Rabbit Ears Dog Treats

RichinOregon · Oct 9, 2013

I thought I would pass along a experiment I tried last night. I came across a person on ebay selling rabbit ears as treats for dogs and cats. Seeing as I had 15 rabbits from one litter to butcher I thought I would try making my own. here is how I did it. I threw the ears in a bucket of ice water as I was slaughtering my rabbits. Next I rinsed them in the sink and squeezed out the excess water. I put them on two trays in my Excalibur dehydrator for 10 hrs at 135 degrees. Well let me tell you this morning I gave one to Max. He is a BoxRot ( Boxer, Rottweiler mix. He grabbed it and ran off upstairs with it. He returned 1 minuet later downstairs. Having been not sure if he ate it, hid it, or left it on the floor for me to find later, I grabbed another ear and took him into my office and shut the door. Now we will see what he is doing with his new treat. Well he devoured it in 20 seconds! Next I let him out in the back yard to see what he would do with my buck. Pleased to say he did not try to eat the ears off of Sir Millington.

The first bunny we had got I stuck the dog and bunny in a small crate and left them there for 3 long hours. After 45 minutes they were curled up next to each other. It is a very effective way to train a dog to get along with a prey animal.

Back to the rabbit ears. I think they are very healthy for your pets. The hair cleans and there teeth and they have no chemicals or preservatives in them. Plus we save money on treats. Just one more way to use rabbits.

dayna · Oct 9, 2013

LOL, Maybe I'll try that. I usually just toss the whole head to the outside dog.... The inside dogs always miss out. Mostly because I don't want rabbit heads just hanging around.

RichinOregon · Oct 9, 2013

I take the heads minus the ears and throw them in the freezer. I use them later to use as crab bait in my crab pots when I go crabbing. It works better then Chicken legs, which is what all the the people use around here. The crabs can pick the meat off of a chicken leg real quick. The rabbit heads have all of the meat bait on the inside of the skull which makes it harder for the crabs to pick out. So my bait last so much longer. More crabs caught per crab pot = more crabs in my stove pot! LOL

MamaSheepdog · Oct 9, 2013

I also feed mine to the dogs raw.

Our six dogs don't go after live rabbits, either.

It seems a lot of extra work (well, okay, not a LOT, but...) to dry them if they munch them down so quickly. :?

Using the heads as crab bait is wonderful! If only I lived near the ocean! Crab is one of my absolute favorite meats. :dinner:

Tell ya what, Rich... I'll send you all the heads you want, and you can send me a small percentage of the crabs caught!

RichinOregon · Oct 9, 2013

I will tell you what Mama sheepdog. You pay for the dry ice and shipping and I will send you fresh crabs next year. You will have to cook them yourself.

MamaSheepdog · Oct 9, 2013

DEAL!!! :dinner:

Secuono · Oct 9, 2013

I freeze feet, ears, tails and give them to the dogs once they thaw out. Too much wasted electricity and time to dehydrate them when the dogs nearly swallow them whole.