Butchering age

[Olbunny]

We raise New Zealand does and Californian buck. We butchered our rabbits at 12 weeks. The meat is tougher than I would like. I am going to drop down to 10 weeks for friers. I don't like the fact that they grow at a good rate at this age and we will have smaller friers. And cost per pound may go up a bit. But I believe we will have a better finished product.
What age do you all harvest your friers and do you notice much difference in texture ? Do you believe that breed has much to do with texture ?

 

[Lil Acorn Acres Farm]

We raise New Zealand does and Californian buck. We butchered our rabbits at 12 weeks. The meat is tougher than I would like. I am going to drop down to 10 weeks for friers. I don't like the fact that they grow at a good rate at this age and we will have smaller friers. And cost per pound may go up a bit. But I believe we will have a better finished product.
What age do you all harvest your friers and do you notice much difference in texture ? Do you believe that breed has much to do with texture ?

First timer here. I am learning, but my first litter 4 of them didn't reach the 5lb. 8 oz. at 10 weeks. They only made 5 lbs. Could be the way I feed or my breeders. CA doe with rex buck. But by 3 days later they did.
When I slaughtered, the finished weight was around 2 lbs. 6 oz. There was a lot more fat than I expected.
Some issues I had also was dislocating arms while skinning. I guess I need to slow down a bit. (Dirt bees are the devils spawn.)
The meat was wonderful. But I did let it relax 3 days before cooking.
I did the homemade shake n bake. Easy peasy.
This coming batch I'm switching to 18% protein pellets. And cutting out the fun foods.
I need to know how it works in my perimeters.

 

[Alaska Satin]

First timer here. I am learning, but my first litter 4 of them didn't reach the 5lb. 8 oz. at 10 weeks. They only made 5 lbs. Could be the way I feed or my breeders. CA doe with rex buck. But by 3 days later they did.
When I slaughtered, the finished weight was around 2 lbs. 6 oz. There was a lot more fat than I expected.
Some issues I had also was dislocating arms while skinning. I guess I need to slow down a bit. (Dirt bees are the devils spawn.)
The meat was wonderful. But I did let it relax 3 days before cooking.
I did the homemade shake n bake. Easy peasy.
This coming batch I'm switching to 18% protein pellets. And cutting out the fun foods.
I need to know how it works in my perimeters.

Five pounds by 10 weeks is often considered a good weight for fryers, particularly Rex, although high-end Californians and New Zealands can hit 5.5lbs as early as 8 weeks. As a point of reference, the ARBA meat pen requirement is 3.5lbs minimum - 5.5lbs maximum for 10 week-old bunnies, with the lower weights applicable to breeds like Florida Whites. So I'd say you're pretty much on track (especially if they gained half a pound in three days!).

Commercial rabbit pellets are designed to put on weight, and a lot of that often ends up being fat, no matter what the protein content. The biggest difference I've seen in fryer fatness is when I raise grow-outs in tractors in the yard. All of my growouts get free-fed pellets, but the ones on the ground in tractors eat less pellets (by about half) and are much leaner at harvest.

 

[ladysown]

you shouldn't be getting tough meat at 12 weeks. It might be your method of cooking. Are you doing slow moist heat?

 

[Rabbit Tree Farm]

I have butchered at 12 weeks, 16 weeks, and 18 mos (a doe i bought as a breeder that ended up infertile.) I could not have told you any difference between any of them. I let rest in an ice bath until rigor passes, two to three days. The doe i roasted on low heat for several hours.

My juniors are finished in tractors on grass as well and get an adult ration of pellets...they come out with almost no fat. That cage raised doe though was very fatty. She also had a tumor on one ovary.

I suffer with rabbit dysmorphia...so i have just purchased a scale. My last butcher they ended up huge because i kept feeling they just werent big enough yet! Somehow they end up larger in the pot than they look on the ground

But i have yet to have any come out tough or chewy.

 

[Lil Acorn Acres Farm]

Five pounds by 10 weeks is often considered a good weight for fryers, particularly Rex, although high-end Californians and New Zealands can hit 5.5lbs as early as 8 weeks. As a point of reference, the ARBA meat pen requirement is 3.5lbs minimum - 5.5lbs maximum for 10 week-old bunnies, with the lower weights applicable to breeds like Florida Whites. So I'd say you're pretty much on track (especially if they gained half a pound in three days!).

