A rabbit hutch or coop is easily built from old packing boxes.  One third of the coop should be darkened and made into a nest, with an entrance door outside and the rest simply covered with a wire front, also with a door for cleaning and feeding.  The hutch should stand on legs above ground as rabbits do not thrive well in dampness.  They will, however, live out all winter in a dry place.  A box four feet long and two feet wide will hold a pair of rabbits nicely.  Rabbits will become very tame and may often be allowed full liberty about the place if there are no dogs to molest them.

The drawing shows a standard type of rabbit hutch.  A boy who is handy with tools can easily build one.  We can always dispose of the increase in our rabbit family to friends or to dealers.

Guinea pigs or cavies are similar to rabbits in their requirements.  The chief difference is that guinea pigs cannot stand excessive cold and will not do well if kept outside in severe winter weather.  Rabbits and cavies will eat almost anything and eat constantly.  The usual feed is hay, clover, wheat, corn, carrots, turnips, cabbage, lettuce, celery, potato parings, or any green food or grains.  Cavies are especially fond of bread and milk.

The three classes of cavies are Peruvians or Angoras, with long silky hair; Abyssinians, with coarse hair in tufts or rosettes, and the common guinea pig or smooth, cavy.  A pair of cavies will cost about two dollars.  A dry airy cellar is a good place to keep them as they are cleanly in their habits.  Neither cavies nor rabbits are especially intelligent but they do learn to know their master or at least the one who feeds them.  Pet rats and mice are in the same class as rabbits but they should always have a coop that they will not gnaw out of.  There is even a mouse club.  It is in Europe and has over a thousand members.

An interesting example of skill in breeding is seen in Dutch belted varieties of cattle, in hogs, rabbits, cavies and mice.  In all of these animals the same markings have been bred by careful crossing and selection.  In all lines of “fancy” it is important to stick to a few varieties.  We shall never make much of a success if we have half a dozen kinds of chickens, pigeons or rabbits.  By far the most important “fancy” is with chickens, but this subject will be considered in the chapter on the care of poultry.

Among other pets are tame squirrels, turtles, snakes, lizards and toads.  A tame gray squirrel makes a splendid pet.  After a while we can give our squirrel full liberty and find him back in his nest at night.  I once had a tame owl but I found that because of his habit of flying and feeding at night he was a very stupid pet.  Besides that his powerful beak and sharp claws or talons were dangerous.  I also once had a pair of flying squirrels but they also only appear at night and were consequently uninteresting in the daytime.  We must always study the natural