I have a gardening group on Facebook called South Arkansas/North Louisiana Garden Club & Exchange. It is geared for those of us in that area but anyone from anywhere can join. We are a small group & not as active as alot of the other groups. I started it because all the other groups seemed to be either a few hours north of me or a few hours south. My plan is to one day have in person swaps. Meanwhile, I would find interesting articles here, GardenWeb, magazines, etc. & wanted a place to share them.
My interests are all over the place when it comes to gardening. Edibles, flowers, anything. My husband, on the other hand, thinks if you can't eat it or use it some way, there is no reason to grow it. He wants our whole place nothing but edibles. It kills him that we didn't start 20 years ago.
One of the groups I joined was a garlic group & man are they vocal about the crap you get in the grocery store!!! About 3 years ago, I bit the bullet & ordered about $100 worth of garlic from 2 different vendors. One was @Filaree, which is also listed here in the green pages. I had never spent that much on bulbs, not even for something we were going to plant. I was so excited & finally both orders came in. And then my doctor found more pre-cervical cancer cells & this time, since I had already had about 3 procedures & it kept coming back, each time alittle further & harder to get too. This time, this doctor asked me about a hysterectomy, which was what I wanted anyway. But I wasn't given much time to do anything, let alone plant garlic. Thinking it would be ok, I put the garlic in the refrigerator before my surgery. It may have been ok for a short time but due to a couple issues I had, it was 3 or 4 months before I felt like tilling or planting. And by then our planting season was past. I kept the garlic in the refrigerator thinking I would try to see if it was viable the next year. But this time, my twin sister found out she had breast cancer so I was taking her back & forth for chemo, about an hour & a half drive each way. So I put it off.
I mentioned my story to the group. I asked if there was maybe a way the garlic would still grow. Or maybe someone could tell me what I could do with all that garlic, which was dried up by then. Ordering more was out of the question as I had lost 2 of my 3 part-time jobs. I wanted to feel like I didn't completely waste my money or that garlic.
A guy said he would send me some garlic when he started shipping. I told him thank you but honestly didn't think he meant it. He was just being nice I thought & how sweet. That was enough for me to think people would reach out to others. (This after I had asked family members to help me plant my garlic before my surgery but no one showed up).
Imagine my surprise when he sent me a message asking for my address & later saying my garlic had shipped. Call it hormones, but I just cried. He sent me FIVE POUNDS. He says I do not owe for the garlic or postage or anything. I plan to at least send postage & I would like to do something nice for him but I don't know what yet.
I feel incredibly blessed. I want to bless others. So I thought I would do a giveaway for a pound of the garlic in my group. I asked in a few of the other groups but they either weren't interested or didn't allow pages to be tagged. And I thought this contest/giveaway was a great way to have people visit pages they might not visit otherwise. Maybe spark interest. This is one of the chances (I do something every few days or so & will do it until the end of September).
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ππ#GarlicGiveaway chance!!!ππRead til the endππ
πDISCLAIMER: I don't know the first thing about raising any kind of rabbit. If I didn't have dogs or a cat, I would probably keep a rabbit or two (but they would have to be spayed/neutered) as pets. I see where some people make a whole room up just for their pet rabbit & I think why would you do that, & then I remember how much I do for my furkids.
Most of these are catios but I think it would be simple to convert them into rabbit runs/hutches for people with indoor pet rabbits. Catios are as simple or as elaborate as you want them to be or you can afford to make. They are fully enclosed structures that allow indoor cats to get fresh air while being kept safe from predators or traffic. I actually made a post on my page & tagged some animal rescue people because I thought this was such a cool idea.
I think this could also work for pet bunnies, with modifications. Maybe have ramps for the bunnies to go from their indoor hutch, out a window or door, & into an outdoor, fully enclosed run. Give a chance to play in grass. Maybe have plants you don't mind them chewing on (& that you've made sure are safe for pets).
