Our first freezer camp day, used a pellet gun

[Miss M]

We finally got our first litter of kits done today. 6 rabbits. Definitely not easy , but we didn't expect it to be. Shaygetz forbids the kids to name the kits any more. Understandably, he didn't like it when I mentioned the rabbit's name.

We considered not doing them all at the same time, but today (Tuesday) was Shaygetz's last day before he starts his new job, and we just wanted to get it all done and over with. They were already 21 weeks old, because we moved when they were 10 weeks old, and then needed to get a rabbitry and other stuff built before Shaygetz found a job. So the rabbits waited.

We put each bun in a box with a bunch of spinach and a carrot. Shaygetz put the pellet gun at the base of the skull between the ears, and waited for the rabbit to move its head to the right angle, then he shot. No screams, thank goodness. We had read about the nervous system responses, but weren't prepared for just how strong they could be. One of the rabbits just about opened my arm up after it was dead (I touched the eye to make sure). Some lasted longer than others, and some got stronger after decapitation. :shock: It really was very difficult to watch them seize... the only consolation was that the lights were already out (please... I hope they really were! ). I removed them from the box as soon as they were shot, so they wouldn't bleed in the box. I waited for the seizing to stop, and then moved them to where Shaygetz could decapitate them. I then hung them upside-down over a bucket, from twine loops I tied to an iron outdoor chair. After they bled out, I laid them in a box. When they were all done, we took them inside to finish processing (it's hot and the mosquitoes are horrible).

Needless to say, the skins were difficult to remove at this point. Especially on the legs, the skin tried to take the meat with it. We will certainly try not to let them go that long again.

Even though the rabbits looked somewhat slim, there was a good bit of fat around the kidneys. The kidneys, hearts, and livers were all beautiful, though... I couldn't believe the flawlessness of the livers. The gallbladders were difficult to find on the livers at first, but I was able to get them all. We almost missed the chest cavity, it's so far up and so small, and the diaphragm hides it. Shaygetz had to pull his first rabbit back out of the ice water when he realized he may have missed it.

We ruptured the stomachs of a couple of them by accident, and that was the only time we really had any unpleasant smell... since they were full of cecotropes. :x I had fed them pretty lightly last night, but those stomachs were FULL! I'll adjust next time.

The pellet gun (750fps) basically just made a thump sound from what I remember. Very unobtrusive, even outside in the yard of a city neighborhood like this. We did find we need better shears.

The rabbits are in the refrigerator for three days to let them soften back up before freezing. The giblets are cleaned and frozen already. What do you do with kidneys? What do they taste like and what sort of texture do they have? I have never eaten one.

The kids took it well; thankfully, they have known this day was coming from the beginning. Bunny-Wan Kenobi already asked when we are eating rabbit, and his sister Ilovebunnies did too, just much later.

As Garnetmoth said, we are privileged to be able to raise some of our own meat. It was a sad day, and a difficult one, but it was a good one.

 

[Shara]

Ouch, but congrats! Glad it went so well, it is very sad. You may be sad for days (I am still upset, and we had a hard time eating our VERY YUMMY! rabbit taday. I am amazed that the paellet gun was so quiet, I will look into getting one.

I like to eat the giblets made up into a gravy. I boil them with a little salt, and then chop em up, but them back with the broth, and make regular gravy, the "country style", clear gravy, whatever.

And, yeah, the nerve reflexing was the worst. I kept killing my rabbit till he wasn't moving anymore, because everytime he moved, I was afraid that I hadn't done the job right. didn't think to cut feed done before butchering, good idea!

And LOL, I TOTALLY missed the chest, until almost two HOURS later! So this makes me feel less silly on that

Congrats on joining the ranks!

 

[Marian]

It soundes like quite a day for you. Congratulations. Doing six rabbits the first time has my admiration; to this day, the most I can do is four rabbits at a time.

We put each bun in a box with a bunch of spinach and a carrot. Shaygetz put the pellet gun at the base of the skull between the ears, and waited for the rabbit to move its head to the right angle, then he shot. No screams, thank goodness. We had read about the nervous system responses, but weren't prepared for just how strong they could be.

That's exactly how I do it! The muscle spasms can be very strong. After shooting the rabbit, I re-load real quick (just in case) then I hold the rabbit in the bin by placing one hand on its rib cage and the other holds the back legs. I can feel the muscle tremors but no beating heart so I have the comfort of knowing the rabbit is dead.

I removed them from the box as soon as they were shot, so they wouldn't bleed in the box. I waited for the seizing to stop, and then moved them to where Shaygetz could decapitate them.

Your pellet gun is stronger than mine so I don't know if this will work for you. I always put an old towel in the bottom of the bin before the greens and rabbit. It catches any blood and helps keep the bin clean

Even though the rabbits looked somewhat slim, there was a good bit of fat around the kidneys.

I get fat around the kidneys, too. I find the older the rabbit, the more fat in that area.

The pellet gun (750fps) basically just made a thump sound from what I remember. Very unobtrusive, even outside in the yard of a city neighborhood like this. We did find we need better shears..

A firecracker makes more noise than my pellet riffle. For shears, I bought a pair of long handled branch cutters that I use only for butchering. They take head/tail/feet off beautifully with one snip.

What do you do with kidneys? What do they taste like and what sort of texture do they have? I have never eaten one.

I either feed 'em to my pets or I toss them in the stock pot for either soup, stew or gravy.

As Garnetmoth said, we are privileged to be able to raise some of our own meat. It was a sad day, and a difficult one, but it was a good one.

On my rabbit butchering days, I am reminded on how death can make me apreciate my food so much more. To be totally honest, I have to admit it took me about a year of eating rabbit before I could honestly say I liked it. Then I made the most wonderful soup and now I love rabbit all sorts of ways. I love rabbit stock! It is so superior to chicken or vegetable stock. That first year I ate rabbit I just reminded myself that I knew the meat I was eating was humanely raised and butchered and by eating it I was removing myself, one animal at a time, from the farm factory machine. I hope you enjoy your rabbit meals and the accomplishment of a job well done

 

[garnetmoth]

Lots of learning for us all this month, congrats!

Sounds like it went pretty cleanly for you Miss M- we may try to find a used pellet gun to try first before buying one-

And, congrats to Bunny-Wan and Ilove for being troopers! Your parents are trying real hard to learn new things and provide you with safe delicious food!

 

[MaggieJ]

Glad the day went well for you, Miss M. You are very brave to tackle six the first time... Next time will seem ever so much easier! :goodjob:

 

[Anntann]

Well done, mi'lady. well done. <hugs> Shygetz needs a BIG round of applause, too.

If it helps at all with getting over the shock of seeing the seizures, my cousin "clifford" was a coroner. He used to tell stories about doing autopsies and having legs suddenly move (on someone he's already taken the heart out of) because he hit a nerve in the spine. Or how they'd send a newbie assistant out to bring in a newly deceased in a body bag..and the bag moves because of the muscles contracting and of course the assistant would freak out. (Clifford was...um....odd, to say the least).

 

[eco2pia]

how odd that that story IS comforting...thanks.

 

[Miss M]

Thank you all so much! Shaygetz and I really appreciate all your encouragement and tips.

Shrarvrs - yes, I am still a little sad, but I'm also looking forward to our first rabbit dinner tomorrow. The pellet gun... I can't quite recreate the sound in my head enough to do it in letters... but you know how any regular firearm, no matter how small, the "pop" or "pow" is sharp and reverberates among the surroundings? The pellet gun didn't do that. Its sound was a lot duller, and didn't reverberate. So from a neighbor's yard, I'm sure it wouldn't have sounded like a gun, and it probably wouldn't even have been noticed. It just would have been one of those myriad unidentified background noises you hear during the day. AND... it was your comment on your thread about butchering your first rabbits, where you mentioned that you had missed the chest cavity at first... it was that comment that made me look a little harder until I found that what I had thought was the top of the chest cavity was in fact the diaphragm. So if not for your comment, I might have six rabbits in the fridge with hearts and lungs still in them! :x

Marian - I hadn't thought of feeling for the heartbeat... I may try that in the future. We'll have to consider your towel idea as well. Putting them on the grass did work nicely for bleeding out, since all you have to do is hose the area down. I was able to use the same carrot and spinach for all the buns, as they normally got a couple of nibbles of carrot, and a leaf or two, and then they were gone. Only once was a bun in the box long enough to start bleeding, and I just removed a couple of spinach leaves and was ready to go again. Keeping them in the box would help contain the seizing, though, so we'll have to think about that. Thank you for the branch cutter tip! Rabbit stock is BETTER than chicken stock?!? Whoa... I love chicken stock.

Garnetmoth - Yeah, it seems several of us have butchered our first set of rabbits this month. Your only potential problem with a used pellet gun is that the seal may no longer be good. We had a used one that someone left behind when they moved out (people left all kinds of perfectly good stuff behind when they moved out), and discovered it had a bad seal, and therefore could not fire (or couldn't fire effectively, I can't remember). That's when we got the one we have now. I read your note to the kids, and they both smiled and appreciated your words.

Maggie - Thank you! We almost took your very good advice not to do all six at once, but our plans for butchering after the kids went to bed kept going awry. Finally, it came down to the day before he started his new job, and we both at that point just wanted it all done! It wasn't so bad after Shaygetz got the machete and small pruning shears out instead of the kitchen shears, and after we had each skinned one. It was easier after that, since we knew what to expect.

Ann - <hugs> to you too, and thank you! Oddly enough, your cousin's story is comforting, and even kinda funny! I'll be sure to show it to Shaygetz when he gets home from work.

Eco2pia - I thought so too.

Unexpectedly, my uncle, who was already talking about how he needed to learn how to help take care of the rabbits, mentioned that he needed to learn how to help with butchering, as well. I was already just grateful he was letting us keep the rabbits and provide meat for the family; I never thought he'd really get involved.

And, a footnote... We butchered on Tuesday, and Wednesday was Shaygetz's first day of work on his new job. One of the rabbits scrambled as he pulled it out of the cage, and caught his hand pretty well with its claws. So Shaygetz goes in to his first day with fresh claw marks on his hand. His new boss naturally asked him what had happened. Shaygetz's reply? "Well, I raise rabbits, and yesterday was freezer camp day." He watched as it dawned on his boss what he was talking about, and his boss started chuckling. "Didn't go down willingly, did they?"<br /><br />__________ Thu Jul 22, 2010 11:30 pm __________<br /><br />I'm going to try to cook my first rabbit for dinner tomorrow (Friday)! :razz:

 

[odinsworn]

Check your local ordinances, you may not have to worry about people hearing them or not. In my old city, airguns were legal as long as you weren't shooting across property lines.

 

[Miss M]

Hmm... I never thought about that. Thank you! I'll have to look it up.

Although, I still don't want to attract any attention to our meat rabbit operation... but it would be nice to know, just in case!