Notes (to Self) After First Butchering

I thought I would share some of the notes I made to myself after my first weekend experience butchering so maybe another first timer might learn from my experience. I hate learning by experience!! I just had one litter of 8 to dispatch. I am only doing the rabbits for myself and my family, so no big production.

It was in the low 90's (cooled off a little for me!), so first note to self was to plan butchering day for cooler weather! Which means altering breeding day as well because from now until who knows when, it will be HOT! And I have 19 to harvest in 6 - 8 weeks. That means August.

Along the same lines, bugs were terrible! If it is a hot day, I will use a citronella candle or some such thing to keep the flies off me and the buns. Unless the citronella will affect the rabbit meat flavor?

Have a bucket with a lid (due to flies) for the waste. One of those step on trash cans would be even better!

Tupperware type thing with a lid and chilled water for the livers.

Only dispatch 4 - 6 at a time until I get better at it. It took me about 4 hours to dispatch 8 bunnies. My back and neck were sore the next day and I was exhausted (yep, I'm a whimp).

Be prepared with a tarp or some such covering if rain is likely. (No threat this weekend, just something I thought of.)

Those are some of the things that came to me immediately following my first butchering. Anybody have anything to add? What about in cold weather?

I do my processing right in the kitchen, which bypasses any potential temperature, rain and fly problems.

I keep a bucket of cold water for the bodies after I skin and gut to be rinsed in. Take that inside to finish cutting up and rinse again. No or little flies or bothersome heat that way.

I can't do it all outside and barely get through the musts outside, after the PEs and DVT doing one is all I can do and it's a struggle to do one. Thank goodness I don't have a lot to do, I'm only doing the one or two I'm unable to sell and need to eat. Now when I have youngsters ready to go again, this is going to be a problem...but that's another time and thread.

I havent made it to first time yet but thanks for posting your notes.

We just did our first set of three, then 4. It went really well, but for one mishap which now I can kind of smile at, but my husband used the rabbit rigger he welded up himself. Worked fine. But one rabbit he pulled a little to hard, and he went to hang it up and its head was gone!, the look on my poor husbands face was one of abject horror. That was one we did not have to take the head off of anyhow. Other than that it went really well.

Boy, I didn't even think of doing it inside. That will also take some planning. Doesn't fur get all over? I do wet the fur down with a hose is that enough? If I can figure a way to do that in my kitchen, fall breedings will be the way to go for me!

My son does our processing. Did the second litter of the year this morning. 8 done in an hour. That was from all live to the organs and carcasses in the refrigerator--doesn't include taking the skins to a neighbor and the rest to the chickens, then cleaning up the buckets and tools. We picked today because it's cool--about 20 degrees cooler than yesterday. It may be encouraging to know that the time has gotten much better over the 2 years we've been doing this. Partly just practice and partly having better equipment and a space set up to do it that is close to the rabbit area and has a hose handy. We had a litters to do last winter and just chose a day that was above freezing.

Rainey":298gshve said:

My son does our processing. Did the second litter of the year this morning. 8 done in an hour. That was from all live to the organs and carcasses in the refrigerator--doesn't include taking the skins to a neighbor and the rest to the chickens, then cleaning up the buckets and tools. We picked today because it's cool--about 20 degrees cooler than yesterday. It may be encouraging to know that the time has gotten much better over the 2 years we've been doing this. Partly just practice and partly having better equipment and a space set up to do it that is close to the rabbit area and has a hose handy. We had a litters to do last winter and just chose a day that was above freezing.

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Wow! I hope I can learn to do 8 in 2 hours! I think getting the first one out of the way as a learning curve is a good start. At least now I know what can go wrong :x :lol: :lol: :lol:

And I just thought of something else to have next time: a fan blowing on me! Nothing like sweat dripping in your eyes when your hands are *really* dirty!

I think the coldest I have done it was in the 40's, I was afraid my hands would get cold but there was just enough oil from them to coat them... crazy the difference that made!

And it does get faster. THe first few took me a while - trying to figure out what cuts to make and where, what organ was what, etc.

This may help , if you've not seen it:

learning-aid-for-usda-protocol-processing-video-t18360.html

Grumpy

grumpy":jcgu906s said:

This may help , if you've not seen it:

learning-aid-for-usda-protocol-processing-video-t18360.html

Grumpy

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Excellent video! It is a great help. Hoping to process my first lot at some point. This video will be watched several times before I start.

I can't believe I hadn't looked at that video yet! Thanks so much for drawing that to my attention. It was definitely the best how-to video for dressing a rabbit that I've seen!

Zass":qve7sg39 said:

I do my processing right in the kitchen, which bypasses any potential temperature, rain and fly problems.

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Yep, me too!

Not now of course but every chance I can I do it indoors.

