We have baby bunnies!

[wsmoak]

They won't all fit in one picture anymore.


111228_6084 by wsmoak, on Flickr

Eating hay (and pellets) already.


111228_6085 by wsmoak, on Flickr


111228_6090 by wsmoak, on Flickr

-Wendy

 

[Southern Gardener]

Awwwwwwwwwwwwwwww, how sweet!

 

[lesa]

Hard to believe they keep getting more adorable!!!

 

[NewHopePoultry]

aww

 

[seedcorn]

they are cute. Love to eat rabbit, just can't bear to kill them. As dad would tell me when butcher time came, in my effort to not hurt them, I did just that because I didn't do it correct. Never got the pull, twist, snap down.

 

[hoodat]

Different people prefer different methods but basically they boil down to just two ways; dislocation of the spine from the brain at the base of the skull or a shot to the brain, both followed by bleed out. Both methods result in an instant kill. If you only process one rabit at a time a pump up pellet gun is probably the best way but if you process more than that you will almost have to learn to dislocate the spine. If you are skilled at it the tried and true "rabbit punch" (sort of a karate chop with the edge of the hand where the skull meets the spine) does the job but if you want to be fast a rabbit wringer is the surest way. You can buy them in either stainless or painted iron or after looking over a commercial one you can make your own out of steel if you or someone you know can weld or they can be made out of a board. A smaller version of the device also does a good job on chickens.
Rabbits' place in nature is to convert plant protein like grass and weeds which are edible only to herbivores into meat protein which is edible by carnivores. They are there for only one purpose in the chain of life and that is to be eaten. Cute and cuddly though they may be they are basically natures meat machine.
Nature has been merciful to rabbits. They are designed to be easy to kill fast once a carnivore has caught them. Their only defense is flight and when that fails them they die quickly.
If you want to see how a rabbit wringer works check out youtube. They have several clips showing the method and the wringer itself.

 

[wsmoak]

Remember when they ALL used to fit in the back of the nest box?


120107_6098 by wsmoak, on Flickr

I like the 'eyeshadow' on this one:


120107_6116 by wsmoak, on Flickr


120107_6099 by wsmoak, on Flickr

-Wendy

 

[April Manier]

They are really pretty. Can't believe the growth on them.

I know it might be hard for some folks to think of you killing them, but isn't raising your own meat the most responsible thing you can do? If we are going to eat it, we need to be connected tot eh process. It is as simple as that for me. Cute or not.

I love laying hens, but I have no trouble raising chickens for meat. I just never liked rabbit, however, I have only had it wild. Is it less gamey when raised for food?

 

[hoodat]

Wild and domestic rabbits are a completely different kind of meat. Domestic rabbits are actually hares descended from the European wild hares and are one of the oldest domesticated animals. I don't know what the wild European hares taste like but tame rabbits are all white meat with almost no fat. What fat they have is on the innards around the kidneys and strips along the back. There is no marbling in the muscle tissue. Rabbit fat is not particularly good tasting but not nasty either. It's normally all stripped off before cooking. If you want to roast them they are usually wrapped in bacon to add juice to the meat. The flavor is very miild and not like chicken at all but, like chicken, it tends to absorb flavors from what it is cooked with. It is one of the healthiest meats to eat, being rich in hard to get minerals like zinc which are seldom found in much quantity in other meats.

 

[wsmoak]

Not so little anymore!


120126_6186 by wsmoak, on Flickr

I think the three in front are male, they will come up to the front of the cage and let you touch them. The others are skittish and tend to hide in the back (including the mother doe, furthest back in the photo!)

-Wendy