Symbiosis around the homestead....... part 1

Websters dictionary defines symbiosis as, "the living together in more or less intimate association or close union of two dissimilar organisms, a cooperative relationship." We are finding that the more symbiotic relationships that we can build between the different components of our homestead the more harmony we have, the healthier the livestock/garden/system is and the more money we save.

As I loaded old hay in the back of the truck this week I started thinking about all the ways we are integrating and building symbiotic relationships and thought "what a great idea for a blog series" so here we are.

Our first hatch of the spring.... Ducklings!

We started raising Pekin ducks last year with the purchase of 11 ducklings. We are blessed with 5 ladies who lay eggs daily so we decided to hatch some out. Our first batch started hatching last weekend, what fun!

As The Garden Grows ....... 2/17/2014

So much to catch up on! Despite some pretty cold weather (for north Florida) the garden is doing really well! With the addition of two 4 foot by 12 foot beds made from tin roofing we are up to a total of eight 4 foot by 12 foot beds giving us 384 sq feet of intensive gardening space in the big beds. We added 5 smaller beds ranging from aprox 2x2 to 3x2 plus 7 24 gallon pots. Plus two large  herb beds. Our current estimated total garden space is 500 square feet of intensive garden capacity.

Before pictures..... AKA the cute and fuzzy side of rabbit farming........

These are our current cuties. There is just something adorable and sumo wrestleresk about fat baby bunnies. These three are extra special because they are the last litter from Blossom one of our two founding does. The other founding doe and our founding buck were retired a week ago and after this litter is weened Blossom will retire as well.

The Scurvy Elephant Flock.....December 2013

We expanded the flock on the farm this year to include Pekin Ducks, more Buff Geese, Turkeys and more Delaware Chickens. Of these, the only purchased were the eleven Pekin Ducklings. The Buff Geese were from eggs hatched from our original pair. The Turkeys were eggs from a friend that we hatched out. The Delaware Chickens were from eggs from a breeding flock of 5 hens and one rooster that we selected from our original mixed flock. This was our first year incubating and hatching our own eggs. We learned a lot!

Rabbit Breeding Experiment

When we started acquiring stock for the Rabbitry we bought two Flemish Giant does to use in a cross experiment. Although they get very large, Flemish Giants put most of their energy into bone structure before putting much flesh on. This makes them a less than optimal choice for meat production. I hypothesized that by breeding a standard buck to a Giant doe I might be able to achieve a happy medium between size and feed conversion. The first litter of crosses is 18 days old and represented by the grey kit on the left. The brown kit on the right is 20 days old, from the same sire but a standard mom. As you can see although not marked, there is a size difference in the kits. The Flemish mom kindled 7, 2 were dead at or shortly after birth, a third runt died the next day and we were left with 2 nice sized kits (the grey being one of them) and 2 extreme runts which have miraculously survived. The second Flemish doe kindled 14 nice sized kits on the cage floor without having pulled any fur, all were dead by the time we found them. This being the case between the strange assortment of sizes in the first doe and the second does dead litter we have little data so far. The plan is to keep litter size and weaned weigh info on these litters and evaluate the results.

What "out of the box" experiments have you run on your farm?

Here are some great rabbit recipes from Larson Rabbitry

Recipies

Barbecued Marinated Rabbit

Entertaining on a busy schedule? Prepare this recipe the night before - the longer it sits, the better it tastes! Preparation time, 15 minutes; Marinating time, 3 to 4 hours or overnight; Cooking time, 1.5 to 2 hours. Makes eight servings.

                 heavy duty aluminum foil
                         cooking oil
2                   medium carrots, diced                  2
2                   medium onions, diced                  2
2                   small tomatoes, diced                  2
2                  cloves garlic, crushed                    2
2               whole rabbits (1.25 kg each)           2
                less heart, liver and kidneys
2                   whole cinnamon sticks                 2
125 mL                   dry sherry                             1/2 cup
10 mL                   dried parsley                          2 tsp
5 mL              dried oregano or rosemary        1 tsp
5 mL                        salt                                        1 tsp
                    freshly ground pepper

Prepare foil pouch, big enough to enclose the rabbits, by joining two large sheets of foil together, forming seam. Brush foil with oil. Place prepared vegetables and garlic on foil. Arrange rabbits over vegetables and place cinnamon stick in empty cavity of each rabbit.

