My Yard Is Green...with Dandelion Leaves

Thanks to the much cooler weather, rain, and my lax front yard maintenance schedule, the dandelions are all abloom in my yard. Thankfully, my neighbors do not seem to mind.  I do not mind either; dandelions are my favorite flower.  They are so useful.

Every morning you can find me outside with a bowl picking the day's crop of greens.  It's the best kind of vegetable garden, growing with absolutely no meddling from me. To be honest, I would probably mess it up anyway.

Dandelion leaves have long been known to be good for rabbits.  My rabbits go crazy for them. Feeding greens is a part of my anti-woolblock regime. 

Most of the information I could find about dandelions refers to human consumption, but it probably isn't too far off base for rabbits either. Here are some interesting facts about the little dandelion leaf.

•  Dandelions rank in the top 4 green vegetables in overall nutritional value.  
• Dandelions leaves are a diuretic. I did not know this, but find it interesting. 
• The dandelion's scientific name, Taraxacum officinalis, means disorder remedy of pharmaceutical value.   
•  There is a website out there totally devoted to dandelions, http://mydandelionisaflower.org

The rabbits really enjoy their treat and I get a bit of exercise. 

Sources:
 USDA Bulletin #8, "Composition of Foods" (Haytowitz and Matthews 1984)

 Clare BA, Conroy RS, Spelman K. The diuretic effect in human subjects of an extract of Taraxacum officinale folium over a single day. J Altern Complement Med. 2009 Aug;15(8):929-34.

Read more: http://www.umm.edu/altmed/articles/dandelion-000236.htm#ixzz26q8hDppK

Sherwood Forest Natural Rabbit Food Trial (UPDATED)

Sherwood Forest NRF(top), my feed(bottom)

Sherwood Forest Natural Rabbit Food has been on my radar for a bit, but I just recently bit the bullet and ordered a free sample of their food.  I've read all the promotional material.  It sounded good, but why wouldn't it? It's their material. 

But, I'm super attracted by all the science-y talk and the research involved.  Sure, all the feed companies have research departments.  It's just not all out there on the company's web page. I like that.

Someone on one of the many Facebook groups, online forums, or Yahoo! groups I belonged to one gave an excellent description of what a good rabbit food should look like and what to look for on the ingredients list. I wish I would have copied the exact posting because it is what I use now as my guide to rabbit feed.  My wording is not near as good as the poster's.

This feed passed all the initial tests.  It was super green and smelled great.  All...and I mean, all of the rabbits jumped to attention the moment I opened the small plastic trial bag.  They do not usually do this. I would see actual chunks of alfalfa in the pellet.  The ingredients list contained words I could actually pronounce.  Two of my rabbits volunteered to be "guinea pigs".  I will try them on this feed and see how it goes.  While not exactly a scientific trial, I am excited to see how it goes.

What I'm worried about:

• Protein %.  My Angoras need lots of protein to grow wool...or at least that's what I've read.  After several emails about the quality of protein with Sherwood Forest Natural Rabbit Feed, I was willing to give it a try with some of my non show herd rabbits. I actually LOVE my current feed.  I'm just curious mainly...and always looking for improvement. Although recent freshness issues have made my curiosity go into action.
• Corn. My current feed is a corn free feed. I've read most of the research quoted on the Sherwood Forest NRF Web site.  I'll buy that corn is not better or worse than wheat or barley.  I read somewhere that sunflower meal is actually better, but I haven't seen a feed that uses it.  

GUESS WHAT!  Sherwood Forest Natural Rabbit Feed has NO CORN in it!  Whew, one less thing to worry about. Although, really I'm not scared of corn...just of change lol.   
 
We're on day 5 of our feed trial.  So far, the rabbits have transitioned well and love the feed as much as their old feed...no problems with diarrhea or loose stools.  I ordered a bigger box.  Nope, it's not cheaper than my old feed, but I think, just like the rabbits, I'm hooked on the smell.            

The Many Faces of An English Angora

Happy Cricket     

We're not one to play favorites *wink, wink*....but, Cricket is just a doll right now.  We took a million pictures of her the other day...just because she was being cute.  And....she wins this week's award for easy keeper Angora.  Her brothers are such slobs. 

Curious Cricket    

Shy Cricket    

Bored Cricket    

Feel Like Someone's Watching Me Cricket    

Grooming Day

Terri's Stonewall Jackson (black pearl EA)         

Kelfla's Kingfish (black EA)       

We've spent the last few days grooming rabbits. Some might find this as a chore, but I LOVE grooming days.  

I wish they would pay me to run my hands through angora wool all day because I'd completely make that my career. 

The rabbits seem to enjoy it, too.  It's probably because of the dried papaya chips and tender dandelion leaves.  

A clipped Terri's Princess Grace       

Here are a few pictures from our day.

Not The Type of Christening I Had In Mind

Athena, the offender

Even though our little dog is housetrained and has a very large yard in which to do her business...she decided to christen our shed yesterday.  

Scene of the crime

After taking a midday break, we came back to a "piddle" in the corner of the partially constructed fiber and craft creativity hut.  I'm not sure who has more irritated...DH or me (who actually cleaned it up). Athena appeared to be quite pleased with herself as evidenced by her photo. That dog is always all smiles. 

I guess she felt the need to leave her mark on our little construction project and identify it as hers.

In the end, we all ended up having a bit of a laugh about it...but  she is now restricted from the area as a result of her actions. 

Bad dog!...but cute dog, too.