# Yummy Rabbit



## Megoony (Jan 15, 2013)

That is awesome. When I was a kid, my parents bred tons of new zealand rabbits (and other large mixes) on our mini-farm for meat. We loved it- domestic rabbit is pretty tasty- for pooches and people apparently!


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## MollyMuiMa (Oct 13, 2012)

YUM!!!! My dad used to raise meat rabbits..........but I sure hated when he slaughtered them as I was usually out in the hutch playing with the babies (we had a huge walk-in hutch)when I was a kid. Yet, I also ate em'....................my Dad made the best spaghetti sauce with rabbit ever!!!!!
I have some pretty funny stories involving rabbits.......


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## poodlecrazy#1 (Jul 2, 2013)

Megoony said:


> That is awesome. When I was a kid, my parents bred tons of new zealand rabbits (and other large mixes) on our mini-farm for meat. We loved it- domestic rabbit is pretty tasty- for pooches and people apparently!



I don't think I will try it but I'm sure they will like it. I have no clue what breed he was but he was a big black bunny that have lots of meat! 


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## poodlecrazy#1 (Jul 2, 2013)

MollyMuiMa said:


> YUM!!!! My dad used to raise meat rabbits..........but I sure hated when he slaughtered them as I was usually out in the hutch playing with the babies (we had a huge walk-in hutch)when I was a kid. Yet, I also ate em'....................my Dad made the best spaghetti sauce with rabbit ever!!!!!
> I have some pretty funny stories involving rabbits.......



Lol I was so scared about the butchering part but I can't believe how easy it was! Easier than chickens that's for sure. It was just a mop handle behind the ears step on it and pull the back legs straight up. Bam! He was gone, no pupillary response or anything. The death throws were a lot less dramatic than chickens are too. 


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## Luce (Mar 4, 2013)

I have to admit, that's where I draw the line!! Yes I eat meat, I cook meat, sometimes I even work with meat (even though I am a pastry chef), but killing it myself...........I don't think so. I apologize to a bug before I kill it LOL,


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## JudyD (Feb 3, 2013)

Lucky you, Killa! My dogs love rabbit, but it's $4/pound at the meat market, each rabbit is about 2 pounds, and I need one for each dog...so they don't get it very often. 

Wish I could find a source around here for fresh rabbit. There are a number of 4-H rabbit raisers who show at the county fairs, but apparently they don't sell slaughtered rabbits. Rabbits breed like, well, rabbits. What do you suppose they do with all those baby bunnies?


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## PoodleRick (Mar 18, 2013)

Luce said:


> I have to admit, that's where I draw the line!! Yes I eat meat, I cook meat, sometimes I even work with meat (even though I am a pastry chef), *but killing it myself...........I don't think so*. I apologize to a bug before I kill it LOL,


I'm right there with you. I eat meat but if I had to kill it myself I'd probably be a vegetarian. As a suburban raised kid meat was something in the grocery store, not the cute fluffy things running around.

Rick


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## Luce (Mar 4, 2013)

Rick LOL LOL LOL There are loads of bunnies in my neighborhood!! Luce stares and goes into point when she sees one, it's very cute. She stopped pulling on the leash when she figured out I won't let her go chasing it. Now they just stare back at her - even just 15-20' away. Silly rabbits.


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## poodlecrazy#1 (Jul 2, 2013)

Lol, I used to be the same way, but now that I know how grocery store bought animals are raised and treated I prefer to raise my food myself. That way I know it was raised and treated in the best way possible. Plus you are getting free ranged organic product for much cheaper than you would in any store or farmers market. 


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## poodlecrazy#1 (Jul 2, 2013)

JudyD said:


> Lucky you, Killa! My dogs love rabbit, but it's $4/pound at the meat market, each rabbit is about 2 pounds, and I need one for each dog...so they don't get it very often.
> 
> 
> 
> Wish I could find a source around here for fresh rabbit. There are a number of 4-H rabbit raisers who show at the county fairs, but apparently they don't sell slaughtered rabbits. Rabbits breed like, well, rabbits. What do you suppose they do with all those baby bunnies?



