Butching Knives: recomendations?

[Ceres Hil]

Ok, I have to admit that when I butcher a rabbit, I have the hardest time getting thru teh fur to bleed it out. Any tips...

[SquashNut]

Take a small sharpe knife and pinch the skin up on the back of the neck. Use the knife to make a hole by sticking the tip of the knife through the pnched up skin. Afterthat you can stick the knife in the hole and be cutting the hide instead of the fur.
That fur will dull the knives fast.

[Ceres Hil]

ok, will try later this week.

After stunning, do you do anything else?

Frankly I would prefer decapitation after stunning to ease bleed out and hide removal.

[SFM in KY]

I "stun" ... actually hit them just behind the ears, on the neck, hard enough to actually break the neck. I want them dead at that point.

I then duck them into a bucket of water and wet the fur, scrubbing around the hind legs so the fur is wet all the way to the skin. Take the rabbit out, lay it along the edge of a bench and cut the throat to bleed out.

I've started using RADA knives ... stainless steel and hold a good edge. I use a long blade to cut the throat. Then hang by the hind legs.

I use a knife with a small blade that is hooked on the end to skin. I guess it would be called a modified hawkbill ... anyway the back of the blade curves around so just the point and inside of tto cut down toward the belly.

For me, the *hook* works really well because you don't accidentally puncture anything with a point.

[pookshollow]

I have three implements of "destruction". A long sharp filleting knife for removing the head and skinning, a Buck knife with a gut hook which I use for "unzipping" the pelt between the hind legs, and for opening the belly, and a pair of pruning shears which I use for removing the paws.

I broomstick the rabbit, hang it up and remove the head to let it bleed out.

[Bamboorabbit]

Originally Posted by Ceres Hil

Ok, I have to admit that when I butcher a rabbit, I have the hardest time getting thru teh fur to bleed it out. Any tips...

It means your knife is not sharp enough. If you dispatch with a pellet placed a bit behid the eye through the side of the skull there is no need to cut the throat as they bleed out completely through the ears.

[Terry W]

I use a very long fillet knife for the kill and decapitation. The rabbit has one end of the hanging loop on each leg before I upend it. In as smooth and fast as a mothion as I can, I upend the rabbit, hook the loop over the nail, pull down and back on the rabbits head, as I insert the blade under the jaw bone-- I want the sharp edge of the blade to rub the neck bones as they pass through. A quick twist of the knife to turn the blade towards the front of the rabbit-- it is done. I actually use cheap paring knives that I get at Dollar General (4/1.00) for the skinning. I use a fresh knife for each animal that day- avoids having to clean the knife between campers.

PS-- I don't let BigBrother know that the knives I use to cut my food are the same ones that take a hides off rabbits or open them for necropsies.

[jmtinmi]

Originally Posted by SFM in KY

I've started using RADA knives ... stainless steel and hold a good edge. I use a long blade to cut the throat. Then hang by the hind legs.

There is a RADA knife Fundraiser on the barter board. The fundraiser prices can be lower than if you contacted the company directly! And my daughter's soccer team will benefit from any order placed.

Thanks for considering!

[o&itw]

This might be a little gruesome, but I guess it is worth explaining. I found by accident, that if the blow to the head was just right, it would dislocate the neck vertabrae. When this happened it was much easier to bleed out by cutting through because one did not need to use a clever or some kind of snips. Now, after I stun, I step lightly on the rabbits head, and give the hind legs a bit of a jerk and it easily dislocates the neck. I use the two nails/hooks method on a vertical cleaning board. I immediately hang the rabbit by the back legs, and pulling down the head, I cut through the neck.

If you are having trouble cutting through the neck, or even cutting the neck to bleed, you may not be "stretching" the rabbit. If you simply lay it on a table and try to cut it, limp, it is quite hard to do even with a sharp knife.

[Pony]

Originally Posted by pookshollow

I have three implements of "destruction". A long sharp filleting knife for removing the head and skinning, a Buck knife with a gut hook which I use for "unzipping" the pelt between the hind legs, and for opening the belly, and a pair of pruning shears which I use for removing the paws.

I broomstick the rabbit, hang it up and remove the head to let it bleed out.

I, too, use a very sharp fillet knife, and that wonderful Buck knife with the gut hook. I use kitchen shears for separating bone at the joints (feet).

We use a pellet gun, shoot right between the ears down into the brain. We've tried stunning and sticking, but get too much bruising. Also tried just cutting the jugular, but can't handle it.

[turtlehead]

We shoot with a pellet gun, then I decapitate with a hatchet.

For the rest I have a couple of hunting knives. One with a gut hook and one more normal and with a thinner blade (but not as thin as a filet knife, though that would work nicely).

[stranger]

I think everyone uses almost the same tools

[Willowynd]

Where do you aim the blow to stun?

Originally Posted by o&itw

This might be a little gruesome, but I guess it is worth explaining. I found by accident, that if the blow to the head was just right, it would dislocate the neck vertabrae. When this happened it was much easier to bleed out by cutting through because one did not need to use a clever or some kind of snips. Now, after I stun, I step lightly on the rabbits head, and give the hind legs a bit of a jerk and it easily dislocates the neck. I use the two nails/hooks method on a vertical cleaning board. I immediately hang the rabbit by the back legs, and pulling down the head, I cut through the neck.

If you are having trouble cutting through the neck, or even cutting the neck to bleed, you may not be "stretching" the rabbit. If you simply lay it on a table and try to cut it, limp, it is quite hard to do even with a sharp knife.

[lonelyfarmgirl]

I disagree with the stunning, and the tools. too much work!

I place the rabbit on a piece of cardboard on the floor/ground. while petting him to keep him calm, I easily lay a bar (broomstick, etc) over the back of his neck, and quickly, step both sides down and jerk up and back on the rear legs. It immediately separates the spine bones in the neck. they are dead, there is no screaming. I then hang them up by the feet and chop off the head. Once you cut through the neck skin, the head pulls right off. the only meat loss to bleed out is the neck, and not always.

I use a simple folding pocket knife with a 2 1/2 inch straight blade. I usually do 10 rabbits at a time, I dont wash in between or switch knives. only rinse to get the blood off. I use a pair of standard snips to cut off the feet.