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If you would like to get involved, join the club of the breed of your choice, or let your children join – these clubs are particularly kind to young exhibitors. In this way your knowledge will quickly build up. Breeding for showing can get very complicated and, in fact, it can be well out of the realm of self-sufficiency, but there is still an element of backyarding about it. Very rarely do you find a large producer who exhibits rabbits. The Fancy are dedicated and extremely knowledgeable, but they are nearly always ‘in a small way’ with their livestock.

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Popularity: 19% [?]

When you are first learning bow-drill fire-making, you must make conditions and your bow drill set such that the chance of getting a coal is the greatest. If you do not know the feeling of a coal beginning to be born then you will never be able to master the more difficult scenarios. For this it is best to choose the “easiest woods” and practice using the set in a sheltered location such as a garage or basement, etc. Remember to unplug your smoke alarms!

Wood Selection

Even if you have never gotten a coal before, it is best to get the wood from the forest yourself. Getting it from a lumber yard is easy but you learn very little. Also, getting wood from natural sources ensures you do not accidentally get pressure-treated wood which, when caused to smolder, is highly toxic.

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Popularity: 20% [?]

You may have made up your mind against fur production; it could be argued that a fur coat is out of place in a back yard. There is certainly an image of slightly decadent luxury clinging to fur, even now, in some parts of the world. But there is also the frontier man, Davy Crockett sort of warm fur clothing with no pretensions whatever so if the image bothers you, think of Davy Crockett. Most of the published material about curing skins says don’t (but if you must, they add, do this or that). The reason is that curing furs is a skill like many another, presumably once known to mankind in general and now something of a mystery to most of us. Experts have heard so many wails of anguish from enthusiastic amateurs who have expected to get professional results at their first try, and failed, that they are wary of giving advice.

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Popularity: 22% [?]

Hello everyone and sorry about the extended absence.  I appreciate the concern and assure you we’ll be back in the blogosphere with new articles this afternoon.  We’ll be moving to a minimum three posts a week schedule, however, we are discussing the possibility of guest authors to keep the data coming.  Take care and be safe.

In other news, we are very interested in hearing what sort of topics and information you’d like to see on Extopian.com.  Got a question you’ve always wanted answered, curious about a technique or need a guide on a topic?  Don’t be shy.  Reply using the comments feature and let us know.

Popularity: 11% [?]

How then shall we cook our fresh, home-produced meat? Most of the recipes in established cookery books are for wild rabbit, but the only difference is that you may need less cooking time for young tame rabbit – and you won’t need to soak the meat in salt before cooking, to whiten it. Always eat rabbit fresh; it should never be hung like hare. If you can’t deal with it fairly soon, freeze it unto you can. If you are interested in cooking you will probably have some recipes of your own, or invent them. I have collected a few ideas for cooking rabbit which might be of some use. The high protein and low fat content mean that a small portion contains a lot of nourishment, easily digested. It is also very adaptable.

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Popularity: 17% [?]

If you keep large amounts of farmed or hunted meat, you really need a deep freeze. Unless you are prepared to eat salt meat like our ancestors did for months on end, freezing is the only way to cope with the large amounts of meat you get in lifestyle of husbandry and hunting. Rabbits are more useful in this respect. No electricity is needed, none of the gadgets of civilization need come between you and your rabbit dinner. One rabbit provides a good meal for a family and you can kill and dress them in ones, just as you need them. That is why Italian and Russian governments saw the rabbit as a means of warding off starvation. Every family can produce its own meat, as and when needed.

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Popularity: 16% [?]