# "pet" bunnies



## nj_m715 (Oct 31, 2008)

I'm going to see a pair of NZ/Rex does tomorrow. I have to get them as "pets". My wife would eat a deer when I was hunting, but she flipped over the idea of eating a cute little bunny. At least we can get used to raising and caring for them. I'll sneak buck home later and "oops" how did they get pregnant :dunno:. Maybe someday we can move up to a pair of pet potbelly pigs if I can bring her around:crossfinger:. We eat a lot of chicken quarters because it's the cheapest thing here. I'm sure I can swap in rabbit quarters and stew/ground meat without getting caught. I know it's a dirty trick, but that's how I got here to eat game in the first place. She was mad for a day but she got over it when she realized it tasted better and fresher than anything from the store. She didn't want to see it getting cleaned, but once it looked like steak or chops it was all good with her.


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## goshengirl (Dec 18, 2010)

Gotta admit, I'm just like your wife. I've had rabbit before, it's good, but I don't want to see Thumper (or Bambi) getting cut up. But give it to me looking like something I picked up at the grocery store and I have no problem cooking it.


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## BadgeBunny (Nov 2, 2010)

Don't let her take care of them. Don't let her name them. Don't let her pet them. Don't ask her to help butcher. Don't even tell her when you are gonna do it. Just do the deed yourself and move on.

Sorry for all the "don'ts". My dad raised all kinds of animals for the express intent of butchering. My mom got emotionally attached to every single one of them. Worse than us kids ... even when we were little. 

I remember my dad not letting me go to the shed when he was butchering rabbits when I was younger (like 5 or 6). I was a daddy's girl so I wandered out there (even though he told me not to) and found him with a half dozen rabbits hanging on hooks bleeding out. I said "Oh, daddy, that's kinda messy don't you think?" I scared the bejeebus outta him. He told the neighbor (a dairy farmer) when he took meat to trade for milk that he nearly had a heart attack but it was good to know I was tougher and more practical than my mom! LOL

My dad finally stopped talking about it, stopped asking her to help take care of them and started just doing what he needed to do. She finally got over it ... that fresh meat just tasted so much better than storebought (and they were feeding 7 kids, so the savings at the grocery store didn't hurt either).


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## *Andi (Nov 8, 2009)

:goodluck:

Home grown is best. 

(Plus you know what is has been eating)


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## Jason (Jul 25, 2009)

Exactly. I'm not a vet or anything, but I just feed my 3 rabbits oats and hay that we raise here on the farm and they do fine. I don't even buy commercial rabbit pellets any more. Maybe one of those salt spools once in a while.


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## azurevirus (Jan 20, 2009)

Noooooooo...puleeze ..not the bunnies


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## SunflowerGirl (Feb 14, 2011)

My mother always said that you shouldn't name your food, as soon as you give an animal a name it becomes a pet.


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## *Andi (Nov 8, 2009)

SunflowerGirl said:


> My mother always said that you shouldn't name your food, as soon as you give an animal a name it becomes a pet.


LOL ...
I always tell my son not to play with his food.


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## BadgeBunny (Nov 2, 2010)

SunflowerGirl said:


> My mother always said that you shouldn't name your food, as soon as you give an animal a name it becomes a pet.


My dad always said you could name it, just don't get attached to it! We had a pig named Hamlet and a steer named T-Bone ...  They were both very, very tasty.

My oldest son had a cat he was extremely fond of. It got out on the road in front of our property and got hit by a car. Terrified to tell him his cat was dead, but figuring he was old enough to handle it, I told him what had happened and that Fluffy was no longer with us.

He looked down at his shoes for a minute, scuffed his toe in the gravel and said "Damn cat ... I told him to stay off the highway!"  It was all I could do to keep from busting out laughing ... couldn't even reprimand him for his language (he was 6) ... that kid has always been a handful!


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## CVORNurse (Oct 19, 2008)

azurevirus said:


> Noooooooo...puleeze ..not the bunnies


Yumm, tastes like chicken


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## The_Blob (Dec 24, 2008)

SunflowerGirl said:


> My mother always said that you shouldn't name your food, as soon as you give an animal a name it becomes a pet.


the first pig I ever got was named *Bacon* ... cuz that's what he was going to be :lolsmash:


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## nj_m715 (Oct 31, 2008)