In small bowl, combine remaining ingredients and pour over rabbits. Close foil pouch tightly to completely seal in marinade, removing most of the air. Refrigerate for 3 to 4 hours or overnight.

Place foil pouch on 180°C (350°F) barbecue grill, on the top shelf, or bake in 180°C (350°) oven, for 1 to 1.5 hours (flip over after 45 minutes), or until rabbit is almost cooked. Carefully open foil and lift rabbits onto lightly oiled barbecue grill or oven broiling rack. Brush rabbits lightly on both sides with oil. Cook, turning frequently until evenly grilled or broiled on both sides (about 10 to 15 minutes each side). Remove from grill or oven; discard cinnamon sticks and serve.

*** A store bought marinade can replace spices to make things easier! ***  If using marinade sauce, brush extra sauce onto rabbit after removing from foil to glaze the meat.

 Braised Rabbit with Strawberry Mint Sauce

A refreshing sauce of strawberries and mint provides a delincious contrast to the mild flavor of tender brazed rabbit.  Preparation time, 10 - 20 minutes; Cooking time, 40 minutes. Makes four servings.

25 mL                      butter                    2 tbsp
5 mL                  red wine vinegar                1 tsp
2 mL                   ground cinnamon              1/2 tsp
1 mL                    ground cloves               1/4 tsp
4              legs of rabbit, 2 front, 2 back            4
125 mL                  rabbit stock                1/2 cup
                      or chicken stock
125 mL          dry white wine or apple juice       1/2 cup
500 mL               strawberries, fresh             2 cups
                      or thawed frozen
3 to 4           sprigs of fresh peppermint          3 or 4
                 or 10 mL dried mint (2 tsp)

In a large skillet, over medium high heat, melt butter.  Stir in vinegar, cinnamon and cloves.  Add rabbit pieces and brown lightly on either side, about 5 to 7 minutes.  Add stock and wine or apple juice.  Bring mixture to a boil, then cover and reduce heat to simmer.  Cook rabbit 30 minutes or until tender.

In blender or food processor fitted with metal blade, process strawberries and mint until smooth.  Remove rabbit from skillet and transfer to serving platter; keep warm.  Drain cooking liquid from skillet and add strawberry puree.  Heat sauce over medium heat 3 to 5 minutes stirring continuously until warm (do not boil.)  Pour sauce over rabbit.  Garnish with strawberry slices and mint. 

Saddle of rabbit in mustard sauce

You will need:
1/2 pound fileted saddle of rabbit
3/4 cup of heavy cream
1 tablespoon Dijon Mustard
1 tsp. coarsely ground black pepper
1 or 2 cloves of garlic

Dredge the meats lightly in a little flour. Saute until browned. Heat cream, mustard, pepper, and garlic in saute pan until boiling. Add the browned rabbit, cook until the rabbit is cooked through and the sauce is thickened, about 4 or 5 minutes. Serves two. 

 Boneless Rabbit Stew

1 whole rabbit
flour
ground black pepper
garamasala
slow cooker or casserole dish
vegetables to taste (celery is good!)

Cut the rabbit into three sections, then cut off all easily removed meat with a knife and then cut this into small (1/2 inch) cubes. Dredge cubes in flour with black pepper and garamasala to taste. Put remaining bones and meat into a saucepan and cover with water. Bring to a boil and simmer for five minutes. Put boiled bones through sieve, keeping the stock. Let bones cool. Saute cubes in small amount of vegetable oil until browned. Remove remainder of meat from cooled bones by hand. Put all ingredients (except bones!) into casserole or slow cooker, bring to the boil and then simmer until cooked.