Suburban Apathy

     Has anything really changed in America since "The Feminine Mystique" was written in 1963? Moreover I would put it out there that people that work frequently, if not more often, feel unfulfilled, with the exception of entrepreneurs and small business owners. The apathy of suburbia, which crosses gender barriers nowadays, is a large part of the organic, local food movement, but it is about much more than food. It is about the need for artistic, creative thought and interactions with peers. It is about a need for, well, everything.

Scrub Trees for Survival Fodder

     There has been a growing movement for farmers to seek additional feed sources for drought seasons and winter. Traditionally farmers would set aside dry feed or silage for the winter, but many have found themselves unprepared for warm seasons of extreme drought. This, like everything else, makes pastured meat more expensive.

     The Australians have really been looking into this problem, and they have suggested planting trees for fodder during drought. If done with alley-cropping techniques, this can actually increase pasture production thanks to the windbreaks and shade the trees will produce.

     If your animals are having trouble accepting the survival fodder, or you aren't sure what to feed them, more information is here. Rabbits can eat anything horses can eat, and I think goats and cattle as well. 

     Some of the best agricultural information is coming from the tropics these days.

Once fodder trees began to be planted on-farm, the 

technology spread rapidly throughout the region, as

farmers quickly realized the nutritional benefits of 

feeding fresh leaves to their cows.

Privet, Ligustrum japonicum

Uses: Xeriscaping, Wildlife. Native to: Japan
     This exotic shrub is widely planted as a privacy hedge. It should be considered for other reasons though, because it is very attractive to birds, bees, and butterflies. It grows very well in sand and full sun.
     Although a member of the olive family, all parts are known to be toxic. I am unable to find actual research on this, and relatives of this plant have been found to kill horses.
     Not a native, but not an invasive either. Despite statements made on gardening websites, the State of Florida officially has not found privet in undisturbed areas, so it is considered a safe non-native. I would definitely landscape with this and other plants if I was attempting to xeriscape a property. I would concur with IFAS on this one; Ligustrum does not reseed as others say it does.
     Members of the Ligustrum family have been used in Europe for adding natural color to clothing.

Raw Meat May Not be Enough for Your Cat

     Recently a study was completed at a zoo in Illinois regarding the raw meat diet. It covered at least 225 large felids who were fed diets of raw beef, bison, elk, and horse. Care was taken to ensure the meat was as fresh as possible, though the meats were trimmed for the cats.
     It can be inferred that our house cats have the same nutritional needs as the larger cats.
     It was found that though the meats were digested readily, the nutritional needs of the cats were not completely met, and the cats were lacking in essential fatty acids. The elk diet was lacking in overall fats.
     I'm not about to travel to harvest some bison for my cat, so I've sent an email to the person in charge of the study, which overall, I thought was done well. The sample size was adequate to draw the conclusions presented (unlike some medical studies!) This study would be much more useful/practical if it focused on readily-available local meat sources.

My email:

How well did the cats (large or small) do on a diet of rabbit, guinea pig, mice, and small game birds like quail and pigeon?

I only ask because that kind of dish is much more likely to be what most people are going to want to feed their pet cats were cat food prices to increase.

What kind of natural source would you recommend for the missing essential acids? Maybe grasshoppers, eggs, fish, or Black Soldier Fly Larvae? 

Kelly's response:

Chrissy – good questions. We have not tested any of those ingredients in cats because our main focus has been on large captive exotic cats.  To apply more data to small captive exotics and domestic cats, we recently performed a study in which many smaller prey items, including rabbits, mice, rats, quail, and chicks, were analyzed for nutrient composition (protein, fat, etc.).  These data have not been published yet.  We have not tested the digestibility of those items in domestic or exotic cats though.

 As for fatty acid content, the main problem in our study was that trimmed meats had very little fat of any kind.  As long as fat is not trimmed off, numerous sources could be used.  This probably would not be an issue with whole prey items.  Those items, however, often have other problems (e.g., mineral deficiencies).  That data will be submitted for publication soon. 

     So... lesson learned, never trim the fat off of your lion's elk dinner!

Rabbit Nutrition: The Numbers

Purina Rabbit Chow Garden Recipe

 NATURAL, COMPLETE NUTRITION FOR ALL BREEDS OF RABBITS AND BUNNIES OF ALL AGES

Purina® Rabbit Chow™ Garden Recipe™ Natural AdvantEdge™ rabbit food is a fun-to-eat, wholesome blend of pellets, nutritious vegetables, fruits and seeds formulated for all breeds of rabbits and bunnies at all ages. It’s the fun way to feed your rabbits the very best!



