Meat Rabbits - How old is too old (to eat)?

[jb59]

Hi everyone. I live in SE Pennsylvania and have been into raising meat rabbits for about a year and a half. I have several that will be 3 years old next March. Was curious if anyone could suggest at what age should I start harvesting them for meat and at what age would be more appropriate for using them for soup (or too old to even consume).

Thanks a ton for any assistance with this.

Joe

 

[Secuono]

Never too old to eat them, for soup, any age works, since you'll be slow cooking them.
Most people butcher at 8-12wks or 5 pounds.

 

[jb59]

Never too old to eat them, for soup, any age works, since you'll be slow cooking them.
Most people butcher at 8-12wks or 5 pounds.

Thank you Secuono. I figured it was about that age to eat but I recently read a forum posting somewhere where the poster said he at rabbit that was 5 years old and it tasted really bad. At what age, do you think, approximately, would it be suggested to not harvest the rabbit to eat, for anything other than soup?

Thanks again for your time!

Joe

 

[GBov]

Three months ago I ate our 7 year old New Zealand black doe, she was fab cooked really slowly with lots of root veggies, garlic and apple juice.

The trick with older animals is the low and slow cooking and to be sure it rests in the fridge raw for three or four days before cooking.

 

[jb59]

Three months ago I ate our 7 year old New Zealand black doe, she was fab cooked really slowly with lots of root veggies, garlic and apple juice.

The trick with older animals is the low and slow cooking and to be sure it rests in the fridge raw for three or four days before cooking.

Thank you. It's good to have a forum where we can discuss this as I know many people seem to find this subject unacceptable.

I think I'll be butchering before first snowfall. This will be my first attempt at butchering (chicken or rabbit).

 

[MaggieJ]

Rabbit is never too old to cook and enjoy. That said, to my taste, older rabbit invites more robust seasonings, the same way that you might use different seasonings with beef than with veal. I like sage or rosemary, garlic and apple with all rabbit, but especially with older rabbits. I use mine for soup or stew but our favourite rabbit dish is Rabbit Pie and older rabbits are preferred for this recipe.
i-m-making-a-rabbit-pie-t3094.html

Mature rabbit is also good served with red currant jelly or chutney.

 

[MamaSheepdog]

Hi JB,

and :welcome: to RabbitTalk!

I'm a little confused... if you have been raising meat rabbits for a year and a half, what have you done with all of them up until this point? Do you have a whole bunch of full grown rabbits? :hmm:

For your first butchering experience, I would recommend dispatching one of your younger ones, preferably a doe. They are so much quicker to process than older rabbits because the pelt comes off very easily. Adult bucks of a dark color will be the most difficult of all to skin.

I have heard that old bucks can be unpalatable, but so far we haven't found this to be true. I have only been raising rabbits for about a two and a half years though, so none of mine are that old.

Your older ones are still edible as others have stated. We use ours for soup, stew, pot pie, or shred the meat and use in tacos, burritos, enchiladas or "Sloppy Hoppys". :dinner:

 

[Sinnfox]

Rabbit is never too old to cook and enjoy. That said, to my taste, older rabbit invites more robust seasonings, the same way that you might use different seasonings with beef than with veal. I like sage or rosemary, garlic and apple with all rabbit, but especially with older rabbits. I use mine for soup or stew but our favourite rabbit dish is Rabbit Pie and older rabbits are preferred for this recipe.
i-m-making-a-rabbit-pie-t3094.html

Mature rabbit is also good served with red currant jelly or chutney.

I have been meaning to ask...in this you say apple and garlic...can it be either or for someone who can't eat one at all ? ...to be fair i haven't been sleeping well so if i read it wrong that's why

 

[jb59]

Hi JB, and :welcome: to RabbitTalk!
I'm a little confused... if you have been raising meat rabbits for a year and a half, what have you done with all of them up until this point? Do you have a whole bunch of full grown rabbits? :hmm:For your first butchering experience, I would recommend dispatching one of your younger ones, preferably a doe. They are so much quicker to process than older rabbits because the pelt comes off very easily. Adult bucks of a dark color will be the most difficult of all to skin. I have heard that old bucks can be unpalatable, but so far we haven't found this to be true. I have only been raising rabbits for about a two and a half years though, so none of mine are that old. Your older ones are still edible as others have stated. We use ours for soup, stew, pot pie, or shred the meat and use in tacos, burritos, enchiladas or "Sloppy Hoppys". :dinner:

I have mated only two does since I got these rabbits. I have four adult rabbits and seven that are less than a year.

