Homesteading Animals: Rearing Rabbits for Meat and Fur - Includes Rabbit, Duck and Game Recipes for the Slow Cooker by Norman J Stone

Author:Norman J Stone
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Tags: Agricultural Sciences, Professional & Technical, Science & Math, Hobbies & Home, Animal Husbandry, Professional Science, Crafts, Sustainable Living
Publisher: Deanburn Publications
Published: 2014-02-03T05:00:00+00:00

Killing & Butchering

This is perhaps the most difficult part of rearing rabbits for the table – especially if you are the least bit squeamish! For myself I have to be honest, I do not like killing things! However the simple fact is that this is part of living on a homestead, and if I were to be overly squeamish then I would be better living in an apartment in the city, and filling myself with pre-processed foods – perish the thought.

So to get to the inevitable part of rearing your animals for food, means that when the time is ripe you must be prepared to kill them – or get some-one to do it for you. At this point I must mention that if you are going to butcher your animals to sell on, then you will most likely have to have the appropriate licence from your local authority to do so.

I will place a link at the end of this book to a particularly effective harvesting tool called ‘The Rabbit Wringer’ that may help you out, when it comes to dispatching your rabbits cleanly and effectively.

Killing Age?

The ideal age to kill and butcher your rabbits is usually about 12-14 weeks depending on the breed. This usually means in weight around 4-5lbs. Sometimes however a ‘Fryer’ may be chosen for more tender meat, if it is large enough. (A ‘fryer’ is a rabbit under 10 weeks old.)

The main point here is that the animal must be killed quickly and humanely - causing the animal to suffer is not acceptable, and indeed will get you into trouble with the law in most countries - nor is it necessary as there are cheap devices on the market today that will do the job cleanly and exceedingly efficiently.

The ‘old fashioned’ way to kill a rabbit, is simply to hold it by its hind legs; and perform a stiff ‘karate chop’ to the back of its head. This normally does the job just fine, by breaking the neck.

As mentioned however, there are now several mechanical instruments to dispatch the rabbits that involve electrical stunning, shooting or breaking the neck either manually or via an instrument such as the ‘Rabbit Wringer.’ This is simply fixed in position and the rabbit is inserted and pulled to achieve a quick kill.

Skinning:

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