Parkeyre Posted August 25, 2010 Share Posted August 25, 2010 Does anyone have a photographic step by step guide or a video of the whole process? - Killing them wouldn't be an issue; but I'd be interested to see someone skin and gut a rabbit. How often can you feed rabbit to a dog? How many rabbits would you need to start out with to ensure you'll have rabbits pretty much all the time? - ie: If i had four dogs that each ate rabbit once or twice a week; how many rabbits would i need to ensure kits grow out enough to be butchered? Will any fat rabbit breed do or should i invest in a particular breed, Can does be run together all the time? What about the babies, how long untill they are sexually mature or fight with eachother? Can they be frozen? Do they have to be skinned? cant i just chop off their heads and feet and tail? How old can they get before they are too old to be any good for the dog? How big an area would they need? What about stimulation? Would feeding meat rabbits be any different to feeding pet rabbits? Can you do parentxprogeny and sibling litters? Can the skin, head, guts, feet, organs and droppings all be composted for the plants and very garden? - would it burn the plants or be really good for them. Would any rabbit worming and vaccinations release toxins into the garden beds; thus our food? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sankari Posted August 25, 2010 Share Posted August 25, 2010 Although I am a breeder and only see rabbits as a pet animal not a food source, i am going to help you so you know exactly how to do this correctly. You can breed parent to progeny litters up to 4 generations without causing genetic faults. I have bred father daughter/ mother son and half sibling breedings without any issues. I have a chart from the rabbit association telling me safe matings I can do. 3 years on I am still learning! Rabbits can breed anytime from 12 weeks of age although they are not actually sexually mature until 5-6 months of age (I breed 6 months plus depending if they've reached full size). In Large breeds like New Zealand Whites, Chinchilla Gigantas etc.. you could get anything up to 12 in the one litter, if they all survive which it is a hard process breeding rabbits, then in one litter you will have a couple weeks worth depending how much each dog will get. Really should have a fair amount of does, if you want a constant supply it will not be a cheap way to feed your dogs - I don't recommend breeding them more than a couple times a year per doe. Each doe is different how they cope. You will need to breed 2 does at once in the event that one cant look after the kittens will you be able to foster them to the other doe? What if she has a massive litter as well? You cannot house male rabbits together after 10-12 weeks of age. All my females are also seperated for maximum acceptance of being mated I have found this to be the best way. Best to invest in the Giant breeds eg NZ white, Chinchilla, British giant, flemish giant etc.. they are all large rabbits. The bigger the rabbit the bigger the enclosure needs to be. Mine each have room to hop 3 times both from the back to front and from left to right and need to be able to stretch out and stand up on hind legs. Any breeding advice i am happy to help you so you can do this the best you can. As to feeding, they need at least 80% hay (not lucerne), a good quality pelleted or mix diet, ranges of vegetables and fruit but no lettuce or cabbage (both are very very bad to be fed to rabbits). I am a medium size scale rabbit stud and in a month I go through 40kg of pellets, 2 bales of hay and about 5 kg worth of vegies. Rabbits need to have Calicivirus vaccine, worming and mite treatment i use Ivermec which is administered externally. Your best off consulting someone who does this to ask if vaccines and worming/mite treatment will affect the dogs. I am unsure exactly if it is harmful. Hopefully i have helped Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sankari Posted August 25, 2010 Share Posted August 25, 2010 also you cant get pet rabbits because there's very little meat on them at all. Your best off getting the meat breeds instead. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Parkeyre Posted August 25, 2010 Share Posted August 25, 2010 LucyCharlie. Thankyou very much. Another question; can they handle 30 degree days and 2degree nights? If I bought just a couple of does and a buck (so not a huge amount, they'd probably be pets and tame, but i would kill the kits.. Could I throw a blanket over the top of their cages or ice blokes, how resistant are they? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Parkeyre Posted August 25, 2010 Share Posted August 25, 2010 Would 36 x 24 x 18 inch be okay for a large doe to live in? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kirislin Posted August 25, 2010 Share Posted August 25, 2010 (edited) I would really quite seriously like to look at doing this, considering the amount of meat my dogs eat and the price of chicken these days, this could be the way to go. We regularly go out and shoot a kangaroo, and the BF's mate is the one who skins them while we shoot the next one. But lugging a massive kangaroo home then chopping him up on the table saw is a lot of time and effort, and a lot of the kangaroo gets wasted considering we only feed the tail and back legs. Occasionally we will shoot goats too; but they're just the backlegs and I'm more tempted to eat them myself then let the dogs get them. haha. Rearing and butchering your own rabbit stock would save on a lot of bin space too from all those kitchen scraps they could be eating. Atleast rearing your own rabbit meat; you would know exactly what is being fed to your dog. I have a HEAP of questions about it on my facebook... :p I'll add them here. Would someone please answer all that they can for me? lots of cyber love for whoever can help me. this does seem very wasteful, I dont understand why you wouldn't feed more of the roo to the dogs, or even eat it yourselves. Do you have to get permission to shoot them, I thought roo shooting was fairly strictly regulated, it certainly seems to be in Vic anyway. Do you tan the skins? I do leatherwork with roo and it's so hard to get good skins these days. I wish I had the stomach for shooting bunnies, I've started getting them on my property. If it was safe I'd let my dogs after them but my boundary fences only keep horses in, not dogs and I could see the dogs charging across the road and onto other peoples property. Edited August 25, 2010 by Kirislin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kirislin Posted August 25, 2010 Share Posted August 25, 2010 Does anyone have a photographic step by step guide or a video of the whole process?- Killing them wouldn't be an issue; but I'd be interested to see someone skin and gut a rabbit. Heaps on youtube Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sllebasi Posted August 25, 2010 Share Posted August 25, 2010 is it true that in qld that it is illegal to keep rabbits without a license and there are guidelines as to only one pet being allowed???? i would be more inclined to use more roos though i do have concerns on occasions about parasites Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shmurps Posted August 25, 2010 Share Posted August 25, 2010 Rabbits are intelligent. They need a fair amount of space to move around. Good quality hay as their main source of food such as meadow hay, then a good supply of greens and fruit everyday, if you wouldn't eat it then you shouldn't feed it to them, then good quality pallets. If they are not fed the right diet they can get sludge in the gut and crystals in their bladder. They don't tolerate heat well at all nor the cold. They are hard work to keep that's why rescue groups are full up with rabbits. Don't have a problem with it as long as they have all their needs met and not kept in small hutches or cages. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Tess32 Posted August 25, 2010 Share Posted August 25, 2010 I got my first rabbit off a guy who raised for pets and meat - but he ALWAYS still let the meat bunnies have exercise time out of a cage. I still think it's cruelty to never let them out of a hutch, it's the same as keeping a dog in a run for all of its life. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kavik Posted August 25, 2010 Share Posted August 25, 2010 Sorry corvus but I had to and and about your post. Couldn't believe that the bunny lover guru of the forum would consider that! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
corvus Posted August 26, 2010 Author Share Posted August 26, 2010 Kavik, I'm a cow lover, too, and I've nurtured baby steers and cared for them and loved them and then eaten them. Maybe I'm weird, but I think there's something to be said for caring about the animals you're going to slaughter for food. I mean, really caring about them as an individual. Feeling sad about it. I love my pet bunnies and obviously I wouldn't dream of feeding them to my dogs, but that's because their purpose in my life has been well-defined as companions. You don't feed your friends to your dogs. But when you raise an animal for the table it doesn't matter how much you love them, their purpose in your life is well-defined as food. Otherwise no, I wouldn't be able to do it. I guess you have to find your moral boundaries somewhere. As much as I love my bunnies, I can't say I love them more than I have loved some of the dairy cows I have worked with. Does that mean I shouldn't eat beef? I have to reconcile myself with that dichotomy somehow. However I do it doesn't really matter as long as I'm at peace with it. Sorry, that wasn't meant to be a speech. I guess I just want people to know that I believe it is possible to love an animal and also kill it at a young age and eat it (or feed it to a dog). I don't expect everyone to agree or understand where I'm coming from, but I've done it and found it to be very meaningful to me. Never appreciated a meal more than when I personally knew the animal it came from. It's sad and weird, but that's life. Better to know the animal and feel sad than just eat something you're not even sure where it came from or what kind of life it had. Anyway, we have a large bunny and a wild hare, so we already go through plenty of pellets and we get meadow hay by the bale from a place out at Picton. We have found it to be very cheap to keep rabbits in the scheme of things. 