backyard rabbit meat

09 May 2016 No Comments

Bungled Show Sale – 15% off

IMG_1347Stock overflow! My car broke down on the way to the show last weekend! I’m $500 in the hole from unexpected car repairs, and couldn’t make it to the show to complete my sales. Plus out the show money!! I need to unload my extra stock in a hurry so I’m doing a sale. Bigger sale if you buy 5 or more – 20% off. Entire herd of each breed – talk to me for making a deal.

Come get Harlies, Hotot, Beveren. Also have a pair of Lionhead plus a baby. You need to pick up the rabbits from Occidental or Sebastopol within the next week, by May 17, 2016. This doesn’t apply to future show sales or animals transported that I have to drive more than 20 mins to meet transport.

Blanc de Hotot are from around the country, purebred lines, import stock from Ludivine in Canada from France, and Autumn in Washington from Germany.

Beveren are excellent lines including Calloway.

We had 25 litters this spring and no room to house growing juniors, nor even enough freezer space for all of them. We’re up to our eyeballs and are only selling off the best of the best – the rest goes you-know-where. So come get them!

We’re downsizing the number of breeds we are carrying so that we can really focus on our very favorites – Beveren and Belgian Hare. And, trying out the new Silver Fox. All of these are rare breeds and if I could, would continue with all of them but logistics of raising such a big herd have become an issue and we want to cut our permanent stock in half.

After Tuesday there are sales on multiple animals – 3 gets 10% off, and 5 gets 20% off, during this herd closeout sale, until all Harlequin and Blanc de Hotot are gone.

Hotot Stock Sale (not all rabbits are pictured, have more juniors & seniors) click here

Harlequin Stock Sale (not all rabbits pictured, have more juniors & seniors) click here

Hope to hear from you soon!

by Trickster Hares in Beveren, Blanc d'Hotots, For Sale, Harlequin, Lionhead Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

A True American Heritage Breed

26 Nov 2015 No Comments

A True American Heritage Breed

We’ve grown by one heritage breed! A true American heritage breed – developed right here in America. I didn’t really think about it until it was pointed out to me, most rabbit breeds were imported originally. The Silver Fox was developed here, a hundred years ago. Its also on the endangered list by the Livestock Conservancy.

It was bred to provide an inexpensive knockoff of Silver Fox fur (the fox). I am opposed to the fur trade – when it involves raising animals for slaughter just for their fur – like minks or foxes, intelligent wild species. On the other hand, rabbit is dual purpose fur and meat and I’d very much like to see a comeback in the rabbit fur trade in America. The fur breeds have really suffered and are on the verge of extinction due to the shifting politics around fur – and yet these breeds took many decades to develop. It is possible someday we may need them again. Perhaps when the glorification of petroleum based synthetic clothing and faux fur blows over. Now, mind you, I have nothing against faux fur but come on. People are wearing synthetic cloth and there is no comparison to natural fibers in texture, quality, breathability and warmth.

Beveren is another fur breed I focus on improving the unique qualities of the fur, and now the Silver Fox. Not at the expense of other qualities, but I do select for fur. I tan my pelts. I have no idea what I’m going to do with all these pelts but I now have an industrial sewing machine in my art studio, so that is a step in the right direction.

So, I’d been leaning towards the Champagnes for quite some time, they are just gorgeous, I love their changing fur color. However, every breeder I spoke to said not heat tolerant above the 90’s. Well its been 106 this summer in our coastal town. Hotter and hotter every year its never been this hot. If this is the way of the world, I’m going to need to invest in rabbits with good heat tolerance. (And my other breeds do fit that bill, have not lost one to heat yet). I’ll have to leave the Champagnes for those in cooler climes.

So that is how I ended up bringing home my one Silver Fox from National Convention, who is expecting, and is very gentle and inquisitive. She enjoys being rubbed and greets me in the front of the cage – more interested in rubs than food, like many of my Beveren. I am delighted to have brought home another gentle breed with personality. I don’t like a dull rabbit, and I don’t like them hard to handle. So far the Silver Fox is gentle, curious, interactive, and has dual purpose of meat and fur, so they’re pretty much on par with Beveren, although I think the weight gain on a Beveren is much faster. We’ll see. I’ll report back later after some litters!

 

by Trickster Hares in Beveren, Silver Fox Tags: , , , , , ,

26 Nov 2015 No Comments

Best Breeds for Colony Rearing

I get questions about colony raising all the time, frequently from people who are also interested in Beveren. Since I raise 6 different breeds of rabbits its been interesting to note which ones do well co-housed in rabbit herds.

Surprisingly, its the American. They are hands-down the most laid back and willing to get along with each other with very little scuffling. Its not to be said I haven’t had some roughed up does from a dominance struggle, I do, but they’re more willing to go along with the social order once established.

Beveren are not what I’d recommend for a beginner. Mixing a few Beveren in there like I do might work but I notice when they ovulate they get cranky and can pick on the other rabbits. Not all the Beveren, just some. Beveren can be cage territorial sometimes too – an indication they have less tolerance for lots of competition.

My Americans on the other hand seem to thrive in the social setting. Do not put your show animals into a colony and don’t ever introduce adults. In the colony there are sometimes scuffles – particularly if you take the lead doe or second in command out for breeding – the other does will quickly box each other to see who will take her place! A torn ear and mouthfuls of ripped fur do happen.