Thank you for your advice on dispatching the younger ones first - and the methods of preparing them.

- Joe

__________ Sun Oct 27, 2013 8:16 pm __________

Rabbit is never too old to cook and enjoy. That said, to my taste, older rabbit invites more robust seasonings, the same way that you might use different seasonings with beef than with veal. I like sage or rosemary, garlic and apple with all rabbit, but especially with older rabbits. I use mine for soup or stew but our favourite rabbit dish is Rabbit Pie and older rabbits are preferred for this recipe.
i-m-making-a-rabbit-pie-t3094.html

Mature rabbit is also good served with red currant jelly or chutney.

Thanks Maggie. I passed this on to share with my wife. She's the cook in the house.

 

[Zass]

I take in unwanted meat rabbits for slaughter (the sellers always knows what I do.)
Sometimes they are older, tattooed, purebred, brood stock. No problem. Same price in the end.
I just bake a bit slower. Cheap commercial meat tenderizer goes a long way.

 

[Miss M]

It's good to have a forum where we can discuss this as I know many people seem to find this subject unacceptable.

Yes, it certainly is!

 

[GBov]

I set out to grind an older doe to make rabbit loaf only to find my grinder bits are still down in Florida. AAAARRRRRRGH! Have wanted to try ground rabbit for ages!

The thought of rabbit meatballs with gravy just sounds so yummy!

 

[jb59]

I set out to grind an older doe to make rabbit loaf only to find my grinder bits are still down in Florida. AAAARRRRRRGH! Have wanted to try ground rabbit for ages!

The thought of rabbit meatballs with gravy just sounds so yummy!

Where in Florida? I'm also from there.

Never gave much thought to grinding rabbit meat.<br /><br />__________ Mon Oct 28, 2013 5:11 pm __________<br /><br />

It's good to have a forum where we can discuss this as I know many people seem to find this subject unacceptable.

Yes, it certainly is!

I got a resounding boo from the in-resident committee from a different rabbit forum that this one. Also got bad vibes from a chicken website believe it or not, when I was asking questions there about dispatching chickens. Hard to believe in this day and age that people actually raise chickens as pets! What has happened to this country?

 

[MamaSheepdog]

Miss M wrote:
jb59 wrote:
It's good to have a forum where we can discuss this as I know many people seem to find this subject unacceptable.

Yes, it certainly is!


I got a resounding boo from the in-resident committee from a different rabbit forum that this one.

I was so happy when I stumbled on this forum! I googled something about meat rabbits I think, and could not sign up fast enough.

Here at RabbitTalk we believe that rabbits are a multi-purpose animal that serves many roles to different people and all of those uses are worthy of respect.

Hard to believe in this day and age that people actually raise chickens as pets! What has happened to this country?

Yes- you can make a "pet" out of any animal, but some people once having done so believe that all animals of that species should be kept only as pets. There is a huge disconnect about where food actually comes from in this country, and a lot of people cannot understand how you can have a relationship with an animal and then dispatch it.

Luckily for us, that is not the case here.

 

[GBov]

I was showing a nurse (a new one for my care patient) my rabbits today and she was shocked that I was talking to them, calling them by name and petting a few. I told her just because I eat them doesn't mean I don't love them!

Deltona Fl. is where my grinder bits are, I HOPE, so next time the kids go down to daddy's house they can pick it up for me.

But all my old rabbits are gone now, it will take the two new litters born today a while to need grinding. :lol:<br /><br />__________ Mon Oct 28, 2013 7:58 pm __________<br /><br />LOVE this forum! There are no words to say how wonderful this place is!

