Homesteader's rabbit powered indoor grow

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Homesteader

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Downsizing the grow rooms for this run and working at moving the grow room to a container by this summer but for the time being I am going to run about 6 plants indoors and grow them with ONLY rabbit poop and rabbit urine (as well as gypsum and native dirt). Rabbit manure is a cold manure which means that it isn't high in salts and can be used immediately without the need for flushing the sodium first. The NPK of rabbit terd is about 2.5-1.5-.5 and the urine is loaded with the same and high in calcium carbonate. Rabbits don't metabolize calcium the same way as other animals, so any excess is expelled in urine.
Last year we had a total of 18 rabbits but now we are down to a half dozen for the winter months. I love my rabbits. We raise meat rabbits but I prefer to eat chicken so I keep the breeders on the ready in case shit hits the fan and food supply becomes short.

Growing a few kush crosses to look for a summer keeper as well as two mimosas I had as a freebie and a Tangerine Dream. I think i am going to shy away from all landraces this year and just focus on quality hybrids for this summer. Im still getting burned from growing shit smoke last year and hope to change that and get the jars refilled. ANyhow happy new year to you all and Ill post more as it comes.
 
Homesteaders rabbit powered indoor grow
Homesteader

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Rabbits need about 60-70% of their diet to be grass, weed branches or hay (or so they say) to keep them healthy. I just give them constant hay or green grass/cannabis leaves and branches as well as a maple/oak/apple branches for them to strip and chew almost constantly. They love ripe banana and watermelon and with 5 kids I have a lot of food scraps so my chickens and rabbits live it up for the most part. They do get some pellets but mostly in the winter. The only big downfall with rabbits is keeping them cool in the summer. Shade is a must.

I could probably give them some extra sweet potato although Im not sure it will be needed. Worth trying though.
 
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Homesteader

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A few photos of the does for this year and how I am capturing the urine. I have 3 bucks also but one is nasty and attacks me when he can so I may part ways with him soon.
These cages are in the greenhouse but that only works for a few cold months. I think rabbits are happy in 36" cages so that is what I build. 18" high so they can stretch. Nothing pretty but it works.
 
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Homesteader

Homesteader

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I forgot to mention how popular rabbit urine is as a pesticide and fertilizer in Africa. Nigeria in particular.
Urine is mixed with water and sprayed on a wide variety of crops with much success. This has opened up a small but available market for the young entrepreneur/farmer.
allafrica.com

Rabbit Urine the New Liquid Gold for Nigerian Farmers

The National Agricultural Land Development Authority has said that it has harvested over 30,000 litres of rabbit urine and 1,000 kilograms of rabbit droppings for fertilizer production in the country. Farmers using rabbit urine in the production save on pesticide and fertilizer costs as the...
allafrica.com allafrica.com
 
Homesteader

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www.mdpi.com

Effect of Rabbit Urine on the Larval Behavior, Larval Mortality, Egg Hatchability, Adult Emergence and Oviposition Preference of the Fall Armyworm (Spodoptera frugiperda J.E. Smith)

The fall armyworm (FAW) (Spodoptera frugiperda J.E. Smith) is a major cereal pest threatening food security in Africa. African smallholder farmers apply various indigenous pest management practices, including rabbit urine; however, there is no scientific evidence for its efficacy. The FAW eggs...
www.mdpi.com www.mdpi.com

"Rabbit urine has several merits when it is used as a fertilizer and pesticide—it can be cheaply sourced in sufficient volumes, it contains a high level of nitrates, phosphorus and potassium, which are needed by the plant to grow, and it is environmentally friendly and non-toxic [26]."
 