The Harlequin do ok out there too but they sure are feisty. When the pecking order is established things seem to simmer down to peaceful. A boxing Harlequin is a sight to behold – enormous leaps in the air – they are the acrobats out of all my breeds. With their splashy colors, they’re natural performers. If Harlequins were people they’d be the gymnasts, Olympic track runners, and Cirque du Soleil performers. I kid you not.

My mixed blood Belgians actually do excellent in the colony. I have not put my full blooded Belgian Hares into a colony setting. I will as my numbers recover from our crash last year. They’re pretty social and non-aggressive. My Belgian buck Jack had a particular fondness for the colony, and did really well in there. Unfortunately I didn’t PUT him in there!! He was a naughty boy.

I stopped putting Hotots into the colony pen as they kept disappearing. I do not know why. They simply may not have run from overhead predators, I am really not sure. Rabbits have to be smart to thrive in the colony. We do not put bird netting over the entire rabbit pasture, just the core home area where the babies sometimes pop out of the ground.

We have a new breed in our mix, the Silver Fox, so in the year to come will see how that breed does in the colony setting too. So far, they seem like a very laid back personality.

 

 

by Trickster Hares in Americans, Belgian Hare, Beveren, Blanc d'Hotots, Harlequin, Raising in Colonies Tags: , , , ,

15 Jul 2015 No Comments

Last Chance to Enter the Raffle!!

IMG_4609 Last call to get raffle tickets for a pair of Beveren! The drawing is tonight at 7:30pm PST, you could win a lovely pair of Beveren for $10! (Sell for $130/pair) My Beveren do very good at the shows, often winning Best of Breed. Dam won Best of Fur at one of the largest CA shows last year. Trickster Hares Farm lines are out of Calloway & Barbi Brown , the buck’s sire is from Constellation Rabbits whom I got for his giant ears, fur length and goofy disposition. Last chance to get started in Beveren for next to nothing which may change your life! They changed mine!! http://tricksterhares.com/raffle/

And look how awesome my raffle tickets turned out:

IMG_4611 Meg WMaybe it was overkill, but I had fun.

I’ve got two words for you: Get Beveren.

Seriously, you won’t regret it.

by Trickster Hares in Uncategorized Tags: , , , , , , ,

11 Jun 2015 7 Comments

Why Eat Rabbit Meat?

IMG_0249Rabbit meat used to be as common for dinner as chicken is today. My family and grandparents all grew up eating rabbit, and raising them in their backyards. It is the protein source that got many families through the tough times of the Depression, and in Europe, WWII, according to our surviving family friends. One of the reasons rabbits were such a gem is they were quiet and could be hidden from neighbors, to have a secret source of meat! A family could raise rabbits and nobody know they were there.

Rabbit lost popularity as massive factory farms were set up – you simply cannot pack rabbits together as you can chickens. They will fight and kill each other (lucky rabbits for missing out). As people turned to cheap plentiful factory farmed (anti-biotic & hormone-laden) meat sources, rabbits got squeezed out of the picture. Its making a recent come-back, though! Here’s a list of reasons:

1. Rabbit is one of the best white meats. Being a mammal, it provides mammal-appropriate building blocks (such as tendons) that chickens do not, for those with health problems like tendonitis.

2. Rabbits are not fed corn and soy, like chickens. Chickens are a nutritional desert. Commercial rabbitries feed alfalfa pellets with some grain filler. At Trickster Hares Farm, we feed alfalfa pellets, a little barley, grass hay, and all of our vegetable scraps, yard trimmings, vegetable garden plants, harvested grass from the pasture, and vegetarian restaurant leftovers. Our rabbits eat well! They have a varied diet rich in different sources of nutrients. Oh, did I mention we pasture-raise as many as possible? Green growing grass is their natural food source, increasing their nutrition, just like cattle and sheep. We’ve likewise planted food crops just for them, such as mulberry trees and apple trees.

3. The meat has a high percentage of easily digestible protein.

4. Rabbit is very lean, containing the least amount of fat among all the other available meets.

5. Rabbit meat contains less calorie value than other meats.

6. Rabbit meat is almost cholesterol free and therefore heart patient friendly.

7. Rabbit has an almost ideal fatty acid ratio of 4:1 omega-6 to beneficial omega-3 fatty acids

8. The sodium content of rabbit meat is comparatively less than other meats.

9. The calcium and phosphorus contents of this meat or more than any other meats.

10. The ratio of meat to bone is high meaning there is more edible meat on the carcass than even a chicken.

11. Rabbit meat does not have a strong flavor and is comparable to chicken but not identical. I personally find rabbit “fills me up” on less that the amount of chicken I have to eat to feel satisfaction. Rabbit does well with all your favorite chicken recipes.

12. Rabbits are one of the most productive domestic livestock animals. Rabbits can produce 6 pounds of meat on the same feed and water as it takes a cow to produce 1 pound. That means a lighter footprint on the planet!

Thanks to Rise and Shine Rabbitry for some of the facts in this post!

by Trickster Hares in For Sale, Meat Rabbits Tags: , , , , ,