how about these ideas?

[ohiogoatgirl]

hello, i just joined. i'm quite a farm girl and would like to eventually become self-sufficient. once my boyfriend and i move to the farm (going to be living with my dad and younger sister) i would like to get into rabbits. i would like them for meat and their furs (gonna teach myself to tan, tried a dear hide once. didnt turn out). i am really liking the colony set ups. i'm making a few drawings with some of my own twists on things. i would really like to grow, at least a good chunk of the rabbits food. SE ohio by the way. the garden is huge so that aint a problem. here's what i'm planning to grow for them:
sunflowers- seed, stalk
black oil sunflowers- seed, stalk (depends on if i can get some seeds to grow, can you grow the kind you feed?)
carrots- root, top
pumpkin
squash
indian corn- seed, stalk (read on here about people not liking to feed corn. why?)
turnips- can you feed the tops?
parsnips- can you feed the tops?
cucumbers
peas- seed, vines
green beans- think i read on here that a small amount every once in a while is okay? what about the plants?
radishes- can you feed the tops?
zucchini- these are okay right?
mint
lemon balm
basil
comfrey
parsely
chicory- roadside weeds (do these transplant okay?)
dandelion- hoping to pull em out of the garden and stick em in a designated "bunny garden"
plantain- weeds (do these transplant okay?)
cattails- there is a large field of them on the farm, is the whole thing edible? the roots too?
willow withes- got a giant willow in the yard. as kids we called it "grandmother willow" like from Pocahontas ^^
apple branches- have a bunch of wild apple trees on the farm, hoping to prune em up nice
apple slices- and my mom's neighbor has two giant apple trees she lets anyone take all they want.

anything i missed? also we make our own hay. also two milk goats on the farm. (hoping to get more of them ^^ ).
thanks so much.

ps: i think i've read about half of all this website hee hee :lol:
:bunnyhop: and i love this little hoppy bunny <3 :bunnyhop:

 

[Frosted Rabbits]

OhioGoargirl- welcome to the land of Rabbitosis Enablers.
your crop list is pretty god- do not feed mnt- it dries does up, do not feed the beans themselves to your buns. Rabbits can eat the whole plant of most root crops-- so turnips are fine! PLease, if uyuhave cattails-- identify whether thay are native, non-ntice, or a hybrid--the native cattails need otbe rpeserved-- feed allthe hybrids and non natives you wish-- you can even harvest the leves of all the cattails, and dry them for people who want to make their own rush-bottom chair seat replacements.( learn how to do THAT-- you can make a pretty penny-- the fake rush bottom replacements cost more than 200 dollars a seat!) And yes, some of the 'weeds' ranplant very well...I am putting some transplants under a cover for the winter- hopefully, mybuns will have a few fresh grens al winter... And dont forget clover in your bunny garden---

 

[MaggieJ]

Terry, what is the issue with bullrushes? I am assuming the native species in question is what is also called cattails, Typha latifolia. Everything I've read indicates that all parts of the plant are safe, for humans and rabbits. Certainly I've fed them to the rabbits on occasion.

http://www.bio.brandeis.edu/fieldbio/Ed ... ttail.html

Ohiogoatgirl, I will go through your list and comment but I'm just too tired tonight.

 

[Iggysbabysitter]

I did a bit of research on the cattails last spring. They were a favorite for my buns.
While the fiber content and taste were good, the protien is VERY low. Less than 10% kind of low. Fresh is great, or if you want to store them for winter treats get them YOUNG and green and get the root (it was a favorite part for some buns)... before the seed stalk gets thick (get it while it's green and they will be a favorite), that way more of the plant is eaten (as of August my rabbits were more picky about the thick tough parts and left much waste... the May/June feasts of cattail were totally devoured). Dry completely, and in the dark so they stay green. Harvest responsibly, one in 10 plant stalks. If you take too much from one spot you open up the possibility to damage the whole plant (a field of it is actually one or 2 massive plants with many stalks poking up) and that allows for the competition to take over. Here the cattails are being pushed out by elephant grass. Where the ditch was filled with cattails 5 years ago is now a thriving patch of useless elephant grass.

The problem I had with growing the BOSS in order to use the stock was it tended to mold at the joints, and those that didn't mold were full of insect eggs. As long as I fed it fresh and clean it was fine, and most was eaten as long as it was green. I grew the ones from my feed bag (I filled the bird feeder with BOSS, and the birds spilled them... I just never weeded them out!) Sprout them in the window sills durring the winter. They are good protein and have a nutty flavour. Bunnies love this treat, but they are also good in human foods (salads and stir fry).

The corn stalk will have the same mold issue, it was one of the first things I read about corn stalks as feed...

Radishes? I once tried to feed my iguana radish sprouts (like alfalfa sprouts)... I had no idea why she turned them down and scowled at me. THEY BURN! The greens taste just like hot radish. If your buns like radish, then maybe, but do some more research...

Zuchinni may be a good treat for once in a while or munching, but I stay away from it as a dependable/staple nutrition type food. Like celery it has next to no nutrition, just lots of water and fiber. I feed it to my iguana like "potato chips", because while she LOVES it, and it's not dangerous, there is simply not enough in it to make it a worthy mention on her menu. I'm sure if your rabbits will eat it they will like it's texture. They will like the leaves as long as they are very young and bright green (once they get torny mine walk away from them)

Watch out for those plants in the herb family. Mint can dry up a nursing doe (I had 2 dry up last week... I didn't know I had something from the mint family spreading across the back of my lawn). Lemon balm is mint related.

The rest of your list looks good I wish I had a willow tree in the yard...

 

[ohiogoatgirl]

okay... no green beans. no mint family. (i wonder if there is any wild mint family plant growing in the goat pasture... their milk production is super low... hm?) cucumbers as treats only. i think the cattails are the "latifolia" kind... though i don't think i've seen another type of cattail..? i'm not thinking i could possibly harvest too many! the "cattail patch" is about 3 acres! now i'm off to look up info on how to grow new willow trees from the new growth withes.

 

[akane]

While some beans definitely shouldn't be fed uncooked we fed lots of raw green beans in previous years. Never had a problem with any animal. The guinea pigs were getting bags of it a day before they stopped squeaking for vegetables cause they were tired of getting beans and tomatos as winter got close. :lol: The sugar gliders love to strip the raw beans out of the pod. That and snap peas they go nuts for but we limit them to one pod a night due to their need for a high calcium diet. I dumped about a gallon ziplock bag of green/pole beans in the rabbit colony every other day and 3 or 4 handfuls to my pair of indoor mini rex for a good month before we managed to get through all the pole beans this time last year. There's always something I over plant every year. We produced kits fine all through last fall and winter. Didn't have any of the issues we are having the end of this year. I'm thinking I just have too many first time does and bucks after keeping various offspring from last year and that's causing our higher losses and smaller litters this year.

 

[Frosted Rabbits]

The cattails-- Latifolia is the native species-- and in many areas, on the endangered/threatened species lists. The Augusta is non native, and is taking over the habitats-- It takes over by numbers and by hybridizing--
Typhus latifolia has broad leaves, a thick 'cattail' and NO SPACE between the male and female parts of the flower. The T Augusta is narrow leaved, less diameter in the flower, and a space between the male and female part of the flower
I didn't say not to feed cattails-- just don't feed the endangered ones, okay?
OH, ifyou wish toharest cattails, for drying-- the time to do it is when the tips of the leaves just start to turn a bit brown-- by this time, the plant has stored enough energy in it's roots to be able to grow the next spring...