First time dispatching a rabbit

[skysthelimit]

How the hell is standing on a rabbits neck with your weight with a stick across their neck at the same time reasnable, then slowly grapping the feet and pulling humane??

Bowbuild, whomever described the broomstick method to you was very very incorrect. The simple fact that anyone could believe your description is the proper way to go about that method does present a good argument against it though. ( and I've also been unimpressed with the videos I've seen online. )

I wouldn't ever want to see someone put their whole weight on the back of a rabbits neck, or pulling it upwards SLOWLY.

Why would ANY kill process be done SLOWLY? :shock:

I feel that any dispatch method with a high of a chance of operator error should be avoided.

True enough...

I don't have the kind of vertical power. Standing on top of the broom stick yanking as hard as I can was horrifying. One pull did not break the neck. I think even the RW would give me the same sensation.

I have a post and I swing. A short swing, and a 12lb rabbit is lights out on the first swing. I imagine as I get older, the method will have to change. But it needs to be something where I cannot hear the sound of the neck breaking.

 

[Zass]

How the hell is standing on a rabbits neck with your weight with a stick across their neck at the same time reasnable, then slowly grapping the feet and pulling humane??

Bowbuild, whomever described the broomstick method to you was very very incorrect. The simple fact that anyone could believe your description is the proper way to go about that method does present a good argument against it though. ( and I've also been unimpressed with the videos I've seen online. )

I wouldn't ever want to see someone put their whole weight on the back of a rabbits neck, or pulling it upwards SLOWLY.

Why would ANY kill process be done SLOWLY? :shock:

I feel that any dispatch method with a high of a chance of operator error should be avoided.

True enough...

I don't have the kind of vertical power. Standing on top of the broom stick yanking as hard as I can was horrifying. One pull did not break the neck. I think even the RW would give me the same sensation.

I have a post and I swing. A short swing, and a 12lb rabbit is lights out on the first swing. I imagine as I get older, the method will have to change. But it needs to be something where I cannot hear the sound of the neck breaking.

I've observed that method of kill closely 100's of times.

My husband can do it quite quickly and well. Whether or not they are fully dead could be debated, but they are totally unconscious the moment that it's done. Automatic functions, like blinking when the eye is poked, are no longer functional. It only takes a few seconds to start up the jerking that indicates (to me) that an animal has been killed and it's nerves are releasing whatever stored energy they might have.

But I also fear that I wouldn't have the strength. If I had to do it on my own, one of those rabbit zingers might be in order.

 

[RR MiniSatins]

I have tried several different methods and I'm not happy with any of them. My aim with bopping is not very accurate, I'm just afraid I'll miss the mark and only slightly injure the rabbit. The broomstick works but I agree that sometimes it seems to takes too long to kill, even if done quickly and correctly. (I'm wondering if a rabbit wringer would be a better option?) The last one I tried was a high powered pellet gun to the back of the head. This worked immediately and efficiently, but there was quite a bit of blood in the box that I put the rabbit in to keep it still. That meant I either had to wash the box out after every rabbit (because the next rabbit freaked out when I didn't wash out the box) or use a new box for every rabbit. Wire box still made quite a mess on the ground. Wish I was better at bopping… maybe I could try the swedish method, do you hit in front of the ears on the forehead? Thanks

 

[Richard & Tresa]

Taking a break here and have seen this thread up near the top for a while and thought I'd share.

Before dispatching our first (of nine) rabbits destined for freezer camp, I had never killed a living, furry four legged animal ever! For months, I researched different methods for the task and all of them (including using a firearm), left me thinking there was still room for error.

If you check out the Rabbit Zinger thread, I think you will find a method that is pretty impressive. I couldn't afford to buy one and as a professional prototype developer, I have a complete shop/studio and made my own (If I had to do it over again, I would definitely buy the original... WAY too much work and figuring out...even for me.

The bottom line is... We pet all our rabbits... we pet their heads and they go into a blissful trance with eyes half closed almost always foregoing treats, wanting to be pet like this instead... The Zinger is used on top of the head and penetrates the skull/brain INSTANTLY! Even though the experience was traumatic for us, the most important thing we wanted was to make sure that the kill was instant and without possibility of missing or mistake... I pet them on their heads, switched to the device while petting their ears and back. While holding their neck ready for any flinching, I pulled the trigger... Each time, it was instant...

The emotional stuff you'll read in my posts on that thread had to do with my own personal reaction to killing a rabbit... bottom line: I lost my innocence... This is a personal matter and I've dealt with it after eating our first home bred, home raised and home dispatched rabbit...