Are they 2lbs after processing? I bet they sell all those babies for $60-$200 per head. Those things can be expensive depending on the breed and if they are champions. They make much better profits as pets than they do as meat. 


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## PoodleRick (Mar 18, 2013)

poodlecrazy#1 said:


> Lol, I used to be the same way, *but now that I know how grocery store bought animals are raised and treated* I prefer to raise my food myself. That way I know it was raised and treated in the best way possible. Plus you are getting free ranged organic product for much cheaper than you would in any store or farmers market.
> 
> 
> Sent from Petguide.com Free App


Yeah, knowing the awful conditions our commercial livestock are raised in I should be a veg anyway. And that's been my personal dilemma when it comes to this. Is it worse to put a miserable animal out of it's misery or kill a happy one for food? Not trying to stir the pot or anything I really can't come to a decision.

Rick


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## JudyD (Feb 3, 2013)

poodlecrazy#1 said:


> Are they 2lbs after processing? I bet they sell all those babies for $60-$200 per head. Those things can be expensive depending on the breed and if they are champions. They make much better profits as pets than they do as meat.
> 
> 
> Sent from Petguide.com Free App


That's after processing. I'd think there's some limit to the pet market, though, while selling as meat would be an ongoing proposition. One woman did tell me that to sell rabbit as human-grade food, she'd have to meet USDA requirements, which would make the meat prohibitively expensive for a small breeder. I told her my dogs wouldn't mind if she wasn't USDA approved, so she said she'd think about it, but she never called me back.


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## JudyD (Feb 3, 2013)

PoodleRick said:


> Yeah, knowing the awful conditions our commercial livestock are raised in I should be a veg anyway. And that's been my personal dilemma when it comes to this. Is it worse to put a miserable animal out of it's misery or kill a happy one for food? Not trying to stir the pot or anything I really can't come to a decision.
> 
> Rick


My husband, son, and son-in-law are or have been hunters--it's the norm here in WV. My granddaughter killed a turkey when she was 13 and my grandson shot his first squirrel when he was 12. I have no problem with eating wild game (there's a wild turkey breast in my freezer, as well as some venison for the dogs), but I did tell my son he could shoot only what we eat. No gratuitous killing permitted. Although we do eat mostly farm-raised meat, if it were possible I'd rather eat meat from an animal that lived all but the last few minutes of its life as nature intended. Well, I suppose nature intends for every animal to die at some point, but maybe a bullet or an arrow is preferable to being torn to pieces by a coyote or starving to death during a bad winter.


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## PoodleRick (Mar 18, 2013)

Good points Judy. We live in the outer outer burbs now and there are lots of hunters and hunting going here that I have no problem with. If I ever held a gun I be one of those idiots that winds up shooting their own ear off so.....


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## Megoony (Jan 15, 2013)

poodlecrazy#1 said:


> Lol, I used to be the same way, but now that I know how grocery store bought animals are raised and treated I prefer to raise my food myself. That way I know it was raised and treated in the best way possible. Plus you are getting free ranged organic product for much cheaper than you would in any store or farmers market.
> 
> 
> Sent from Petguide.com Free App


I couldn't agree more! Give me happy meat - I'd rather eat the home-grown variety any day of the week. My dream is to someday have a small hobby farm and raise all my own chickens (meat and eggs!), and maybe even a beef cow or two . . . someday . . . .


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## N2Mischief (Dec 3, 2012)

I tried to raise my own steer. Problem was it was so much fun to sort him and the other steers on my horse. I guess i played with him too much and when all was said and done he was super tough. Lol but he had been in good shape!