Commercial rabbit pellets are designed to put on weight, and a lot of that often ends up being fat, no matter what the protein content. The biggest difference I've seen in fryer fatness is when I raise grow-outs in tractors in the yard. All of my growouts get free-fed pellets, but the ones on the ground in tractors eat less pellets (by about half) and are much leaner at harvest.

The 4 were 5 lbs+ but not 5 1/2 pounds. Don't know the exact oz.s just not the target weight.

 

[Scooter1A]

We raise New Zealand does and Californian buck. We butchered our rabbits at 12 weeks. The meat is tougher than I would like. I am going to drop down to 10 weeks for friers. I don't like the fact that they grow at a good rate at this age and we will have smaller friers. And cost per pound may go up a bit. But I believe we will have a better finished product.
What age do you all harvest your friers and do you notice much difference in texture ? Do you believe that breed has much to do with texture ?

10-12 weeks and be sure to let them bleed out and then go thru rigor for 3 days.

 

[Skai]

This sounds off subject but it's not. Recently I read an article (I believe it was by Joel Salatin) discussing why beef that has been entirely grass fed before harvest was tougher than beef finished with corn. The reason, he said, was because the USDA requires that the beef be moved to a chiller immediately after harvest, whereas, before the USDA got involved they would let the beef cool down naturally awhile before refrigerating. There is a word for the chilling (I can't remember it) but it causes the fibers of the flesh to contract unnaturally and go into rigor faster than it should which causes toughness in lean meat. I've watched their videos on harvesting rabbits and they just put the rabbit in cold well water. No ice.

So, I'm sure this will raise some eyebrows but here goes... Back when I raised rabbits about 30 years ago I harvested them, washed them and put them on baking sheets covered with plastic wrap and right into the fridge where they cooled down slowly, and left them for 3 days. No pre-chilling in ice water. Never had a problem with them being chewie no matter how I cooked them, and nobody died. Now because I've been told I must do this, I pre-chill in ice water before refrigerating, and I think the meat is not as tender as they were then. So I am going to do a test next harvest (which won't be until Spring). Half will go in the ice-water bath after harvest and the other half I will process like I did back in the day.

I'd like opinions on this but please don't shoot the messenger.

 

[Scooter1A]

This sounds off subject but it's not. Recently I read an article (I believe it was by Joel Salatin) discussing why beef that has been entirely grass fed before harvest was tougher than beef finished with corn. The reason, he said, was because the USDA requires that the beef be moved to a chiller immediately after harvest, whereas, before the USDA got involved they would let the beef cool down naturally awhile before refrigerating. There is a word for the chilling (I can't remember it) but it causes the fibers of the flesh to contract unnaturally and go into rigor faster than it should which causes toughness in lean meat. I've watched their videos on harvesting rabbits and they just put the rabbit in cold well water. No ice.

So, I'm sure this will raise some eyebrows but here goes... Back when I raised rabbits about 30 years ago I harvested them, washed them and put them on baking sheets covered with plastic wrap and right into the fridge where they cooled down slowly, and left them for 3 days. No pre-chilling in ice water. Never had a problem with them being chewie no matter how I cooked them, and nobody died. Now because I've been told I must do this, I pre-chill in ice water before refrigerating, and I think the meat is not as tender as they were then. So I am going to do a test next harvest (which won't be until Spring). Half will go in the ice-water bath after harvest and the other half I will process like I did back in the day.

I'd like opinions on this but please don't shoot the messenger.

Hello. I leave my rabbits in cold water while I finish harvesting then they go in the beer fridge on a cookie sheet with no cover. 3 days later I do whatever it is I'm going to do with them. No ice just cold water. So I totally agree with ya.

 

[Alaska Satin]

This sounds off subject but it's not. Recently I read an article (I believe it was by Joel Salatin) discussing why beef that has been entirely grass fed before harvest was tougher than beef finished with corn. The reason, he said, was because the USDA requires that the beef be moved to a chiller immediately after harvest, whereas, before the USDA got involved they would let the beef cool down naturally awhile before refrigerating. There is a word for the chilling (I can't remember it) but it causes the fibers of the flesh to contract unnaturally and go into rigor faster than it should which causes toughness in lean meat. I've watched their videos on harvesting rabbits and they just put the rabbit in cold well water. No ice.