I'm ready for round two (real busy with work at the moment), and much better prepared to complete the cycle from breeding to eating... The one thing I do know is Sal's Zinger has to be the most unquestionably reliable instant dispatcher... (No, we have never met and our only message exchanges involved his generous advice on helping me to make sure my copy of his device worked...

Just wanted to share.

PS: I do get very detailed about our emotional experience dispatching our rabbits. And although there were lots of tears before and after, we're ready to follow through with our commitment to raise our own rabbit meat.

Hope this helps... Again, Many have other methods (By the way, I was impressed with Grumpy's video and have learned that something that works for one, does not mean it will work for another... I just know we were REALLY scared before we started and now, feel so much more comfortable knowing we're sending our rabbits off in the most humane, instant, stress free way possible... for us.)

Richard & Tresa

 

[skysthelimit]

Stress free is very important for the person and the rabbit.

As you can imagine, turning a 10-12lb rabbit sideways and swinging it has to happen quickly. I only get one chance (maybe two if I stunned it) to swing. I was a softball player for many years, accuracy is spot on. Usually they bleed out in seconds, lots of blood,
but twice so far, it's not like I missed, but more like I did not swing as hard as I normally do...

I'm with RR, even though bopping works fastest for me, I've tried others and there doesn't seem to be any way that makes me feel right. As long as I'm doing the culling, the meat, well...

 

[bowbuild]

Zas,
Then we are not looking at the same videos. I can go to youtube and pull 2 off there in seconds that were in my mind dreadfully misguided to say the least. To those that want to post videos of you "first kill" Do you really think that is helping your cause of being able to maintain your own herd?? Rediculious laughter, or unprofessional examples fumbling around why you are trying to end a animals life is the worst thing you can put on youtube....we have enough people that don't want us to kill anything including our food. So, I just ask whatever your method you use, and if you decide to put it on youtube.....do it professionally, accurately, and most of all have practiced your method LOTS before you post a horror show that helps no one especially yourself.

One more thing......another dull knife in a video I think I will scream...rediculious!


Bowbuild

 

[Zass]

Zas,
Then we are not looking at the same videos. I can go to youtube and pull 2 off there in seconds that were in my mind dreadfully misguided to say the least. To those that want to post videos of you "first kill" Do you really think that is helping your cause of being able to maintain your own herd?? Rediculious laughter, or unprofessional examples fumbling around why you are trying to end a animals life is the worst thing you can put on youtube....we have enough people that don't want us to kill anything including our food. So, I just ask whatever your method you use, and if you decide to put it on youtube.....do it professionally, accurately, and most of all have practiced your method LOTS before you post a horror show that helps no one especially yourself.

One more thing......another dull knife in a video I think I will scream...rediculious!


Bowbuild

I agreed with you.

( and I've also been unimpressed with the videos I've seen online. )

Your description of the videos is accurate,(they are terrible!) It's not how anyone who cares about their animals would preform that kill method.

There are people who can do it quickly and well. But, I was also thinking that if there are so many others who can't than it might really be better to promote methods that are less easy to mess up.

 

[bowbuild]

Misunderstanding of your first paragraph....I was describing what I have seen.

 

[EagleViewRabbits]

Ok, I have to drop in here. We use a small wire cage as a kill cage. For dispatching the rabbit, we use a small .22 rifle. We can get close to the back of the head this way because of the length of the rifle barrel. Very clean kill.

While my husband is skinning/cleaning one rabbit, I go get the next one and put in the kill cage. This gives the rabbit a few minutes to calm down before dispatching. I wash down the wire cage after each kill.

Years ago, we tried the "bopping" method and hated it.

 

[mwettig]

I have always used the CD method. There is some pooling of blood at the neck but most of it come off when it is beheaded. I have killed hundreds of them over my life time.

 

[michaels4gardens]

I use CD for rabbits I am going to use, and bopping for rabbits I sold for meat , or older rabbits, [I haven't sold meat for a while] -- I think CD is fine for young rabbits because complete separation is easy, but-- with older rabbits I wonder if simple CD really kills instantly, or if they are just paralyzed and can't complain. So even though I can CD an older rabbit, [it takes a lot of hand strength to do a good job with complete separation ] I prefer to use another method when I have to kill one. I have seen people who raised rabbits for pelts kill a lot of rabbits with a simple CD [with no separation or bleeding] and it seemed to be a "good clean kill", but for me -- I can't help but wonder.

 

[skysthelimit]

When you cut and they twitch, you know.

I've noted that if I did it right, they begin the death twitch and bleed through the nose, if not, then I have to do it again. The one time I didn't get the twitching and I started cutting, I regretted it.