- Snares & traps work while you sleep: simple wire snares (£10 for materials) on game trails — pencil-width loops for rabbit at fist height, anchored solid. Deadfalls (figure-4 trigger) for small game. Check twice daily; trapping beats hunting on calories-per-effort by a mile.
- Field dressing basics: gut promptly (heat spoils meat from inside), keep clean/cool/dry, cook thoroughly — wild game carries parasites (module 2 applies). Practice now on whole chickens/rabbits from the butcher: skinning and jointing is the same skill.
- Egg preservation: unwashed fresh eggs "water-glassed" in lime water (1 tbsp pickling lime per litre) keep 12+ months. Turns a chicken glut into winter breakfast.
- Bees (Phase-3 gold): honey = medicine + sugar + barter; a starter hive ~£200-350 + local beekeeping club (free mentors).
- Insects & "famine foods" page: crickets/grasshoppers/grubs (cooked, never raw), acorn flour done properly, inner pine bark flour — the knowledge that kept historical populations alive between harvests.
Protein beyond the pantry
Snares and traps work while you sleep. Egg preservation and beekeeping for the longer term.