Animals as a prep item and what to do with them until needed....

[The Tin Mom]

Hi!

One of my prep items was to get rabbits and goats (eventually chickens and bees).

My dad raised rabbits when I was growing up and I had an interesting talk with him over the weekend. He said he could never slaughter another animal himself and they don't even eat the cattle from their own farm. (He does eat the honey he produces - yum!!). (And hasenpheffer (can't spell it) is delicious!)

Last weekend we salvaged some sheet metal from a barn that blew down and found some mice. Dh stepped on one and the children started crying....

I doubt my family can eat any of these bunnies' progeny until we are starving. I can use the manure in my garden. But - if we need them, they are there. The problem becomes what to do with them until we need them. Even if we only have a few litters a year, rabbits don't take long to multiply significantly. These does are still pretty young - so I have awhile to think about this and to give my children a chance to get used to this idea. I do have a friend who said they will eat some of them - and they have a large family so that helps....

I know this sounds like I didn't plan ahead - actually I was aware of all of this even before we got the rabbits - it is something though that I felt was a necessary thing to deal with in our current economic times.... I hadn't planned on getting the rabbits until later this year - but things seem to be moving more quickly than I anticipated and I didn't want to wait any longer.

Thanks for your thoughts and for letting me ramble on this!

[firegirl969]

Sell the rabbits if you can't slaughter or eat them. The manure alone is worth having them IMO. Can your family eat them and chickens if you get someone else to slaughter them on halves? We name the animals that we plan to eat a food name such as pig is named Bacon and the steer is named T-Bone. Therefore, everyone in the family knows what the future holds for that animal. The only thing I ever slaughtered myself was broilers I raised, and I had no problem doing the dirty deed because those were the meanest birds I ever saw! Usually, the pig starts getting out when he is grown and after we chase him around for an hour or so, the family is ready to take him to the arbitour.

[mpillow]

First of all money doesn't go on trees....everything you grow has a value and children MUST be taught this from day 1....

Don't give in to whining, the truth of the matter teaches true responsible living.
Something died and probably lived a horrible life and ate God knows what before it was put on a styrofoam tray and wrapped in plastic and irradiated before you bought it to feed you family. Purpose and quality of life lessons right here folks.

Butcher, grind up and make spaghetti or chili or burritos and say nothing until the compliments come out.

My daughter butchers her own for almost a year now. She is 13. She also cries if an accident happens(and they do)...and she should cry because most accidents can be avoided if (her) planning and care was up to par. Always room for improvement.

Be careful about not breeding for long times, as the buns can forget what their bodies do best. Just like butchering the more you do it the easier and more natural it becomes....

[damoc]

i think if you are going to keep the rabbits you should be eating them
your kids like mine will just have to get over it and they will if the rabbit
is well cooked. depending on how its cooked they dont even have to
know.

it takes me a fraction of the time to skin and clean a rabbit
as opposed to a chook and they dont stink near as bad.

if they are part of your preps you should be practised in using them
before you realy need them that means skinning,butchering,cooking,
hide tanning,rope making and all the other things those cute little
bunnies can help us with.

they loose a bit of the cuteness factor when they slice open your wrist

[Oldcountryboy]

Trade in the rabbits and get yourself some chickens instead. There's a good chance everyone will eat eggs, if at least in baking breads and various other dishes. Then you will have yourself a good supply of fertilizer to grow plenty of dry beans with. You don't have to eat meat to get protein, you can substitute meat with dry beans.

[unregistered29228]

Our two daughters refuse to eat the rabbits, but I still prepare them for dinner. Our sons and my hubby like them, and the girls can just sit and look at their plate for that meal. I get frustrated and angry about their whining "how could you kill them??" sometimes. But we've worked hard to set up the farm and to accumulate livestock and food storage. I'm finally to the point that I'm going to carry on with our without the girls' approval. They still have chores to do, and the food is on the table if they want to eat it.

[Horns Bach]

Originally Posted by Mom_of_Four

I get frustrated and angry about their whining "how could you kill them??" sometimes.

I tell my young children that we do it because "someday the stores may be closed" and they understand.

Tin Mom, you would be surprised at how the feeling of empathy can be "shut off" when you realize this is good, healthy homeraised food going onto your table (or freezer). I suggest have a hunter-friend over and help you butcher and clean the rabbits for the first time, it is so much easier to get over it the first time.
Your kids may even find it interesting. My kids only care about the rabbits while they are babies, then they completely lose interest. This is survival. It happens quick. A rabbit in the wild, grabbed by a hawk or other prey could suffer much worse. We have the "pet bunnies" and the "meat bunnies".