My son I and picked out an almost matching pair of does white w/ black markings and brought them home. We have them in our old dog cage until we can get an outside hutch. I think they poop more than the dog and he's over 90#s. I was calling them thing 1 and thing 2 (my boy's 6yo) until he picked names. Now I tease him and call them Acme and Aldis. It's safe for him to get attached. I made it clear they are our pets and we will have them for a long time, but they might have babies someday and we don't have room for all of them when they get big. 
Anyway, does anyone know what kind of greens they can eat or more important what they can't eat? I'm talking about wild or easy to grow stuff. I want to feed them with as much natural veg as I can during the summer and only use feed/hay as supplant or in the winter. I stuck a box in the cage for them to curl up in and they just chewed the heck out of it. Do they need something to chew on or are they just destructive little critters?
I never had rabbits, but grew up with dogs so I know a little about animals. I read up on rabbits, but I guess not enough. That's why I want to dive in and get my feet wet. If I can raise I, I can raise 10 or 100 if needed. 
The guy I got them from might be a closet prepper. He had cages full of animals stacked in his basement and was raising some little birds that looked like softball sized chickens, I forget their name. He talked about having ducks in the backyard, but he wasn't happy with them because they weren't laying enough for him. We talked for awhile. He just got started a few months ago, but had some helpful advise. I was afraid to mention meat rabbits until I saw his set up. 
Thanks. pics soon.


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## SaskDame (Aug 27, 2010)

Rabbit poop tea is fabulous fertilizer for the garden.


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## iouJC (Nov 20, 2010)

Some info on rabbits:
http://www.preparedsociety.com/forum/f36/food-prices-going-up-4623/index3.html


> As far as feed, I fed mine weeds after the price of feed went up (but once again it is important for you to learn more about edible weeds) and they did fine. I fed mostly Giant Ragweed and Wild Buckwheat, which grows all over my property. They also love the thinnings and left overs from the garden, and Possum grapes and grape vines. During winter, I would feed hot oatmeal with mashed bananas (over-ripe bananas sell for CHEAP at the store, as do alot of the veggies) and molasses. Also used them to rotate out any of my canned vegetables or fruit that were a year or so over expiration date.


Do NOT feed apple cores or peach, apricot, or plum seeds. The seeds are toxic to them.
They do need twigs to chew on or their teeth will grow too long....really! They can have one or two fruit tree twigs occassionally, but too many can be toxic. They do need twigs on a continuous basis....oak, they LOVE sugar maple and other non fruit tree twigs.
The manure is like GOLD for the garden!!


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## CVORNurse (Oct 19, 2008)

nj_m715 said:


> My son I and picked out an almost matching pair of does white w/ black markings and brought them home. We have them in our old dog cage until we can get an outside hutch. I think they poop more than the dog and he's over 90#s. I was calling them thing 1 and thing 2 (my boy's 6yo) until he picked names. Now I tease him and call them Acme and Aldis. It's safe for him to get attached. I made it clear they are our pets and we will have them for a long time, but they might have babies someday and we don't have room for all of them when they get big.
> Anyway, does anyone know what kind of greens they can eat or more important what they can't eat? I'm talking about wild or easy to grow stuff. I want to feed them with as much natural veg as I can during the summer and only use feed/hay as supplant or in the winter. I stuck a box in the cage for them to curl up in and they just chewed the heck out of it. Do they need something to chew on or are they just destructive little critters?
> I never had rabbits, but grew up with dogs so I know a little about animals. I read up on rabbits, but I guess not enough. That's why I want to dive in and get my feet wet. If I can raise I, I can raise 10 or 100 if needed.
> The guy I got them from might be a closet prepper. He had cages full of animals stacked in his basement and was raising some little birds that looked like softball sized chickens, I forget their name. He talked about having ducks in the backyard, but he wasn't happy with them because they weren't laying enough for him. We talked for awhile. He just got started a few months ago, but had some helpful advise. I was afraid to mention meat rabbits until I saw his set up.
> Thanks. pics soon.


My daddy told me rabbits need something to chew on because their teeth grow constantly, and must keep them worn down, they overgrow and they cannot eat. I do know not to keep them in an all wood cage or they will chew through and escape.


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## Jason (Jul 25, 2009)

CVOR nurse is spot-on. Their teeth grow throughout their entire life so they need something to gnaw on. In the summer I feed mine orchard grass instead of hay but any fresh green grass seems to do the trick. All you need is a handful per bunny.


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## nj_m715 (Oct 31, 2008)

Thanks, We can forage greens in a few more weeks and we have plenty of oaks for twigs. They have become used to us already. They come over, stick their noses through the cage a beg for treats like our dog. At first they ran to the far side of the cage when anyone came near.


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## Clarice (Aug 19, 2010)

When one of our nieces was younger (about 12) she had dinner with us "rabbit & dumplings" she did not know it was rabbit, said it was the best chicken & dumplings she had ever eaten. Later her father told her what it was and she threw up. Some people can't get past it.


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## CVORNurse (Oct 19, 2008)

Clarice said:


> When one of our nieces was younger (about 12) she had dinner with us "rabbit & dumplings" she did not know it was rabbit, said it was the best chicken & dumplings she had ever eaten. Later her father told her what it was and she threw up. Some people can't get past it.