So, I'm sure this will raise some eyebrows but here goes... Back when I raised rabbits about 30 years ago I harvested them, washed them and put them on baking sheets covered with plastic wrap and right into the fridge where they cooled down slowly, and left them for 3 days. No pre-chilling in ice water. Never had a problem with them being chewie no matter how I cooked them, and nobody died. Now because I've been told I must do this, I pre-chill in ice water before refrigerating, and I think the meat is not as tender as they were then. So I am going to do a test next harvest (which won't be until Spring). Half will go in the ice-water bath after harvest and the other half I will process like I did back in the day.

I'd like opinions on this but please don't shoot the messenger.

Hello. I leave my rabbits in cold water while I finish harvesting then they go in the beer fridge on a cookie sheet with no cover. 3 days later I do whatever it is I'm going to do with them. No ice just cold water. So I totally agree with ya.

I've never ice-bathed our rabbit meat (unless you count putting them in stock pots filled with hose water that comes from a glacier an ice bath ). We have always done similar to what you do. It's rinsed and then goes into the cold-water pots, then into the refrigerator still in those pots, where they are left for 3+ days. (Honestly, I leave them in the pots in water because I don't have room for that many baking sheets and I'm too lazy... um, I mean busy... and cheap to cover them with plastic wrap.) In my experience it's all that it takes to keep the meat from being chewy. On the other hand, I did put them straight from harvest into the freezer for a while, and that seemed to do just as well. But I find it's a lot easier dealing with the meat when you want to use it if you don't have to thaw it first. I'm looking forward to hearing what you find with your test processing.

I am not even too picky about how long it sits in the refrigerator (I do try to limit it to about a week). Since I can most of it these days, I get to it when I get to it (or when I need room in the fridge!). In the meantime the kids pull it out when they want meat in their burritos, and sometimes I end up with nothing to can.

My husband has been hunting and trapping for almost 50 years, and is very particular about how meat is handled. The "never soak meat in water" mantra went out the window a long time ago. When he harvests large game, he guts it and immediately drops it into a stream, which is always quite cold due to above-mentioned glaciers. Usually it's several days before they get home to process the meat and put it in the freezer. We never fail to hear guests comment, "This is the best ________ I've ever tasted."

As for the USDA, they're the folks that bring us the meat in the store, so, uh, no thanks. I recently had sad reason to visit a "USDA-licensed" butcher facility and I was aghast that any place like that still existed. It wasn't exactly like Sinclair's The Jungle, but it probably felt like that to the animals. I am not a particularly sentimental or emotional person, but I had a hard time sleeping for the next two nights.

 

[Skai]

I've never ice-bathed our rabbit meat (unless you count putting them in stock pots filled with hose water that comes from a glacier an ice bath ). We have always done similar to what you do. It's rinsed and then goes into the cold-water pots, then into the refrigerator still in those pots, where they are left for 3+ days. (Honestly, I leave them in the pots in water because I don't have room for that many baking sheets and I'm too lazy... um, I mean busy... and cheap to cover them with plastic wrap.) In my experience it's that all it takes to keep the meat from being chewy. On the other hand, I did put them straight from harvest into the freezer for a while, and that seemed to do just as well. But I find it's a lot easier dealing with the meat when you want to use it if you don't have to thaw it first. I'm looking forward to hearing what you find with your test processing.

I am not even too picky about how long it sits in the refrigerator (I do try to limit it to about a week). Since I can most of it these days, I get to it when I get to it (or when I need room in the fridge!). In the meantime the kids pull it out when they want meat in their burritos, and sometimes I end up with nothing to can.

My husband has been hunting and trapping for almost 50 years, and is very particular about how meat is handled. The "never soak meat in water" mantra went out the window a long time ago. When he harvests large game, he guts it and immediately drops it into a stream, which is always quite cold due to above-mentioned glaciers. Usually it's several days before they get home to process the meat and put it in the freezer. We never fail to hear guests comment, "This is the best ________ I've ever tasted."

