Update on Pasture Rabbits

Here are some videos I shot this weekend of my rabbits on pasture and a NZ doe giving birth to 11 kits.

I am trying to get better at HTML and writing better blog posts but for now I am just trying to get the info out there and I will make it look pretty later.

These are some of our new PVC pens that are lighter and easier to move.

A couple of our pens under the shade of the tree

You can see our mister hanging from the tree.  We turn this on when it gets hot and we need to chill the rabbits out.

Here is a good picture of a a couple of our pens under the shade of the tree.

One of our new beautiful NZ red does.

Cali doe just chillin out

Our guard dog in action protecting the herd.

Each pen as an axle installed to which we can attach a wheel to move the pens with the tractor.

Our watering system

Pasture staring to come up, in a couple weeks we will move then pens over it and let the rabbits start to munch.

Rabbits in the News

Check out this article on Rabbit Farming in Kenya

Recipe repost from http://www.raisingrabbitsebook.com/

Meat Rabbits News
Teaching you everything you need to know about raising rabbits to survive
reposted from http://www.raisingrabbitsebook.com/

Grilling rabbit is often one of the quickest and easiest ways of cooking rabbit. Young, tender meat rabbits are best for grilling, whereas older, larger rabbits are a bit tougher and should be used for braises instead. If you're not raising your own rabbits, ask some of your local butchers if they have rabbit meat available. You just might be pleasantly surprised.

This recipe combination from The Examiner is practical for couples or for those who have a couple rabbits available to throw on the grill but aren't sure what to do with all the meat. Making risotto can be a tedious task and you want to pay close attention to the rice. The liquid must be added slowly, then allowed to completely absorb into the rice before you add more liquid.
Grilled Rabbit with Rosemary & Thyme
Ingredients

* 1 whole young rabbit (2-3 pounds), cut into 6 pieces
* Salt & pepper, to taste
* 3/4 cup of olive oil
* 3 cloves garlic
* 3 short sprigs rosemary
* 3 short sprigs thyme
* more salt and pepper
* Wood chips for grilling, if desired

Directions

1. One hour before grilling, liberally salt and pepper rabbit pieces. Soak wood chips, if desired.
2. Heat grill. Meanwhile, prepare marinade by blending olive oil, garlic, herbs, and salt & pepper. Brush rabbit with olive oil marinade and sear on hot grill.
3. Reduce heat to 300 with the lid down and grill for about 1 hour, brushing with marinade and turning over every 15 minutes. Use probe thermometer and follow temp standards of doneness for beef. (It will appear to be done long before it actually is. )

Grilled Rabbit and Mushroom Risotto
Ingredients

Making your own stock:

* 3 cups vegetable broth
* 2 cups water
* rabbit meat pulled from two or three pieces
* bones from the rabbit
* 1 clove garlic, smashed

The Risotto

* 1 T butter
* 1 shallot, diced
* 1/2 cup mushrooms, chopped
* 1 1/2 cups arborio rice
* 1/2 cup dry red wine
* 10 dried cherries, diced
* 2 sprigs thyme
* shaved parmesan cheese

Directions

For the stock:

1. Pull rabbit meat from leftover carcass.
2. Pour vegetable stock and water into medium pot. Add bones and garlic. Bring to a boil, then turn down to low heat.

For the risotto:

1. Heat butter over medium heat in a large skillet and add shallots. Saute about 5 minutes, then add in the mushrooms. After a couple more minutes, push everything to the sides and add rice. Mix through and let the rice soak up some of those flavors, then add the red wine. Cook about 3 minutes. Add cherries.
2. Mix in the broth 1/2 cup at a time, stirring it in over the course of 20-30 minutes.
3. After the rice cooks another 15-20 minutes, add 2 sprigs of thyme and the rabbit. Test the rice, and when it reaches the softness you like, remove the thyme. Serve with shaved paremesan and a pinch of grey salt or sea salt.

Happy eating!

