Are meat rabbits affected by witnessing "Dispatch" of fello?

[Richard & Tresa]

Are meat rabbits affected by witnessing "Dispatch?

Question came up because we just dispatched some old hens out of sight of our remaining hens... They stopped laying... I asked the same question on Backyard Chicken and the reply was that he dispatches meat chickens right in front of them. They pace back and forth anxiously waiting for meat to be given to them...

Our hens had the same reaction to our lawn mower... They used to be terrified of it, now they pace back and forth, following as close as possible when get to the edge of the run, all knowing that the grass catcher is emptied into the run for them.

But I wonder about rabbits... I built a captive bolt gun that works perfectly... Instant kills... Built a top hinged lid so I can get at them and they all go out peacefully (We pet ALL our rabbits, not just the breeders, toys, talking to... they all boink when we come near them and will drop their heads just to get petted, often foregoing treats until we've petted their heads for a while... Kills were silent, no squeals, but, They did "witness" the event...

Is it possible they were effected? Three on the porch awaiting their bus to freezer camp seemed a little upset, but not sure if I was just projecting... later that day, they were back to normal...

Any insights would be appreciated.

Thanks!

Richard & Tresa

 

[Zass]

I dispatch meat rabbits in my kitchen, right in front of my house-bunny who's cage is in there.
We used to try to be considerate and cover her pen, but it became more and more apparent that she really didn't care....to the point that she chose to nurse her babies right in front of us 10 minutes after we finished killing and processing a batch of fryers 4 feet from her pen.

Maybe she feels that whatever happens to those rabbits doesn't have anything to do with her.:shrug:

 

[Nyctra]

Mine never really gave a hoot. They didn't seem to comprehend what was going on.
Whenever I'd try dispatching (broomstick) with a free ranger buck on the loose, he'd run up trying to breed or fight the dispatched. Nasty buck. Bothered me more than it bothered him! :x

 

[Zass]

Mine never really gave a hoot. They didn't seem to comprehend what was going on.

I think you may be right, Nyctra. I'm not sure rabbits really comprehend death.

 

[akane]

I would be more worried about scent. The smell of blood and organs does not mean the same to a rabbit versus chicken. I've wondered about it but they don't seem to act any different from getting them collected where I want to butcher to the last one. An indoor rabbit would probably care even less with all the smells of humans, any pets, and various foods. Only sound seems to upset them.

 

[Richard & Tresa]

Thank you everyone...

I agree about the scent... We seem to think all creatures react the same way we do to the same stimulus... We wash out the "kill cage" in between dispatches for that reason... Didn't think of it regarding not only dispatching, but butchering/cleaning to prep for soaking bucket...

Se care enough about these little guys, that I don't want to take any chances... We'll dispatch AND butcher away from them so they can't see and they can't smell....

The same question in the chicken forum resulted in all chickens getting excited about the smell (?) knowing that they are in for some protein treats... probably the same way our rabbits get excited when they "hear" the feed pan getting filled and our walking over to the hutch to feed them!



Going to take the cautious route anyway.

Thank you!

Richard & Tresa

 

[grumpy]

I've no idea how many I've dispatched and processed. Be that as it may,
I guess I'm the odd man out because I've always tossed a towel over the
cage holding the::::::::

NEXT!!! :x

Grumpy.

 

[Miss M]

When we lived with my uncle, we butchered in full view of the other rabbits, because that was the least visible area from the other yards around. We were afraid of the effect it would have on them, but they never seemed to care or comprehend.

Now, we process out of sight.

 

[Richard & Tresa]

Thanks Miss M!

I think we've decided to follow your lead and dispatch and butcher out of sight/smell... We just don't want to risk scaring them... Whether it's our projecting our "human emotions/senses" or not, it wouldn't take that much more prep to set up a different location for the process... The quality of their lives is most important to us... to the point of designing and building our own captive bolt gun (Following Sal's wonderful "Rabbit Zinger" as a model... We pet ALL our rabbits and they LOVE to be petted on their heads... I's a simple switch from petting with our hands to petting with the gun... They are in the most wonderful state of "peace" going into a very still and comforted state... The gun is instant, no stress (I built a special top loading "kill cage" where we hold them for a while so they get used to it, a separate, removable plastic bottom so if they do get nervous at the last instant, they can't gain traction to move out of the way)...