Who has pet bunnies??? Who is thinking about getting one? The more I've been reading up on them, the more I see how much work (but also enjoyment) they are.
I was shocked to read the average cost to spay or neuter a rabbit is about $140, which seemed high for a critter so small. And then I read those suckers can have babies four times a year. Not sure how many they have per litter but that is still alot of bunnies! Probably great if you are raising them for meat but not so much if you are keeping them in your house as pets.
Another DISCLAIMER: I am personally against human beings using their pets as ATM machines. We've all seen the "free" or "for sale" animals in parking lots & on social media. Around Easter people start selling bunnies. Which brings me to Holley's Hopping Habitat - Rabbit Rescue & Education Center in Haughton, Louisiana. They have bunnies for adoption or to be fostered, but they also have programs to educate & inform people about what is really involved in having a pet rabbit. (Hint: its not buying one from some random person & getting a hutch & some carrots).
ππHERE'S WHAT YOU NEED TO DO FOR CHANCE #2 FOR THE #GarlicGiveawayππ
πLIKE & SHARE this post
πLIKE & SHARE the Holley's Hopping Habitat - Rabbit Rescue & Education Center page
While you are there on their page, scroll down until you find the post about the fundraiser they're doing.
πLIKE & SHARE the Johnny's Pizza fundraiser post
πComment Done here
*****YOU MUST DO ALL 4 THINGS FOR IT TO COUNT*****
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Here are a couple publications from the University of Arkansas extension that has information on rabbits. One is for 4H but even if you aren't interested in 4H or showing, still has information on raising rabbits.
https://www.uaex.edu/farm-ranc...
https://www.uaex.edu/4h-youth/...
All rescues & shelters are desperate for people to volunteer at their facilities & at places like adoption events. They also need people to foster & adopt. These facilities are also always in need of donations of money, cleaning supplies, food, toys, & bedding. Visit any of their pages or websites & they should have a wishlist.
Here are some websites for things like toys & treats for pet rabbits:
bingalingstore.com
www.happyrabbittoys.com
squeaksandnibbles.com
thesprucepets.com
If you want to make your own toys for your own pet bun or as a service project for the rescue here are some ideas:
https://www.bunnyapproved.com/...
Interested in helping the rescue with fundraising? Here's a few ideas:
https://charitypaws.com/rabbit...
Housing ideas:
thecapecoop.com
https://best4bunny.com/housing...
Link to the House Rabbit Society
https://rabbit.org/
Different forums for all things bunny
binkybunny.com
https://rabbitexpert.con/foods...
What does this have to do with garlic & how does it tie in with our #GarlicGiveaway? Well nothing reallyπ. Except I found out you should never feed garlic to a rabbit because it "can have an immunosuppressive effect in rabbits & may even cause an anaphylactic reaction".
I hope this has been informative for anyone thinking about getting a bunny. Check out the rescue mentioned in this post. They have good information on bunnies. If you have rabbits, we would love to see pictures of them, as well as your indoor and/or outdoor set up. Do you have any tips or tricks to give for anyone thinking about getting a rabbit as a pet or maybe even ones to have as a meat source? (And yes, I know, these are 2 different things).
Remember, if you have entered the #GarlicGiveaway, you MUST DO ALL 4 THINGS LISTED in the comments. Remember that there could be more chances to enter that have either already been posted or will be posted in the coming weeks. More information about this giveaway is in the Announcements of this group.
ππHERE ARE THE CATIOSππ
The rabbit rescue mentioned above hands out little booklets to kids at festivals, they take some of their bunnies to the library & just about anywhere families go. These booklets have lots of good information & things like coloring pages. Here are a few of the pages I thought were interesting:
Since you've gotten this far, here's the information on the pizza card fundraiser. I believe the only Johnny's Pizza is in the Shreveport & Ruston, Louisiana areas, with maybe a few places in Arkansas.
Here's the pound I'm giving away in the group. Plus the guy's business card.
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