25kg of pellets costs us about $27 and lasts us a couple of months. To feed the dogs on raw for two months it costs about $100. Plus extra for supplements and organs. The rabbits hardly ever get sick or injured and I don't think I've ever medicated them. The bunny is sensitive to heat, but it's only a few days in a year that we have to manage that. The hare is tough as old boots. My worm farm gets most of vegie leftovers (and the used rabbit litter), but the rabbit gets carrot tops and sweet potato offcuts and asian greens leftovers and the hare gets over-ripe fruit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sankari Posted August 26, 2010 Share Posted August 26, 2010 Rabbits need exercise every day whether they're destined to live out their lives as loved pets or produce stock destined for the table or the dog bowl. It is cruel to have them caged and never allowed out for exercise. My rabbits are in individual enclosures but are put into playpens every day for exercise. Alternated so it's a different area of the yard each day - with the dog restricted access if unsupervised. If you only have a couple rabbits then yes it is cheap to keep them except for when they require a vet which is damn expensive and many have no idea how to treat them so you're best going to a rabbit vet! If you have quite a few then it is expensive. 20kg of pellets only lasts me a fortnight bales of hay last a couple months. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jaxx'sBuddy Posted August 26, 2010 Share Posted August 26, 2010 (edited) Kavik, I'm a cow lover, too, and I've nurtured baby steers and cared for them and loved them and then eaten them. :D Maybe I'm weird, but I think there's something to be said for caring about the animals you're going to slaughter for food. I mean, really caring about them as an individual. Feeling sad about it. I love my pet bunnies and obviously I wouldn't dream of feeding them to my dogs, but that's because their purpose in my life has been well-defined as companions. You don't feed your friends to your dogs. But when you raise an animal for the table it doesn't matter how much you love them, their purpose in your life is well-defined as food. Otherwise no, I wouldn't be able to do it. I guess you have to find your moral boundaries somewhere. As much as I love my bunnies, I can't say I love them more than I have loved some of the dairy cows I have worked with. Does that mean I shouldn't eat beef? I have to reconcile myself with that dichotomy somehow. However I do it doesn't really matter as long as I'm at peace with it. Sorry, that wasn't meant to be a speech. ;) I guess I just want people to know that I believe it is possible to love an animal and also kill it at a young age and eat it (or feed it to a dog). I don't expect everyone to agree or understand where I'm coming from, but I've done it and found it to be very meaningful to me. Never appreciated a meal more than when I personally knew the animal it came from. It's sad and weird, but that's life. Better to know the animal and feel sad than just eat something you're not even sure where it came from or what kind of life it had. Anyway, we have a large bunny and a wild hare, so we already go through plenty of pellets and we get meadow hay by the bale from a place out at Picton. We have found it to be very cheap to keep rabbits in the scheme of things. 25kg of pellets costs us about $27 and lasts us a couple of months. To feed the dogs on raw for two months it costs about $100. Plus extra for supplements and organs. The rabbits hardly ever get sick or injured and I don't think I've ever medicated them. The bunny is sensitive to heat, but it's only a few days in a year that we have to manage that. The hare is tough as old boots. My worm farm gets most of vegie leftovers (and the used rabbit litter), but the rabbit gets carrot tops and sweet potato offcuts and asian greens leftovers and the hare gets over-ripe fruit. i agree 100%. i think that once you have killed an animal to eat you have more respect for them and yes i have done that. i actually believe every meat eater should kill and eat at least one animal so they know what happens...meat doesnt just arrive on a styrofoam plate covered in plastic. some children today have no idea that meat comes from animals. ets we always had pets and food animals and my kids always understood the difference Edited August 26, 2010 by Jaxx'sBuddy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Staranais Posted August 26, 2010 Share Posted August 26, 2010 If