 

[jb59]

I was showing a nurse (a new one for my care patient) my rabbits today and she was shocked that I was talking to them, calling them by name and petting a few. I told her just because I eat them doesn't mean I don't love them!

Deltona Fl. is where my grinder bits are, I HOPE, so next time the kids go down to daddy's house they can pick it up for me.

But all my old rabbits are gone now, it will take the two new litters born today a while to need grinding. :lol:

__________ Mon Oct 28, 2013 7:58 pm __________

LOVE this forum! There are no words to say how wonderful this place is!

Deltona is a tad north and on the other side of the state from where I used to live (Tampa). \.<br /><br />__________ Tue Oct 29, 2013 9:15 pm __________<br /><br />

Miss M wrote:
jb59 wrote:
It's good to have a forum where we can discuss this as I know many people seem to find this subject unacceptable.

Yes, it certainly is!


I got a resounding boo from the in-resident committee from a different rabbit forum that this one.

I was so happy when I stumbled on this forum! I googled something about meat rabbits I think, and could not sign up fast enough.

Here at RabbitTalk we believe that rabbits are a multi-purpose animal that serves many roles to different people and all of those uses are worthy of respect.

Hard to believe in this day and age that people actually raise chickens as pets! What has happened to this country?

Yes- you can make a "pet" out of any animal, but some people once having done so believe that all animals of that species should be kept only as pets. There is a huge disconnect about where food actually comes from in this country, and a lot of people cannot understand how you can have a relationship with an animal and then dispatch it.

Luckily for us, that is not the case here.

I can understand the pet thing but most of these people that have them as pets have no clue about the diseases associated with them. And the people that keep them inside the house.......don't even get me going...

 

[Tommy]

I was so happy when I stumbled on this forum! I googled something about meat rabbits I think, and could not sign up fast enough.

Here at RabbitTalk we believe that rabbits are a multi-purpose animal that serves many roles to different people and all of those uses are worthy of respect.



Yes- you can make a "pet" out of any animal, but some people once having done so believe that all animals of that species should be kept only as pets. There is a huge disconnect about where food actually comes from in this country, and a lot of people cannot understand how you can have a relationship with an animal and then dispatch it.

Luckily for us, that is not the case here.

I freely admit that I don’t like “processing” the rabbits and I think that’s good thing. It makes me realize that nothing is really free and to survive something has to be dinner. I enjoy raising them, especially the newborn kits. I have 6 New Zealand Whites as breeding stock and right now 20 juveniles aged 1 1/2 months to 2 1/2 months. This breeding period I had a problem with 2 of my does not wanting to lift. After weeks of trying I finally got one to breed the other will not. Any suggestions other than dinner would be appreciated.

 

[KelleyBee]

I freely admit that I don’t like “processing” the rabbits and I think that’s good thing. It makes me realize that nothing is really free and to survive something has to be dinner. I enjoy raising them, especially the newborn kits. I have 6 New Zealand Whites as breeding stock and right now 20 juveniles aged 1 1/2 months to 2 1/2 months. This breeding period I had a problem with 2 of my does not wanting to lift. After weeks of trying I finally got one to breed the other will not. Any suggestions other than dinner would be appreciated.

You can “assist“ in the breeding process. I’ve attached pages from the book, Rabbit Production, which may help.

 

[Burelka]

I got a resounding boo from the in-resident committee from a different rabbit forum that this one. Also got bad vibes from a chicken website believe it or not, when I was asking questions there about dispatching chickens. Hard to believe in this day and age that people actually raise chickens as pets! What has happened to this country?

hahahaha seems like a strange pet to have but whatever floats their boat I guess

 

[RabbitsOfTheCreek]

I got a resounding boo from the in-resident committee from a different rabbit forum that this one. Also got bad vibes from a chicken website believe it or not, when I was asking questions there about dispatching chickens. Hard to believe in this day and age that people actually raise chickens as pets! What has happened to this country?

I feel the same way about people having pigs as pets