Dispatching

[Jaulen]

Good morning !

We're looking at processing our first litter in 2 weeks. Wo7ld be this weekend, but husband out of town. Our agreement was i breed, feed and clean...and he'll do the processing.

He's getting a little squeamish about the dispatching, and has decided to do the "cooler of death" ...in essence aphixiate them with CO2. Has anyone tried this method? Does it work? How long to kill them this way? I'm wondering if the cervical dislocation may be a better method.

We live in a newer subdivision....so he's worried about the neighbors thinking we're murdering children if it goes wrong and they start screaming.

 

[shazza]

i looked into gassing to dispatch rats/mice and there's some mixed opinions. in looking through documentation from lab workers and snake breeders, apparently CO2 triggers the choking reflex and causes the animals considerable stress and panic before they die. the larger the animal the more/longer they'll need to be exposed to the gas, so that's potentially several minutes of panic for them until they die. here is a chart i found on a college lab site:

ten minutes of exposure to euthanize a rat - it may be even longer for a rabbit. waiting ten+ minutes for an animal to die may be fine if you did them all at once, but doing them one at a time prevents additional spoilage.



cervical dislocation is over in seconds, the animal suffers minimal stress, virtually no pain, and i have never had one scream when done properly (a soft sigh sound as the lungs compress is normal though.) young rabbits are very fragile and almost foolproof. i've completely dislocated the head from the spine more than not, honestly. i would consider it a superior method if for not other reason than the time involved to kill the animal.

 

[Ramjet]

Nothing humane about suffocating for 10-15 minutes ..... Might be humane for the one who's job it is to dispatch but it sure aint humane for the critter.



Cervical dislocation is the way to go. Its instant and painless. We owe the critter that much....

 

[Preitler]

With CO2 it needs a lot of knowledge to do it right, done properly it works (that's why there are CO2 accidents in wine cellars every year), but there is more to it than just gassing them, the feeling to suffocate when blood CO2 levels rise is one of the worst feelings I know.
I wouldn't dare.

I'm not very strong, and handling my rabbits stresses them, so I never tried broomsticking or other cervical dislocation methods. I used a .22 handgun, then bopping them (iron bar or heavy knive on the head), and now I use a homemade captive bolt gun, best method for me.

There is a thread worth reading on this topic:
http://rabbittalk.com/best-cleanest-fastest-dispatch-t25080.html

 

[Jaulen]

Whoa......I had not realized it would take that long with gas. I'm going to have to slow him this post. I would not want them to suffer...and that seems like suffering.

 

[UFCreel]

Get a rabbit wringer. It is the fastest way. Or a good whack on the back of the head, then off with the head is also very quick. Or the broom stick method. I just did eight yesterday. Wringer worked flawlessly.

 

[TheChad]

I use a pellet gun to the back of the head between the ears. Gone instantly. You can see it in the eyes. I always like to throw something fresh in the box I am doing it in. I am 100 percent so far in this. Good luck. I will say for me, it gets easier each time.

 

[Ramjet]

I use a pellet gun to the back of the head between the ears. Gone instantly. You can see it in the eyes. I always like to throw something fresh in the box I am doing it in. I am 100 percent so far in this. Good luck. I will say for me, it gets easier each time.

That's how I started out doing it , no issues for hundreds of rabbits .... Then I had a mishap , rabbit turned its head at the same time I pulled the trigger and it wasn't pretty. Rabbit hopping around with its eyeball hanging out and I cant catch it.

After that I had to find a better solution.

 

[Jaulen]

Oooh....Ramjet....that sounds like something I'd have a nightmare over for at least one night.

We harvested our first 7 this weekend. Took longer than expected, but first time doing it. We had a hook to try to break necks, but they wouldn't fit in it, so it was broom handle to back of neck and a quick pull up. That part went quickly.

Looking forward to my first rabbit dinner this week!

 

[Ramjet]

Oooh....Ramjet....that sounds like something I'd have a nightmare over for at least one night.

We harvested our first 7 this weekend. Took longer than expected, but first time doing it. We had a hook to try to break necks, but they wouldn't fit in it, so it was broom handle to back of neck and a quick pull up. That part went quickly.

Looking forward to my first rabbit dinner this week!