Tiffany

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P.S. Looking for more recipes for rabbit meat? Get my recipe ebook What's for Dinner, Doc? absolutely free when you purchase the comprehensive ebook Raising Rabbits to Survive! for only $19.95. This ebook will teach you everything you need to know about raising meat rabbits from housing to butchering.

Five Excellent Meat Rabbit Breeds to Start Your Rabbitry

Posted by Tiffany on http://www.raisingrabbitsformeat.com/

There are more than 45 breeds of rabbits in the world, but only about 17 have a “commercial” (large, chubby, meaty) body type which are preferable for meat production. Characteristics which make some commercial breeds better than others are a higher meat-to-bone ratio, quick growth, fur color and ease of care.

* Californian
Adult Size: Medium (7-10 pounds/ 3.5-4.75 kilograms)
Californian rabbits were developed in the USA in the 1920’s to provide good meat and fur production. Californians are a cross of Himalayan, Standard Chinchilla and New Zealand white rabbits and are currently the second most popular meat producing rabbits in the world. The body is plump but fine-boned. Californian rabbits look very similar to the Himalayan rabbit with a predominantly white body and black on the feet, nose, ears and tail. Their average litter size is 6-8 bunnies.

* New Zealand
Adult Size: Large (8-12 pounds/ 3.6-5.4 kilograms)
Despite the name, New Zealand rabbits were first bred in America in 1916 for meat and fur production and are currently the number one meat rabbit in the United States. They come in several different colors (black, red and white) but the white rabbits are the most popular for meat production because of their large, broad, and muscular bodies. When mature, bucks weigh from 8-10 pounds and females from 9-12 pounds. New Zealand rabbits are ready to slaughter as fryers after just 2 months. Their average litter size is 8-10 bunnies.

* Florida White
Adult Size: Small (4-6 pounds/ 1.8-2.7 kilograms)
Although this rabbit is quite small, it was bred in Florida in the 1960’s as a meat rabbit which would also be functional for laboratory use. The fur is white with good density and texture, and they have a compact, meaty body, short neck, and small head.

* Palomino
Adult Size: Large (8-11 pounds/ 3.6-5 kilograms)
Palomino rabbits have a smaller bone structure than other meat rabbits which gives you a higher meat ratio. But they take a bit longer to grow. Bucks are 8-10 pounds and does usually range from 9-11 pounds. Litter size is usually 8 kits but can range from 6 to 12. Palominos come in two colors: Golden & Lynx. The Golden has an orange/brown golden color (as the name suggests) and the Lynx has a bit more grey or silver tone in the fur. They have a very docile and friendly temperament.

* Beveren
Adult Size: Medium (8-11 pounds/ 3.6-5 kilograms)
The Beveren is one of the oldest and largest breeds of fur rabbits, originating in Belgium. Their coats can be blue, white, black, brown and lilac. They are a rare breed but well tempered, clean, and smart. The fur is rather long (about 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 inches), dense and glossy. The breed is hardy and well suited for meat production because of large litter size, the young grow fairly fast, and the does are typically docile and make good mothers.

How to Tan a Rabbit Hide

By Anita Evangelista
October/November 2001

After hunting or processing livestock for the table, it's a shame to have to toss out a nice pelt. Here is a method of tanning hides that is low cost and low labor compared to other methods of “custom tanning.” I've personally used this system to tan sheepskins, deerskins, groundhog pelts, rabbit hides and goat skins. The procedure can be used for all kinds of mammal pelts when you want the fur to remain on the skin. It results in a soft, workable hide, which can be used as is or cut up for sewing projects.

Salting Fresh Skins
Fresh hides right off the animal should be cooled immediately. Trim off any flesh and scrape visible fat from the hide. Place the skin in the shade, laying it completely flat with the fur side down, preferably on a cold concrete or rock surface. When the skin feels cool to the touch, immediately cover the fleshy side completely with plain, uniodized salt.

Use three to five pounds for a sheep or deer skin. Don't skimp.
If skins aren't salted within a few hours of removal of the flesh, you might as well forget it. They will have begun to decompose and will probably lose their hair during processing.