As for the USDA, they're the folks that bring us the meat in the store, so, uh, no thanks. I recently had sad reason to visit a "USDA-licensed" butcher facility and I was aghast that any place like that still existed. It wasn't exactly like Sinclair's The Jungle, but it probably felt like that to the animals. I am not a particularly sentimental or emotional person, but I had a hard time sleeping for the next two nights.

Wow, thanks for the comments.

 

[Lil Acorn Acres Farm]

This sounds off subject but it's not. Recently I read an article (I believe it was by Joel Salatin) discussing why beef that has been entirely grass fed before harvest was tougher than beef finished with corn. The reason, he said, was because the USDA requires that the beef be moved to a chiller immediately after harvest, whereas, before the USDA got involved they would let the beef cool down naturally awhile before refrigerating. There is a word for the chilling (I can't remember it) but it causes the fibers of the flesh to contract unnaturally and go into rigor faster than it should which causes toughness in lean meat. I've watched their videos on harvesting rabbits and they just put the rabbit in cold well water. No ice.

So, I'm sure this will raise some eyebrows but here goes... Back when I raised rabbits about 30 years ago I harvested them, washed them and put them on baking sheets covered with plastic wrap and right into the fridge where they cooled down slowly, and left them for 3 days. No pre-chilling in ice water. Never had a problem with them being chewie no matter how I cooked them, and nobody died. Now because I've been told I must do this, I pre-chill in ice water before refrigerating, and I think the meat is not as tender as they were then. So I am going to do a test next harvest (which won't be until Spring). Half will go in the ice-water bath after harvest and the other half I will process like I did back in the day.

I'd like opinions on this but please don't shoot the messenger.

Great plan.

 

[Lil Acorn Acres Farm]

First timer here. I am learning, but my first litter 4 of them didn't reach the 5lb. 8 oz. at 10 weeks. They only made 5 lbs. Could be the way I feed or my breeders. CA doe with rex buck. But by 3 days later they did.
When I slaughtered, the finished weight was around 2 lbs. 6 oz. There was a lot more fat than I expected.
Some issues I had also was dislocating arms while skinning. I guess I need to slow down a bit. (Dirt bees are the devils spawn.)
The meat was wonderful. But I did let it relax 3 days before cooking.
I did the homemade shake n bake. Easy peasy.
This coming batch I'm switching to 18% protein pellets. And cutting out the fun foods.
I need to know how it works in my perimeters.

CORRECTION - Well it looks like they were on track after all. They were 9 weeks - not 10 weeks. Just realized that this morning. I'm gonna have to keep better records.

 

[ihatedarkroast]

We've been processing our rex between 3 and 4 months. Not tough or chewy at all. Live weights 4.3-5.5 lbs. 2.5-3.5 processed weight. 5 days resting in the fridge.

I think my husband would like them a bit bigger at 5 months. He keeps comparing them to a chicken. but I like to cut down on the drama of the chasing, humping, houdini escapes and scuffles that start around 12 weeks.
I've been feeding a mix of 16% pellets, orchard hay, garden scraps, weeds, and grass from the yard.

 

[Cindy in SD]

This sounds off subject but it's not. Recently I read an article (I believe it was by Joel Salatin) discussing why beef that has been entirely grass fed before harvest was tougher than beef finished with corn. The reason, he said, was because the USDA requires that the beef be moved to a chiller immediately after harvest, whereas, before the USDA got involved they would let the beef cool down naturally awhile before refrigerating. There is a word for the chilling (I can't remember it) but it causes the fibers of the flesh to contract unnaturally and go into rigor faster than it should which causes toughness in lean meat. I've watched their videos on harvesting rabbits and they just put the rabbit in cold well water. No ice.

So, I'm sure this will raise some eyebrows but here goes... Back when I raised rabbits about 30 years ago I harvested them, washed them and put them on baking sheets covered with plastic wrap and right into the fridge where they cooled down slowly, and left them for 3 days. No pre-chilling in ice water. Never had a problem with them being chewie no matter how I cooked them, and nobody died. Now because I've been told I must do this, I pre-chill in ice water before refrigerating, and I think the meat is not as tender as they were then. So I am going to do a test next harvest (which won't be until Spring). Half will go in the ice-water bath after harvest and the other half I will process like I did back in the day.

I'd like opinions on this but please don't shoot the messenger.