It was absolutely horrible .... I felt so terrible. It really made me rethink the process from that moment forward ....

I know people probably didn't enjoy reading that any more than I did actually living that moment , but if it saves someone else from having the same thing happen.


Hope you enjoy that first rabbit dinner .....

 

[AmberRae]

Ramjet,
Do you use a tool for the cervical dislocation or do it by hand?

 

[Ramjet]

I've been using basically the broomstick method with a thicker pole , similar to one you would hang clothes on in your closet.

If you are worried about not being strong enough , it really doesn't take much force to accomplish cervical dislocation on a rabbit no matter how you go about doing it , I'm an old guy with some disability (nerve damage in my hands) and have no problem applying enough force.

I could probably do it by hand if I chose to.

I thought about buying or making a rabbit wringer , but don't see the need to put out the $$ or effort when this seems to work without fail. If I have some sort of catastrophic failure that makes me rethink the process again that'll likely be the next evolution.

 

[AmberRae]

Thanks Ramjet, we use a rabbit wringer now and it has been successfully. We have been told there is less blood clotting in the meat if you use a gun or bang stick. I am not sure if it is worth the risk of having a situation like you described. My husband had the same experience shooting one of our meat pigs and we want to make sure we don't do that again. Did you notice any difference in having more meat being damaged once you started using cervical dislocation?

 

[shazza]

i have heard this too, and while i've never tried whacking or shooting i've seen other people do it and it does look like there's less bruising. however, there isn't a lot of meat on the neck anyway, so i've never really felt like we were wasting anything. it's really up to your preferences though. cervical dislocation makes it VERY easy to cut the head off if nothing else - just find the break and cut right through. no fiddling with the gap between the atlas/axis.

 

[Ramjet]

No , I didn't notice any difference at all in the method of dispatch.

The main issue is getting the head removed asap so the blood isn't pooling which is the main contributor to bruising, I cut it off immediately after dispatch , then hang the carcass for further processing. Easy with rabbits .... maybe not so much with larger critters.

 

[grumpy]

You've got an excellent video right here on this site that will
show you how to dispatch, humanely and efficiently.
It's stickied at the top of the meat rabbits section.
Take the time to check it out...

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

Grumpy

 

[AmberRae]

Thank you Grumpy! This helped me a lot. We grow or hunt all our own meat at our home. I have NEVER been the one to do the dispatching or hunting. I actually have never been present when my husband has killed any of our home grown animals. I have no problem coming out and helping process them but it's that moment where they die I struggle with. Your video was the first time I have ever seen a rabbit killed. I have been too scared to watch a video like this but all the great coments made me watch it. It did not traumatize me at all. It was the opposite, it helped me see that it is really humane. I really really appreciate it. I think I might be able to participate next time we cull rabbits. I feel a duty to since I enjoy eating them so much.

 

[wildeden]

I'll just mention, because I didn't see it listed anywhere else in this thread...

Another method of dispatch is via captive bolt gun. It requires no cartridge or pellets and is quiet. The rabbits appear to "go to sleep". http://www.bunnyrancher.com/store/p43/The_Arbalest_-_Penetrating_Bolt_Gun.html

There's also a smaller model called the Ballista http://www.bunnyrancher.com/store/p42/The_Ballista_-_Penetrating_Bolt_Gun_.htm

 

[Preitler]

You're right, the captive bolt gun is the method I use now. It really is easy and no stress for the rabbits, and gives very consistant results. They exhale and are gone. No bruising. Some kicking happens, as with any other method I tried.
I put them between my knees, with a bowl of pellets (a rather rare treat) in front of their nose, and kill them while they are happily munching away, that works even for growouts that haven't been handled much.

I really like the design of the bigger model, espacially the trigger, that pretty much is what I had in mind. :yes: My homebuilt contraption uses a lot of lever ratio for a smooth trigger pull (there's actually a sear and trigger), which is necessary, it has about 12J, very stiff spring, need to step on the top handle and pull with both hands to cock it.
Hm, since I didn't have any reference mine has a 4mm/25mm bolt, guess I can inrease both diameter and lenght... :hmm:
I should make some pictures when (if) I disassamble it, might be of interest for other DIY people out there, but, well, it really isn't designed for reproduction, I used what I found raiding my junk pile... :roll: