Fasting Before Butchering

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BoxerMom

BoxerMom

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Does anyone make their rabbits fast a day or so before butchering? I am kind of up in the air about this...I would think it could make for easier cleaning, however, I don't want to restrict food and water just because they are about to be butchered. I want to make the whole experience as stress-free as possible.
 
I would fast our chickens before butchering because it made things a lot easier but rabbits and other grazing herbivores suffer when forced to go without food. Their digestive tract can begin to shut down and become necrotic within a day. They really aren't designed for fasting and clueless vets have killed rabbits and guinea pigs by telling owners to fast them before surgery. Personally I think anything over 10-12hrs would be very mean. Stool from herbivores like that carry little harmful bacteria anyway so contamination is not nearly as big of concern if a mistake happens as with omnivorous or carnivorous animals.
 
Thanks for your response. I was wondering if it would be too hard on their bodies, as I truly do not want them to suffer. I appreciate hearing different views on things.
 
I fast them one feeding worth. I just don't add feed the day before and then butcher the next morning, by which time the feeder is empty and they are hungry. I admit it does make them easier to catch. I find they still have food in their gut, but MUCH less than if they had a full feeder all night and new feed in the morning. I do not withhold water--I would think that was cruel and un-necessary. But since often their feeder might get empty by morning anyway, I don't see anything wrong with making sure it is. I am butchering 8-12 week olds housed as a full litter--keeping the feeder constantly full is sometimes a challenge!
 
i havent had any of ours fast at all... not that im against it.. we just havent done it that way.. i find that the bladder is much more of an issue to me than the colon is anyway... but i wouldnt take them off water either... the last two i butchered were full of food and water ... it makes it interesting to say the least lol... but no i dont see a major need to have them off food at all.. just my 2 cents
 
After having a couple of stomachs perforate during cleaning (what a wretched smell!), I tried the fasting thing. Yes, they had very little in their gut, but I just couldn't do it again. I tried, but they would come over to me eagerly when I came in to feed everybunny else. They just had these "SO happy to see you, we're hungry, and it's time to eat! YAY!!" expressions on their faces and all over their bodies.

So I started giving them only hay to eat the last couple of days. Had a stomach perforate, and it hardly smelled at all! So now that's what I do. If something comes up preventing freezer camp, I can just put food back in again until the next weekend.

I read about withholding water, but I could not even consider that. A full bladder may be something to be worked around carefully, but it's not that hard.
 
A full bladder is really not a problem, even if you puncture it. Rabbit urine is "sterile" to the rabbit. You just rinse it off really well.
 
We don't withhold food or water either. We just let them carry on their same routine up until the actual time of slaugher.
 
We don't change their routine either, we want to make their day as normal as possible, and with as little stress as possible. It's part of our wanting to try, and make this as humane as possible for them.
 
I'm a bit nutsy on the subject. Before butchering I take a few minutes to thank the rabbit for coming to me and the pleasure of their company. I then thank them for the life they give me and kill them quickly. The blood is offered to the earth with a prayer for it to nurture their spirit. As I say a bit nutso. Fasting or any other stress would not fit into this.
 
hoodat - I don't think that's nutso at all. I do that with any deer I shoot, I plan to do something similar to honor my rabbits for providing for myself and my family.
 
OneAcreFarm":2tv2bhv2 said:
A full bladder is really not a problem, even if you puncture it. Rabbit urine is "sterile" to the rabbit. You just rinse it off really well.
Click to expand...
This is true, and we have had a couple of ruptured bladders. That is exactly how we handled it, rinsing very well, knowing that it is sterile. These rabbits are for our consumption, and we have never noticed any taste issues afterward.
 
akane":3ahbn0yc said:
I would fast our chickens before butchering because it made things a lot easier but rabbits and other grazing herbivores suffer when forced to go without food. Their digestive tract can begin to shut down and become necrotic within a day. They really aren't designed for fasting and clueless vets have killed rabbits and guinea pigs by telling owners to fast them before surgery. Personally I think anything over 10-12hrs would be very mean. Stool from herbivores like that carry little harmful bacteria anyway so contamination is not nearly as big of concern if a mistake happens as with omnivorous or carnivorous animals.
Click to expand...

Rabbits don't store fat very well. It's usually just under the skin or around the kidneys where it's hard to metabolize. You never see it in the muscle tissue. In the wild a rabbit can always find something to eat even if it's only dry stalks and bark in the Winter so they don't have to store fat.
 

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