Why try to raise hybrids
Having been raised on a farm in the Midwestern USA, I believe I know a few things about farming, both the animal and plant life involved. My early years were filled with driving a tractor or riding on the corn planter on the back of the tractor when my father drove.
My dad learned, through trial and error as well as from neighboring farmers, that there was such a thing as hybrids. This was in relation to the plants that farmers grew. Hybrid animals were not brought up at this point in time.
As my father learned and shared with me and my brothers, we all began to understand that hybrids are combinations of breeds and that those combinations were designed to bring out the best of the breeds which had been combined.
Later, my own son was involved in hybrid seed production when he took a brief summer job detasselling corn. He would cut off the tassels before they were allowed to spread their fertilising sperms onto the silks of the corn cobs below. Then, the farmer would use a different type of sperms to spread over the silks. This produced a hybrid.
For example, a corn plant which usually produces yellow kernels could be fertilised with sperm from a plant which produces white kernels. The result would be a different breed of corn.
All of this was done to make a better product for the farmer to take to market.
How this can be applied to animals
We tend to produce too many baby rabbits when we go into the rabbit-raising business. They are nice and pleasant little creatures but too hard to get rid of when we have too many.
Our cats on the farm are not talented enough to catch and destroy the rodents such as mice and rats. There are not enough cats to do the job completely.
My hybrid idea is to produce cabbits. Yes, you heard it correctly, cabbits. It is a combination, a hybrid if you will, of cats and rabbits. They are hybrids because they are not pure cat nor pure rabbit.
Benefits of cabbits
The children and grandchildren love to look at and pet our rabbits. They are so lovable and cute. They are much more lovable than our cats. Of course, since rabbits are so good at reproducing that we always have far too many of them. However, rabbits are vegetarian. They would not eat a mouse if it was in front of them.
Cats, on the other hand, don't reproduce nearly as fast as rabbits. Also, they are quick to catch mice and destroy them. They usually do not eat vegetable matter, preferring meat.
When I get a cabbit produced, I will have the best of both worlds. This will be a cute and lovable animal with soft fur such as the rabbit has. The tail will be a fluffy tuft instead of that long cat-type tail. They will not overproduce as rabbits tend to do.
Feeding a cabbit is a cinch. I will intend that it eat mice and other pests. However, if it can't catch any for a time, it will eat clover or grass. It's ears will be those of a cat so they don't get in the way of hunting.
Both cats and rabbits are mammals and are around the same size. I am sure that there will be no significant problems concerning feeding of their young. As soon as I learn how to transfer the sperm of one species to the female of the other species, my cabbit farm will be off and running.