We had an extremely traumatic reaction from dispatching our first 3 (out of 9)... Everything went perfectly... We didn't know that our own personal emotional reaction would hit so hard... Tresa's solution was to not get so "close" to them... For me, I recognized that dispatching in the most humane, stress-free way with a painless, instant kill was a part of the "whole package" of caring for them... from birth to growing to freezer camp... Still have 5 more to go (We think we're keeping one for future breeding), but the delay has been because of my super intense work load... Probably going to wait until after Thanksgiving...

At any rate, dispatching and butchering out of sight/smell will be just one more step we take to insure that their lives are as wonderful as possible... (We're still holding on to the quote posted here previously... (Give them a GREAT life with only one "bad day")... The more I think about that, the more I can only hope to be so lucky... *smile*

Thanks again for your input!

Richard & Tresa

OK... just finished feeding/hay and water... visited here and now it's time to get back to work (Fortunate to be working at home...

 

[Zass]

You know those bunnies don't even have one bad day. They probably don't even have a whole bad minute.

I can empathize with you about the traumatic reaction. My husband and I were never hunters or farmers.

We were unable to kill the first few litters we raised for meat. They ended up sold to a nice kid with a few big snakes. He assured us he knew how to dispatch humanely and that his snakes were to valuable for live feeding. To this day, I still feel better about those transactions than most of the pet sales I've made over the years.

When we finally did decide that we HAD to do the job, it was because we had been without meat over a month, and we weren't going to eat any unless we could do the job ourselves. We were convinced that if it was right...we could do it.
I brought one of the fryers to my husband,
" Please kill this, but don't HURT it!!!!" He understood. He's probably more gentle than I am. He just never talks about it.

His hands shook badly during the process, and for a long time afterwards. It took a few dispatches for him to get past the adrenalin reaction. Yeah...he's that sensitive.

If I seem casual about it now...it's because I truly believe after years of doing this, that it is good for us, and the rabbits.
They have the best lives we can give them and a quick and painless dispatch. Not all of the individuals get to survive and breed, just as nature intended. They are culled for traits that help the species survive alongside of humans. We are co-dependent. Symbiotic.
The rabbits do benefit from us protecting them, and feeding them, providing shelter, and CULLING them.
I never understood how being a prey animal could be a benefit to a species until I started raising rabbits.
The first to be culled are generally the neurotic(failure to adapt), sick(poor immune system), weak, or poorly-put-together animals.
A good many others with no obvious flaws are culled too, and it still makes sense, because overcrowding can be a nightmare of disease and violence for them. Rabbits thrive on heavy culling.

Understanding it, and seeing it in action are different though. It takes time to get used to killing if you weren't born into that life. I'm rather glad my children are much more comfortable with it than I am.

 

[akane]

I'm not happy having to broomstick. Theres that moment of positioning them that they get a little upset about. With my pellet gun they would investigate the pen and ground until I positioned the rifle. The pressure on their head just made them flatten a little and then they were dead.

 

[MamaSheepdog]

I usually dispatch out of sight of the other rabbits, but have also done it with the others just a few feet away, and they don't seem to be upset either way.

As for the odor- I rinse my kill table off between rabbits, but their sense of smell is so much more acute than ours that I am sure they still smell the blood. Even when there is a spot of fresh blood and they sniff it directly it doesn't upset them. Considering the fact that the smell is all over your hands after butchering and the next rabbit doesn't recoil in fear when picked up, I am pretty certain that they don't have the capacity to equate it with their own impending death.

If you had a botched kill where the rabbit released fear pheromones they might react, especially if you dispatch in a small enclosed area as opposed to in the open air... but with a clean kill all they smell is blood/offal.

I think that your state of mind when handling them is the most important aspect. If you are radiating feelings of nervousness or remorse it will upset them, but if you handle them calmly and with compassion they will feel secure until the last moment.