Why Rabbit's White Meat is Good for Everyone

We hear or know that there are dark (or red) meats and white meats.

Some animals have dark (or red) meats because more myoglobin, which is very rich in pigmented protein, are stored in the animals' muscles and cells. The muscles provide consistent energy for long period of activity such as standing, walking or jumping especially those animals pastured in open areas. The more myoglobin there is in the animals' muscles and cells, the darker or redder the meat. Examples of dark (or red) meats are: all beef, all ducks, all lamb, some chickens and some turkeys.

Some animals have white meats because their muscles and cells contain less pigmented myoglobin protein. These animals are kept in cages, thus their movements are restricted. They can not stand, walk or jump for a long period of time. Examples of white meats are: all domesticated rabbit, all pork, some chickens and some turkeys.

Nutrition Comparison of White and Dark (Red) Meats

Rabbit meat	Beef meat	Turkey meat
Duck meat	Chicken meat

The chart below presents the nutrition values of 100 grams of white rabbit meat, white and dark chicken meats, white pork meat, dark beef meat, white and dark turkey meats, and dark duck meat.

R-WM-Rabbit White Meat; C-WM-Chicken White Meat; C-DM-Chicken Dark Meat, P-WM-Pork White Meat; B-DM-Beef Dark Meat; T-WM-Turkey White Meat; T-DM-Turkey Dark Meat; D-DM–Duck Dark Meat
Nutrients	Unit	R-WM 100 grams (1)	C-WM 100 grams (2)	C-DM 100 grams (3)	P-WM 100 grams (4)
PROXIMATES
Water	g	72.82	68.60	75.99	56.87
Energy	kcal	136	186	125	304
Protein	g	20.05	20.27	20.08	15.03
Total lipid (fat)	g	5.55	11.07	4.31	26.54
Carbohydrate, by difference	g	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00
Fiber, total dietary	g	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0
MINERALS
Calcium, Ca	mg	13	11	12	315
Iron, Fe	mg	1.57	0.79	1.03	4.25
Magnesium, Mg	mg	19	23	23	16
Phosphorus, P	mg	213	163	162	200
Potassium, K	mg	330	204	222	298
Sodium, Na	mg	41	65	85	50
Zinc, Zn	mg	1.57	0.93	2.00	2.44
VITAMINS
Vitamin C, total ascorbic acid	mg	0.0	0.0	3.1	0.7
Thiamine	mg	0.100	0.059	0.077	0.697
Riboflavin	mg	0.150	0.086	0.184	0.201
Niacin	mg	7.270	8.908	6.246	3.171
Vitamin B-6	mg	0.500	0.480	0.330	0.370
Folate, DFE	µg	8	4	10	3
Vitamin B-12	µg	7.16	0.34	0.36	0.58
Vitamin A, RAE	µg	0	30	22	3
Vitamin A, IU	IU	0	99	72	10
LIPIDS
Fatty acids, total saturated	g	1.660	3.160	1.100	9.820
Fatty acids, total monounsaturated	g	1.500	4.520	1.340	12.260
Fatty acids, total polyunsaturated	g	1.080	2.340	1.070	2.440
Cholesterol	mg	57	67	80	77
Nutrients	Unit	R-WM 100 grams (1)	C-WM 100 grams (2)	C-DM 100 grams (3)	P-WM 100 grams (4)

