# Rabbits for food update!



## Seneschal

No pictures (this time...) but I figured I'd give you all an update. I've got a decent sized (5x10x5 feet) outdoor cage built, and today slaughtered my first rabbit.

Granted, the rabbit in question was one I'd intended to use as a breeder, but it flipped its lid and over the last week and a half has been biting every time I/anyone get near it, and yesterday it attacked me when I attempted to transfer it to a different cage. Drew blood and then continued attempting to bite even when I had its eyes covered and it securely wrapped in a towel--tore the towel to pieces. 

So, since my policy for any animal, raised for food or not, is that it has to be safe to handle, the rabbit earned itself a death sentence.

I had my grandfather help me, and while we had some trouble with the actual slaughtering part (the damn rabbit wouldn't hold still without lunging for our hands/arms/any piece of skin even remotely close to the front half of its body, so we were unable to break the neck as he had been experienced in doing) but after we got out his small gun and shot it, it was fine. I was worried initially that the butchering and skinning would bother me, but it didn't at all. 

Long story short, I now have a neatly cased rabbit skin in the freezer and almost 3 pounds of rabbit meat in the fridge, waiting to be cooked. 

I'm very excited about it, because this is the first time I will have killed, skinned, and butchered my own food! My brother and mom think I've lost it, but I've extracted promises that both of them will at least TRY the meat tonight. Now to look up rabbit recipes...

Next time, I'll try to take pictures in case anyone else wants to see the process. 

I'm going to freeze the pelts up until I have enough to justify buying the chemicals to tan it, but just one pelt isn't enough.


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## horseman09

Congrats, Sen. I'm sure you'll like rabbit. Tame rab is all white meat, wild is all dark, but both are delicious IMHO.

Two thoughts, though. We raised meat rabbits for years ( while the kids were growing up) and I've never had an aggressive rabbit. Just a real long shot, and not meaning to burst your joyful bubble, but......any chance it had rabies? Was is at any time in the last 30 days or so outside where it could have been infected by another animal? Extremely unlikely, but ya might wanna think back just in case. If not, chock it up to a psychotic rabbit -- otherwise known as a rabbit with a hair up his butt. LOL Sorry. 

Regarding killing and skinning: Everyone has their favorite ways of doing things, but I've found the easiest way to humanely kill a rab (except your nutso one  ) is to put it on your knee, belly down with the head away from you and slightly down over your knee. Use a stout stick to whack it hard behind the ears. Lights out with no pain to the bunny -- no blood either. As for skinning, after killing the rab, I hold them by the back legs and dip them in a bucket of cold water and rub them vigorously to saturate the hair. Wet hair doesn't stick to dry meat like dry hair does. Reduces hair-on-meat contamination considerably. After that, I'd slit the throat and hang it by the back legs for a little while to let it bleed out. 

Again............congrats on your first step to home-grown meat production.


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## Seneschal

Thanks Horseman! Actually, yeah, the first thing I thought when it bit was rabies, but the rabbit has no injuries, and has not been outside where it could be bitten by anything in the entire time I've had it, which is since it was 8 weeks old. I did wash and sanitize the bite wound thoroughly, and I'm keeping an eye on it. Thank you for the warning, though! But bunny's been inside and away from any potential transmissions unless my (indoor) cat has somehow contracted rabies, lol!

Yeah, we were going to hit it behind the head too, but even picking him up was dangerous due to the thrashing and attempted biting he was doing. This particular rabbit has always been a pain to handle, but over the last week or two it's been getting worse, nipping and such. In any case, it was a clean shot through the head, so I feel safe in saying the rabbit didn't suffer.

I DO wish we'd had the sense to let it bleed out before attempting to skin it, though! It was a pain in the butt dealing with all the congealing blood.

I wonder though why the tame rabbit is all white and wild is all dark? That's really interesting. Could it be the activity levels perhaps?

Edit: Also! Forgot to mention, I decided on a pot-roast type thing, just put it into a big stone pan, doused it with water, salt, pepper, thyme, oregano and...some other spice, I forget what...and put it in the oven with chopped up garlic, onion, potato, and carrots. I figured it'd be best to try it as close to plain as possible so I know how to cook it next time.

