned with keeping the animals alive and healthy, so if you’re planning on raising meat animals, you’ll need a supplementary guide for that part. But if you’re considering adding a bright-eyed, bushy-tailed companion to your home or farm, this book is well-worth a cover-to-cover read.
by Karen Patry
328 pages. Storey Publishing. May 6, 2014
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