Meat

Game Changer – Genetic Tenderness Testing

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This morning I just received my package from Callipyge Genetics Lab in Selah, Washington. This is very exciting because it could be a game changer.

The package is from W.F. Hendrix, DBA (Doing Business As) Callipyge Genetics, LLC. The first thing I noticed is it cost $2.04 to send it to me in Calfornia, which is just south of Washington State. I ordered a set of 25 Tenet Certification Cards for $47.50, including postage, from their website April 22, 2025 and they were able to ship it May 9th. So, they have to be really busy.

If you recall, in last month’s Irish Dexter Cattlemen Tips & Tricks Guide, April 2025 Issue, Jeff Reusser, Royal Fare Farm submitted an article titled, “Who Knew Tenderness is Directly Correlated to Easy Keeper“. If you haven’t read the article, just click on the tittle. This article is about predicting exceptional beef tenderness with 100% accuracy. Now that’s exactly what I am looking for!

Our ranch started in 2009 by purchasing 3 Irish Dexters, a bull, a cow, and one male calf. Right away I knew what we would be doing with that calf. Much to our surprise, the day it was being slaughtered on our farm, the guy preparing the steer to be delivered to the butcher looked at our pasture and declared, “This is going to be great tasting beef” Boy was he right. Not only did it have an amazing taste, but it was tender too. Over the years I have learned the techniques to insure the best tasting grass fed, grass finished beef by carefully monitoring the grass they eat. But what good it it to have the best tasting beef when chewing on tack room leather? Both taste and tenderness are critical if you are going to provide a product folks really love. Testing for tenderness? Now that’s a game changer.

After a bit of tugging and pulling, I was able to open the package without cutting it. Sure enough, inside were twenty-five “Tenet Beef” cards. Each one labeled with their logo, bar coded, and included their website address, www.tenetbeef.com.

On the back of each card is space to write your Ranch Name and Date. The next line down is for the Animal ID. Then the third line is for a 15 digit EID number. Below this is another bar code, which is the same bar code on the front of the card. Every card has its own unique bar code.

Opening the card, things get a little tricky. There is a list of three things to do and the first thing to do on the list is a globsmack.

  1. Fill the ENTIRE circle with blood – Yup! That’s what it says. How am I suppose to do that? I got this bull. It’s got horns. It’s got WILD eyes. You want me to do WHAT? That’s not a small circle!

Stay tuned. There maybe more to come. Honey, were we serious about doing this testing thing?

Game Changer – Genetic Tenderness Testing Read More »

Beef

Rabbit Raising – Part 1: Keeping Them Alive

Before you buy rabbits, decide why you’re raising them. This one choice affects everything else.

Beginner Tip: Don’t buy rabbits first and figure out a plan later. Housing and purpose should come beforebreed.

Why Are You Raising Rabbits?

Pets / Show Sales

  • Choose popular, marketable breeds (Rex do well)
  • Breed for traits buyers want: color, coat, size, personality
  • Breed to SOP
  • Watch trends, but also look for gaps in your local market

**I do not enjoy selling pet rabbits but it is an option. 

Beginner Tip: Spend time watching local listings and social media before breeding. What’s already selling tells you what people want.

Food

  • Focus on fast-growing, efficient breeds (New Zealand, Californian)
  • Breed for size and speed to market, not looks

Beginner Tip: Bigger and faster is usually better than “prettier” when raising meat rabbits.

Housing Options

Cages

  • Require climate control
  • Easier breeding control and litter monitoring
  • Less natural, more predictable

Beginner Tip: Cage systems are often easier for first-time breeders because problems are easier to spot early.

Colony

  • Rabbits regulate temperature by digging
  • Little breeding control unless sexes are separated
  • Must prevent escape
  • Introduce rabbits at the same time to reduce fighting

Beginner Tip: Colony systems work best when planned ahead, retrofitting almost always causes headaches.

Hybrid

  • Colony-style living with barriers to prevent digging out
  • Requires weather monitoring, especially in summer
  • Include an underground or partially buried area for cooling

Beginner Tip: Hybrid systems offer a good balance for beginners who want natural behavior with some control.

Shelter Setup

Primary Shelter
Where your breeders live.

Beginner Tip: If breeders are stressed, everything else goes downhill: prioritize this space.

Grow-Out Area
A separate space for young rabbits so breeders don’t get overcrowded.

Beginner Tip: Overcrowding is a fast way to create health problems.

Rabbit Tractor
A movable pen for grow-outs that provides lawn care.

Beginner Tip: Tractors are great for grow-outs, but not ideal for breeders long-term.

Substrate Choices

  • Hay: Great for nesting, edible, but holds moisture and waste
  • Wood Chips: Similar to hay, not edible
  • Wood Pellets: Absorb liquid well, easy to clean, usually the most expensive

Beginner Tip: If something smells bad, it’s time to change it, even if the schedule says otherwise.

Food & Feeding Basics

  • Free-feed quality rabbit pellets
  • Supplement with grass or garden clippings when possible
  • Keep food off the ground

Beginner Tip: Most feeding problems are actually feeder placement problems, not feed problems.

Common Beginner Concerns

Choosing Rabbits

  • Decide on housing first
  • Cage-raised rabbits may struggle outdoors in heat
  • Colony-raised rabbits usually adapt better to cages, but may struggle mentally

Beginner Tip: Ask breeders how their rabbits were raised before buying.

Heat

  • Underground hides work best
  • Fans and frozen water bottles help
  • Always provide plenty of water

Beginner Tip: Heat kills faster than cold, plan for summer first.

Cold

  • Rarely a problem
  • Keep rabbits dry and out of wind

Beginner Tip: Wet + cold is dangerous; dry + cold usually isn’t.

Losses

  • Some losses are normal
  • Disease and stress happen

Beginner Tip: Everyone loses rabbits at some point—don’t quit after the first setback.

Health Issues to Watch For

Coccidia

  • Weight loss, dirty tails
  • Treat quickly
  • Many breeders select for resistance

Beginner Tip: Clean, dry pens dramatically reduce coccidia risk.

Weaning Enteritis

  • Around 4 weeks old
  • Often sudden and severe

Beginner Tip: Watch young rabbits closely during weaning, it’s the most vulnerable time.

GI Stasis

  • Gut slowdown
  • Remove pellets, offer grass hay

Beginner Tip: When in doubt, simplify the diet.

Pasteurella

  • Spread by wild rabbits
  • Often fatal
  • Symptoms: heavy sneezing, nasal discharge, lethargy

Beginner Tip: Occasional sneezing is normal—constant sneezing with discharge is not.

Rabbit Raising – Part 1: Keeping Them Alive Read More »

Homesteading

Introduction to Tenet

Introduction to Tenet Read More »

General

6 Grass-Fed Beef Nutrition Benefits that May Surprise You

Maybe up until now you haven’t thought too much about what the animals you eat today were fed yesterday. That’s pretty common for most folks, but there really is a difference between grass-fed beef and the rest.

You may have heard the terms “grass-fed” or “open range” and “grain-fed,” not knowing the real difference between them.

Once you understand the vital differences between grass-fed beef and grain-fed beef, you’ll have a better understanding of why this distinction is so important.

READ MORE

6 Grass-Fed Beef Nutrition Benefits that May Surprise You Read More »

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