Cheers!


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## horseman09

Mmmmmmmmm. [drool drool] Rabbit roasted with garlic, onions, taters and carrots. Hmmmmph. I don't have any rabbit -- guess I'll have to go thaw me out a venison steak.

Let me know how you like the rabbit!


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## mdprepper

Sen, congrats on your first rabbit. I am so jealous!!! I did buy a frozen rabbit at the grocery store this week to see if my family will eat it. Let us know how you liked your rabbit!


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## mosquitomountainman

We dispatch rabbits by holding them upside down by the hind feet then clubbing them in the back of the head. They usually cooperate nicely by holding their head back so you can get a clear shot with the club. It's very quick and painless for the rabbit and it keeps things cleaner than using a bullet.


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## Seneschal

Horseman and mdrpepper: It was good! It was kind of bland (it tasted a lot like roast chicken, really, lol) and wasn't what I was expecting. I was expecting a more gamey flavor (I'm spoiled by venison!) but I liked it! I think you could use it in most chicken recipes, definitely, for a slightly different texture and taste. There was a big difference between the meat on the legs and the meat on the back along the spine, too. Overall it was good, but if you like your meat flavorful, you'll want to spice it a lot, mdrpepper. I think next time I'm going to try a stew!

And mosquitomountain: Thanks for the advice! I'll try that next time, but I don't think this guy would have put up with that, since he was pretty much flailing and kicking wildly. It might have, and probably would have been much cleaner than shooting it was.


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## mosquitomountainman

When they get irate like that they can be hard to put down. You have the same opinion of rabbit meat as mine. We quit raising them when we ran low on kids at home. One got away and had others. I killed and ate all of them but one. That one was too cagy. He got revenge though. He got into our garden and girdled most of our apple trees. I think a coyote got him 'cause I never did find him after we got back from our trip. At that point death would have been too good for it! I wanted it to suffer.:gaah:


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## horseman09

Glad you like the rabbit, Sens. Rab is really good as a stir fry, too. Bone it out as best you can, then boil the carcass in as little water as possible for, oh, 20 minutes or so. While it's boiling, cut up the meat into bitsized pieces, then spinkle with garlic powder (not garlic salt) and onion powder (not salt). Add a little water and mush it around some. In a wok, pour in some olive oil and drawn butter and heat until hot but not smoking. Put about half a cup of meat in the oil at a time -- you want it to fry quickly not boil so don't put too much in at a time-- and stir each batch around until it is lightly browned then set it in a warming bowl. Add a little oil as needed and let it get hot before you add any more meat between batches. When it's all done, pour the broth into the pan, add a little beef and a little chicken powdered stock and some more garlic and onion to taste and a little black pepper. A little soy sauce is good too. After adding all that, taste to see if you need any more salt or spices, then throw the meat back in. If it's a little salty at this point, that's ok, because you'll then want to add some corn starch thickening -- that will absorb any over salt. Serve over rice or egg noodles or chow mein noddles. MmmmmmmmmmmMMMMMMmmmmmmmmmm.


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## *Andi

Good for you!:2thumb:

Sorry you had to put down a breeder but it happens sometimes. Waiting for the next update.


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## mdprepper

I cooked my "store bought" rabbit this weekend. I just did a traditional fry. I was shocked, it really did taste just like chicken! I was expecting more of the flavor like the ones that we hunted.


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## HozayBuck

mdprepper said:


> I cooked my "store bought" rabbit this weekend. I just did a traditional fry. I was shocked, it really did taste just like chicken! I was expecting more of the flavor like the ones that we hunted.


Good for you!!! I always thought even the wild ones tasted like chicken... hell I think tree rats taste like chix... I have no taste... Oh ..they also make good dumplings and stew...

I do plan to start raising the things.. they are damned expencive in stores last I saw...


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## mdprepper

HozayBuck said:


> I do plan to start raising the things.. they are damned expencive in stores last I saw...


I too want to raise them, but I can not where we live now. I bought the one at the store to make sure the kids will eat it (I even fed it to my Mom and she could not tell the difference:sssh. Yes it was rather expensive (to me), just about $5 for a bit over 2lbs. At those prices, I can buy boneless, skinless chicken breast!

