posted
I'm so glad we dont' have Chickens anymore, it was fun, I loved taking care of them, waiting for them to hatch, and shoving them under a light, eggs were nice to have around, but it's so sad to have raccoons (usually in our case) get in and kill them. I've never had rabbits though, haven't quite seen the appeal other than like one as a pet.
Posts: 5362 | Registered: Apr 2004
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edit: this was in reply to KQ....
Posts: 9538 | Registered: Aug 2003
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Boon
unregistered
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Well, in all honesty, I have 17 rabbits and Jennifer has a pet bunny.
The bunny, Fluffery, is a mini-rex and loves to get brushed and cuddle. The kids are getting very attached to him, and that's fine.
The rabbits, on the other hand, are not cuddly at all. They don't like to be held, or even petted. They're not meant to be pets, they don't ever come inside, and we're not attached to them at all. The cage of 7 week olds (there are 6 of them) are named Dinner. All of them.
I know this probably upsets some of the members here, but to us the rabbits are livestock. We love our pet bunny, and could never eat him, but the rabbits are not pets.
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We used to keep chickens. We each had one pet chickie. The others were not raised "by hand" so to speak, and so were mean. We didn't mind if something happened to them. 'Specially if the something was particularly delicious.
But this
quote:The cage of 7 week olds (there are 6 of them) are named Dinner. All of them.
posted
I know people who raise rabbits like that Boon, and it really makes more sense to me than the ones that have like 30 Mini Rex's in a barn that they just raise to show, even though I am more or less a vegetarian and would never eat anything I had met. My chickens were for eggs but we did show them at the county fair (and the prizes were amazing for a six year old, I made 70 bucks on 8 chickens, and none were auction items).
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::has a sneaking suspicion that Boon just created this thread so that every week or so she could change the count in the subjet line::
Posts: 16059 | Registered: Aug 2000
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Boon
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We only got the mini-rex for two reasons: the kids need ONE rabbit they can get attached to so they leave the rest alone, and he was FREE!
We're not even close to vegetarian, and I have no qualms with eating an animal I've raised. I figure, this way I'll know exactly what feed the animals got and what medicines they've had and what steroids they haven't been injected with, etc. IOW, healthier meat for my family.
And we'll be adding chickens, goats, and pigs to the farmyard as soon as I can afford to fence the yard. Should be this spring.
Noemon: rabbits are very prolific, but not *that* prolific! I only have 2 breeding does right now, and, while the other one is due within a week, neither one will be giving birth again for at least 6-10 weeks.
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quote:And we'll be adding chickens, goats, and pigs to the farmyard as soon as I can afford to fence the yard. Should be this spring.
Of course, you do this after we move away. Emma loves to sit and watch animals run around. You could have had us up there, like, once every other month. Posts: 21182 | Registered: Sep 2004
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I hesitate to ask, but my morbid curiosity compells me...do you butcher the rabbits yourselves, or do you take them someplace and let someone else do that part?
I used to have chickens when I was little, too - mainly for eggs, but nearly all of the roosters became Dinner at the hands of my mom. I wholeheartedly agree with the idea of raising your own food, but I don't think I could bring myself to do the butchering myself...I'm a wimp like that. Posts: 952 | Registered: Jun 2005
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That brings to mind a few long-suppressed memories of six-year-old me simultaneously trying to both see and not see the, erm, process.
I wasn't really all that squeamish of a kid, but now the thought gives me the willies. Posts: 952 | Registered: Jun 2005
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Boon
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posted
Sorry, kq!
Yes, I'll be doing the butchering myself. It's not that hard, and the animal doesn't get scared or anything. They literally don't know what hit them until it's over.
There are lots of processing plants where you can take your live animals to be butchered for you, though. If I raised large animals like cows, I'd definitely go that route, just because it's such a big job to butcher such a large animal.
Rabbits (and chickens and other small animals) are easy, though, and if something else comes up, you just finish the one you're on and clean up and you're done for the day.
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Boon
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Sorry, Syn. Bernie would definitely be classed "bunny" here.
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Boon, are your kids going to do 4-H? I think it's awesome for kids to get to learn where food comes from first-hand.
Posts: 21182 | Registered: Sep 2004
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Boon
unregistered
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FWIW, my meat rabbits are a breed that was not developed to be pet stock. They were specifically bred to have large carcasses, grow quickly, have high meat to feed and meat to bone ratios, etc. They were not bred to be friendly or make good housepets.
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Boon
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Yes, I'll put them in 4-H but they're not old enough yet. They have to be in 4th grade or 11 years old here.
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Kids in 4th grade are 11 there? Wow, I was 9 in 4th grade.
There might be a sort of 4H mini-program for younger kids - I forget what it's called exactly, but in IL kids ages 8 and up could be members, and kids aged 5-8 could still participate on a smaller scale.
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I figured they had to be older (I think it starts as young as 8 or 9 in some places, but 10 or 11 is common.) I just thought that they'll have a head start if they're already helping you with livestock. Posts: 21182 | Registered: Sep 2004
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Looks like the rules in OK are 9 years or 4th grade, and they don't have a program for younger kids.
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Oh. Alas. Well, it was a fun thought. Posts: 952 | Registered: Jun 2005
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Boon
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D'oh! My bad. I don't know what I was thinking. 11 years old or 4th grade, sheesh! My brain is fried.
Hey, guess who got "volunteered" to be the leader of the new Brownie Girl Scout troop here? Yep, yours truly. And now I have to go get a shower and leave for a monthly Leader's Meeting in the next town over.
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Yeah, I finally looked OK's 4-H up and there is no mini's. Does Cail have a mini program? Indiana's is good, no large animals (though you can show them open) but we have mini dogs and cats. I didn't show my chickens in 4-H just open, and that has bigger awards, but I went to 4-H animal science state this year, so we learned a bit about everything (though my own conferences were in dogs and cats). Knowing egg development is a pain.
KQ Emma will like 4-H too, and there are some good projects that have nothing to do with farming (in case you didn't know).
Posts: 5362 | Registered: Apr 2004
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breyerchic, I'm especially interested in the Cooking clubs. That sounds like fun, I'd love to lead one.
Posts: 21182 | Registered: Sep 2004
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Boon, what breed of rabbit do you have? Were they easy to find? We want to raise rabbits for meat at some point, but there don't seem to be many people around here who do that. At the county fair, it was clear that all of the rabbits being shown were pets. I think we blacklisted ourselves with every breeder we talked to, because they were horrified by the thought of eating rabbits. The same thing happened with the dairy goat breeders, although to a lesser extent.
At any rate, it's not something that we'll be doing in Arizona because (a) we plan to move next summer and (b) there are tons of wild rabbits right outside the door. It's cheaper to just go out and hunt those than raise them ourselves. But certainly in the future we want to raise some.
posted
I'm having fun looking up the CA projects, there are several I have intrest in, I should send them to our extension agent to pick up Clothing was basically my favorite project, but I loved showing dogs and cats too. You don't appear to have cats. here's the project listPosts: 5362 | Registered: Apr 2004
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Yeah, the Embryology impressed me, we only have that as an option to research in Vet Science. Welding is new here but really popular, therapeutic animals we don't have, but we have a therapeutic riding class in horse and pony.
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Boon
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CaySedai: no, I don't have any books yet. My training will be next month, and in the meantime one of the other troop leaders nearby will "co-chair" or whatever with me to make it okay to start the troop now.
aspectre: right now I give them away. There just aren't enough for me to mess with yet.
Mel: they're New Zealands. I have one doe that's mostly black with some red spots and white flecks (she's the one that just kindled today), one white doe, one white buck, and a cage of six fryers. Where are you moving to? I can help you find them.
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We're hoping to move to Dubuque, Iowa, so that my husband can attend the Lutheran seminary. We will probably be living in town, so I would have to check the local ordinances to make sure that keeping a bunch of rabbits would be legal (probably, but best to be sure.) It would also depend on whether we are able to buy a house while we are there or if we have to rent.
If everything works out right we probably will be wanting to get started with them in Dubuque. So if you have any contacts/suggestions I would love it.
Oh, and this may be a bit too gruesome for some readers, so DON'T READ FURTHER IF YOU ARE EASILY GROSSED OUT! . . . . .
How do you kill the rabbits? I've only had to slaughter one domestic rabbit before, and I just used the air rifle to the back of the skull. I was too squeamish to try using an axe (afraid I'd miss) or a knife (afraid I wouldn't cut deep enough on the first pass). It worked out ok, but was a bit awkward.
With enough advance notice, I could arrange to butcher when you're passing through this way on your move. (I'm just south of Tulsa.) I could also be pursuaded to either sell you some breeding stock or help you find some here to take with you.
Alternatively, check with the American Rabbit Breeders Association or the Professional Rabbit Meat Association. (arba.net and prma.org, respectively)
I've had the best luck with those free bargain bulletin type classified newspapers you find near the grocery store door.
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I bought the Brownie Try-its book when my girls were in girl scouts. Then the leader was "deposed" and a new leader headed the troop - and promptly changed the Saturday afternoon meetings, which they could attend, to Friday evenings, when I work. So, they quit going because I couldn't get them to meetings.
So, I've got this book (from 2000) that I've offered in my Freecycle group and there were no takers. I can offer it for postage, if you're interested. It's slightly worn. If you prefer new, that's okay - they may have added things since then. I can give it to Salvation Army or Goodwill - I've just been busy/lazy.
My e-mail is in my profile. Posts: 2034 | Registered: Apr 2004
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posted
So you just whack them really hard on the back of the head? I think I would have to see this done. I'll talk to my husband about stopping by on our way to Dubuque.
I don't know that we'll be able to take any rabbits with us, though. We'll be transporting three cats (one is VERY large), at least two zebra finches, and possibly one giant dog. Oh, and our 18-month-old daughter .
Hmm...we'll just have to see. I definitely thank you for the offers, even if they don't work out.
Yes, one hard, sharp rap behind the ears and then a swift beheading.
I've heard of people doing them the way my dad used to do chickens, putting a board over their necks and pulling the body off, but that seems gross to me.
I've also heard of people snapping their necks, but I've never been shown how and don't want to scare the animal or have it be in pain if I don't have to. I want to eat it, not torture it.
Basically, once you've hit it, it's either dead or very close to it, and doesn't feel the knife.
You're welcome to come by. If you have enough time and money in the budget for an extra motel night, I'll even take you to to zoo while you're here.
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I kill a lot of rabbits at work (they are snake food), and the way we do it is grab them by their hind legs and thump them really hard on the ground. They die instantly (but you have to REALLY whack them hard, or else they twitch a lot before dying, which can look pretty disturbing.)
Posts: 1225 | Registered: Feb 2002
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They can, but it's a good idea to feed them pre-killed food if possible. Mice, rats, rabbits, etc, can inflict a huge amount of damage, and even kill, snakes that are trying to eat them. Some snakes won't touch dead food, so you have to thump it just hard enough to make it twitch, but not leave it alive enough to potentially hurt the snake. Most snake breeders now try to start their baby snakes on frozen food so they are accustomed to it and never have to eat live prey. Plus, I think it's a lot more humane to the animal being eaten. I hate feeding live food.
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