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## poodlecrazy#1 (Jul 2, 2013)

PoodleRick said:


> Yeah, knowing the awful conditions our commercial livestock are raised in I should be a veg anyway. And that's been my personal dilemma when it comes to this. Is it worse to put a miserable animal out of it's misery or kill a happy one for food? Not trying to stir the pot or anything I really can't come to a decision.
> 
> 
> 
> Rick



That's a very good question, and one I can only answer for myself. I see it this way; I am a total meat eater I can not survive with out it (I had my vegetarian kick when I was younger and I failed miserably). Now it's easy with chickens because the breed you buy for meat is much different than what you buy as pets/for eggs. They are bred to grow fast and big. within 6-8 weeks they are 5-6 lbs. this rapid growth causes heart issues many will die from heart attacks if they are not fed proper rations. By the time they are 6 weeks old they are so big that they can't move well and have a hard time supporting their own body weight. So by that time you are doing them a favor by butchering them. They are not really all that happy. As for other meat sources I feel that they have lived the life they were meant to live and at the time of slaughter they should be treated nicely and not taken for granted. I personally thank any animal that I butcher for their sacrifice. I think many people take for granted the life that was sacrificed to make their tummies full and raising and slaughtering your own food really helps you be grateful for it. And think if they weren't destined to be used as meat they probably wouldn't of had a life to live at all. 


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## poodlecrazy#1 (Jul 2, 2013)

JudyD said:


> That's after processing. I'd think there's some limit to the pet market, though, while selling as meat would be an ongoing proposition. One woman did tell me that to sell rabbit as human-grade food, she'd have to meet USDA requirements, which would make the meat prohibitively expensive for a small breeder. I told her my dogs wouldn't mind if she wasn't USDA approved, so she said she'd think about it, but she never called me back.



Yes it is very difficult, and even frightening. You have to be inspected by government officials and have to butcher certain ways in certain areas and blah blah blah. That is the reason I don't sell my eggs, we just give them away if we have to many for our family. All of the paper work and bills definitely would make it not it. Rabbits just don't produce enough meat. 


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## poodlecrazy#1 (Jul 2, 2013)

N2Mischief said:


> I tried to raise my own steer. Problem was it was so much fun to sort him and the other steers on my horse. I guess i played with him too much and when all was said and done he was super tough. Lol but he had been in good shape!
> 
> 
> Sent from Petguide.com Free App



Lol you turned all that nice yummy fat (marbling) into muscle and worked that muscle hard. That's what a lot of people don't realize about grass fed cattle. They aren't fattened up with grain and corn so they don't have as much fat which gives you the great flavor and that tenderness. 


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## N2Mischief (Dec 3, 2012)

Yeah, he was in my freezer for a couple of years and I finally threw it all away. I knew the consequences but it was just so much fun! lol


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## Luce (Mar 4, 2013)

Years ago I was veg also - for 2 years or so, maybe more. Anyway, one day I was at my parents house when it was nearing dinner time. Mom had a slab of some kind of beef on the table and I hadn't eaten meat in so long I asked if I could have a piece. I cut off a small piece and was totally disgusted!!! I asked her if it had gone bad because it was horrid!! She came over, had a piece and went on to say how delicious it was and she had just purchased it that day!!!

Not too long after that Glenn and I moved to Texas and I found eating veg was a bit difficult - so back to meat we went.


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## Tiny Poodles (Jun 20, 2013)

N2Mischief said:


> Yeah, he was in my freezer for a couple of years and I finally threw it all away. I knew the consequences but it was just so much fun! lol



Huh? I think I missed a post - who was in your freezer that was fun, but had consequences? 
Getting images of Jeffrey Dahmer here lol!


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## poodlecrazy#1 (Jul 2, 2013)

Tiny Poodles said:


> Huh? I think I missed a post - who was in your freezer that was fun, but had consequences?
> Getting images of Jeffrey Dahmer here lol!
> 
> 
> Sent from Petguide.com Free App



Lol ! it was her steer that she had butchered. She had to much fun running him around with her horse and it made the meat to tough which was the consequence. 


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## Tiny Poodles (Jun 20, 2013)

poodlecrazy#1 said:


> Lol ! it was her steer that she had butchered. She had to much fun running him around with her horse and it made the meat to tough which was the consequence.
> 
> 
> Sent from Petguide.com Free App



Thanks for te explanation - I at I still don't see the pst where she said that lol!


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