Page 143 - One Thousand Ways to Make $1000

Raising Rabbits for Their Wool

D

O YOU know that rabbit fur is dyed and used in the manufacture of synthetic
sealskin coats? Well, it is, and it offers one more way for a wide-awake
person to make a thousand dollars. Blanch Krabill, of Toledo, Ohio, had been
raising rabbits for their pelts which she had been selling to a tannery at a
profit. However, she discovered that she could make about as much money
by shearing the rabbits for their wool instead of using the whole pelt. Her
hutches now contain nine hundred rabbits which supply rabbit wool for
commercial purposes.

“I hated to kill the rabbits for their pelts,” Blanch said, “because I became so
attached to them. But I had so many of them and they multiplied so rapidly
that I could not afford to keep them. I had to get money out of them some
way and when a friend suggested shearing them and selling their fur for
wool, my problem was solved. Rabbit fur is softer than lamb’s wool, and not
so greasy. My problem was to find out if there was a demand for the wool
and, upon making inquiries, I learned about the rabbit’s commercial value as
a wool producer. The Angora, with its unusually long silky hair, is the ideal
rabbit for wool production. There are regular markets for this wool in all big
cities, such as Detroit, Chicago and New York. Upon making this discovery,
I sheared the rabbits and shipped the wool to the nearest market.

“Rabbit wool is used for any number of things, such as knitting sweaters,
baby clothes, muffs, scarfs and dresses. It makes a beautiful yarn which has
the strength and durability of regular sheep wool although it is much finer
and softer. I receive a dollar and forty cents a pound for this wool and shear
the rabbits four times a year. The Angora rabbit is unusually large, and each
one produces about one and one-quarter pounds of wool yearly.”

The rabbit is one of the most easily raised of all the furbearing animals and as
many as five hundred rabbits may be successfully raised in your own back
yard. They are not subject to vermin of any kind, and resist practically all