Have you hugged your rooster today?

It’s a process…

 Farming rabbits has been a process. I see all of our effort when I look out into our yardin in the early evening and see all the rabbits emerge from their shelters. I look at them run and play and often we cannot help ourselves and we go out to the pens and play with them. Yesterday evening I processed six of our rabbits. They had gone far beyond their prime. I have been after my husband to process them but he always found something else to do. I still had to get him to do the culling but I surprised myself at how easily I was able to process them. They were the same rabbits that I have held and played with many times. I was thinking while I was processing them that it was our duty now to honour them by eating them. We have them a very good life while they were on earth. We fed, water, gave them affection, room to play and greens to eat. I was able to use most of the meat somehow. Since they were summer hides I was not able to save all of the hides but I was able to harvest a few. I was also able to string up the feet and ears to dehydrate for organic treats for my dogs. I divided all the meat into bags. Legs and backs. When i was finished and the meat had all been quartered I was extremely impressed with my efforts. The meat was succulent white meat. The rib cages I saved for RAW food for my pets. I was able to put about 40lbs of meat in the freezer for next winter. If I was too purchase organic rabbit at the grocer and pet store, this would have cost me about $400. I know I will have to slow cook or pressure cook these ones as they were older rabbits but will cook up nicely if done correctly. 

 

The right tool for the job…

We have very hard soil. It is clay, mixed with a bit of loam. It is dreadful to work with. This was one of the first reasons we decided to start farming rabbits. We needed their manure to help our soil.  I have boughten many garden tools over the years. Most are made of cheap material that often end up in the scrap metal pile. I find that the best tools are often the older tools. Tools that were built to be used and to last a lifetime. We have purchased many at yard sales. Sometimes we need to put a new handle on it but it is definitely worth the hassle. Often we end up with a gardening treasure. 

My other secret weapon is my trowel. It is not really a trowel, it is an entrenching tool. It was purchased from an army surplus store. It’s original purpose was to dig trenches. I think mine is from 1968. The sides can be sharpened to make digging even easier. It is just the right height for using as a spade. I don’t think I would have been able to get any plants in the ground had it not been for this handy tool. It is a little bigger than a real trowel so I can find it easier when I set it down.