COMPARING THE FIVE BEST BACKYARD ANIMALS
(Page 6 of 8)
More detailed how-to help can be found in the following texts: Rabbits the Modern Way ($5.95), Raising Poultry the Modern Way ($6.95), Raising Sheep the Modern Way ($6.95), Raising Milk Goats the Modern Way ($5.95), Raising the Homestead Hog ($11.95). These books are available for their list prices-plus 951 shipping an," handling on one or two titles or $2.00 on orders of three or more books from Mother's Bookshelf', 105 Stoney Mountain Road, Henderson vine, North Carolina 28791.
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ANIMAL HUSBANDRY
Good animal husbandry, the mainstay of any well-managed livestock operation, can also save feed costs and improve production.
Perhaps the easiest animal with which to demonstrate what a dramatic difference good caretaking practices can make is the backyard bunny. We'll take two examples. For the first, let's suppose that we're keeping two does and a buck rabbit. If we feed the craters a diet entirely composed of rabbit pellets, each of these ten-pound animals will consume about 120 pounds of pellets each year. The does, though, will steed an extra four to five pounds of pellets during pregnancy and nursing . . . so if our two does each have three litters, we'll buy an extra 24 to 30 pounds of pellets er year for the mother rabbits.
A bunny gains a pound of weight for each two to three pounds of pellets consumed. Therefore, if each doe averages five babies per litter, we'll haze 30 bunnies a year . . . requiring 240 to 360 pounds of pellets to bring them all to butcher weight of four pounds.
We'll harvest about two pounds of meat front each four-pound rabbit. The bottom line, then is that it will take 5.2 to 6.25 pounds of pellets for each live pound of rabbit produced . . . and 10.4 to 12.5 pounds of pellets for each pound of rabbit meat nn our dinner ruble.
Now, let's examine an ideally managed rabbitry. Such a setup will contain ten does for each buck (the optimum ratio). What's more, each doe will have five litters per year (the number commercial rabbitries strive for) instead of three, and the litters will average eight offspring each. That will cut arts investment per live pound of rabbit from 5.6-6.25 pounds of pellets to 2.95-3.98 . . . almost in half.
How can one make such a drastic reduction in feed (and therefore in costs)? First off, select rabbits that are good breeders and then choose your replacement does front large litters (thus improving the average number of offspring produced). A ratio of one buck for ten does-instead of two-will further improve the proportion of feed to harvested meat. Then, to achieve five-or even six-litters per year instead of three, wean the bunnies at four to six weeks of age (rather than waiting until they're eight or tent weeks old), and work at keeping the does bred.
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