It's About Liberty: A Conservative Forum
Topics => TEOTWAWKI => Topic started by: John Florida on August 06, 2014, 01:40:56 PM
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I know that by now you're all tired of me with the rabbits thing as a survival food but I was watching the nuts on "Dooms day preppers" and I saw something that I found very interesting so I thought I would put it up for a discussion and see what pans out. Just ignore the organic nonsense.Because it's about cutting cost and having food for the the animals if the crap hits the fan.
Sprouting your own Organic Fodder for your Animals (Chicken & Rabbit Feed) (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2haxOZNua7I#ws)
Fodder Presprouting (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=td6vQxSPjag#)
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I just started that a couple weeks ago.
My girls free range and aren't yet thrilled with fodder.
I investigated a lot of methods but ended up with a quite simple one.
I don't have time to go into detail now but would be glad to share my limited wxperience a little later this evening
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No, JF, not tired of it, because I think you have a point.
Matter of fact, when somebody at Grouchy's pointed at the following thread, I remembered your interest:
http://www.ar15.com/forums/t_10_19/671216_My_backyard_suburban_farm.html&page=1 (http://www.ar15.com/forums/t_10_19/671216_My_backyard_suburban_farm.html&page=1)
Lots of good information there in what the man is doing, I think.
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be waiting for it.
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The thing that got me on the prepper show was the claim that one pound of grain made six pounds of feed which is a hell of a return on investment. He also claimed that he could make more meat per pound of feed with rabbits than he could with cattle and with a hell of a lot less space.
The other thing was that he could increase his production of more meat animals in a hurry if he needed to cause of the rapid breeding that rabbits can do. As the saying goes"like rabbits"The grain turn around is 7 days so the feed cycle isn't a problem either.
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Not sure why the other thread was locked but I am in the middle of a fodder project. And starting meat rabbits.
If this is a topic not appropriate, feel free to delete.
I first heard of "fodder" about a month ago.
Fodder is supposed to be a miracle and a complete feed for a number of animals.
After a lot of research, I jumped in and am about 2 weeks into this.
I am using wheat. It cost me $9/bushel.
Chicken feed costs me $16 for a 50# bag.
I bought 8 cheap plastic dishpans for $1 each.
Without going through every detail of the very simple process, I was feeding by the seventh day.
What I have is a "mat of sprouted seeds, sprouts and wheatgrass 4" high.
I imagine the claim of 6# of feed is about right.
I use 3/4 or less of a quart can of wheat.
I doubt if it's a pound
My chickens and ducks free range during the day.
I feed them every morning by tearing the mat apart and putting some outside in their yard and some in the coop in their feeder.
In the week or so that I have been feeding, I only gave bought feed once because my sprout wasn't ready.
That and any forage is all I've given.
I agree with the concept that one doe rabbit can produce 70 # of meat.
Can't prove it yet.
Just got my breeding stock last week and they're too young yet.
If anyone wants me to elaborate more, let me know
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My point to this was a cheaper way of feeding animals. The storage of feed since it's a dry grain is simpler and and easier than trying to find pellets in a pinch.When you talk about a six to one return for you grain that's huge. And like I said before stepping up production of breeding stock and feed is not a long term problem.
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Never mind I didn't know I could unlock it. I probably locked it myself not on purpose. Sorry.
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If some wants to merge my thread into this one, I'm ok with that.
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I agree that it seems to be cheaper.
Not a lot of time involvement either.
I spend, at most, 10 minutes in the morning and evening.
I don't think it's far fetched to say I may get 300# of feed from 50# of wheat.
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I came this close -><- to buying chicks this spring. I think once I get below a dozen projects (!) I'm gonna build the coup and enclosure for next season.
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I came this close -><- to buying chicks this spring. I think once I get below a dozen projects (!) I'm gonna build the coup and enclosure for next season.
Just remember that they're small when you get them and it's easy to buy a hell of a lot more than you need. Too many eggs isn't a problem when you give them to family but the feed is the problem,if you doo regular feed it can get costly unless you're selling eggs if you can in your area.
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I agree that it seems to be cheaper.
Not a lot of time involvement either.
I spend, at most, 10 minutes in the morning and evening.
I don't think it's far fetched to say I may get 300# of feed from 50# of wheat.
From what I'm seeing all you need is 1/2 to 3/4 of an inch in a pan.Does that sound about right?
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The rabbits sound like a great idea, but I'd never get my wife to eat one.
I may give the chickens a chance. She like chicken and eats eggs.
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The rabbits sound like a great idea, but I'd never get my wife to eat one.
I may give the chickens a chance. She like chicken and eats eggs.
If God forbid she ever got hungry enough she would not only eat it but she my process it herself. ::hysterical::
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Looks like JF's thread was accidentally locked and unlocked. So I'm gonna merge....
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Rabbit tastes like chicken.
I use a larger diced tomato can. 28oz?
I fill it about 3/4 full; just up to the rings.
I soak it for 12 hours (overnight) with enough water to cover it by a couple inches.
I add 1/2 capful of bleach for mold.
In the morning, I dump my bucket of soaked seeds in a dish pan full of holes on the bottom and rinse the hell out of it to get the bleach off.
Each morning and each evening, I rise every tray/pan, until I "harvest"
It's usually sprouted by the beginning of the third day
If I can figure out how to get pics here, I'll post some.
(http://itsaboutliberty.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=11848.0;attach=359)
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This young lady has a system for conserving water if you uses city water and it can get costly. Or in a shortage situation.
Step by Step Tutorial on Growing Sprouted Fodder for Small (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RX4VoV7DeG8#ws)
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I looked at a lot of those things, John.
At this point, I wanted to experiment.
Besides the wheat, I only have $8 in mine.
As I go along, I will get more elaborate
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Did anybody look through the thread-link I posted? There's some about growing feed/fodder in it.
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Did anybody look through the thread-link I posted? There's some about growing feed/fodder in it.
Yep - read it and bookmarked it. Looking at the pictures the OP provided I immediate recognized the background and said: "Hey, that guy lives in Western Washington!" The next post he confirms that he does indeed live on Puget Sound about an hour north of me.
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I'm gonna have to dig into this topic some more and then run it by my BIL, he raised rabbits growing up, and their meat is supposed to be pretty good, that and the aforementioned quick breeding cycles...if this solves the feed issue then chicken and rabbits seem the best SHTF meat supply (and egg!) solution. And I don't know about rabbits, but isn't some measure of disease prevention required for either? Maybe we've had this discussion before...getting a deja vu vibe. Anyway, good thread, one I'll be referencing often I suspect!
::thumbsup::
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I'm gonna have to dig into this topic some more and then run it by my BIL, he raised rabbits growing up, and their meat is supposed to be pretty good, that and the aforementioned quick breeding cycles...if this solves the feed issue then chicken and rabbits seem the best SHTF meat supply (and egg!) solution. And I don't know about rabbits, but isn't some measure of disease prevention required for either? Maybe we've had this discussion before...getting a deja vu vibe. Anyway, good thread, one I'll be referencing often I suspect!
::thumbsup::
Yeah rabbits seem to be the way to go-- provided your wife isn't allergic and will die if she touches them.. and yes they can be a disease vector - as can chickens.
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My father raised them for years because of a cholesterol issue and his doctor said he could eat all he wanted and since his first love BEEF was off the table he did that. But the only problem he ever had was ear mites which he cleaned up with peroxide on a paper towel and a few drops of mineral oil.
His thing was to keep the cages clean as hell and their food and water fresh and no over crowding ever. He had a thing for Flemish giants because of their growth rate versus food needs.