PipeCarver

PipeCarver

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Homesteader said:
www.youtube.com

Selling rabbit urine is a "cash cow'' for my business

Imagine selling urine! Yep, ... we meet James, a rabbit farmer who makes more money selling urine than even the rabbits he rears!! He also believes that as a...
www.youtube.com www.youtube.com
Click to expand...
That sounds interesting, the guy said Urine and droppings is all the fertilizers you need for you crops. nice to have waste products that aren't waste products. Nice cycle, I'd grow attached to the dam bunnies and they'd end up pets.....I've never killed for my meat ( other than fish & seafood ) and I couldn't start with bunnies. I'm a city boy that moved to the country.......with close access to pizza
 
Homesteader

Homesteader

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Killing bunnies is awful and not something I like doing so we only keep rabbits in case the food supply crumbles which seems more likely today than yesterday. Rabbit is delicious although I don't like the small bones to be honest. As meat goes though there is not much better than rabbit for health/economics/environment. You can raise a lot of rabbit meat quickly with just grass and water.
 
Rabbit vs white meat david saracino 1 1470847681
Homesteader

Homesteader

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Typically I do not collect the urine and just clean up the hay/ground/shavings under their cages and throw it somewhere in the garden that needs it but for the purpose of this thread and to also see if there is a valid reason for me to separate it. I like the idea of using urine as a pesticide so I will try that this summer and see if its worth it as well.
Ill probably try it out on something other than cannabis or spinach though.
 
Homesteader

Homesteader

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SO here is how I do it or have been for a few years and like this way. The large bags are filled with leaves from my forest and then topped with the soil/rabbit soil mix. The leaves will pack down to about a 2 inch mat by the end of the grow and the leaves will be drained of everything but veins. I love growing with leaves, maybe because the tannins or maybe because it is cheap AF.

I put the five hybrids in 30 or 40 gallon grow bags. They may even be 45 gallons now that I think about it. Starting some potatoes for the early greenhouse in the one gallon bags. They have been in the dirt for a few weeks already. Taking the AC out of this room soon so Ill have to finish these sometime in may I think so Ill veg it for around few months.
 
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Homesteader

Homesteader

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It may be bro science to some and you may bring in a straggler or three in terms of pests but if you are an organic grower, you should look into using leaves and whether it helps you achieve a cheaper and better method than without. Leaves are easy to come by. Pile em up and spread manure/dirt over top. Plant a few months later.

Taking a Closer Look at Tannins​


USDA ARS Online Magazine Vol. 58, No. 10

agresearchmag.ars.usda.gov agresearchmag.ars.usda.gov
 
E

elusiveshame

1,323
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Homesteader said:
It may be bro science to some and you may bring in a straggler or three in terms of pests but if you are an organic grower, you should look into using leaves and whether it helps you achieve a cheaper and better method than without. Leaves are easy to come by. Pile em up and spread manure/dirt over top. Plant a few months later.

Taking a Closer Look at Tannins​


USDA ARS Online Magazine Vol. 58, No. 10

agresearchmag.ars.usda.gov agresearchmag.ars.usda.gov
Click to expand...

I’ve thought about that, but I have a lot of black oak trees surrounding my property, so I can’t do anything like that as the juglone would likely kill my plants.
 
Mikedin

Mikedin

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Homesteader said:
Downsizing the grow rooms for this run and working at moving the grow room to a container by this summer but for the time being I am going to run about 6 plants indoors and grow them with ONLY rabbit poop and rabbit urine (as well as gypsum and native dirt). Rabbit manure is a cold manure which means that it isn't high in salts and can be used immediately without the need for flushing the sodium first. The NPK of rabbit terd is about 2.5-1.5-.5 and the urine is loaded with the same and high in calcium carbonate. Rabbits don't metabolize calcium the same way as other animals, so any excess is expelled in urine.
Last year we had a total of 18 rabbits but now we are down to a half dozen for the winter months. I love my rabbits. We raise meat rabbits but I prefer to eat chicken so I keep the breeders on the ready in case shit hits the fan and food supply becomes short.

Growing a few kush crosses to look for a summer keeper as well as two mimosas I had as a freebie and a Tangerine Dream. I think i am going to shy away from all landraces this year and just focus on quality hybrids for this summer. Im still getting burned from growing shit smoke last year and hope to change that and get the jars refilled. ANyhow happy new year to you all and Ill post more as it comes.
Click to expand...
Really interested in this, gunna be really cool to see it to the end 😁👍👍
 
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