Killing Meat Rabbits

[Cattle Cait]

I'm sure this has been covered before, but...

What's a quick, clean, efficient way to kill meat rabbits?

I'm not fond of the way we kill them at my work at all (I work at a poultry processing plant, ocassionally we get in rabbits) and my boss told me if I can figure something out then maybe we can try it. Otherwise, I'm seriously not bringing my rabbits to my own work to be butchered.

My 4-H advisor breaks their necks, is that about the best way? Boss won't invest in .22 bullets, that's how I always did it.

 

[akane]

A cheap pellet gun works if it surpasses 400fps or look at the broomstick method and the rabbit wringer for cervical dislocation. Google will easily give you tons of results and vids on how to do either. Many have made their own rabbit wringer type device.

 

[MaggieJ]

I think the most commonly used and accepted methods are shooting (pellet gun or .22), cervical dislocation (broomsticking or "rabbit wringer" device) and bopping. There are old threads where these are discussed in considerable detail.

 

[sommrluv]

We've always just stunned them and bled them out. Very quick

Check out Polyface farms.

 

[HendricksHearth]

I much prefer the air rifle to the broomstick/cervical dislocation method. Less room for error IMHO.

Best of luck,

Lauren

 

[fuzzy9]

We do the metal rod cervical dislocation method, and we're always very careful about it. We use this method because we retain the head for complete processing for our pet food. We've never had a problem with them not dying instantly. It's very quick.

 

[ladysown]

i use rebar cervical dislocation, but have been impressed with the stun gun I see on the rabbit wringer site. Thinking of investing in that.

 

[DoubleD-Rabbitry]

I have the Rabbit Wringer Bolt Gun and it works fine, I used to whack behind the head and have used the cervical dislocation but I don't like the bruising you get most of the time with doing it that way. The bolt gun leaves no bruise at all. For me bruises look bad to my customers. The gun is a bit pricey but very well made ( machining cost money) but it works great.....IF you remember to cock it before you bring the rabbit to the table, LOL, it does take both hands to cock it.

 

[akane]

I'd love to get their bolt gun but I can't justify the price when a pellet gun does as good of job with only slightly more effort. If I ever start raising slightly larger livestock like the nigerian dwarf goats I want I'm getting a proper sized bolt gun for the extra bucks.

 

[wdrk7]

Gunning them down is the best way .

 

[kotapony]

I'm curious if you don't mind sharing, what is it they do now that you don't like? I'm still trying to learn and thought that the main methods used (basically all the ones mentioned above) were pretty efficient. Are they currently using one of those or doing something else altogether?

 

[Cattle Cait]

I'd really rather not go into detail, it may not seem bad to other people but because I don't know everyone on this forum I don't want to say something that would somehow get my job in trouble.

 

[Fid]

Gunning them down is the best way .

What a thoroughly unhelpful comment.

 

[MaggieJ]

Gunning them down is the best way .

What a thoroughly unhelpful comment.

I agree with you, Fid. Many of us use a pellet gun to dispatch rabbits, but it is hardly "gunning them down" and that phrase has a very negative sound to it.

wdrk, I know you are new to the forum and that things may be a lot different in Thailand than they are here in North America, but please give a little more thought before posting controversial comments like that one.

 

[sommrluv]

Please remember English may not be his first language and people may not be aware of the negative connotations of the slang phrase "gunning down".

 

[MaggieJ]

You're right, Somerluv.

To further explain, wdrk 7, the expression "gunning down" tends to be used to describe murder, assassination, drive-by shootings and other criminal activities. Not the image we want to come to peoples' minds when we speak of killing rabbits for meat.

 

[Fid]

Point taken regarding the language barrier. I did not see at first that it was an international member. I hope that's all it was, though. I rabbit hunt as well, and even in that activity I've never thought of it as gunning them down.

Back on topic. Can anyone recommend a decent air pistol with the appropriate muzzle velocity for dispatching rabbits? I think that is the option I would prefer.

 

[akane]

Anything that gets over 400fps works fine. I just went to the local feedstore and found a pellet rifle for $40 that hits 800fps but I forget how many times you have to pump it to get that high. I decided on pumping it 10 times the first time I used it and I don't remember if I actually based that number off the instructions or not but it hasn't failed yet so that's what I keep doing.

 

[HendricksHearth]

I have 1000fps and it works fine. I don't know if I would try under 500 or so on adult rabbits. I did trials on cardboard stacks point-blank and I was only happy with higher power. Also the break-barrel types avoid the pumping action if upper body strength might be an issue and are usually plenty powerful.

Best of luck,

Lauren

 

[akane]

400fps minimum is the number we came up with in another thread. I'm not sure if it was tested to that low or not. I know someone used a weaker gun than my 800fps one on a full grown meat breed and had no problems.