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Monday, December 16, 2013

Rabbit: A Great Meat Animal for Small Homesteads

Whether your homestead is in the city or the country, meat rabbits can help you feed your family with lean, nutritious meat. Rabbits breed and grow so quickly that one pair of healthy does (females) can produce more than 600 pounds of meat in a year. Compare that to the dressed yield of 400 pounds for an average year-old beef steer. Rabbits also use feed more efficiently than cows do: According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, a rabbit needs 4 pounds of feed to make 1 pound of meat. In comparison, beef cattle need 7 pounds of feed or more to create 1 pound of meat, reports Michigan State University’s Department of Animal Science.
Archaeologists have found proof that the Romans raised meat rabbits 2,000 years ago, so people have known for centuries that rabbit meat is delicious. Today, we know that it’s also an excellent source of protein, has less cholesterol and fat than chicken, beef, lamb or pork, and that it has an almost ideal fatty acid ratio of 4:1 omega-6 to beneficial omega-3 fatty acids (see The Fats You Need for a Healthy Diet to learn more).
Rabbits are clean and quiet, so they won’t trouble your neighbors. Their manure can enrich your garden without composting — it’s not “hot,” so it can go directly into the garden, where it will provide lots of nitrogen and phosphorus and help build soil. Or let the rabbits’ manure fall into worm beds;.
Before you rush out and buy your rabbits, you need to figure out where you’re going to keep them. Each rabbit needs its own cage, so for the breeding trio of a buck and two does you’ll need three cages. (See our diagram of a homemade rabbit cage.) The cages should be protected from predators and the weather — in a garage or outbuilding, for example.
For meat rabbits, each cage should be about 3 feet square and 2 feet high to give the animals plenty of room to move around. The best material for cages is double-galvanized 14-gauge welded wire. Chicken wire is too flimsy. Use 1-inch square or 1-by-1-1⁄2-inch wire on the bottoms to prevent sore feet and to let droppings fall through. Plan to run some extra wire up the sides to prevent babies from falling out of the does’ pens. Hinge the cage doors so they swing inward, so your rabbits can’t accidentally push them open. Mount the cages 3 to 4 feet off the ground, to make working with the animals easier and to help protect them from predators such as dogs, snakes and coyotes.

The Health Benefits of Pears

Pears provide a very good source of fiber and are also a good source of vitamin B2, C, E, copper, and potassium. They also contain a significant amount of pectin, which is a water soluble fiber.

Pears are actually higher in pectin than apples. This makes them effective in helping to lower cholesterol levels and in toning the intestines. They are often recommended by health care practitioners as a hypoallergenic fruit that is high in fiber. They are less likely to produce an adverse response than other fruits. Pears are often recommended as a safe fruit to introduce to infants. Pears are an extraordinary source of dietary fiber when the skin is eaten along with the flesh. Pears are also an excellent source of vitamin C and vitamin E, both powerful antioxidants and essential nutrients.

Pears are often recommended as a hypo-allergenic fruit that is high in fiber but less likely to produce adverse reactions. Pear juice is safe to be introduced to infants as they are mild, yet healthful.

Blood pressure: Pears have anti-oxidant and anti-carcinogen glutathione which help prevent high blood pressure and stroke.
  • Blood pressure: Pears have anti-oxidant and anti-carcinogen glutathione which help prevent high blood pressure and stroke.
  • Cancer prevention: The high vitamin C and copper content act as good anti-oxidants that protect cells from damages by free radicals.
  • Cholesterol: The high content of pectin in pears make it very useful in helping to lower cholesterol levels.
  • Colon health: When not juicing, eat the pear whole for its precious fiber that are highly beneficial for your colon health.
  • Constipation: The pectin in pears is diuretic and have a mild laxative effect. Drinking pear juice regularly helps regulate bowel movements.
  • Energy: You can get quick and natural source of energy from pear juice, due largely to its high amounts of fructose and glucose.
  • Fever: The cooling effect in pear is excellent in relieving fever. Best way to bring a fever down quickly is by drinking a big glass of pear juice.
  • Immune booster: The anti-oxidant nutrients in pears are critical in building up your immune system. Drink pear juice when you feel a cold coming.
  • Inflammation: Pear juice has an anti-inflammatory effect and helps relieve sufferers of much pain in various inflammatory conditions.
  • Osteoporosis: Pears contain high level of boron. Boron helps the body to retain calcium, thus prevents or retards osteoporosis.
  • Pregnancy: The high content of folate (folic acid) prevents neural tube defects in infants.
  • Shortness of breath: The summer heat may cause children to have shortness of breath with excessive phlegm. Drink pear juice during this period to help clear the phlegm.
  • Throat problem: The pears are in season during the summer for a reason. Drinking pear juice every morning and night helps to cool your body down during this time. It nourishes the throat and helps prevent throat problems.
  • Vocal chord: Boil two Chinese pear juice with some raw honey and drink warm. This is extremely healing for the throat and the vocal cord.
  • Fiber: Pears are an excellent source of natural dietary fiber. One pear will give you 24% of your recommended daily allowance of fiber. Fiber contains no calories, and is a necessary element of a healthy diet as it helps sustain blood sugar levels and promotes regularity.
Pectin is a type of soluble fiber that binds to fatty substances in the digestive tract and promotes their elimination. This seems to help lower blood cholesterol levels. Soluble fiber also helps regulate the body's use of sugars.

