Beneficial Bunnies for the Garden
Most of the time when one thinks of bunnies in the garden it is more with dread then with benefit. After all, the cute little creatures might of just nibbled on your beautiful garden veggies. There is even the chance of finding cute little baby bunnies hidden under your mulch while mommy is out grazing somewhere else. But I’m not necessarily speaking of the whole rabbit when I mention beneficial.
Meet Ricky and Lucy
Ron and I did purchase a couple of cute lionhead mix bunnies this past weekend. They are so cute you will meet them and see the bunny set up we have now by clicking here. Their names are Ricky and Lucy. Ricky is the handsome, hairy black bunny and Lucy is the pretty petite white bunny with blue eyes.
Beneficial Bunny Poo
Now, stick with me, I’m not going to have my entire bunny in the garden… just their poo. Bunny poo is what is called a cold manure. What that means is that it can be added to the garden immediately without composting it. Most animals that have pelleted manure such as rabbits and goats can have their poo applied to the garden soil in place of other type of fertilizer as soon as it comes out of the animal. I wrote about the importance of bunnies and how to make the most of their poo.
Easy Set Up to Get the Most Bunny Poo
Our bunny cages are wire so the bunny poo drops right through to the ground. It is important to make sure that they have a board or some surface that they can rest on off of the wire so their feet don’t get sore. The important thing to remember is to gather the poo as it falls. It is so much easier then to have to rake it up. We put containers underneath, we even have had our rabbit hutches over our compost piles. Here is a video to show you that.
Sharing the Harvest
When we have some weeds or produce from the garden that we don’t want it is so nice to share it with the bunnies. They have a way of showing how much they appreciate it. Ricky jumps right in the middle of it and starts eating immediately while Lucy is a little more cautious and nibbles at the edges. I enjoy having the bunnies for many reasons. Tell me about your bunnies. I’d love to see pictures of them.
Here is to your homesteading dreams,
Shawn