As a picky eater myself, I can sympathize with your niece. My daddy was a big believer in clean your plate, but I have/had a "nervous stomach". They finally stopped making me eat, and I have never forced my kids to eat anything they didn't want to eat of their own accord. In desperation once, he lied and told me the rabbit was all white meat chicken. I kinda thought something was up but ate it anyway and discovered that I did like rabbit. I have kinda outgrown my nervous tummy, and will try new foods now, but.... do not always like them. 
Funny thing to me is that my 2 girls, the only blood related children I have, have some of those same dislikes that I exhibited as a child, even though I outgrew them well before either was born.


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## dulcimerlady (Oct 14, 2010)

My husband and I breed rabbits for meat. Sorry, but I cannot be counted among the women who are skweemish about killing and eating bunnies. Bothers me not. :dunno: If it makes us more self sustainable, I'm all for it. In our house, the cute little bunnies are food. Period. Dogs and cats are pets. Then, there is the goldfish...but hubby keeps threatening to use him as bait...


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## The_Blob (Dec 24, 2008)

nj_m715 said:


> Anyway, does anyone know what kind of greens they can eat or more important what they can't eat? I'm talking about wild or easy to grow stuff. I want to feed them with as much natural veg as I can during the summer and only use feed/hay as supplant or in the winter. I stuck a box in the cage for them to curl up in and they just chewed the heck out of it. Do they need something to chew on or are they just destructive little critters?


dandelion leaves and wild rhubarb leaves (both fast growers) seem to be an absolute favorite for the few rabbits I've had

being lagomorphs (not rodents) their teeth grow continuously so they do need to chew something, I've used silver maple, pine & poplar branches/sticks/twigs



iouJC said:


> Do NOT feed apple cores or pear, peach, apricot, or plum seeds. The seeds are toxic to them.
> They do need twigs to chew on or their teeth will grow too long....really! They can have one or two fruit tree twigs occassionally, but too many can be toxic. They do need twigs on a continuous basis....oak, they LOVE sugar maple and other non fruit tree twigs.


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## nj_m715 (Oct 31, 2008)

Thanks, I will try the dandelions. I want to try some coffee anyway. I talked to some guys who made some, but didn't like it. I don't expect it to taste like store bought, maybe they did. I plan to blend it into some regular coffee to stretch it out as long as it tastes ok.

Anyway, here's the critters.


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## Ezmerelda (Oct 17, 2010)

My son keeps asking for a rabbit, but stops as soon as I tell him that we'll only get a rabbit if we can eat it later.

He gives me that look eek and I repeat myself - dogs and cats are pets, chickens and rabbits are livestock. 

Eventually, I'll get through to him. :crossfinger:


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## The_Blob (Dec 24, 2008)

Ezmerelda said:


> My son keeps asking for a rabbit, but stops as soon as I tell him that we'll only get a rabbit if we can eat it later.
> 
> He gives me that look eek and I repeat myself - dogs and cats are pets, chickens and rabbits are livestock.
> 
> Eventually, I'll get through to him. :crossfinger:


If he's old enough you can teach him there's nothing wrong with 'pampering' a food animal (especially compared to factory farming) and giving it a good life before it fulfills its ultimate purpose. From experioence: I adored my ducks as a small child (5) but when it came time, I had no problems taking care of business.


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## cybergranny (Mar 11, 2011)

Our rabbitry got started yesterday. We have 2 New Zealand does and a Californian buck. Oh, yes a Rex doe as a pet. The pet is named Tillie and the others are Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner. lol

Appreciate some of the advice given for non purchased feed, as that has been a concern of mine as prices continue to rise exponentially.


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## nj_m715 (Oct 31, 2008)

Granny, Welcome. Have you read through this thread? Several people offered suggestions already. You'll probably find some good answers.


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## HozayBuck (Jan 27, 2010)

*The best thing about making pets out of the bunnies*

Is that they trust you and it makes them easier to catch when your gonna make food outta them..

I saw a set up one time several years ago the guy built a pen about 20 by 20 ft..trenched it and put hog wire in about 2 feet down then he made the sides about 6 ft high with chicken wire and roofed it he dug holes about 2x2 ft with a narrow trench and covered them with treated plywood and covered that with dirt leaving the opening.. he tossed in a doe for each den and a buck... put a bail of hay in and just watered them.. he was soon over run with rabbits.. I never tried it but I guess it works.. and the kids can't make pets out of them..might have to try it myself..sure be an easy way to do it.


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## cybergranny (Mar 11, 2011)

Yeah I read through, didn't phrase my post correctly. Too early in the am. Meant to say I appreciated all the info in this thread on feeding.


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