Timing Litters to Take Advantage of Best Spring Greens

All of a sudden, gathering greens is getting more difficult - just when I have 14 hungry nine-week-old fryers to feed! There are still plenty of greens out there, but it is taking longer to gather them and the weather is hot and humid, which makes it less pleasant. This set me thinking about the timing of those spring litters.

Greens are lush and plentiful from mid-May to end of June. I should be timing my spring litters to take advantage of this. After the beginning of July, the greens take much longer to harvest. Ideally, each rabbit should get about a gallon of greens a day during their period of fast growth. (Plus hay and grain, of course.) That means three large bucketfuls a day.

If the litters are timed to be kindled around April 1st, they would be ready for freezer camp by the end of the first week of July, just when the greens begin to slow down. Young rabbits begin eating substantial amounts of greens from about 4 weeks of age. Greens become reasonably good by late April, so that fits nicely.

Does anyone else plan their litters this way? I realize that the actual dates would vary from place to place, but it seems to me that the principle should hold for most places. I wish I'd thought of this along about the beginning of March. :doh:

This is a really excellent idea. So far, my attempts at timing litters have met with one mishap or another, but now that you mention it that would be an excellent goal to shoot for! Why not!

My dates here are a larger window, so ideally my greens are prime from late May thru the end of September, and even into October. I am still pulling lots of brassica leaves and corn stalks and bean vines then, more than my breeders can eat, but the right amount for hungry litters!

I plan my litters around what works for me and my family. There are times when we have no kits at all around here. which of course is a very sad thing.

I think that planning out your litters around what best suits you and your family/lifestyle is what makes raising rabbits so easy for the average homesteader. Just means you actually have to plan it out.

True... A lot of people have to plan around family events or vacations, busy times at work etc.

For myself, I was thinking in particular about making best use of gathered weeds for natural feeding. I sure goofed this year. This is our first year with the colony and we just let things happen since they were going well, but my timing was five weeks later than the optimum. Which means at least an extra half hour's work a day for the next four or five weeks during the hottest time of the year. The greens are out there, but more scattered and that first lush growth is finished. A lot are putting up flower stalks and need to be cut to the ground to regenerate them.

I think I need a bunny weed garden to make things easier for me.

bunny weed gardens are "the bomb". sorry...that's the very first thing that popped out of my mouth.

Ah, but then do you have to weed your weed garden?!

I weeded my veg garden and for every gallon of bunny weeds I sorted out, there were 3 gallons of "not-bunny" weeds, aka chicken weeds here. I throw them all into the coop, and what they don't eat they scratch through looking for bugs and it all ends up mulch liberally mixed with manure, which I then set aside to compost....saves me on bedding the run, anyway.

It wouldn't be difficult to make one here. If I put some old carpeting down now for mulch (a favourite trick of mine for making new garden beds) I would not have to dig at all... just scratch up the surface and plant some gathered seeds. It's not like we don't have plenty of land available.

I would have to weed it a bit to take out "non bunny weeds". Like you, Eco, I will be having chickens in pens next year so they can have all those. Starting a patch from scratch, though, most of the weeds would be desirables.

I Have been transplanting dandelions and plantain into the small patch of dirt I have-- The buns are enjoying the grazing time, the area is 'green' and the cover is kept short. Amazing how well weeds transplant. Wait, I WANT the stuff togrow there-- that means-- they are NOT weeds!!!!

raised beds around the rabbitry

put in plantain, lamb's quarters, grasses, dandelions...willow wands will grow GREAT in a barrel they seem to love the deep soil and all that moisture from rains.

I agree about all that stooping and bending in the heat of summer. UUUUUFdah.

Our season for gathering greens here in San Diego are upside down to most of the US and Canada. Our wild greens are most plentiful during the rainy season which extends from mid Winter to late Spring. In Summer, except for river bottoms, our wild grasses and weeds are nothing but dry husks waiting for Winter rains. Even though my garden is small I devote much of it to red clover and milo/millet in order to have greens aailable when there is nothing to be had in the wild.

The good news for you, Hoodat, is that you have time this year to plan your litters to be in the fast-growth stage when the greens are plentiful.

We're having a rather hot, very sunny July here in Southern Ontario, and even the weeds are beginning to look a little crisp. I'm going to have to buy extra hay to keep the buns growing until butchering time. They are growing very well, however, and I think I may be able to butcher some at 12 weeks, rather than the usual 14-16 weeks.

My doe just had a second litter of 9 healthy kits. I'll rest her now through the hot days of Summer till Fall when the greens in my garden will be flourishing again and, with luck, some early greens may begin showing themselves in the wild again.

Bumping this up... because it is time to start, especially with the early spring.

I have found a great little patch of plantain growing in front of one of the shop rollup doors. I have been guarding it zealously to make sure it does NOT get mowed, trodden on, etc. I am about to transplant them to the rabbit garden this weekend..

Cool! You can't have too much plantain.

MaggieJ":2jdq1f6a said:

Cool! You can't have too much plantain.

Click to expand...

I know, right? One of my garden beds has a patch of sunflowers growing in the middle where I dumped some manure that must have had some dropped BOSS. I am letting it grow and I will put the plantain in one corner. I also am getting some seeds from a friend *hint-hint* that I will plant there too. I want to find some comfrey plants or seeds to put in as well.

I hear you!