Oh well, I did not mind, I wanted, needed to experiment. It is nice to know that if/when we buy land I can raise (I had pet rabbits as a kid) and cook them.


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## *Andi

mdprepper said:


> Yes it was rather expensive (to me), just about $5 for a bit over 2lbs.


Wow ... you are lucky ... around here rabbit in the store sells for 8.99 a lb.


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## HozayBuck

*Andi said:


> Wow ... you are lucky ... around here rabbit in the store sells for 8.99 a lb.


That's the price I remember !!!... the best part is it's all white meat!! like having a all white meat chix!! cool or what?

A while back there was a post in here about raising rabbits and skinning and tanning the hides, I just can't get into that whole thing...killing and skinning is fine but I have no desire to mess with tanning the hides...

I can kill one, skin it, gut it and wash it out and have it cut up and cooking in 15 mins.. tanning a little hide seems a waste of my time... but who knows..might think about it...


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## HozayBuck

mdprepper said:


> I too want to raise them, but I can not where we live now. I bought the one at the store to make sure the kids will eat it (I even fed it to my Mom and she could not tell the difference:sssh. Yes it was rather expensive (to me), just about $5 for a bit over 2lbs. At those prices, I can buy boneless, skinless chicken breast!
> 
> Oh well, I did not mind, I wanted, needed to experiment. It is nice to know that if/when we buy land I can raise (I had pet rabbits as a kid) and cook them.


How did the kids like it? any problems with eating Peter Rabbit???


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## *Andi

HozayBuck said:


> tanning a little hide seems a waste of my time... but who knows..might think about it...


I freeze my hides untill I have about 20 to work ... and the rabbit fur cape will be worth it. LOL :2thumb:

Think about it ... I would say The Lady of the Manor would like one. (or not) LOL


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## HozayBuck

*Andi said:


> I freeze my hides untill I have about 20 to work ... and the rabbit fur cape will be worth it. LOL :2thumb:
> 
> Think about it ... I would say The Lady of the Manor would like one. (or not) LOL


make one hell of a lap quilt!! every time I get one for TV at night, she walks in, says "MINE" grabs it , puts her feet in my lap then allows me to cover her.... am I whipped?


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## mdprepper

HozayBuck said:


> am I whipped?


YES, but that is a good thing!!

The kids loved it. I did not tell anyone what they were eating before they ate it:sssh:.

I bought the rabbit at an "International" grocery store. http://lamartss.com/photo.html

All Asian and Spanish foods (with a very small "American" aisle). You can also buy chicken feet, beef heads (eyes and hide removed), all kinds of interesting stuff there.


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## kyfarmer

Two bird's with one rock. Had a little cabbage thief, so i gave him some right next to him in the pot. Bug's was good.


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## HozayBuck

kyfarmer said:


> Two bird's with one rock. Had a little cabbage thief, so i gave him some right next to him in the pot. Bug's was good.


Gotta be again natures law to cook a rabbit with cabbage.....rabbits is frying food..and maybe dumplings or even stew..but hold the cabbage....


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## Freyadog

mosquitomountainman said:


> We dispatch rabbits by holding them upside down by the hind feet then clubbing them in the back of the head. They usually cooperate nicely by holding their head back so you can get a clear shot with the club. It's very quick and painless for the rabbit and it keeps things cleaner than using a bullet.


Yep that is how we do our rabbits also. Quick..


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## sailaway

I purchased the current Backwoods Man Friday night, there was a how too article in there on how to make home made snares for rabbits, and how many of them you should have for a primitive or wilderness survival situation.


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## Jason

I used to raise rabbits and plan on getting back into it this summer if I possibly can. A few years back I bought a few breeders from a guy I was working with at the time. One of them was absolutely nuts. I literally had to wear welding gloves to feed it. It was the first to be eaten. In all my life that's the only rabbit like that I've seen. Psycho bunnies are rare but I guess they can happen.

As far as killing them humanely, we also like to club them, usually with a hammer handle (no head on it). One sharp blow and there is no suffering.


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