Transport the skin flat. We've had problems with predators gnawing the edges of skins, so put the hide somewhere out of reach. You don't need to stretch the skin; just make sure it is perfectly flat, with no curled edges. If you've lost a lot of salt while moving the pelt, add more. The salt will draw moisture from the skin and liquid may pool in low spots. Just add more salt. Let the skin dry until it is crispy. This may take a few days to a couple of weeks. When completely dry, the skin is very stable and won't change or deteriorate appreciably.
Tanning Recipe

When you're ready to tan the skins, assemble the following:
7 gallons water
2 pounds (16 cups) bran flakes
16 cups plain or pickling salt (not iodized)
2 large plastic trash cans (30 gallon) and one lid
4 foot wooden stirring stick
3½ cups battery acid (from auto parts store)
2 boxes baking soda
wood rack or stretcher
neat's-foot oil
nails
wire bristle brush

This recipe makes enough tanning solution to tan four large animal skins; or ten rabbit skins; or about six medium-sized pelts such as groundhog. (Cut the recipe in half for fewer skins).A couple of hours before you plan to tan, soak the dried skins in clear, fresh water until flexible. Boil three gallons of water and pour over the bran flakes. Let this sit for an hour, then strain the bran flakes out, saving the brownish water solution. Next, bring the remaining four gallons of water to a boil. Put the 16 cups of salt in a plastic trash can. Pour the water over the salt and use the stirring stick to mix until the salt dissolves. Add the brown bran liquid. Stir.

When this solution is lukewarm, you are ready to add the battery acid. Read the warning label and first aid advice on the battery acid container. While wearing gloves and an old, long-sleeved shirt, very carefully pour the battery acid down the inside of the trash can into the solution — don't let it splash. Stir the battery acid in thoroughly.

At this point, you can peel off the hide's dried inner skin. If you have fresh skins, use as is. Add the skins to the solution and stir, pressing the skins down carefully under the liquid with the stirring stick until the skins are fully saturated. Leave them to soak for 40 minutes, stirring from time to time to make sure all parts of the hides are exposed to the solution. During the soak, fill your other trash can with clear, lukewarm water. After 40 minutes, soaking is complete. Use the stirring stick to carefully move the skins one by one into the other trash can. This is the rinsing process, which removes the excess salt from the skins. Stir and slosh the skins for about five minutes, changing the water when it looks dirty.

At this point, some people add a box of baking soda to the rinse water. Adding baking soda will neutralize some of the acid in the skin - this is good because there will be less possibility of residual acid in the fur to affect sensitive people. However, this also may cause the preserving effects of the acid to be neutralized. You need to make the choice to use baking soda based on your own end use of the skin. If skin or fur will spend a lot of time in contact with human skin, I'd use the baking soda. If the pelt will be used as a rug or wall hanging, I probably wouldn't.

Remove the hides from rinse water; they will be very heavy. Let them hang over a board or the back of a chair or other firm surface to drain. Now, using a sponge, rag or paint brush, swab the still-damp skin side of the hide with an ounce of neat's-foot oil. It should be absorbed quickly, leaving only a slight oily residue. Tack the hide to your "stretcher." We use salvaged wood pallets. Gently pull the hide as you tack it so there's some tension in the skin. No need to exert excess pressure or overstretch. Set the hide in a shady place to dry.

Your acidic tanning solution can be neutralized for disposal by adding a couple boxes of baking soda. It will froth and bubble vigorously and release a potentially toxic gas, so give it plenty of ventilation and get away from the bucket while this is happening. We have a small farm and generally pour the used solution on dirt driveways to keep them clear of weeds. Do not pour it down your drain.

Check the hide every day. When the skin side feels dry to the touch in the center, but still flexible and somewhat soft, take it down from the rack. Lay the fur side down and go over the skin with a wire bristle brush. This softens the skin and lightens the color. Don't brush heavily or excessively in one spot, just enough to give a suedelike appearance. After this, set the skin where it can fully dry for a day or so longer.

