ok so whats the deal with raising & eating rabbits?

[Wannabefree]

Rabbit math is a smidge more complicated than chicken math though...because you turn your back and have 10x the rabbits you started with

 

[AZ Rabbits]

Wow, AZ...LOVE your site and your setup. Very clean, professional and impressive! If you haven't already, it sure would be nice if you could show that site and your setup to some folks on our sister site, Backyard Herds(link found at the bottom of the page here). A lot of rabbit questions asked over there, particularly about meat breeds and their raising but primarily seem to be show breeders over there of smaller, pet breeds answering the questions.

Thank you!

Ya, I spend a fair amount of time over there as well. Been looking through this place too so I thought I'd chime in a bit. I personally have pedigreed rabbits, but my goals are meat production and good meat producing stock. For that, pedigrees are good just so you know where you're starting from. Other than that, when breeding for meat production, you want good meat producers, not show quality rabbits (although many meat producers are great for showing as well). I'm trying to help out as many people as possible here in AZ but even with these things breeding like rabbits, I never have enough for demand. There seems to be a lot of people that are getting into raising rabbits for meat, which is a great thing! Currently have 11 litters and many more on the way. Rabbits galore!

 

[Beekissed]

We used to raise NZ for 4-H and for consumption. Love the breed productivity and hardiness!

 

[pinkfox]

i definatly suggest starting small...some people get rabbits and it just isnt for them for whatever reason (cant butcher them cause there too cute seems to be a common complaint lol)

 

[dillpickle]

Yes my DW had the same "cute" issue yesterday when I told her we should raise them for food but I think I can talk her into it.

Anyone have any advice on that? How do you deal with it?

 

[AZ Rabbits]

Yes my DW had the same "cute" issue yesterday when I told her we should raise them for food but I think I can talk her into it.

Anyone have any advice on that? How do you deal with it?

When I started raising rabbits in Jr High, I couldn't cull them. I had to have a friend do the deed. Once it was done, I had no problem skinning, gutting and preparing the rabbits. After a few, I was finally able to take over and do it all.

My wife was raised differently than me. I come from several generations of rabbit breeders. She never even had a dog. The thought of raising rabbits seemed very odd to her. But she knew it was important to me and let me do it. After a while, it became normal to her. Now she tells others how great it is. It's all about baby steps in the right direction.

 

[pinkfox]

i think making sore to maintain some kind of distance is also realy important...dont give the babies names (some name them after food items or days of the week, but for others even THAT makes the whole thing too personal)
not handling them much as babies tends to be another trick ive been told to prevent becomming attatched.

but to be quite frank i think everything is more individual than that and each person will have a different aproach...some people never are able to put in the distinction, others can name the bunny play with it and treat it like a pet and then have NO problems butchering it at 8-12 weeks of age...

 

[Beekissed]

I'd get the rabbit wringer....sooooo much more efficient seeming than the way we did it, which was to thunk them on the back of the head until they gave up the ghost. NOT recommended, IMO. If you don't get it just right, you have to do it again and they scream....

 

[pinkfox]

i like the look of the wringer, ive used the broomstick method myself with good results.
my grandfather taught me a way of doing it on wild rabbits where you just pop the head backwards towards the back, but i havent done it that way since i was LITTLE...so im not sure i could handle that method anymore.

 

[the funny farm6]

We use the club to the head method. I don't do that part if I can help it, but hubby never has to redo it they don't know what's coming, then done. I do the skining and gutting. You might also look into tanning the pelts. They can be used for many things or sold. We get $2.00-$4.00 depending onsize and color. You can also use them to make real fur teddy bears. They are worth some real money!