If, like now, I cant I cover up with bug spray, have a big box of gallon sized zip lock bags, one big cooler full of ice and one cooler empty.

Each rabbit is done, inside bits into bag on ice and full rabbit into another bag. That bag goes into empty cooler and a scoop of ice put over it. Bags and ice layer nicely. Another bag is on ice for hides, four per bag. Once that one is full it goes into empty cooler like the rabbit bags.

Heads, feet and gutty bits go into bucket right under where I am working.

I MUCH prefer working inside though, it makes everything MUCH easier, cooler, nicer, bug free-er and music to boot. Cant beat it!

How do you keep the rabbits contained inside the house? I'm assuming your not running back out for a new rabbit each time? Do you just use a spare cage? I might consider doing this later this summer.

I, too, am curious how indoor processing works. I know I make a huge mess . Now that we have a carport over the basement slab I am contemplating a different set up...

No problems with fur inside so far for me.

Blood now, it does tend to get into some very odd places. Not as bad as killing quail in the kitchen though, managed to get the ceiling that time. :lol:

I bring the rabbits down from the rabbitry in a tote usually. They tend to stay in the tote. We dispatch a couple at a time (where the others can't see) by cervical dislocation (which causes them to bleed into their neck) or by pellet to the brain, which often causes them to bleed out though some part of the head/face area.

If they were dispatched with a pellet, they are simply held to drip for a few seconds over the stainless steel sinks. My husband holds them securely, so see don't get much in the way of flopping or mess that way.

I have an uncommon way of skinning. I do not hang the animal up, or wet the fur. I just make a short cut in the belly fur, and remove the entire rabbit (head and all) from that cut. I separate the feet and tail bones from inside the pelt as well. Less cuts leads to less loose hair to fly around. I remove heads and internals after I've gotten the carcass out of the pelt. It's no issue, since skinning only takes a couple minutes, and gutting and trimming even less time. Having REALLY sharp knives helps. I prefer surgical scalpels.

Since I'm not too fastidious about bleeding them out, I do like to soak or brine them. Having the sinks handy allows me to rinse carcasses in a few changes of water before placing in water or brine.

The real time consuming part is deboning for bunny burger.

Zass":yze5ywsx said:

I have an uncommon way of skinning. I do not hang the animal up, or wet the fur. I just make a short cut in the belly fur, and remove the entire rabbit (head and all) from that cut. I separate the feet and tail bones from inside the pelt as well. Less cuts leads to less loose hair to fly around. I remove heads and internals after I've gotten the carcass out of the pelt. It's no issue, since skinning only takes a couple minutes, and gutting and trimming even less time. Having REALLY sharp knives helps. I prefer surgical scalpels.

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Any chance you have a video available of your process? I am curious to see how it works!

heritage":1796x6k8 said:

Zass":1796x6k8 said:

I have an uncommon way of skinning. I do not hang the animal up, or wet the fur. I just make a short cut in the belly fur, and remove the entire rabbit (head and all) from that cut. I separate the feet and tail bones from inside the pelt as well. Less cuts leads to less loose hair to fly around. I remove heads and internals after I've gotten the carcass out of the pelt. It's no issue, since skinning only takes a couple minutes, and gutting and trimming even less time. Having REALLY sharp knives helps. I prefer surgical scalpels.

Click to expand...

Any chance you have a video available of your process? I am curious to see how it works!

Click to expand...

A video, nope. We've never taken the time to record it. I'm not really sure it's a particularly good way to do things, if the goal is just meat. I developed the skinning method in order to produce complete pelts for taxidermy. I really just continue it out of habit, and because processing outside really isn't an option in city limits.

Zass":24kmdjzt said:

heritage":24kmdjzt said:

Zass":24kmdjzt said:

I have an uncommon way of skinning. I do not hang the animal up, or wet the fur. I just make a short cut in the belly fur, and remove the entire rabbit (head and all) from that cut. I separate the feet and tail bones from inside the pelt as well. Less cuts leads to less loose hair to fly around. I remove heads and internals after I've gotten the carcass out of the pelt. It's no issue, since skinning only takes a couple minutes, and gutting and trimming even less time. Having REALLY sharp knives helps. I prefer surgical scalpels.

Click to expand...

Any chance you have a video available of your process? I am curious to see how it works!

Click to expand...

A video, nope. We've never taken the time to record it. I'm not really sure it's a particularly good way to do things, if the goal is just meat. I developed the skinning method in order to produce complete pelts for taxidermy. I really just continue it out of habit, and because processing outside really isn't an option in city limits.

Click to expand...

Well darn - it was worth asking anyway DH has always had an interest in taxidermy - he is really wanting to try tanning a rabbit hide... you know, in all his spare time :roll: