Feeds to enhance milk production

[caroline]

great details from both of you Maggie & Jojuan. I'm excited to try the nettle gathering. Since my patches are within 50 yards of my barn I think that I can use a wheel barrow or my big garden cart & don't have to use the leaf bags.I haven't observed the "blooming" details so I will be watching for that. I have gathered in the past and cooked for my own use but haven't known that the buns would benefit. My husband absolutely refused to even TRY the greens.So he'll be happy I'm feeding them to the rabbits

 

[hoodat]

I'll have to harvest some of our nettles this year. I question, though, storing them in air-tight packaging. Unless they are bone dry, they would mould very quickly with no air circulation. Perhaps, however, your procedure is due the extreme humidity in your area? I store my dried greens in large mesh onion and orange bags and it seems to work very well.

I store a lot of clover hay and once it is thoroughly dry I have no trouble keeping it in plastic trash bags so long as I leave the top of the bag open and don't pack it down too tightly.

 

[caroline]

Stinging nettle... One cautionary note: :!: nettle must be introduced about 1 week AFTER kindling and gradually even at that.

Could you say more about this caution.
In another place you indicate that ALL your rabbits come running when you bring in the nettle. So...do you feed it to everyone, or save it for lactating does? And why the gradual introduction? Do you think it increases milk production TOO quickly, or some other concern?

thanks

 

[OneAcreFarm]

My white clover gets a good six inches tall, with leaves larger than a quarter.

Yup, mine too, and it is probably the easiest for me to gather. The rabbits LOVE it!

 

[Jojuan]

Maggie is correct concerning the mold...it is imperative that the leaves and stalks have ample air circulation to dry thoroughly. When I remove the rubberband, oftentimes, I detect moisture underneath, which I just snap off before putting the bunch in the leaf bag (try to keep the leaves attached). I confess I lost an entire season's harvest when I didn't get it bagged soon after drying. One hard, late-summer rain and the nettles molded where they hung. :?

While I keep nettle hay mainly for lactating does (giving 3 stalks/day), I spare a stalk for each of the others as my supply allows. Their pitiful begging is hard to resist (they've successfully trained me).

The caution about introducing nettle gradually (although, in the beginning I ignorantly started giving it a week before kindling) comes after reading that both doe and kits can experience serious difficulties when too much milk is produced in the first day or two after kindling....thus the common caution to even limit water. (I've never gone that far, myself.)

The doe that enjoyed my first nettle crop grew an enormous mammary system - at least double what it had been from her first litter. I had to wonder though, whether her size was simply because she was "stretched out" from the first litter. So, as an experiment, nursing a third litter, she received no nettle hay. Her teats remained small as with her first litter...not that she ever had any milk issues, in the first place. (Commercial rabbits rarely do. My husband and I raise and show Palomino.)

Once I get out of this reply mode and can see your replies, I'll know if I remembered to answer everyone's great responses. Oh! Yes...the husband who wouldn't eat the greens!! My husband wasn't thrilled with them either, but that's because I fed nettle that was too old. I've since learned from reading on Google that only sprouts six inches or shorter (from the ground) are tender. Anything taller is tough and fibrous...like chewing fishing line. Not surprising when you consider that nettle is used to produce textiles similar to linen from flax. The flavor is delicious (used to make beer and wine) and the color leached while steeping tea is a deep emerald green - used for dying. Did I say the plant is amazing? :roll:

 

[caroline]

only sprouts six inches or shorter (from the ground) are tender. Anything taller is tough and fibrous...like chewing fishing line. :roll:

WOW! I don't even notice my nettles until they get as tall as I am. Honestly though, I don't really WANT my husband to get too excited about eating/drinking nettles now that I have this new opportunity to save something else for the rabbits. I don't imagine that THEY will complain about the fibrous quality of the greens. They seem perfectly happy with all the mallow I can pull for them and THAT has to be pretty chewy.

I've spent the day walking around my place and scoping out the various sheds/barns/lean-tos to see WHERE I can string all this wire that I'm planning to hang this imaginary nettle crop from. Today was a great time to see where the leaky drips are too,since we FINALLY got some rain. This has been the driest winter that I can remember so far. So glad to have this blessed water. Hope the pasture can recover before the summer officially gets here.

 

[Jojuan]

Oops! So glad you shared your plans, Caroline. I should have remembered to mention that drying nettles is best done in the shade. Sunlight destroys the nutritional value, but perhaps in your area, the drying time could be minimal. That first year, before my husband invited me to use the garage, I hung dozens of 30-inch bunches from tree branches. It was embarrassing somewhat; the tree was visible from the street. My set-up definitely took on a "contraband" look, (which, now that I think about it, is probably why my husband strung wire in the garage!! LOL )

 

[MamaSheepdog]

Honestly though, I don't really WANT my husband to get too excited about eating/drinking nettles now that I have this new opportunity to save something else for the rabbits.