Once your friends know you can tan hides, be prepared for them to bring around their hunting trophies and livestock skins for treatment. If you decide to do this, take my advice: Don't do it for free. Commercial tanners get $25 to $45 to tan a hide, and you should price your work accordingly, even if your return is just a case of beer. Otherwise you'll find yourself swamped with every little skin in your region and left with no time for anything else. In exchange, your friends can expect to get a professional, quality job, with an upfront understanding about what might go wrong and what compensation you will get. People get very sensitive about their skins and this precaution will prevent potential misunderstandings and help you keep your friends.

From a 2001 issue of Backwoods Home magazine

Other Videos of Rabbit Tractors and Rabbits on Pasture

Cool Post from Stone & Thistle Farm On Raising Rabbits On Pasture

Monday, May 2, 2011

Rabbiting at Stone & Thistle Farm

Rabbit Rerun
Meat rabbits have been part of our farm family for nine years. When my children were young, we asked each of them to pick a “business” on the farm that they could manage independently. They were responsible for the whole project from daily animal care to recording revenue and expenses. We provided them with “seed” money and supervised their project. Katey picked rabbits to raise. We brought her to visit Charlie at Rabbit Tracks farm in Davenport and she chose two meat breeds: a New Zealand buck and three California Red does. Charlie showed her how to keep records for breeding, kindling and general care. We bought Raising Rabbits the Modern Way by Bob Bennett. Katey and Tom built rabbit hutches and bought feeders and water bottles.

Since Katey left home to be a working student at Welwyn Stable in Rhinebeck and abandoned her rabbits to lavish her love on horses, I have taken over her rabbit business.  The first thing I did was cull (slaughter – no waste; we ate them) any of the does (females) that were producing less than four kits (baby rabbits) per kindling (birth).  I kept young does out of two litters and bred them to the older buck. After several unsuccessful breedings and small litters of one, even two kits, I realized that the buck was too old.  In November, I culled the old buck (male) and bought a young, just old enough to breed buck.   Shane named him Bernard.

Winter is tough on rabbits so we provide the breeding does with cages in the barn and pack them tight with hay for warmth.  We wait until spring to breed them because the kits won’t survive in the sub-zero temperatures. Now that spring has arrived, it’s kindling time again! Using the young buck Bernard, I bred the does in March.  What they say about rabbits is not necessarily true.  Bernard was not interested in the does. Like Ferdinand the Bull, he was much more interested in smelling the green hay in his hutch.  He cowered in the corner of the hutch and stared at the doe intruder.  The Raising Rabbits manual suggested using younger, inexperienced does with Bernard since the older does may be intimidating and too agressive (so much for the older woman initiation theory.) Putting young does in several times with him would make him comfortable with breeding. And to get him in the "mood" the book suggested I tickle his sides.   I felt ridiculous getting a rabbit in the "mood", but the session worked and he bred the first doe’s head.  It took a few days for Bernard to figure out heads from tails but he finally successfully bred doe #1.  How do I know he was successful?  All bucks are different, but most of them seize and fall over on their side as if dead when the “deed is done.”  The first time my daughter bred a doe she ran off screaming for help believing that her buck was dead.  Thank goodness, to the best of my knowledge, she has not had therapy as a result of that incident.

I marked the due dates on the calendar (30 days from breeding) and a few days before the due dates, place nest boxes in their hutches. The boxes are filled with wood shavings and hay.  A few days before the does are due to kindle, they begin building their nests.  They gather the hay in their mouth and build a deep nest in the box. 

Doe gathering hay for her nest

The doe finishes building the nest with fur that they have pulled out from their chests. Some does begin pulling hair out weeks before their due date and they are practically bald at kindling time. Others pull their hair out a few  hours before they kindle.  I still get excited about opening the hutch in the morning and find the fur nest moving and wriggling.

The Nest box with newborn kits in a nest of fur, hay, shavings 

One day old kit





5 week old kits hopping in and out of their nest box

The doe nurses her kits only once or twice a day. In ten days, the kits open their eyes and in three weeks they are hopping out of the next box.

