I have the opportunity to get large white meat rabbit breeders for free. Have a pen for them. Now fellow Countrysiders: is it hard to butcher them? I have done quail and chickens, no problem, but there is something harder it seems about rabbits, mentally I mean. Have any of you overcome this? I am small, don't think I could really do the over the knee, pull technique. Any advice would be appreciated.

-- Katie (ktthegardener@yahoo.com), September 07, 2000

Answers

Need: Cleaver or small ax, sturdy string-hung from ceiling Assuming you are right handed, grab rabbit with left hand by the haunch, rap sharply on neck...it will stiffen, quickly cut jugular vein. Hang by one foot with string. Cut off other foot. Cut peltand on other foot just below the string. Slice a "V" around the tail, and then contine the "v" on each side up to each leg. Be sure to cut thru the pelt only.Make sure pelt is detached from meat on the back side of the tail as well. Then loosen pelt from feet, slowly pulling down to the same height as tail is. The whole carcass will then pull down easily, right to the head. Cut off head and remove with pelt. Starting at groin, carefully cut into the thin skin down the belly. Pull out intestines, stomach, etc. If you are saving the liver, carefully remove the gall bladder with a small sharp knife. If you puncture the gall sack, chuck the liver...it'll be bitter. Hope that's clear. If not, feel free to email me with ????'s Sue

-- Sue (sulandherb@aol.com), September 07, 2000.

Mentally, it is more difficult to butcher rabbits.

-- Green (ratdogs10@yahoo.com), September 08, 2000.

We used a 22 rifle. Set rabbit in box. When it sits still, shoot in back of head. Be careful. Harder mentally to butcher rabbits, maybe. How hungry are you and your family makes a great deal of difference. If you are getting them free because they are unwanted, you may be doing the best thing for the rabbits.

Free meat, lucky you!

Christina

-- Christina (crublee@homer.libby.org), September 08, 2000.

I recall a time past when a neighbor had the grand idea to shoot would be best. He used a small pistol. When he had shot rabbit number three, he held it under his left arm with hand holding rabbit head. Pulled trigger. He has not seen his left index finger since.

-- JR (jr3star@earthlink.net), September 08, 2000.

This ties in with several other threads here, e.g how much it costs to raise a child.

I taught all my kids how to butcher, including rabbits. But when the last litter came in... I dunno, something snapped. Grandkids playing with them? Me just getting old? I really didnt want to do the deed.

So Son Steve came over and before I knew it, we had a sink full of rabbit carcasses. (They arent hard to handle once theyre MEAT without heads, etc.)

Yeah, rabbits are hard, mentally. But it also pays to bring your kids up right! (And rabbit meat is delicious.) ---Jd

-- jd (belanger@tds.net), September 10, 2000.

Once upon a time we had Californias and New Zealands. We loved the taste of white rabbit meat, but it was just way too hard to deal with killing them. (they scream). We hung them upside down in tee-shirts. I had to go into the house, turn up the radio, and put my fingers in my ears and sing loud!! I couldn't take it. I sold those and got small mini-lop and sold the babies for 15.00 each. Much better. But now we have no rabbits, too much else to do. Just leave for the day and have someone come over and do it for you. Or just sell the babies.

-- Cindy in Ky (solidrockranch@msn.com), September 11, 2000.

I have raised rabbits since I was a little kid and my dad made me feed them. I have never kept the killing of any animals on the farm from my kids,I actually started raising pigs just so my kids could experience what I did as a kid waking up on a cold winter morning and having the whole family together and butchering a hog or two.Making fresh cracklings,Cleaning the intestins for sausage casings and cooking down the fat for hog lard for cooking oil.These are things that are being replaced by playstation 2 and this computer and such.I have three girls and the oldest is ten. her favorite food in the world is Rabbit Kidneys (so sweet ).And she really likes Hank williams sr. music. I am so proud ,maybe it's just a southern thing but I love raising animals for food

-- Jimmy Holiday (jholiday@charter.net), April 24, 2001.

Hi Katie, I do this all the time , and it is very easy. But first know you are raising them for meat, they are not pets, make pets out of your breeders.First get the book Raising Small Livestock by J.D. Belanger, it has a very good section on butchering rabbits, in fact I learned how to do this just by reading the book. I do some things different now after many years of doing the butchering. I use a pipe about two foot long, to stun the rabbit, by hitting it behind the ears and I hold the rabbit by the hips with my left hand and strike it with the pipe in my right hand. And then you must remove the head to kill and bleed out the rabbit. I also chop off the feet after it is dead and slit the skin over the back and pull in oppisite directions and the skin peals off like a glove into two pieces. The rabbits are usually too young for the skins to be any good anyway. I hope this helps you , get the book it has alot of things in it that will help.

-- Mary in Idaho (oseancess@aol.com), April 28, 2001.

Well I have some rabbits as well. They are lovely animals and very good as meat. I am 19 years old and I have been butchering them since I was 15. First I put my boots gloves on and crush them down and slap them in the face few times. Once they are shocked I pull their head as far as it goes. And take the knife, have a good butchers knife, put it on the throught, cut its throught. Don't feel upset, be strong. If you loose the control with the knife, don't give up, try again.

-- july (july2@hotmail.com), September 18, 2001.