I live in an urban area and want to set up a small meat rabbitry in my backyard. What is the best way to dispose of the non-edible parts when you are done butchering (such as the hides, stomach, intestines, etc). I have no issue keeping all edible organs but that still leaves some to dispose of. Hides, I'd love to find a market for but I know that can be hit and miss.
Disposing of non-edible remains...in the city
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Here I can dump any animal remains at the municipal ?access yard?( the place where the town has their cars, workshops, special waste collection etc. etc.), there are refridgerated bins there, accessable 24/7. Only used it once to dispose of a fox I shot in my hutch.
I guess ways to deal with such stuff differs, you could ask whoever does the waste managment in your area.
Also there is a seperate biological waste collection here, but I don't have that bin since I just bury everything that doesn't go on the compost pile around my fruit trees. If you use that I would freeze the stuff until the day of collection.
Or double bag it and put it in the normal trash if there is no other way?
What are you planning to do with all the other waste (gardening resources) a rabbitry produces, for me that is much more in volume than butchering waste.
I guess ways to deal with such stuff differs, you could ask whoever does the waste managment in your area.
Also there is a seperate biological waste collection here, but I don't have that bin since I just bury everything that doesn't go on the compost pile around my fruit trees. If you use that I would freeze the stuff until the day of collection.
Or double bag it and put it in the normal trash if there is no other way?
What are you planning to do with all the other waste (gardening resources) a rabbitry produces, for me that is much more in volume than butchering waste.
RabbitsOfTheCreek
Netherland Dwarf Breeder & Well-known Member
You could dry them and try making them into treats for dogs (such as ears and feet) or try making them into charms (like the feet)
For the manure, I was planning to either sell it in 5-gallon buckets or give it away...I can probably compost some of it but space is somewhat limited.
The refrigerated bins sound interesting but I've never seen anything like that here (though I will inquire).
Well, I think this problem may be solved. I just found out that meat products CAN go in our municipal green bins (I thought they were plant matter only). Looks like the best option will be to freeze the non-edible guts and then put them in the green bin on garbage day. I can do the same with hides as a last resort.
If you have a backyard, is there enough room for any sort of garden? That'd be a perfect place to bury all parts you don't want as well as a place for the manure. The parts degrade pretty quickly and disappear into the soil. Improves the soil, as well. We no longer use any fertilizer than bunny 'berries'.
Julie Stade
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If you know anyone with raw-fed dogs or backyard chickens, they'd likely love to have all your leftover parts. And if you separate the hides out, you can roll and freeze them for later shipping when you find a buyer.
We always harvest on the day before garbage pickup, bag the hides and throw them in the garbage. The innards we don't want to keep go deep in a garden bed. The blood that we collected in a bucket gets diluted and distributed around trees and bushes. I'd love to do something with the hides but it seems that there is always too much to do around here already.
In an urban area I would not recommend burial, as it can attract pests, like rodents, to your yard. If you do opt for this, bury it DEEP. You can put it in a worm bin if it is rodent proof, but it may overwhelm the bin if it is small. You might have to freeze it and put it in a little at a time. I do have a bin that is rodent proof, built out of an old bathtub.
I now have a dog that eats literally everything I do not, except the contents of the bladder and the gall bladder. You may be able to offer it for free (freeze in gallon ziplocs for ease of transport and handoff) to dog owners who feed raw. Alternatively (pre-dog), I have put the offal in the green waste/compost bin the day of pickup. It keeps the smell/flies down to not have it rotting out there all week. Mostly I just timed my harvest for the day before pick up so I didn't have to worry about storage.
Oddly, I was not successful feeding most of it to chickens. Mine might just be picky, but they mostly just spread everything around and made a mess, attracting rodents.
I think that is going to be my solution (butchering the day before green bin pickup). Alternatively, if I have to butcher at another time I can freeze them first.
Rabbit Warren Man
Well-known member
No waste on a rabbit, I take the meat my dogs get the rest. They love all parts of the rabbits.
I've fed my dogs kidneys and hearts but I worry about offering my dogs anything that they could visually associate with a live rabbit for fear if one got out they would think it was food for them.
Rabbit Warren Man
Well-known member
If they get out you have happy dogs lol!
I have meat rabbits and pet rabbits. I have a cat. I have a high prey drive dog.
He accepts the cat as a little brother, and has tolerated the fearless (foolish) pet angora rabbits as if they are cats, because I insist. But I rely on very strong fences and supervision to keep everybody safe. If it runs, and I don't say to stop, he will take it down, no matter what it is--probably even if it is a human. This is just his breed, and would have been true regardless, I knew what I was getting. Feeding or not feeding would not have changed that, but he is definitely smart enough to know that when I get out the buckets and the stunner, snacks are on their way.
If you have a dog that won't currently chase wild rabbits, you are probably fine. I had one of those in previous years, and my problem was he wouldn't eat things with fur on them. He looked at me like I was a murder, with woebegone eyes, and cowered, lol. That dog could be used to hunt down an escaped rabbit safely. Nothing I could have done would have made him suddenly kill.
It really varies by their personality.
Yes, I once had three Dobermans who considered protection of the rabbits and free ranging chickens their top priority. We lived way out in the country and heard coyotes running almost every night but the dogs kept them away from our property. Now I have an Australian Cattle dog that is "supposed" to be good with the animals and I can tell by his posture that any rabbit or chicken that got out would be lunch.
I also live in a town so don't have the kind of room, or need for large composting. I'm also leary of composting meaty bits because of racoons, possoms and of course rats. I know we have all three.
So I freeze what I don't use and dispose in our trash. I will occasionally rinse blood from the butchered bits and use it as fertilizer. But it is well watered down.
I would love to have the options to separate out like some municipal cities do. Portland Oregon has a great recycling and garbage separating program.
So little trash is produced that way
We have had Australian Cattle Dogs for years 6 over the years and they have all been very very good with chickens and rabbits. They do herd them up if they get out or in the case of baby bunnies getting out of our house rabbits pen, our current Blue Heeler tells me where it is so I can retrieve it. LOL explain to your Heeler that those are her/his babies and to be gentle. I have always used the words Baby and gentle with my Heelers and they have just been awesome with smaller animals. They just have to understand that they are their property to take care of! Happy New Year to all!
for hides, feet and heads.... see if you have a raptor or other meat eating wildlife rescue around you. They will most likely take them.
Try putting in old feed bag with on tree punched holes in bottom to allow maggots to breed and fall out of holes for chickens. Tie off top to discourage varmints. With freezing aboundance and use as needed until you get ideal at rate and temperatures to schedule as needed.
Willow Blue
Well-known member
I have a tiny backyard in the city. We carefully bury the waste in the garden and cover. Yesterdays batch of 10 were buried in the rows between beds and are getting covered with mulch and stepping stones. Last batch we dug a huge deep hole in the corner of the garden and buried them in it and capped the top with a 2x2 paver stone and they broke down super fast. My garden loves it.