I like your take. I’ve been putting mine in a cooler full of cold (well) water. Our well water is seriously cold, living where we do. I also add the ice from the automatic ice maker, which amounts to around a half-gallon bucket. Plus, I dissolve a cup or so of livestock salt and add that, too. I let them rest, adding ice unless the water has partly frozen in the cooler, for around three days. IMO they’re very nice, but if a person is accustomed to young CX chickens, they’ll maybe seem chewy.

Chickens get tough (sort of) if you keep them too long, even CX, but I haven’t noticed my rabbits getting tough. Even the belly flaps aren’t tough to me and ppl tell me that’s the toughest part. I don’t raise CX any more b/c it’s just too cruel to manufacture a chicken that can’t even reproduce independently and waddles around in a body too large for its heart to adequately serve.

Anyway, rabbits are a lot quicker, easier, less mess to process.

 

[Olbunny]

We have been butchering, refrigerate 3 days then vaccuum seal n freeze. Or can. Probably debone and then can next time. Tooooo many little bones.
A want the best product I can get. So age before we butcher doesn't matter. We open feed 18% pellets and timothy hay. Forage dandelions, birch n willow sticks n such.
I susspose that I may be picky about texture. Just want the best possible.

So sounds like butchering and refrigerate 3 days. Then freeze. For frozen rabbit. Whole or not ? We have been matching size. So rear legs together. Saddles together front legs, I will fillet the rib meat n wrap it around the front leg.
Still not sure though. Do they need a ice bath if cooled immediately and refrigerated ?s

 

[Alaska Satin]

We have been butchering, refrigerate 3 days then vaccuum seal n freeze. Or can. Probably debone and then can next time. Tooooo many little bones.
A want the best product I can get. So age before we butcher doesn't matter. We open feed 18% pellets and timothy hay. Forage dandelions, birch n willow sticks n such.
I susspose that I may be picky about texture. Just want the best possible.

So sounds like butchering and refrigerate 3 days. Then freeze. For frozen rabbit. Whole or not ? We have been matching size. So rear legs together. Saddles together front legs, I will fillet the rib meat n wrap it around the front leg.
Still not sure though. Do they need a ice bath if cooled immediately and refrigerated ?s

Ditto that on the little bones - that's why I started canning everything the kids didn't cook up themselves out of the refrigerator. It's fine if you're grilling it like chicken when everyone gets to work at it themselves, but it's such a bummer to be enjoying a rabbit taco or pot pie and run into one of those tiny bones from the joints. No matter how many times I pick through it, I can never manage to get all the bones out of already-cooked meat.

So now I bone the meat raw (after its stint in the refrigerator), and can all of it. Boning is quick because I don't quarter the rabbit, and I don't have to worry about whether my butchering is "pretty" - I just hack it off. There is some meat I don't get off, but I usually make broth out of the bones, so many of the nutrients are recovered that way, and the chickens get the big bones that still have meat on them after that.

Canning rabbit has a couple of real advantages. Canned meat requires much less space than whole or quartered frozen rabbits, and you're not at the mercy of power outages, like the one we had last night, potentially ruining everything in your freezer. And the meat is so good - nobody here ever wants grilled rabbit anymore because the canned rabbit is like a treat. I usually add a pinch of salt, and it's good enough to eat straight from the jar. (I know you're "supposed" to reheat it, but no one's ever explained why to my satisfaction.)

I don't ever use an ice bath. It cools in the pot in (very cold) hose water while the butchering is happening, then goes straight into the refrigerator.

 

[eco2pia]

I have my own opinions...I also do a 3 day rest in a fridge, in plastic bags, but I don't bother prechilling, unless you count a quick rinse in the sink to remove any hair or blood on the outside of the carcass. I have butchered anywhere from 8 weeks to 2+ years. In my opinion the loin is the most tender, but you have to bone and remove the silvery connective tissue on older rabbits. The loin is tender, treated this way, on any rabbit.

For a "fryer", meaning you can abuse the whole rabbit with fast cooking and high heat, I prefer to stick to under 12 weeks. For a roaster/stewer, which I consider any rabbit over 12 weeks, I still keep the loin for frying, but then I treat the rest as "tough" and cook accordingly--slow, low, moist heat. For some on the younger end for the roaster group I may keep the hind legs and bone for stir frying, but I just accept that I will have slightly firmer meat. This is not a problem for me--I feel like the larger loin makes up for the lack of tenderness on the other portions, and my use is varied enough to afford this treatment.

To avoid the tiny bones I feed the intact ribcage, spine, and pelvis ("backstrap" portion removed for me) to the dog. Sometimes he also gets front legs...Since he eats the bones and meat together, nothing is wasted and they are gone in seconds instead of me picking the meat apart for half and hour.

 

[Cindy in SD]

I have my own opinions...I also do a 3 day rest in a fridge, in plastic bags, but I don't bother prechilling, unless you count a quick rinse in the sink to remove any hair or blood on the outside of the carcass. I have butchered anywhere from 8 weeks to 2+ years. In my opinion the loin is the most tender, but you have to bone and remove the silvery connective tissue on older rabbits. The loin is tender, treated this way, on any rabbit.

For a "fryer", meaning you can abuse the whole rabbit with fast cooking and high heat, I prefer to stick to under 12 weeks. For a roaster/stewer, which I consider any rabbit over 12 weeks, I still keep the loin for frying, but then I treat the rest as "tough" and cook accordingly--slow, low, moist heat. For some on the younger end for the roaster group I may keep the hind legs and bone for stir frying, but I just accept that I will have slightly firmer meat. This is not a problem for me--I feel like the larger loin makes up for the lack of tenderness on the other portions, and my use is varied enough to afford this treatment.

To avoid the tiny bones I feed the intact ribcage, spine, and pelvis ("backstrap" portion removed for me) to the dog. Sometimes he also gets front legs...Since he eats the bones and meat together, nothing is wasted and they are gone in seconds instead of me picking the meat apart for half and hour.

My doggies get meat for snacks & supper and lately it’s been rabbit. Only the rabbit is so much better than the chicken that I’m thinking they’re getting most of the chicken, now that I’ve butchered a bunch of non-laying birds, and will be doing more very soon, as the weather’s supposed to warm up for a while next week. The rabbit is sooo good, I hate to give it to the dogs. I swear they don’t taste it, but they do crunch loudly through the bones, leaving nothing but happy, satisfied pups.

I let mine grow out for quite a while, until they start being mean to each other (girls in one tractor; boys in the other). They’re meat mutts and don’t get all that big, though bigger than I thought they would. Nevertheless, they’re firm but tender (which I prefer; I can’t stand mushy meat), and super tasty. I can cook up a hindquarter in the convection oven in 15-20 minutes, and it’s delicious. Toothsome but not tough. I love rabbit! They’re the perfect meat animal; easy to catch, they won’t knock you over if they run into you, and if they step on your foot it doesn’t even hurt. AND my hubby even eats them with no prodding by me. Now THAT’s huge.

 

[Skai]

Ditto that on the little bones - that's why I started canning everything the kids didn't cook up themselves out of the refrigerator. It's fine if you're grilling it like chicken when everyone gets to work at it themselves, but it's such a bummer to be enjoying a rabbit taco or pot pie and run into one of those tiny bones from the joints. No matter how many times I pick through it, I can never manage to get all the bones out of already-cooked meat.

So now I bone the meat raw (after its stint in the refrigerator), and can all of it. Boning is quick because I don't quarter the rabbit, and I don't have to worry about whether my butchering is "pretty" - I just hack it off. There is some meat I don't get off, but I usually make broth out of the bones, so many of the nutrients are recovered that way, and the chickens get the big bones that still have meat on them after that.

Canning rabbit has a couple of real advantages. Canned meat requires much less space than whole or quartered frozen rabbits, and you're not at the mercy of power outages, like the one we had last night, potentially ruining everything in your freezer. And the meat is so good - nobody here ever wants grilled rabbit anymore because the canned rabbit is like a treat. I usually add a pinch of salt, and it's good enough to eat straight from the jar. (I know you're "supposed" to reheat it, but no one's ever explained why to my satisfaction.)

I don't ever use an ice bath. It cools in the pot in (very cold) hose water while the butchering is happening, then goes straight into the refrigerator.

Good process. I always save the bones and the rib-cage for stock. We think that rabbit makes the best stock ever.