Day 1 - The Native American Winter Horse Feed Experiment

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.

Stay tuned!

Planning - The Native American Winter Horse Feed 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.

New Buck

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.

Rabbit Popsicles

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.

Jax feasting on a rabbit popsicle 

Rabbit Jerky

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!

rabbit jerky

Experiments with Root Crops

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.

A Good Nest

Since it's summer time, we've been sleeping with the bedroom window open. I've got two does due to kindle in about ten days. They have gained weight and and I've been hearing them being restless and rattling and digging on everything in their pens. Pretty good signs they are indeed pregnant. Breeding stock I've had in the past usually don't start nest building until within two days or the day before giving birth. This line starts two weeks before.

Since we feed a lot of tree branches, I accumulate a rather large pile quickly and some are pretty thorny. We do use some for grilling or smoking meat but most I run through an electric chipper. I save the chips in a feed bag after they have dried. Instead of buying pine shavings I've been using these wood chips in the nest boxes.

My nest boxes are permanently attached to my hutches and are large, about 24x16x12 inches. I worried about the size being too big but they have been working well, I believe due to using a few inches of wood chips or shavings in the bottom. The solid bottom, I do not like because the babies end up using the box as a toilet and they become a mess to clean. I'll eventually put a wire bottom and use a cardboard liner. The rabbits love these attached boxes as a place to hang out or if they ever feel threatened, the box is a refuge, like a burrow would be in the wild. In the very distant past, I did on occasion let a doe dig a burrow for her litter, with generally good success but I have much less loss with these attached boxes.

Traditional nest boxes that you put inside the cage work fine. The main concern on a nest box is that after it's filled with bedding, you want a couple inches of lip on the entrance so babies do not get dragged out after their mother feeds them. Some latch on to a teat too hard as their mother leaves.

One thing that has really impressed me with using hutches with permanently attached nest boxes, even for bucks, is that if you ever sell the rabbits with the hutch, just load the hutch on a trailer, rabbits and all. The rabbits will go inside their refuge and feel perfectly safe speeding down the interstate at 75 mph.

The key to a good nest for extreme cold or hot weather is to have a few inches of wood chips in the bottom. Then dry grass, straw, shredded paper or similar on top and filling the corners. The doe will dig away some of the chips to form an indentation big enough to put her babies, about the size of a cereal bowl. The other materials get pushed around and fill out the corners where otherwise a kit could get stuck and potentially chilled. In the winter I fill the box with dry grass or shredded paper, just very lightly so it's not packed. She'll push them around and they tend to form almost a tunnel from the entrance to the hollowed spot in the back corner.

Before giving birth or even during, the doe will pull hair and use it as lining in the depression. Sometimes I'll also add some dryer lint if I'm concerned there is not enough pulled fur or it's especially cold. You can have too much fur too. I've seen babies get wrapped in a thick wad of fur and get isolated or smothered. If too much, I'll remove the extra and put it in a bag in case more is needed later or another doe doesn't pull enough. There should be just enough fur that they can fluff it up and stay cozy underneath. It's not uncommon for the young kits to push the fur down and spread out more during the heat of the day and then gather together close at night and fluff back up the fur that is matted at the bottom. The babies do this themselves with their movement, not the mother.

Doe rabbits are not like mother cats, who will return lost babies or move them to a safer place. If a hairless baby gets tangled in bedding, dragged out of the nest or just stuck in a corner, she'll do nothing to save it or put it back with the others. The mother only gives them attention to feed them. She will just hover over her kits and let them feed and may lick them clean. This only happens once or twice a day so you may never see it. Just look for fat baby tummies. I try to check the nest daily. I remove any that may have died, and make sure it's not easy for the kits to leave the nest by making sure corners are filled and that there is just one depression with everything sloped slightly toward the depression.

During extreme heat, usually if it gets over 95F, I will take any babies under ten days old inside to stay cool. After noon, we put them in a box with some of their mother's fur and the same bedding that was in the nest. Once the sun goes down we take them back to the nest with their mother. I've never had a problem with the mother rejecting them. If a doe were to reject her babies, I would not keep her. Older kits handle the heat better, I believe because their digestive system has become more stabilized with good bacteria. By that age the babies will already have been chewing on nest bedding and any manure pellets their mother left in the nest. If you see a few of the does' dropping in the nest, leave them, they are important for digestive inoculation of probiotic bacteria, so the kits can eat the same food as their mother without getting diarrhoea.

If you have plenty of wood chips and plenty of other bedding and the doe has been able to make a nice tunnel to her babies through it, cold winter weather is easy. After they get more fur and can handle the weather, you may need to remove some bedding as they grow and take up space. Sometimes I'll expand the depression so the pile is not so deep causing those on the bottom to smother. Little things can make a big difference in the survival rate.

When a doe has babies on the wire and doesn't build a nest. Try building one for her and put the babies in it. There is a good chance she'll still care for them.

I've never had an issue with a mother abandoning her babies because I touched them. If I did, I'd cull the doe. While the kits are young, it's easy to give some extras from a doe with a huge litter to one that has a small litter. I've never had a problem with the mother killing them except in a couple of situations where an older kit, over three weeks old got put back in the wrong cage and most of my does will even tolerate that. I do limit the handling sessions to at the most twice a day and only for a few minutes.

Hopefully this will give you some ideas that will help you wean more kits.