By six weeks, the doe is rebred and the kits are put in rabbit cages that move on pasture.



The cages are dragged on pasture twice a day. The growing kits have ample room to run and bounce. 

The Rabbit Cage Fleet 

Doe and her 5 week kits in pastured rabbit cage on the farm

The young rabbits or fryers are slaughtered on the farm at around 12 -14 weeks.The slaughter process is very simple and takes five minutes. The skin comes off in one pull. It makes a good muff when scraped, salted and tanned. The head and feet are discarded. Often falconers will use the head and feet for training their prey birds.

Tom slaughtering a rabbit

Rabbit meat is delicious. Older rabbits are made into rabbit stew. Stew can include almost any vegetable. Here is one of my basic rabbit stew recipes.

Rabbit Stew
4-6 Servings
3 - 4 lbs rabbit
6 potatoes, quartered
8 carrots, sliced
1 medium onion, chopped
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup beef consomme
3/4 cup beef broth
3/4 teaspoon pepper
1/4 teaspoon basil
2 bay leaves
1/4 teaspoon rosemary
1/4 teaspoon thyme


1 Cut rabbit into pieces. Layer onion, potatoes, and carrots in bottom of a crock pot. 2 Add spices to the pot. 3 Add rabbit, salt, pepper, consommé, and about 3/4 cup beef broth. 4 Cover and cook on low for 8 hours. Thicken gravy as desired. Serve with sweet potato biscuits.


Young rabbits or fryers are sautéed with garlic and butter and fresh chives or parsley. This is my favorite recipe that we serve mid summer at Fable using almost ripe pears from our neighbor’s pear trees.


Braised Rabbit with Pears Recipe
Serves 4
2 young rabbits, each cut into 6 to 8 pieces
salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium onion, finely diced
3 cups dry red wine
1 cup chicken broth
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon brown sugar
2 bay leaves
2 sprigs fresh rosemary
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 firm, slightly not-quite-ripe pears; skin removed, cored and halved
3 tablespoons chilled butter


Directions:
Season rabbit pieces and dust lightly with flour. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion and saute for 3 - 4 minutes. Add rabbit pieces and brown each evenly. Add wine, broth, vinegar, sugar, bay leaves, rosemary and salt. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium-low. Cover and simmer for 30 minutes. Add pears to the pan, cover and simmer for 30 minutes more. Remove rabbit and pears and arrange on plates. Remove bay leaves and rosemary from pan. Whisk in butter until melted and spoon sauce over rabbit.


The Updike
Tom makes a great rabbit linked sausage with rabbit, pork, apple, salt, garlic and spices. We sell it in our farm store and at the farmers markets.


Rabbit Workshops
Tom recently gave a rabbit slaughtering presentation at the Callicoon market to a large group of people who are raising or thinking of raising rabbits for food. We held a rabbit workshop last summer and will repeat it this year if folks are interested. A description of the workshop:


Rabbit to Roaster
Rabbits are caged raised during kindling and transferred to pasture cages at weaning. See the rabbitry and pastured rabbit cages. Learn how to raise rabbits on pasture. Learn how to slaughter rabbits and break down the rabbits into parts used for stewing, braising, sautéing and grilling. A rabbit meat inspired lunch will be served. In Fable, the farm’s restaurant, participants will work together to prepare dinner using all parts of the rabbit (including the liver and kidneys) Dinner will be accompanied by the seasonal dairy and produce raised and harvested on the farm.

You don’t have to be a farmer to raise rabbits for meat. A backyard hutch is easy to make and works well for three to four does. And the slaughter process is so quick and easy that every family should be adding rabbit meat to their diets. The French eat a lot of rabbit and every farmers market in France sells live rabbits which are slaughtered a at the market or at home. We don’t have to be French to eat rabbit. Hop right into rabbit raising or buy rabbit meat at the farmers market Bon Lapintite!