GUARANTEED ANALYSIS

Crude Protein (Min).................................................... Crude Fat (Min).......................................................... Crude Fiber (Min)....................................................... Crude Fiber (Max)...................................................... Calcium (Ca) (Min)..................................................... Calcium (Ca) (Max).................................................... Phosphorus (P) (Min).................................................. Salt (NaCl) (Min)........................................................ Salt (NaCl) (Max) ...................................................... Vitamin A (Min)..........................................................

14.00% 2.00% 18.00% 22.00% 0.670% 1.10% 0.40% 0.20% 0.70% 3,500 IU/lb

INGREDIENTS

Dehydrated Alfalfa Meal, Ground Soybean Hulls, Wheat Middlings, Dehulled Soybean Meal, Carrot, Sunflower Seed, Papaya, Whole Oats, Cane Molasses, Ground Oat Hulls, Wheat Flour, Timothy Hay, Celery, Monocalcium Phosphate, Dicalcium Phosphate, Salt, Soybean Oil, DL-Methionine, Iron Oxide, Copper Sulfate, DL-Alpha Tocopheryl Acetate, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Menadione Sodium Bisulfite Complex, Calcium Pantothenate, Nicotinic Acid, Vitamin A Acetate, Riboflavin, Yeast Culture, Biotin, Dried Aspergillus Niger Fermentation Extract, Thiamine Mononitrate, Folic Acid, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Dried Yeast, Dried Enterococcus Faecium Fermentation Product, Dried Lactobacillus Acidophilus Ferment Product, Dried Yucca Shidigera Extract, Cholecalciferol, Cobalt Carbonate, Manganese Sulfate, Ethylenediamine Dihydriodide, Zinc Sulfate, Copper Chloride, Calcium Carbonate, Sodium Selenite.

     This nutrition label is straight from Purina's website, and they are arguably the largest producer of rabbit feed in the United States. It is known that animal food companies will buy the cheapest ingredients, regardless of source, that meets their standard of nutrition. This means that one day you could be buying pellets made of mostly alfalfa, and another day you could be buying pellets made of soybean. 

     In 1982, the Peace Corps published a pamphlet about rabbit nutrition, breaking it down simply by the type of rabbit (pregnant, resting, lactating) with nutrition profile that rabbit needs. Like people, rabbits need protein, fiber, carbohydrates, minerals, and vitamins. 
     If you were to use this to formulate your own feed, you would need to adjust the amounts for the size of your rabbits. Normally this would be measured by weight, and one kilogram is approximately 2.2 pounds.
     Overall, protein seems to be the largest limiting factor for rabbit production, as most of the minerals and fiber can come from the addition of a good quality hay. Some plant proteins are readily absorbed by the animal's digestion, others are not, and this needs to be taken into account when mixing a feed.

Girl Builds Pond, Part Seven

Papyrus, Cannas, 'Fruit Punch' Mint, Taro.

Girl Builds Pond. Part Six

Rant: Don't Read If You're Faint of Heart

     I don't usually have personal drama because after knowing what nutjobs most people are I limit my interaction with strangers in my personal life, outside of work and school that is. And am happier for it.
     But today, I noticed that all four of the hubcaps are missing off my car. They were there about two weeks ago when my dad helped me top up the tire pressure. Since I hate driving, I have maybe driven only twice since then. I quickly secured up the locks on the rabbits in the backyard.
     I don't understand why I am such a target. Is it because I live alone? Are my neighbors jealous because I have central air? Is it all crazy exes that I've dumped because they haven't treated me well? I did swear off former military guys and firefighters because they are all crazy and treat women like shit. I don't feel like I am beautiful or smart enough to make another woman so jealous as to do something like this, but anything is possible. I have a big mouth, maybe I upset someone? Maybe someone hates paramedical practitioners? I'm not working at the moment. Are people jealous of my amazing garden? How can they see it beneath all that grass?
     I seriously doubt someone stole them for their own use. My tires are ridiculously small and flimsy, they have to be special ordered from the tire store because they sams and walmart don't carry them. The hubcaps, are, of course, correspondingly tiny.
    I was just teased about the new clothesline, that someone might come up and steal my laundry from my carport. I laughed it off. Sure, that person should probably be the first one I suspect, but he would have nothing to gain from vandalizing me.
     So, WTF? FML.

Girl Builds Pond, Part Five

Girl Builds Pond, Part Four