When I was a kid I raised rabbits but when the babies got big we gave them to a Jehovah Witness family and they butchered and ate them. You may contact a church in your area and see if anyone there wants all the rabbits, if you still don't have the heart to butcher them.

[PhilJohnson]

Originally Posted by firegirl969

We name the animals that we plan to eat a food name such as pig is named Bacon and the steer is named T-Bone. Therefore, everyone in the family knows what the future holds for that animal.

That reminds me of when my dad raised a couple of pigs for meat when I was a kid. He named one Pork and the other one Chops. I vaguely remember him and a few friends of his trying to do it in with a .22 caliber rifle. The first shot between the eyes didn't do much beyond tick it off and it ran all around the yard. We also had chickens when I was a kid too, and one of them was named Burt. He was a real mean rooster who loved to chase us kids and the dog and the cat. He was a Bantam so he must have had some sort of Napoleon complex going on. Any way my mother butchered him and I remember my sister saying, "Pass me some more of Burt" at the dinner table.

[SquashNut]

You probably won't be able to keep the rabbits and not breed them. They'l get fat around their ovaries and not conceive when the time comes to breed them.
maybe you could make soup or pot pie and the kids would eat that.

[The Tin Mom]

Some good ideas here! Thanks.

You are right - I need to toughen up on the dc - having to help clean cages might make a difference there!

Yes, I plan to breed the rabbits - that is why I wanted them. We named the does "chicken" and "nugget". The buck is "spotty". We won't eat these - they are the base for our future herd.

I do plan to get chickens, too. Mostly for the eggs. We had chickens when I was growing up & plucking feathers is not a fun job. I would rather skin a rabbit.

My original plan was to have Dad show me how to slaughter & skin - guess I do need to find a hunter to help with this now. We will eat some of the rabbits ourselves - I just don't think that we will eat enough to keep the numbers down to a reasonable amount for me to work with - unless (until) we really need them for sustenance.

Thanks for all the great ideas - keep them coming. Got to go feed Spotty Chicken Nugget now

[Kmac15]

I second the trade for chickens.
We have eggs and when the deed needs to be done you can let them think it came from the store if you need to.,

On a funny note, I am always sending chicken and pork to my family 2 hours away. My nephew will tell people that food from Aunt and Uncle taste better and we grow it because it is better for HIM.
He has been here when we butchered and has no problem looking at a skinned hog and seeing pork chops.

[firegirl969]

If you can't eat enough to keep the numbers down, what about selling some? It will help with your feed bill.

[SnakeRiver]

I used to swap my extra bunnies for feed. They were self supporting. My chicken eggs go to pay the feed bill plus we get free eggs. The quesy feeling goes away with experience.

[greenmulberry]

Originally Posted by The Tin Mom

I do plan to get chickens, too. Mostly for the eggs. We had chickens when I was growing up & plucking feathers is not a fun job. I would rather skin a rabbit.

Remember you don't have to pluck chickens, plenty of people skin them. You just end with skinless meat, but plenty of people pay good money for skinless breasts and thighs at the store.

[unregistered29228]

We skinnned a couple to avoid plucking, and they were dry and tough. We definitely pluck (no scalding, just pluck them dry). But we also don't sell any meat.

[The Tin Mom]

Originally Posted by Mom_of_Four

We skinnned a couple to avoid plucking, and they were dry and tough. We definitely pluck (no scalding, just pluck them dry). But we also don't sell any meat.

We scalded them. Yuck yuck yuck. Might try plucking dry - guess I will google that since I don't want to hijack my own thread!

[The Tin Mom]

Originally Posted by SnakeRiver

I used to swap my extra bunnies for feed. They were self supporting. My chicken eggs go to pay the feed bill plus we get free eggs. The quesy feeling goes away with experience.

did you just talk to the local feed store? another great idea!

[The Tin Mom]

Originally Posted by firegirl969

If you can't eat enough to keep the numbers down, what about selling some? It will help with your feed bill.

Good point. I am not sure about what kind of market to look for here. Pets are about the main purpose for bunnies that I have seen. There is one large processor but they aren't accepting new breeders right now.

[horselover.com]

Originally Posted by PhilJohnson

"Pass me some more of Burt"

[firegirl969]

Talking to the feed store is an excellent idea. I remember selling them 5 week old bunnies one year for Easter and they gave me $6 for each off my food bill. I had forgotten that. If you want to sell some, most feed stores have a board where you can put a notice up for free. We also have what is called a Tell-n-sell which you can advertise in for free and people pay $1 each Thursday to buy it. It covers like 10 counties. I have sold lots of things in it.