R-WM-Rabbit White Meat; C-WM-Chicken White Meat; C-DM-Chicken Dark Meat, P-WM-Pork White Meat; B-DM-Beef Dark Meat; T-WM-Turkey White Meat; T-DM-Turkey Dark Meat; D-DM–Duck Dark Meat
Nutrients	Unit	B-DM 100 grams (5)	T-WM 100 grams (6)	T-DM 100 grams (7)	D-DM 100 grams (8)
PROXIMATES
Water	g	59.39	70.68	71.10	48.50
Energy	kcal	276	161	161	404
Protein	g	14.97	21.96	19.81	11.49
Total lipid (fat)	g	23.52	7.43	8.97	39.34
Carbohydrate, by difference	g	0.00	0.13	0.13	0.00
Fiber, total dietary	g	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0
MINERALS
Calcium, Ca	mg	485	11	11	11
Iron, Fe	mg	5.67	0.75	1.00	2.40
Magnesium, Mg	mg	17	25	22	15
Phosphorus, P	mg	324	188	166	139
Potassium, K	mg	277	223	208	209
Sodium, Na	mg	57	105	113	63
Zinc, Zn	mg	3.58	1.25	2.32	1.36
VITAMINS
Vitamin C, total ascorbic acid	mg	0.0	0.0	0.0	2.8
Thiamine	mg	0.020	0.038	0.055	0.197
Riboflavin	mg	0.033	0.139	0.229	0.210
Niacin	mg	0.722	8.968	5.378	3.934
Vitamin B-6	mg	0.082	0.711	0.391	0.190
Folate, DFE	µg	1	7	6	13
Vitamin B-12	µg	0.73	0.67	1.84	0.25
Vitamin A, RAE	µg	0	19	26	50
Vitamin A, IU	IU	0	62	86	168
LIPIDS
Fatty acids, total saturated	g	11.780	1.899	2.413	13.220
Fatty acids, total monounsaturated	g	8.440	2.431	3.091	18.690
Fatty acids, total polyunsaturated	g	0.760	1.952	2.443	5.080
Cholesterol	mg	209	67	87	76
Nutrients	Unit	B-DM 100 grams (5)	T-WM 100 grams (6)	T-DM 100 grams (7)	D-DM 100 grams (8)
R-WM-Rabbit White Meat; C-WM-Chicken White Meat; C-DM-Chicken Dark Meat, P-WM-Pork White Meat; B-DM-Beef Dark Meat; T-WM-Turkey White Meat; T-DM-Turkey Dark Meat; D-DM–Duck Dark Meat

(1) Rabbit domesticated, composite of cuts, raw

(2) Chicken, broilers or fryers, light meat, meat and skin, raw

(3) Chicken, broilers or fryers, dark meat, meat only, raw

(4) Pork, fresh, variety meats and by-products, mechanically separated, raw

(5) Beef, variety meats and by-products, mechanically separated beef, raw

(6) Turkey from whole, light meat, meat and skin, raw

(7) Turkey, dark meat, meat and skin, raw

(8) Duck, domesticated, meat and skin, raw

Source:  United States Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, National Nutrient Database for Standard Reference, Release 27

Go for Rabbit's White Meat and Avoid Dark (Red) Meat

People are encouraged to eat white meats, instead of dark (red) meats, to minimize exposure to health problems. Rabbit's white meat is good for your body and health because it is rich in protein, phosphorus, potassium, thiamine, niacin, vitamin B6 and vitamin B12. It is low in total lipids (fat), sodium, fatty acids (total saturated) and cholesterol.

Some medical studies found that regular consumption of dark (red) meats is hazardous to one's health. Eating a lot of dark (red) meats results to increased risk of heart disease, hypertension, high cholesterol and triglycerides, diabetes, colon cancer, bowel cancer, lung cancer, pancreatic cancer, bladder cancer, obesity and other diseases.

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Source: Images and some text from Wikipedia.org under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License

Organic Water Spinach for Your Rabbits

Water spinach (Ipomoea aquatica) is a vegetable eaten in some countries especially in Southeast Asia like Cambodia, China, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Philippines and Vietnam. At the same time, it is eaten by some animals like rabbits, ducks, pigs and chickens. Just like carrots being eaten by humans and rabbits.

Water spinach is planted in water or on moist soil and matures in 30 to 35 days from planting. The stem, which is hollow and can float in water, expands up to one-fourth (¼) inch in diameter and grows from 1 foot (12 inches) to 10 feet. Water spinach bears flowers which produce small seeds. Below are images of water spinach.

Water spinach with flower

Harvested and bundled water spinach with roots

Nutrition Values of Water Spinach

Water spinach is nutritious which give some important nutrients to your rabbits. According to the United States Department of Agriculture, a 100-gram water spinach will give the following nutrition values:

Nutrient	Unit	Value per 100 grams	1 Cup, chopped 56 grams
PROXIMATES
Water	g	92.47	51.78
Energy	kcal	19	11
Protein	g	2.60	1.46
Total lipid (fat)	g	0.20	0.11
Carbohydrate, by difference	g	3.14	1.76
Fiber, total dietary	g	2.1	1.2
MINERALS
Calcium, Ca	mg	77	43
Iron, Fe	mg	1.67	0.94
Magnesium, Mg	mg	71	40
Phosphorus, P	mg	39	22
Potassium, K	mg	312	175
Sodium, Na	mg	113	63
Zinc, Zn	mg	0.18	0.10
VITAMINS
Vitamin C, total ascorbic acid	mg	55.0	30.8
Thiamine	mg	0.030	0.017
Riboflavin	mg	0.100	0.056
Niacin	mg	0.900	0.504
Vitamin B-6	mg	0.096	0.054
Folate, DFE	µg	57	32
Vitamin B-12	µg	0.00	0.00
Vitamin A, RAE	µg	315	176
Vitamin A, IU	IU	6300	3528
Vitamin D (D2 + D3)	µg	0.0	0.0
Vitamin D	IU	0	0
LIPIDS
Cholesterol	mg	0	0

Source: United States Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service,

National Nutrient Database for Standard Reference, Release 27

Rabbits can eat water spinach and have the necessary plant-based protein, dietary fiber, carbohydrates, energy, water, minerals and vitamins. (Caution: Feed one of your rabbits with one cup of chopped water spinach (56 grams) for 7 days and observe if diarrhea does not occur. STOP feeding if there is a problem.)

A study was conducted and found that water spinach given to some pregnant rats with induced diabetes lowered the blood sugar by preventing the digestive absorption of glucose. If rabbits will be feed with water spinach, they may become healthy and avoid veterinary care expenses.

How to Cultivate Organic Water Spinach

A. Materials Needed

1. One plastic pail, 6 inches diameter and 12 inches high
2. Water. If it is tap water taken from your faucet, store water on the pail for at least 24 hours to eliminate the chlorine.
3. 6 to 10 pieces of fresh water spinach (stems and leaves – about 10 inches long). You can buy them from any Asian store.

B. Procedures for Cultivation

1. Fill up a pail with water up to 6 inches high or one-half of your pail.
2. Remove all the leaves from the stems of water spinach
3. Put the water spinach stems on the pail with water.
4. Add water on the pail if it is less than one-half full.
5. You will see small leaves that will be sprouting in about 7 days from “planting”.
6. If the leaves are more than 2 inches long (about 30 days old), cut the leaves using a scissor and feed the fresh leaves to your rabbits.
7. You can use 7 to 14 pails to cultivate batches of water spinach so that you can supply your rabbits every day or every 3 days.
8. Or, you can buy a 55-gallon plastic drum (color: blue); cut it lengthwise using a metal cutter or saw; put water on the 2 half-size drums, and “plant” the water spinach.

For commercial rabbit meat production, several 55-gallon drums (cut into two, lengthwise) can be used to “plant” water spinach to avoid contamination from chemical pesticide, chemical fertilizers, and soil bacteria and fungi. If water spinach is planted on soil, they may pick up some bad microorganisms and parasites that are detrimental to the health of rabbits and humans.

Organic Fertilizers for Water Spinach

To make your water spinach as organic vegetable, which is good for humans and rabbits, you can do the following:

1. Buy liquid organic fertilizer from any agricultural store. If it is not available, buy a non-liquid organic fertilizer and make it in powder form. Put one-half (½) teaspoon of liquid or powdered organic fertilizer on the pail.
2. Use one-half gallon of dry rabbit manure and put it in a small sack or used pillow and tie the “mouth” with a plastic or nylon cord. Submerge the entire sack with rabbit manure in a plastic or earthen container with 5 gallons of water. If you use tap water, store the water on the container for at least 48 hours (2 days) to make the chlorine evaporate. Stir the water at least every 4 hours. After 48 hours, scoop 2 tablespoons of rabbit manure tea and mix it with 1 liter of water (non-chlorinated). Put the mixture on the pail with water spinach. The manure tea mix can be applied to the water spinach every 2 months or as needed.

If you remove the old water spinach and clean the pails or drums, use the water in watering your plants and trees. The used water contained some nutrients needed by other plants and trees.

Other Names for Water Spinach

Water spinach, in different names, is eaten in different countries.

Water spinach is called	In
Water spinach, river spinach, swamp cabbage, water morning glory, Chinese spinach, Chinese watercress, Chinese convolvulus and water convolvulus	English
Kangkong	Philippines
Phak bung	Thai
Ong choy	Cantonese
Rau	Chinese
Muống	Vietnamese
Trokuon	Khmer
Kolmou xak	Assamese
Shak	Bengali
Kangkung	Indonesian
Hayoyo	Ghana

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Source: Images and some text from Wikipedia.org under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License