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RE: Permaculture Series - Residential Scale Rabbitry
It sounds like you had a lot of learning in the last 2-1/2 years! Why is your experiment ending? I think your setting in a hot, dry, desert climate was particularly challenging. From the heat, and from the challenge of having enough vegetation for them to eat. Looking forward to learning more from you!
The wife wanting them out of the backyard was reason #1. The butchering part of the process was another big reason I let them go, I didn't enjoy that. I have enjoyed the learning experience, but now that I've obtained a basic understanding of how they integrated into this setting I'd rather spend my time with other work.
The heat was definitely the biggest difficulty to overcome. My males were sterile the first 9 months I had them because I tried to keep them in cages and cool them down with ice as many places recommend. Using a cage connected to some contained contact with the earth completely solved it though.
Glad to have contributed something useful, thank you.
Thanks. That's a practical and realistic response, for sure. There is a lot involved with having animals, and especially for food. It will be interesting to learn how you've adjusted your system without them.
On a daily basis, it only took 5-10 minutes/day to care for the rabbits unless there was any work building cages or pens or anything like that. The ability to be there every day was mandatory though and that's where I won't be able to commit the needed attention to them. The latest post I put up shows how I've re-purposed some material I used for their shelters. Hopefully all the compost leads to a happy garden this year as well, only time will tell.
That daily responsibility is one reason I don't have any food animals, too. It's hard enough to get neighbors to feed a couple cats, lol, when I go out of town. Enjoy your compost! : )