Raising rabbit for meat
Lately my husband and I have been considering raising rabbits as a meat source for our family. Having had rabbits for 11 years as pets, it’s been tough to get past the thought of eating our rabbits. If any of you have or currently raise rabbit for food, how did you handle this? I’m depending on my husband to do all of the butchering at first, but eventually I will have to learn how to do it, I’m sure.
Anyway, from my research I’m finding rabbits are a pretty healthy meat. Decent in protein, low in fat/calories and cholesterol and best of all it tastes a lot like chicken (bonus for us, we love chicken but hate buying it at the store with the injected fluids!) Depending upon the breed of rabbit (most common are the New Zealand or Californian) you can get about 8-12lb of meat per rabbit. Apparently, it is more expensive for the backyard breeder to raise their own rabbits for meat per pound than buying it from the store, but I have no idea what store around us even carries rabbit. Does anyone know?
I like the idea of raising our own meat as we know how it was cared for, what it was fed, and how it was processed. No injected fluids or gasses here! Though i’m learning you really have to watch who you talk to about this because apparently the idea of rabbits being used for meat is quite offensive to some people (sorry!) Rabbit raising is something you can do on a small scale just about anywhere (we’re considering it for our apartment, raising the rabbits outside near our porch in a couple of hutches). In most places, if not all, rabbit is not considered livestock and so even in the city you can raise rabbit and add another form of self sufficiency to your life.
And there are a ton of recipes out there for rabbit that seem delicious. Care to share your own?
September 29th, 2007 at 6:40 am
Hello,
We currently do raise rabbits as pets and for food. The pets are the parents which we name, and the offspring are the dinners which we do not name. Every now and then, we save an offspring and keep it as a pet, but the key to getting over eating rabbits is the naming.
As for the recipes, you can use almost any recipe that uses chicken, and the rabbit just gives it an extra rich taste. YUMMMM
Aaron “TeenTech” Liske
September 29th, 2007 at 5:09 pm
Might you be able to solicit the assistance of someone less attached to the rabbits to help you? We, too, raise rabbits. All are treated as pets, so I find it most difficult to dispatch the creatures when the time comes. Thankfully my husband and eldest son are not as attached as I and usually perform the initial deed. However once the rabbit is no longer alive, I find little discomfort in the act of skinning, cleaning and packaging, and in fact am quite accomplished.
October 3rd, 2007 at 3:34 am
TeenTech or a couple of my other kids could probably teach you how to do the butchering itself. I’m pretty sure at least two of them have gotten good at it, and possibly three. I’ve never done it myself though, thinking along the same lines as RegencyLady on that one.
Pel-Freez is the most popular frozen brand of rabbit. Hiller’s Market on Washtenaw just off US-23 in Ann Arbor carries it, and I think House of Meats in Point Place and north Toledo on Alexis either has it or could get it for you.
The bottom of that Pel-Freez page has a link for ordering a free recipe book. The other place to look is in the book section at Cabela’s in Dundee.
October 17th, 2007 at 7:03 pm
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