Galloping Rabbitosis for sure. Gathering greens for the bunnies, and the Hubs gets to eat store bought stuff. Heaven forbid you should harvest the plants small, when they will grow so tall and produce more for the bunnies! :lol:

Reminds me of when my Wonder-Dog had cancer and I had to cook all organic meals for her. I was a vegetarian at the time, and refused to touch meat, let alone cook it for my Hubs. But for my Wonder-Dog... anything! The time Hubs came home and the house was filled with the aroma of baked goods, he was so excited... just about broke his heart when he found out it was dog biscuits in the oven...

 

[caroline]

Honestly though, I don't really WANT my husband to get too excited about eating/drinking nettles now that I have this new opportunity to save something else for the rabbits.

Galloping Rabbitosis for sure. Gathering greens for the bunnies, and the Hubs gets to eat store bought stuff. Heaven forbid you should harvest the plants small, when they will grow so tall and produce more for the bunnies! :lol:

Reminds me of when my Wonder-Dog had cancer and I had to cook all organic meals for her. I was a vegetarian at the time, and refused to touch meat, let alone cook it for my Hubs. But for my Wonder-Dog... anything! The time Hubs came home and the house was filled with the aroma of baked goods, he was so excited... just about broke his heart when he found out it was dog biscuits in the oven...

I too have some wonderful stories from my forays into vegetarianism... that I will save for another time. I just wanted to share that MY HUSBAND eats dogs biscuits. It's one of my children's FAVORITE stories to tell on him. "Dad, remember the time you were eating out of that container that was on the chest in the hall...? And you really LIKED them too!"

Besides He LIKES store bought stuff :mrgreen:

 

[MaggieJ]

This site might be worth checking out:

http://spangangoras.blogspot.com/2008/0 ... -moms.html

 

[Rustina]

MamaSheepdog, this is the red clover that one feeds to rabbits:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trifolium_pratense

You may know it as purple clover.

Raspberry, blackberry and strawberry leaves can all be fed to rabbits. I don't see why boysenberry, which is a hybrid of raspberry, blackberry and loganberry should not be good for them too.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boysenberry

Just to make sure i am reading this properly, this particular red clover IS safe to feed or IS NOT safe to feed?
I think i am confusing myself..... :|

 

[MaggieJ]

The red clover in the Wiki article, Trifolium pratense, is safe to feed to rabbits. It is widely used as a fodder crop. Very high in protein.

 

[MamaSheepdog]

I am bumping this thread for Schmitty.

 

[caroline]

I wanted to give an update on my first use of nettle with a doe.
I have a young first time momma who had 7 kits on the 9th. She pulled AMAZING amounts of fur and every time that I have checked her there has been MORE fur all over the cage and filtering through to the ground. It seemed like she had good instincts to be a good momma but I began noticing day before yesterday that the kits didn't seem really fat like I like to see them. There were even 1 or 2 who seemed skinny and a little less vigorous than the rest too.

I decided to see if I could help them all get a little extra. Momma was very calm and cooperative and lay in my lap white I gave them each a chance to nurse. Her chest didn't seem very full, as some of my other does chests have seemed so I began to worry that momma didn't have enough for them. Fortunately, the nettle has begun to grow along the creek bank so this morning I gloved up and harvested about 10 stalks. I rubber-banded it and hung it from the ceiling in front of one bank of rabbit cages. Since I need it now, I decided that I'd take the chance and offer it to her without waiting for it to dry so I put in a stalk with about 4-5 leaves on it and left it for her to eat.

This morning I decided that when it warmed up a bit I would give the kits another chance to all nurse. In the middle of the day when I took out the nest box and checked them they all looked quite a bit better than yesterday so I decided to leave them for momma to feed on her own. And put another stalk of nettle in the cage. When I left she was chomping down the whole thing, stalk, leaves and all. I'm very encouraged. We'll see how they all look tomorrow. I have also been offering her more than her usual handful of whole oats. I'd say I've given her 3 or more handfuls today. She also drank more water than usual, which I see as a good sign.

 

[MaggieJ]

Thanks for the report, Caroline.

Nettle can be fed well-wilted as well as dried. Once it wilts, the hairs that cause the irritation become ineffective. If they don't sting your skin they shouldn't harm the rabbit either.

 

[caroline]

I have been MIA for 3 years
and trying to return for a month or so but couldn't remember user name
so couldn't get in
Glad I finally figured it out

I would like to share my current recipe for lactation support for large litters
it's basically the same herbs that are in the nursing teas sold for human mamas
I don't measure I just mix up a big Tupperware=type container that I keep in the barn
equal parts blessed thistle, fenugreek, coriander seed, anise seed, fennel seed, marshmallow root

I order the herbs from Starwest botanical
It seems to really make a difference.
I top dress the doe's feed with a generous TBSP of the mixture each day til the kits are out of the nest box.
I only add it for does that have a skinny kit of so.
I still feed stalks of dried nettle when I have it