Studies indicate that diets high in fiber may reduce the risk of heart disease and certain types of cancer.

How do pears rank on the Glycemic Index?

Pears have 26 net grams of carbs. The carbohydrates in a pear are low on the glycemic index and have a low glycemic load. This basically means that the carbs in pears are slow to convert to sugar and enter the bloodstream. Pears are a good choice for getting healthy carbs.

Vitamin C:

Fresh pears are a good source for Vitamin C. One fresh pear contains 10% of the RDA for Vitamin C (also called ascorbic acid).

Vitamin C is an essential antioxidant for normal metabolism and tissue repair, and helps prevent free radical damage (destructive by-products of the body's metabolic process). Vitamin C promotes healing of cuts and bruises and helps guard against a number of infectious diseases.

Potassium:

Fresh pears offer 5% of the recommended daily allowance (190 mg of potassium) per serving

10 Most Pleasant Sounds For Human


Did you know that the second sound is sure to change your mood for the day? To take advantage of this remarkable property of sounds, you need to know the most fascinating of them.
Especially for you we have compiled a list of the most enjoyable out of 10 sounds to the human ear ...

Number 1. Patter of rain on the roof of the house.
Well, the rain does not stop immediately and we can enjoy plenty of his rapping. Tenth place is deservedly took the wood outdoor recreation.
Number 2
Number 2. The crunch of snow
Find not trampled and fresh, crisp snow in the city is not easy enough, but when it works - it's time to relax, especially good for romantic dates. Of course, it is better to walk in the snow at night, so you can hear the crunch of a lot better. Winter is only once a year, but then in the summer there is something worth listening to.

Number 3. Surf
Lucky for those who live in the city by the sea. Residents of these cities spend at sea a long time, and summer and winter. Rote lasts forever ...

Number 4 .Crackling logs
And it can be combined. Spend an evening at the sea, a fire - and then you can enjoy and surf, and the sound of crackling wood. However, this is only the summer entertainment, but it leaves such a strong impression that they have enough for the whole year.

Number 5. Babbling brook
In the city to catch the murmur of pleasure from the sounds of the creek hard. Perhaps many urban residents have not heard this sound ever, so for them there is one more reason to go on vacation somewhere in nature.

Number 6. Laughter
Laughter prolongs life, and with it, creating a joyful, good humor and not just someone who is laughing, and everyone else who just enjoys this mood.

Number 7. Rain fills the trough
Once again, the sound of falling rain, but this time in a different context. On the Internet you can find a lot of creative work associated with exactly this situation - rain contributes to the romantic mood.

Number 8. Cat purring
Cats - cute and unpredictable, almost any girl would ever again, so call himself a cat. While I know and men, which will please the nickname "Cat". According to polls, purring cats took third place.

Number 9. Birds singing in the morning


One of the most enjoyable alarms. And if in the morning when you wake up next to you and still purring cat - it's just a heavenly pleasure.

Number 10. The sound of water.
Drink only pure water - so you will doubly increase your enjoyment! Honorable first place went to the pleasant gurgle of water or tea, filling the cup. This is one of the most pleasant sounds to the human ear