Experiments in fermentation

What's in common between a rabbit, kimchee, sauerkraut, old fashioned ginger ale and a ginger bug?
Answer: They are all fermenting

sauerkraut, kimchee, ginger ale & ginger bug

4 month old buck

I've got time to do one last experiment over the next few weeks before winter ends. I've been feeding this young buck both pellets and branches from chinese elm and russian olive for a few weeks now. Today, I'm cutting off the pellets and we'll monitor his weight change. He weighs 9.28 pounds and is 4 months + 10 days old as of February 25, 2016. Well see how well this guy ferments tree bark, twigs and buds.

Update

After one month of eating nothing but dormant tree branches, he's still healthy. He did lose one pound but is still in good condition. Just lean instead of fat. To keep weight on and provide a boost for a doe and her litter, I would add some root crops or squash to the diet. I'll have to run a test on that next winter. My patch of jerusalem artichokes produced about 200 pounds of tubers and the rabbits enjoy them. They are very easy to grow so, I'll expand that plot.

Sexing kits

Sexing young rabbits takes practice. Newborns are tough but some say you can still tell by the shape of the opening. I usually wait until they are weaned but in this video I'm checking a litter just under 3 weeks of age. To be honest, the only way to learn is by doing. Just compare siblings and remember round hole male and vertical taco female.

A male's testicles usually drop at around 4 or 5 months of age, which makes identification of adults easier, unless they don't drop or are sucked in. Always check their vent shape to be sure.

I would not keep a male who doesn't have dropped testicles. Check more than once and especially on warmer days. Sperm survives longer in a cool environment, so for best fertility they should be extended.

How to carry a rabbit

Here's a short video on how to do the underarm carry. This is the safest and easiest method I've found for both you and your rabbit.

Remember

• Never pick a rabbit up by the ears. It's painful and can pull the muscles to where the rabbit cannot lift or position them.
• Rabbits are used to being on the ground. Looking down with no support is scary. Keep a hand under their butt for support when doing the underarm carry. 
• You can hold them against you for support but you may get scratched if the panic.
• If you have children that handle your rabbits, you may want to consider trimming their nails, in addition to proper handling techniques. Teachers often report on children they see with wounds. Scratched arms happen more frequently with improper handling.
• Long sleave shirts help protect against scratches.

Forage Rabbit Youtube channel

I've had a few people ask for video so I created a "Forage Rabbit" youtube channel. These videos are just being created on my cell phone by one of our boys, so don't expect high quality. Hopefully you'll find them useful.

In this first video I am introducing the idea of using dormant tree branches as feed during the winter, similar to how Native American horsemen fed their mounts.  Much of this idea I got from the book: Black Elk Speaks as told through John G Neihardt (Flaming Rainbow) by Nicholas Black Elk.