Farmer selling live rabbits at Bayeux Market in Normandy France

Posted by Farm and Fable Muse at 3:47 PM

Some videos of rabbit giving birth and kits

Author of Hunt, Gather, Cook: Finding the Forgotten Feast, comming to a City near you. He is comming to SF soon. Who wants in?

My Book Tour: Coming to a Town Near You

May 1st, 2011 | By Hank Shaw | Category: Book News, Featured, Out & About | Comments | 22 Comments |

UPDATE: What you read below is my book tour as it now stands. I’ve been getting a lot of requests to come to one place or another, and, for the most part, I am game to go. Montana? You bet. Louisiana? Absolutely. But I need help organizing events there. So if you can help, I will do my part to make it happen. Thanks! ~Hank
After so long, it’s almost here. My first book, Hunt, Gather, Cook: Finding the Forgotten Feast, comes out May 24, and I will be spending close to 100 days on the road this year meeting all of you and, hopefully, selling enough books to make this whole endeavor worthwhile.
My publisher, Rodale, is helping me with a lot of publicity and logistics, but I’ve pretty much designed this tour myself. The reason is because I did not want to do a traditional series of readings and book signings at stores where the customers are either uninterested or too busy to care; I’ve heard too many horror stories about book signings attended by three people. Not going to go there, if I can help it.
Nope, what I have planned, and what I want this tour to be, is an untraditional series of conversations about foraging and fishing and hunting, as well as a string of book parties highlighted by the cooking of some of the best chefs in the country. You heard right: I have enlisted the help of chefs with kudos ranging from Michelin stars to Food & Wine accolades to James Beard awards to help me celebrate wild food in America. I am deeply honored that they have been so willing to help.
Each chef is creating a special tasting menu inspired by the book, menus so intensely local, seasonal and wild that it could not be done anywhere else. It is a concept made famous by the Danish restaurant NOMA, only brought here. I can’t wait to see what the chefs come up with, and it will be range anywhere from comfort food to modernist works of art.
You see the map above? Click on it, and it will take you a Google map I created with descriptions of each event. I have also created a special page on this site for classes, appearances and events - it’s a tab off the front page right next to the main blog post. I will be updating that constantly, so you know where I’ll be.
 But here’s a rundown of events I have conformed so far:

