# Meat Rabbits



## ssramage (Sep 29, 2020)

Does anyone here raise rabbits for meat?

I'm not sure my wife is sold on the idea, but after the whole COVID hysteria this year it has opened our eyes to trying to become a little more sustainable. We were kicking ourselves some for getting rid of our chickens last year but fortunately had a freezer full of deer meat that carried us through. 

I've been doing some research on raising rabbits for meat, and it seems like a fairly simple/cost efficient operation for substantially adding a lean meat source to our diets. From what I've read, 3 rabbits can produce 150-200# of meat annually. 

Still trying to convince my wife that eating rabbits is healthy and they taste good, but she's having trouble with the optics. She's a little more "citified".


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## NCHillbilly (Sep 29, 2020)

I've dabbled with it a time or two over the years, but never in a serious manner. They are great eating, and produce a good bit of meat. But to be honest, I really hate picking up one of the cute little fuzzy fellers and killing it.


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## kmckinnie (Sep 29, 2020)

I seen a guy that lived in town raise them. He’d pick it up by the back legs.  Karate chop it To the back of the neck. Then skin and grill it.


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## kmckinnie (Sep 29, 2020)

I’ve thought about it to. 
Quail also.


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## ssramage (Sep 29, 2020)

NCHillbilly said:


> I've dabbled with it a time or two over the years, but never in a serious manner. They are great eating, and produce a good bit of meat. But to be honest, I really hate picking up one of the cute little fuzzy fellers and killing it.



Yeah I can see the same thing. I have 3 small kids at home that are fairly outdoorsy and hunt with me frequently, but I imagine the butchering would be left to me, in secret, for a while.


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## specialk (Sep 29, 2020)

there easier to kill if you don't name them....


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## Hillbilly stalker (Sep 29, 2020)

I believe, done the right way, its good for the children to see and engage in butchering.  They need to know how and where their food comes from. Too many people in todays society have no ideal. That's why we are infected with a bunch of tree hugging sissies. Its not cruel, inhumane or demonic....its natural.  When I was a chap ( I'm 53 now) it was normal for the family to gather if we killed and scalded a hog and everybody had a role to play.


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## ucfireman (Sep 29, 2020)

There is a video on youtube from Joel Salatin and Polyface farms that talks about the raising and slaughter .Good video.


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## treemanjohn (Sep 29, 2020)

I would love to hear more.  My kids wouldn't have it though


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## JustUs4All (Sep 30, 2020)

Kids should be taught that their food comes from nature and that something has ti die and be butchered for them to enjoy a steak, chicken wing, or fried rabbit.  I don't want to sound too harsh but it is the parent's job to teach them.  If they don't the .Gov will teach them that tofu is great along with all the other garbage that it is the parent's job to filter out and explain.


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## NCHillbilly (Sep 30, 2020)

Hillbilly stalker said:


> I believe, done the right way, its good for the children to see and engage in butchering.  They need to know how and where their food comes from. Too many people in todays society have no ideal. That's why we are infected with a bunch of tree hugging sissies. Its not cruel, inhumane or demonic....its natural.  When I was a chap ( I'm 53 now) it was normal for the family to gather if we killed and scalded a hog and everybody had a role to play.


When we were kids, grandma would hand us a hatchet and tell us to go get her a chicken.


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## specialk (Sep 30, 2020)

NCHillbilly said:


> When we were kids, grandma would hand us a hatchet and tell us to go get her a chicken.



when we were kids and getting into mischief granny would holler ''i'm gonna' wring your neck''.....and we knew what she meant!


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## ssramage (Sep 30, 2020)

JustUs4All said:


> Kids should be taught that their food comes from nature and that something has ti die and be butchered for them to enjoy a steak, chicken wing, or fried rabbit.  I don't want to sound too harsh but it is the parent's job to teach them.  If they don't the .Gov will teach them that tofu is great along with all the other garbage that it is the parent's job to filter out and explain.



I don't disagree. My kids have been present for every game dressing/processing since they were born. They understand that what we eat was likely harvested by Dad at some point. Heck, my 2 year old daughter asks if we're eating deer meat before dinner now.

My wife polled the kids last night to see if they'd eat rabbit (she doesn't want to) and each of them said yes. I also recognize that butchering a cute, fluffy bunny in front of a 3yr old may not be the best right off the bat.


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## greg j (Sep 30, 2020)

Never give a name to an animal you are going to eat.


