First butchering day at Nymphadora's

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Nymphadora

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Hey guys! :)

As the title suggests, today was the very first time I did a rabbit processing day all by myself! Everything went as well as I could've asked for, as far as the kills go. It was over very quickly, and (I think) relatively painless for the rabbits. Now I've got two good-looking buns in the cooler, resting in salt water (how much salt do y'all add to the water?). Can't wait to cook 'em up, I haven't had rabbit in too long! :chef:

Now here's the bit that I feel slightly bad about... I decided that it would make the most sense for me to butcher on the far side of the barn. There's a convenient hose fitting, sandy soil (good drainage), and I've got a nice tall privacy fence sheltering the area from view. Unless passersby are on horseback. All day has been relatively quiet, so I think nothing of it, get set up, and start on the first of two rabbits. Quick death, skinning and gutting is taking me a while, but hey I'm still newish to doing this all by myself. By the time I finish I'm feeling pretty good about myself and start the next one.

No sooner did I get the bunny hung up by the back legs and start making my cuts to pull off the pelt, I notice three teenage girls are riding down the street in my direction. :groooan:

They passed relatively quietly, but they were definitely staring. I kept working (thought it might freak them out too much if I turned around to smile and wave with a knife in my hand), but I heard them drop down to a whisper as they passed and they broke into a trot as soon as they were past my barn. I don't feel badly about butchering the rabbits and providing food for my family, and I'm always happy to educate others about what I'm doing... but I also don't believe in forcing others into my point of view, or showing them graphic things (such as butchering a cute bunny) unless they want to see it. So the fact that these teenage girls were on a lovely Sunday horseback ride and saw the new neighbor lady skinning and gutting a rabbit... I do feel a bit badly. Hopefully they are very into 4H (a lot of kids around here are), and understand that people keep rabbits for more than just pets sometimes.

Anyways, that's probably the highlight of my Sunday afternoon, Oh, and I think the second rabbit must have scratched me when I went to dislocate their neck (we use a Hopper Popper), because once they were both in the cooler I noticed I had a scratch on my hand. I didn't notice it while processing, but I rinsed it out really well once I saw it... anything else I need to do? It wasn't a deep cut, but I imagine open wounds are still unwanted when processing animals.

Hope everyone's having a good weekend! :)
 
Sounds like you got through it all just fine, in spite of the teenagers seeing you. One time we were processing rabbits at the back of the house, well out of sight of the road. Well, wouldn't you know it, a local candidate walked in to do a little campaigning for the upcoming elections . . . Oops! :oops: These things happen.

Regarding the scratch, the only disease that I know of that would put you at risk from a scratch would be tularemia and you'd know if your rabbits were sick with anything like that. In addition, their livers would be spotted, but not like coccidiosis. I've never bothered much when I've got scratched, just washed it and maybe dabbed a little peroxide or antibiotic ointment on it.

Now all you have to decide is what delicious recipe to use when you cook the rabbits. :chef:
 
MaggieJ":33rg0kz1 said:
One time we were processing rabbits at the back of the house, well out of sight of the road. Well, wouldn't you know it, a local candidate walked in to do a little campaigning for the upcoming elections . . . Oops! :oops: These things happen.
Oh goodness, he must've been surprised! :p
When we were setting up the butcher station on that side of the barn, I don't think people on horseback really crossed our minds too much. Oh well, maybe next time I'll just take care of it nice and early in the morning, when fewer people are out and about... the setup just worked so well for me. :oops:

MaggieJ":33rg0kz1 said:
Regarding the scratch, the only disease that I know of that would put you at risk from a scratch would be tularemia and you'd know if your rabbits were sick with anything like that.
Very healthy rabbits, so I wasn't terribly concerned... a good scrub with soap seemed well enough, although if I'd been scratched worse I might have used some peroxide like you mentioned.

MaggieJ":33rg0kz1 said:
Now all you have to decide is what delicious recipe to use when you cook the rabbits. :chef:
Mmmm, yes! I'm tempted to pan fry the legs of the younger rabbit with some herbs and spices. Make a little wild rice and cucumber salad for sides... that sounds good to me! :chef:
 
Sounds like you did great! I wouldn't worry about the scratch. I get scratches and lot while butchering, and just wash well with soap and water. As far as people seeing you, it happens sooner or later. I suppose you got sooner :lol: I butcher in a wooded area, I have a nice tree with hooks behind a privacy fence shouldn't be a problem right? Well last spring we had a tree down on our power line. There was a lot of trees down in the area, and because we still had power it took 2 weeks after we called for them to come take care of it. Of course they show up while I'm butchering! I was still pretty much hidden from view where they were working, even though one of the guys kept looking in my direction. Not a big deal except there was no way to get that rabbit to the house with out walking right by them. I debated what I should do for about 10 minutes and decided to just tough it out. I walked right by them in blood splattered butchering clothes with a dressed rabbit. I was to embarrassed to look up too see their expressions, but now I wish I could have seen them. :roll: :oops: :p
 

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