I raise meat rabbits in Utah on a variety of wild and home grown forage. Some pellets are used for convenience but I don't want to be dependent on them. I'm here to share my experience and opinion.
On day 4, I weighed the three rabbits and they had lost about 3 ounces each. Looking at the feed I noticed that they were not eating as much as I'd normally suspect. My suspicion is that they needed more time to transition from pellets and the large supply of apples they had been eating. So, for now I'm stopping the experiment. I will try again later.
Over the last week I've just been putting a small amount of pellets in a bowl and am gradually seeing the limbs getting stripped more thoroughly. I'm not expecting to ever get fast weight gain on winter tree limbs alone but would like to see if they can get some growth. I'll try again over a few days and monitor their weight and will post another update on how that goes.
I always try to give a few small branches daily to my rabbits. I've noticed since doing that, I've had no problems with weaning stress or digestive diseases. I believe the coarse fiber helps regulate the good bacteria in their gut and prevents the bad from taking over.
I've got a few more does to breed over the next week. That's sometimes tricky when the days get short. I've also noticed the percentage of males in my litters is higher in winter and my female count is higher in spring. I'll write more about this and my upcoming mini feed experiment next week.
Despite the title of this post, this experiment is on rabbits. It was inspired from reading biographical stories of American Indians and fur trappers on how they fed their horses during the winter months, primarily on cotton wood bark, stems and branches.
Today I started the experiment with three white kits that are 6 weeks old and were born October 14, 2015. I weighed 4 brown kits out of the same litter and am keeping pellets in front of these but they'll still get some forage. Up until now they've been eating some forage, apples and have had pellets always available. I've stacked all my Jerusalem Artichoke stalks that froze recently, thinking I was going to chip them. I gave some to the rabbits to eat and they loved them! They only left the older 1/3 base part of the stalk but even chewed on those pretty heavily. These plants were nearly 12 foot tall. Every part of that pant is usable and it grows like a weed.
I've gathered fresh branches from Chinese elm, Russian olive and cottonwood. I'll also include the Jerusalem artichoke stalks in their feed. No pellets will be given going forward.
I've got a scale that is accurate down to the half ounce and weighed all the kits.
Those in the experiment weighed in ounces: 43.5, 48.0, 42.5
The siblings left as the control weighed in ounces: 43.5, 46.5, 47.5, 48.5
Upon placement in the pen the test subjects are already enjoying their tree branches
I'll be weighing everyone again on Sunday and provide an update. If everyone is losing weight, I'll be ending the experiment.
I'm finding many references to Native Americans and trappers feeding their horses cottonwood branches and bark during the winter. Louis and Clark witnessed prized horses kept in great condition through the winter on this diet. Time to put this winter diet to a test on domestic rabbits. I'm a bit skeptical of much success but if weanling rabbits can gain wait on tree bark, that's very valuable knowledge to have if any catastrophe happened during winter months.
I have a couple litters that will be ready to wean in a couple weeks. Here's the plan for my first experiment on this feed:
1) Choose two rabbits from each litter and place in grow out pen on their own. Keep fed with a steady supply of branches from cottonwood, siberian elm, aspen, russian olive and willow.
2) Two other rabbits from each litter will be weighed and monitored for comparison as the control group. They will be fed a typical diet with some pellets always available.
3) Weigh rabbits every three days.
4) Keep experiment going until rabbits reach 10 weeks or reach butcher weight.
5) End experiment early if rabbits lose weight or appear in poor condition.
Keep tuned, I'll be posting pictures at the start and weekly updates throughout the experiment.
Since I'm limited to 6 rabbits per city ordinance and one buck can breed 20 does, I prefer to just keep one. I do occasionally breed a doe to someone else's meat breed buck so I have something to compare against and to offer prospective breeders stock not so closely related.
My main buck Peter broke his back after I left him out with a doe that was being shy. Not sure how it happened but I ended up having to put him down. I did hold back a buck from a litter and he was almost five months when this happened. He has an agouti colored dutch pattern, so I'll just call him Dutch.
Dutch a NZxFG buck at 4 months
This week I used Dutch on four different does. He's about five and a half months old so a bit young but did get fall offs on three out of four. We've got decreasing day length now so none of the does was very enthusiastic. I'll try the last doe again tomorrow. His testicles are dropped and full so we'll find out in a month how fertile he really is.
His behavior is what I like to see in a buck. He has good stamina and does not tire easily. Dutch has a good grip and is firm but is not overly aggressive or mean. He lets me position himself and the doe without getting distracted which can be very important in the winter when some does become hard to breed. Being able to hold the doe in breeding position can make a huge difference in fertility.
Normally, if I can get a fall off, I have a litter, regardless of the doe's receptivity. However, you need to make sure the doe is in good condition. A skinny doe feeding a litter of 12 needs more time between litters. Fat does in general are harder to breed and have smaller litters, so breeding her quickly again might be what she needs to get her down to a healthy weight. Lots of factors to consider. I don't stick to an exact schedule for rebreeding, it all depends on the doe's condition. I still expect 6 litters a year from a doe.
Our dog Jax has not eaten any commercial food in the year and a half we've had him. We give him leftovers and he gets the bones, internal organs, feet and head from the rabbits we butcher.
When I butcher a rabbit, I place the carcass in cold saltwater to soak for a few hours. I roll up the hide and put that in a used plastic grocery bag. In another grocery bag, I put all the internal organs, feet and head (offal). Both the offal and hide plastic bags go in the freezer for later use. Once frozen I call them rabbit popsicles.
I usually butcher several rabbits at once. The dog gets the offal from one rabbit fresh and that's plenty for him. He eats it fresh but not enthusiastically.
Today I pulled out a rabbit popsicle from the freezer. When Jax saw me with the bag he got really excited. I dumped the popsicle and he excitedly went to work on it. That frozen rabbit offal was completely gone within one hour. I've had other dogs in the past that preferred fresh but not Jax.
The BARF (bones and raw food) and other raw diets are becoming popular for pets. I've noticed that wild predators normally will start with eating the internal organs and even the stomach contents and intestines. I strongly suspect the enzymes and bacteria that grow naturally in the prey's digestive system, not only are beneficial for the prey animal for digesting their food but are beneficial for the predator eating them, just like live culture foods such as yogurt and sauerkraut are good for us.
This time of year the rabbit market is flooded so my surplus fryers do not get sold. Freezer space is running low and I don't especially like eating white meat everyday. Jerky is a great alternative, healthy snack and is simple to make. Keep it dry and it stays good for months without refrigeration. I don't really care to follow an exact recipe but use spices I have on hand. You don't have to just eat out of hand, experiment by using it in soup or other dishes. I like to add small pieces to ramen noodles along with some vegetables.
Directions
After butchering rabbits of any age, I soak in cold salt water for a few hours. You can also use rabbit that's been in your freezer.
Pat dry and let the carcass dry to the touch.
Cut the meat from the bone. Use the bones for soup or feed to the dog rather than buy commercial dog food. Actually our dog eats everything from the rabbit that we do not eat.
I prefer to coarse grind the meat like you would for sausage so it's not so chewey. If you don't have a grinder, you can cut into approximately quarter inch slices.
Add salt and spices, then mix thoroughly. Do not leave the salt out. I prefer coarse kosher salt but any table salt will do. Salt helps it dry and retard bacterial growth. If you are drying at lower temperature, you'll need more salt.
Ground meat is easier to shape on a tray if you use a jerky press, which is a contraption similar to a caulk gun.
I place strips in a food dehydrator set at 160 F and they usually dry in less than one day. You can alternatively put in the oven at low heat and crack it open to let the humidity out. Smoking at low heat is also a great option.
Once it's completely dry I just store in a cookie jar or other container to keep insects away. If you live in a humid environment, you need to watch out for condensation and mold. You can put it in the freezer but it usually doesn't last long at our house.
Spices (pick any of the following to your taste)
Black pepper, chili pepper, Worcestershire sauce, sugar (I never use), thyme, lemon juice, liquid smoke, cloves, coriander, garlic powder, onion powder, grated citrus peel, use your imagination!
Farmers have been growing root crops to feed livestock for many centuries. They can be stored through the winter and are a high energy source of food that help animals keep their weight on. I'm still in the experimental phase with root crops. My hope is to find options that are easy to grow and will provide that extra nutrition to help a doe keep producing well through winter without commercial feed. I'm looking at root crops to be supplement not the sole feed. I'd keep hay and branches as the core feed.
Last year I grew a lot of purple top turnips. They grew quickly and did well in cool weather but got woody and wormy in the heat. The rabbits ate them but not enthusiastically. Turnips are a brassica and while rabbits can eat them, I don't consider it safe to feed in large quantity.
I've read that fodder beets can reach 20 pounds and that they are very palatable and keep the rabbits fat. I'll be able to experiment a little bit this year but I've only had meagre success growing them so far. I've had a lot of problems with insect damage and they've been growing slow. It's late August and I planted in mid April but only seeing medium sized beet roots so far. Carrots are good but I've never been good at raising them in large quantity. I kept some in the ground through the winter. They were still good in the Spring and the rabbits loved them. Rabbits love both tops and root.
Fodder beets - not doing too great for me
Sunchokes - rabbits eat the top and the tubers
This Spring I planted Jerusalem Artichokes in part of my front yard. Jerusalem artichokes, also called sunchokes, are in the sunflower family. They are in the front because it's claimed they can be invasive and hard to eradicate once established, so I didn't want to take space where I grow vegetables. They are now over 8 feet tall and growing really well. They are still not in flower which I hope means they are putting all their energy in producing tubers. My rabbits like the foliage and younger stems. My family will try the roots ourselves after the tops are frozen in November to see how we like them ourselves. Here's a video I found that gives me reason to suspect they'll make a great additional winter feed. Once the top is dead, I plan to let it dry then chip them up into mulch and save some of the chips for nest bedding. If these prove to be a good feed source, next year I will be expanding my patch to take up that entire section of lawn. The nice thing about sunchokes is that they grow like a weed and I don't need to buy seed and replant every year.
I'll write more on my success and failures with root crops as I gain more experience with them.