you only have a couple rabbits then yes it is cheap to keep them except for when they require a vet which is damn expensive and many have no idea how to treat them so you're best going to a rabbit vet! Be careful you tell the vet what the bunny is for, though. Some common drugs can't be used in food animals in case it taints the meat, and others have certain withholding periods before the animal can be slaughtered. I wouldn't want you, or your vet, in trouble. :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sankari Posted August 26, 2010 Share Posted August 26, 2010 I dont eat rabbits and never will nor will my dog ever recieve it either Staranais! I am a breeder and exhibutor. I have come in here solely to provide rabbit care advice. IMO most vets don't know jack about rabbits and treat breeders like scum! So be prepared to be treated like that, you just have to fish around for the good vets really. Your best going to a vet who specialises in rabbits and knows the different conditions. One vet earlier in the year tried to charge me over $500 for an abcess! I had a second opinion and had it done for $150 So definately need to source the good from the money makers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lhok Posted August 26, 2010 Share Posted August 26, 2010 My grandfather raises his own rabbits for his and his dogs food. He has been doing it for years. I've watched him kill them before, it was always a quick snap of the neck then he would quickly skin and cut the neck so that the blood could drain out apparently having the blood in the meat makes it sour or something (trying to make sense of his ramblings is hard these days). He also tans the skins and if he is going to eat the meat his dogs get the offal so nothing is wasted. --Lhok Also I can't recommend Ferreting (this is before I knew it was illegal) the noise of the screaming rabbits is horrifying. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jaxx'sBuddy Posted August 26, 2010 Share Posted August 26, 2010 My grandfather raises his own rabbits for his and his dogs food. He has been doing it for years. I've watched him kill them before, it was always a quick snap of the neck then he would quickly skin and cut the neck so that the blood could drain out apparently having the blood in the meat makes it sour or something (trying to make sense of his ramblings is hard these days). He also tans the skins and if he is going to eat the meat his dogs get the offal so nothing is wasted.--Lhok Also I can't recommend Ferreting (this is before I knew it was illegal) the noise of the screaming rabbits is horrifying. absolutely correct, it makes the meat spoil much quicker Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mac'ella Posted August 26, 2010 Share Posted August 26, 2010 My grandfather raises his own rabbits for his and his dogs food. He has been doing it for years. I've watched him kill them before, it was always a quick snap of the neck then he would quickly skin and cut the neck so that the blood could drain out apparently having the blood in the meat makes it sour or something (trying to make sense of his ramblings is hard these days). He also tans the skins and if he is going to eat the meat his dogs get the offal so nothing is wasted.--Lhok Also I can't recommend Ferreting (this is before I knew it was illegal) the noise of the screaming rabbits is horrifying. I havent ferretted since I was a kid but back then if you had a ferret which killed in the burrow you could actualy muzzle it,the main reason being that they tended to take a nap after a feed and you had to dig them out. I didn't know it was now illegal, when did this come about? the only thing I knew was you can't keep them in some states. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mac'ella Posted August 26, 2010 Share Posted August 26, 2010 Ever thought about buying a couple of ferrets and nets.theres plenty of rabbits around if your not sure you could probably wrangle an invite from a ferretter that way you can learn the ropes and get used to the dispatching plus its good getting out inthe fresh air.Then you can catch a few and freeze the excess. I certainly have! I even looked for some ferreters, but couldn't find any local. I don't know anywhere around here that would have lots of rabbits. We live in an area that has lots of bush and rocks but not a lot of open grassy areas. And lots of National Parks where I wouldn't be able to take ferrets anyway. And I realise it's probably more labour intensive than looking after a handful of bunnies. I've even thought about getting myself a rabbit-hunting dog. :D Thanks for the info, guys. They don't take a lot to look after and are actually good pets even if used for hunting,around our area of sydney there are rabbits every where I think I could just about feed my dogs on ''fresh'' roadkills in the local industrial area if I was that way inclined Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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