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## The Original Rooster (Sep 30, 2020)

NCHillbilly said:


> When we were kids, grandma would hand us a hatchet and tell us to go get her a chicken.


Yeah, but chickens need killing. They are mean, ornery, evil, things deep down.


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## NCHillbilly (Sep 30, 2020)

RoosterTodd said:


> Yeah, but chickens need killing. They are mean, ornery, evil, things deep down.


Undoubtedly. And, unfortunately for them, they are also delicious. 

I have killed thousands and thousands of animals, both wild and domestic. It doesn't bother me in the least to shotgun a rabbit running across a field, or sneak up on one and put an arrow through it. But, I do not like picking up the little fluffy cute bunny with it looking at me and trying to snuggle up to me, and then killing it. I don't know what the difference is. I'll do it, but it makes me feel crappy.


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## CurLee (Sep 30, 2020)

My girls have been witness to my slaughtering chickens for years and are now starting to help with the process at 7 and 10 years old. 
Meat rabbits are amazing grilled with some white  barbecue sauce. Some breeds get. very large fast too.
I'm kinda in the same camp as NChilbilly, I want to,  but, dang!  
We got my youngest daughter two rabbits as pets this year, warned her if they had babies they would be raised for meat. Lucked out and they're both male.


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## Toliver (Sep 30, 2020)

My kids were exposed to processing animals at an early age.  I can't remember how young my daughter was when she first looked out at a pasture full of cows and said, "MMMMMM..... Steak".    They've held legs while I gutted a deer.  They've watched birds of all types get killed and cleaned at the farm.  My son helps and is good with it but my daughter really gets into it.  She plays with the cut off legs.  Walks around with a heart making it beat.  Come to think of it.... I might need to keep an eye on her....


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## dirtnap (Oct 21, 2020)

NCHillbilly said:


> Undoubtedly. And, unfortunately for them, they are also delicious.
> 
> I have killed thousands and thousands of animals, both wild and domestic. It doesn't bother me in the least to shotgun a rabbit running across a field, or sneak up on one and put an arrow through it. But, I do not like picking up the little fluffy cute bunny with it looking at me and trying to snuggle up to me, and then killing it. I don't know what the difference is. I'll do it, but it makes me feel crappy.


Off subject, but I used to always keep a couple hogs and my wife and daughter named on Sweetie. When I killed her and had her in the freezer they wrote sweetie on every pack and they said they couldn’t eat it


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## CurLee (Oct 21, 2020)

When I was a kid we had a steer named Gus on our dairy farm. My brother and I would take turns, one riding, the other leading Gus around the field. My folks thought we'd be mortified when it was butcher time. 

Instead we would enthusiastically ask "we eating Gus-burgers tonight??"

I've raised my kids similarly except so far with fowl and have recently purchased our first bull/bred cow pair. Hoping for a bull calf to castrate and butcher.


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## ssramage (Oct 22, 2020)

CurLee said:


> When I was a kid we had a steer named Gus on our dairy farm. My brother and I would take turns, one riding, the other leading Gus around the field. My folks thought we'd be mortified when it was butcher time.
> 
> Instead we would enthusiastically ask "we eating Gus-burgers tonight??"
> 
> I've raised my kids similarly except so far with fowl and have recently purchased our first bull/bred cow pair. Hoping for a bull calf to castrate and butcher.



My grandad raised cattle when I was young. He died when I was only 5 but I can remember bottle feeding calves and being there for a processing day. It never bothered me.


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## NCHillbilly (Nov 2, 2020)

ssramage said:


> My grandad raised cattle when I was young. He died when I was only 5 but I can remember bottle feeding calves and being there for a processing day. It never bothered me.


Same here. Killing a hog or steer that I raised all year never bothered me. It's just tame bunnies that get me.


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## deermaster13 (Nov 10, 2020)

The Flemish giants are good producers. We had them for 30 years until Dads health started going down hill. At 8weeks they dressed out at 5 lbs. Rabbit liver deep fried is surprisingly delicious and not strong at all. One buck and three does would be a good start and provide alot of protein for a family. We did use our hand to butcher them just be careful as the shoulders will bruise easily. Georgia farmers market maybe a good source to see what's for sale.


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## Buddrow (Nov 21, 2020)

You can name them just name them  after food or dinner, lunch, BBQ. Meet a few pigs named bacon or ham in my time. Question for those that raise meat rabbits. Do they taste as good as wild?


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