We butchered some rabbits today!

[dayna]

Annie (a member here) and another friend and I, along with my 16 year old dispatched and butchered 6 rabbits today.

I did one, my daughter did 1, annie did 2 and our other friend did 2.

It was really GREAT! We used an air gun to dispatch them.

I butchered my rabbit (my very first) in about 15 minutes. I felt really good that with practice we'll get much faster.

My daughter did her rabbit from start to finish, I was so proud of her!

Annie was generous enough to give us one of the butchered rabbits. So we'll have a lovely family meal soon. In a month I'll be ready to butcher some of my 9 young rabbits and return the favor to Annie.

It was great to look at all the organs, etc. So cool!

 

[annie]

Yeah it was awesome, in no time we will all do it in 5 minutes! Rabbits are so much easier to butcher than chickens, I don't think I will go out of my way to butcher chickens ever, just my spent hens. I can hardly wait to eat a rabbit, now just have to decide what dish to make. Nothing like eating an animal that you know didn't suffer in death or life, because you raised it from birth and killed it yourself.

 

[MamaSheepdog]

Congrats to all of you! :clap2:

When a group gets together to "do the deed", it is so much easier!

Yesterday, a friend came over with five of her rabbits, and we did seven of mine.

She and I partnered up on the whacking of heads (she only tried one, which was her third attempt, and it didn't go well), bleeding out, beheading, skinning, and removal of paws... at which point they were delivered to Station II for rinsing, gutting, and bagging, which was manned by Queenpup (14) and Colliepup (just shy of a month over 11) for the final steps.

Aside from the actual moment of the killing blow, we actually had a good time, with much laughter and camaraderie.

The rabbits were calm and got a bit of petting before their demise, so all in all it was a good day... for us, if not the rabbits. :roll:

It is so nice to fill the fridge with meat and not have to carry as large a load of feed to the rabbits.

We will be processing more this Tuesday, and we will have a "guest" attending. I am buying just hatched and 5wk old turkeys and four ducklings from her, and will be trading a processed rabbit for part of the cost of the birds. She feeds raw to her mastiffs (mainly poultry), so I am hoping to get her into meat rabbits as well.

The rabbit given in trade will be destined for her family's table, not the dogs. I'm pretty confident that the rabbit will sell itself.

 

[dayna]

That sounds great! I think we all had a good time today. I used the air rifle so no hitting the head. It was pretty quick and easy.

I have a friend dropping off some wild smoked goat and some wild ground pig. In a few weeks when I butcher my batch of 9 babies, I'll save a couple rabbits for him in trade. YUM.

 

[GypsyTinker]

Congrats all! I just did 7 yesterday as well.

I had a friend help and it went very smoothly. Very quick deaths and very healthy rabbits.

Always remember to check the lungs and liver for any weirdness.

Rabbits are a great commodity and super cute

 

[annie]

I am cooking one of them tonight and freezing the rest to barbecue at my daughters birthday part in July, hopefully a bunch of people will try rabbit.

 

[dayna]

Let me know how it turns out!

 

[grumpy]

I did four yesterday.......it was lights, :x camera, action!

:bunnyhop: YES! :bunnyhop:

I got the footage for the USDA video.
I had the studio lights, multiple camera angles, "re-takes" LOL.
All in all, it went very smoothly.

Not meaning to high-jack your thread, Dayna.
Just wanted to add to it.
Sounds like the rabbit population took a hit!

And we all had a good time.
My videographer was editing the footage last evening.
Hopefully, it'll be ready some time today.

My fastest time of the four was 4min:52seconds.
And I was jibber-jabbering all the way through it.
Had a blast making it.

Grumpy

 

[Ellen]

I so appreciated our butchering session, Dayna and Annie. I feel like we all learned a lot and felt confident when we were done. I'm so glad to know both of you and be learning and enjoying this rabbitry adventure with the 2 of you. Some time, we should cook a Champagne D'Argent and another rabbit and eat them together to compare the difference in taste.

What brand and type of air gun do you have, Dayna, so I can look it up and figure out what to buy?

 

[dayna]

I did four yesterday.......it was lights, :x camera, action!

:bunnyhop: YES! :bunnyhop:

I got the footage for the USDA video.
I had the studio lights, multiple camera angles, "re-takes" LOL.
All in all, it went very smoothly.

Not meaning to high-jack your thread, Dayna.
Just wanted to add to it.
Sounds like the rabbit population took a hit!

And we all had a good time.
My videographer was editing the footage last evening.
Hopefully, it'll be ready some time today.

My fastest time of the four was 4min:52seconds.
And I was jibber-jabbering all the way through it.
Had a blast making it.

Grumpy

Grumpy, I can't wait to see that video!!!!<br /><br />__________ Fri Jun 07, 2013 10:49 am __________<br /><br />Ellen,

We used the Crosman Nitro Venom Dusk Air Rifle air rifle found on amazon, .22 cal.

 

[annie]

Well I didn't cook mine last night, we had an unexpected crazy night, but it will be tonight.

 

[grumpy]

Grumpy, I can't wait to see that video!!!!

__________ Fri Jun 07, 2013 10:49 am __________

Ellen,

We used the Crosman Nitro Venom Dusk Air Rifle air rifle found on amazon, .22 cal

Ellen:
I've used the cervical disconnect for 40+ years. That's what I use in the video. I've got fair upper-body strength...even for an old fart! :lol: I've never had any problems with it.

I don't like a lot of blood-slingin' when I process fryers. There's little to none with my method.

grumpy.

 

[dayna]

I think upper body strength is something that we struggle with.

I'm not a strong man. I'm a 110 pound woman. lol I prefer the gun method. haha!

 

[Miss M]

Congratulations! :bouncy:

Wonderful that y'all were able to get together, too!

Pellet gun here, too.

 

[annie]

I cooked and ate part of one of my rabbits last night, rabbit is delicious! I need to learn how to cut up the meat better though, I want to get a kitchen shears, I am not very good at cutting through bone with a knife, and there are a lot of teeny tiny bones in a rabbit, almost like a fish.