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  • From: rayzentz AT aim.com
  • To: homestead AT lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: Re: [Homestead] Rabbit
  • Date: Thu, 16 Mar 2006 12:07:40 -0500

Just a curious question from one who grew up for a while with rabbits
supposedly raised for food, but never were, because Dad was too soft-hearted
to actually follow through. All became family pets.

What is the best/most efficient way to slaughter, and then butcher?

Ray (who loved his rabbit)

-----Original Message-----
From: Clansgian AT wmconnect.com
To: homestead AT lists.ibiblio.org
Sent: Wed, 15 Mar 2006 22:42:30 EST
Subject: Re: [Homestead] Rabbit




> What have you learned that would be
> useful to we who look forward to raising rabbits for food?

We've done it off and on for years. Now is definately one of the 'on' times
because it is really hard to put a pound of meat on the table more cheaply.

I'm sold on the all wire cages made with 'j' clips. It isn't dirt cheap but
it isn't so expensive. You should be able to make a 36" x 36" x 18" cage for
$20 worth of materials buying everything new. After a rabbit or group of
rabbits is through with the cage, you can go over it with a propane torch and
sterilize it.

The really huge breeds (like Belgian Giants) are not very efficient. Medium
large breeds such as Satin, Florida Giants, California Giants, etc are
efficient. As with a lot of animals the pure breds are prone to weaknesses
and
disease. At present all ours are Satin crosses, all the pure bred Satins
died.

While you can breed them year round, winter breeding is iffy and can cost a
lot in feed and losses of rabbits. In the warmer months (right now, for
instance) rabbits can be raised on hay, new green weeds and grass, and very
little
rabbit feed. By late spring and right through until late fall, twigs,
trimmings, weeds, garden waste, and such is all that is needed provided you
don't want
world's record sized rabbits. Clover, yellow dock, plantain, and such dried
on a hay rack in the summer will cut down on the winter feed bill
considerably.

I've found that almost all the exhortations and cautions about feeding and
raising rabbits only apply if the rabbits are under pressure and very high
weight of meat is needed. For instance, conventional wisdom says not to feed
much,
or any at all, of turnips, cabbage and the like to rabbits. I haven't found
it does them a bit of harm.

In my experience it is much easier to graze for the rabbits than to allow
them on pasture themselves. Potatoes and squashes help with the feed in the
winter.

Rabbits, more than any other animal I've raised, may have very strict
presonal eating preferences. Some will lunge at you to get grapfruit rind,
some
will
not touch it. Some will gain weight easily on grain soaked in milk, some
won't consider eating it even if there is nothing else.

It used to be said to never let a rabbit have access to it's own droppings
because (gasp) they'd eat them and that just has to be a bad thing. Turns
out
rabbits concentrate certain hard to digest bits of plants in certain
droppings
and then eat them a second time much as a cow chewing her cud. Denying them
all access to their droppings thwarts this natural process.

If I didn't like eating them, I'd still keep rabbits just to get the manure
for the garden.


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