Hi all,
I needed to cull our initial breeding buck because of genetic teeth issues, so I did that today. It's the first time I slaughtered a rabbit in 10+ years (and only my 2nd time altogether!). I of course hadn't planned on culling him when I got him, so I had become a bit attached to him, and it was a very tough experience. When I did it back in the day, it was a rabbit I had know for a grand total of 20 minutes, the rabbit was young, and we were taught to use the broomstick method.
After some research, I decided to use a wringer now that I'm raising them myself. But today with papa bunny, the wringer didn't seem like the right call in the end. I had a hard time getting him in the right position, and I'm wasn't 100% sure that my first attempt was successful. He was about 18 months old. Now I'm looking into a bolt gun before it's time to harvest the kits. I read folks' advice about placement, and I'm wondering if anyone has any advice on whether I should just stick with the wringer because papa was older and I was learning? Or if I the bolt gun would be faster, more effective, more reliable? I'm happy to make the investment if it means less chance of trauma for the rabbits.
I needed to cull our initial breeding buck because of genetic teeth issues, so I did that today. It's the first time I slaughtered a rabbit in 10+ years (and only my 2nd time altogether!). I of course hadn't planned on culling him when I got him, so I had become a bit attached to him, and it was a very tough experience. When I did it back in the day, it was a rabbit I had know for a grand total of 20 minutes, the rabbit was young, and we were taught to use the broomstick method.
After some research, I decided to use a wringer now that I'm raising them myself. But today with papa bunny, the wringer didn't seem like the right call in the end. I had a hard time getting him in the right position, and I'm wasn't 100% sure that my first attempt was successful. He was about 18 months old. Now I'm looking into a bolt gun before it's time to harvest the kits. I read folks' advice about placement, and I'm wondering if anyone has any advice on whether I should just stick with the wringer because papa was older and I was learning? Or if I the bolt gun would be faster, more effective, more reliable? I'm happy to make the investment if it means less chance of trauma for the rabbits.