• May 24, the day the book comes out, I will be doing a live TV spot with my friend Jaden Hair on her show in Tampa. We will be cooking fresh, local grouper, provided we caught some the day before.
• I will then travel to northern Alabama to do some foraging, and I might do a book signing while I am there. After that I head down to the Gulf Coast of Mississippi to fish for redfish and spotted trout. I want to see for myself what the oil spill did to the fisheries.
• From there I head to Austin for a whole week. I am excited about doing some fishing there,too,  when I am not attending the annual conference of the International Association of Culinary Professionals. Hunter Angler Gardener Cook has been nominated for the association’s Best Blog award, and I will be signing books at IACP’s Culinary Book Fair on the afternoon of Friday June 3. That event is open to the public, and I am crossing my fingers that someone will show up.
• Our first big book dinner kicks off Sunday night, June 5, at FINO. Chef Jason Donoho is coming up with a Texas-style wild food menu. Seating on this is limited, so call 512 474 2905 for reservations.
• From Austin I travel to Scottsdale, AZ (just outside of Phoenix), where I am teaming up with Chef Chrysa Robertson of Rancho Pinot. Robertson is an acclaimed chef and a founder of Slow Food Phoenix, and we are planning a menu with as many ingredients from the Sonoran Desert as we can find. I may be doing a little prep cooking at this event, and I am really, really excited about this menu, as I am fascinated by the flavors of the Southwest. Click here or call 480 367 8030 for reservations.
• I return home to Sacramento June 11 for a conversation about wild food with award-winning food writer Elaine Corn at Cafe Bernardo on Capitol Ave. That event will start at 10 a.m. with coffee and a book signing, then we get to talking about all things wild. Call 916 443 1180 for more details.
• Homecoming continues with the official book launch party at Grange on Thursday, June 16. Chefs Michael Tuohy, Brad Cecchi and I collaborate on a wild food tasting menu will all the flavors of home in early summer: spring porcini, salmon, sturgeon, and, well… you’ll have to come to find out what else. We’re planning a reception and book signing beforehand. There is a very good chance this event will sell out, so click here or call 916 442 4450 to make a reservation.
• From Sacto I head north to Portland June 25-26 for a foraging and feasting weekend with one of the best wild food chefs in the nation, Matt Lightner of Castagna. Chef Lightner and I team up with the Portland Culinary Alliance to lead a foraging walk on Saturday, and then we reconvene at Castagna for a wild food feast with the flavors of the Pacific Northwest. This is right in Matt’s wheelhouse, so you can expect great things. Call 503 231 9959 for reservations, or click here.
• I head to Napa’s Wine Country on  June 30, where my duck hunting buddy and acclaimed chef Sheamus Feeley combines game, wine and wild food at his restaurant Farmstead for a special night. Expect to see some duck here… Make reservations here or call 707 963 9181.
• July 8-11 I will be in Salt Lake City for the annual conference of the Outdoor Writers Assn. of America. I’ll be delivering the keynote address on the intersection of the honest food movement with the world of hunting and fishing. There is an interesting meeting of cultures going on here, and I have a lot to say about it.
• I return to California and head to Truckee in the Sierra Nevada on July 16. Chef Jacob Burton of Stella, in the Cedar House Sport Hotel, is planning on a menu that brings together the glories of both the mountains and the Great Basin. It’s a safe bet you will see mushrooms, trout and pine nuts at this meal. One lucky couple will win a night at the hotel and a free dinner. Details on that to come. Click here for reservations.
• I’ll be doing a reading and book signing at Omnivore Books in San Francisco on Thursday, July 21. We’ll be talking about wild food, foraging, fishing and what it means to be a hunter in today’s urban world. More details to come.
• A few days later starts one of the coolest weekends of the tour. On Saturday, July 23, Iso Rabins of Forage SF and I have chartered the fishing vessel Huli-Cat out of Half Moon Bay for a daylong expedition to catch rock cod and sand dabs. This trip is limited to the first 20-or-so people to sign up — we want plenty of space on the boat to fish. We’ll do an Event Brite link soon, but email me at scrbblr AT hotmail DOT com if you are interested.
• After the fishing trip, Iso and I head to San Francisco to clean fish and prepare for a Wild Kitchen dinnerset for July 24: We’re cooking up the fish as part of a multi-course all-foraged meal. This is the only book dinner where I know I will be doing a lot of the cooking, so if you want to see if I can actually cook, come to this event. Click here to get on the mailing list, or email me.
• Next week finds me in Seattle, where on July31 I will be joining former Top Chef contestant Robin Leventhal at her new restaurant Stopsky’s Deli. Robin and I are planning to do a wild food take on Jewish classics: wild greens knishes, duck gizzard pastrami, wild salmon gefilte fish — who knows what else we’ll come up with? Stopsky’s is just about to open, so it’s too early to make reservations, but keep an eye on their website.
• After Labor Day I head East. I start in Raleigh, where on Sept. 12 Chef Ashley Christensen of Poole’s Diner brings the wild foods of North Carolina to her innovative restaurant. Chef Christensen doesn’t do fancy — she does good, seasonal comfort food. Add a dash of wild ingredients and it’ll be perfect for North Carolina. They don’t take reservations, but call 919 832 4477 for details.
• I head to New York City from there, and on Sept. 22 I will be at the acclaimed restaurant Public, where Chef Brad Farmerie will fuse his Asian-inspired cooking style with local, wild ingredients. Brad is an especially good nose-to-tail and  fish cook, so I expect to see some wobbly bits and unusual local fish on the menu. I expect this dinner to sell out. Click here for reservations or call 212 343 7011.
• On to Boston, where on Sept. 28 I will be doing a wild food, nose-to-tail New England feast with Chef Tony Maws of Craigie on Main. Much of my family lives in Massachusetts, so I am looking forward to something of a homecoming here. Craigie on Main is one of the best restaurants in Boston, so this should be a very special night. Click here for to make a reservation (top right corner of the site) or call 617 497 5511.
• I dip down to Providence after Boston, where on October 2 Chef Matt Jennings of Farmstead’s La Laiterie Bistro is planning a wild Rhody feast. I first started fishing and foraging on Block Island, just off the coast of Rhode Island, so I am really looking forward to this. I have no idea what Matt will come up with, but it had better have quahogs! Call 401 274 7177 for reservations.
• On October 5 I will be in Pittsburgh at the restaurant Eleven. Pennsylvania is one of the most hunting-est, fishing-est places in the country, so I can’t wait to see how Chef Derek Stevens interprets that. Yellow perch and venison ought to make an appearance, I think… Click here or call 412 201 5656 for reservations.
• Finally, on October 11 I will be back in my old stomping grounds of the Twin Cities, where Chef Scott Pampuch of The Corner Tablewill try to bring together as many wild Minnesota ingredients as he can. Minnesota is home to some world-class wild foods, from real, hand-harvested Ojibwe wild rice to walleye to game to wild berries. They don’t take reservations, but call 612 823 0011 for details.

Phew! That’s what I have nailed down so far. I am also talking with a second restaurant in Seattle – Seattle has been so good to me I want to do two events there — as well as a restaurant in Washington DC; I hope to have both events confirmed soon. I am also in the midst of plans for events in Toronto, Detroit, Chicago, Los Angeles and San Diego. Nothing is firm on any of these yet, but I will keep my Classes, Appearances and Events page current.
I am trying to set up signings and other speaking events in each city where I have a book dinner, so if you know any place that might be a good fit, let me know. Also, if you think I ought to come to your city, email me and let’s see what we can set up. I know my tour is big city-centric, but I’d be more than happy to head to a smaller town if you think we can get a large enough crowd.
I’m starting to feel the excitement, finally. I have so many friends out there I’ve never met, and I really want to meet as many of you in person as I can. Hopefully I will see you at one of these book events, so we can talk, raise a glass and eat some fantastic food together. Wish me luck, and I’ll see you out there!

Our Rabbit Tractors

So as some of you may or may not know.  My goal at FogCity Rabbitry is to raise rabbits on pasture.  I want to grow my own certified organic crops and let the rabbits eat the forage and feel them pellets that I mill myself.  We started out making the first tractor out of angle iron which proved to be way to heavy for us to move.

 The problem with these was that while they were sturdy and would prevent predators from getting into them, we could not move them ourselves. 


In fact we needed a fork lift to even get it from the storage shed to the field.  Furthermore, when we did get it into the field we could not move it from one pasture to the other because it would not slide.


So we are just going to use this one for temporary housing when we need it

 We did like the overall size thought so we modeled Rabbit Tractor 2.0 after this one one but we made it out of PVC.  We ordered all the materials online because it was much cheaper.

Once we got the rabbits in the tractor we watched them for a week to see if we needed to make any changes to the pen.  Some were able to get out so we made some changes.  As you can see from the picture, the wire comes in on the sides of the cage about 6 inches.  On the second version we had it come in a full foot so that the rabbits could not dig out. 

The second version of the tractors looked like this.

 These pens were the same size, 15'x6'x3'  Each rabbit has its own individual pen which is 3'x2'  Each pen has a feeder as well as a water nozzle which is hooked up to a five gallon bucket.  We do not have water access yet out by the pens so we could not use the pressure nozzles.  These are the spring loaded ones.  We have to fill up the water about once a day, and will probably move up to a 50 gallon container or the pressurized system soon.  The dog hangs out around the pens, he wants in as well, but he also helps keep away other animals like coons and coyote that might want in as well.

 

The tops of the pens are covered
in breathable black fabric that
provide shade but also let airflow in.

This is my first attempt at an HTML post, so I will get better as time goes on.  So I hope this gives you a basic idea of what our tractors look like.  If you have questions feel free to ask.  My next post will be about our pellet mill and how we make our own pellets.