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Post by Deleted on Apr 24, 2016 15:17:36 GMT
First off let me preempt this post by saying we have been "homesteading" for about 18+ years so this wonderful lifestyle is not new to us. Sometimes we are more self sufficient than others it all depends on life. For example, God moved us to central Iowa a couple years ago and it took awhile to find a place to buy. We are now in our second garden season here and things are getting more normal. That being said..........
We have raised most of our meat for years but never raised meat rabbits. I am thinking about it more and more. What can you tell me about it? Taste? How to cook? Oh anything you can think of. I will post in rabbit area too. Thanks!
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Post by AD in WNC on Apr 24, 2016 16:47:48 GMT
I have spent the last five years working out "meat rabbits". I will share what works for me. I am sure that our experts will have additional ideas.
I make rabbit cages from fencing. The bulk of my cages are two ft by two ft with arched tops. I use 1" by 1" wire on top and baby safe 1" by 1/2" on the bottom and up 3". They are easiest for me to manage with open bottoms and something for the rabbits to sit on (prevent sores on hocks). The cages sit on shelves made out of cattle panels.
Rabbits drink a lot of water (almost 32 oz/day) and can't digest pellets without water. They also waste a lot of hay. I free feed pellets and they eat, or waste, about 2 cups per day. For treats they get dandelion or other weed leaves. A friend uses kale and apple pieces as treats.
Rabbits won't breed if they haven't reached adult weight. They also need 12 hrs of light and won't breed if they are scared by their guard dog...They do better if you breed by the signs (doubled number of kits).
I have Champagnes, Silver Fox and medium sized mutts. The large meat rabbits take three more months to mature than the medium sized rabbits. I have the rabbits processed when they are 3 or 4 mos old.
We have the rabbits cut in half lengthwise. One half rabbit fits into my crockpot and feeds the three of us. Our favorite recipe is rotisserie rabbit in the crock pot. Cover the bottom on the crockpot with whole new potatoes (about 6), one onion cut in quarters, and three carrots cut in 3" pcs. Put half rabbit on top of veges. Season with garlic. Cook on low for 8 hours. Pull the bones out before serving. The juice in the bottom makes a good gravy.
I don't like goat or lamb, but I like rabbit. To me it tastes like chicken with an attitude.
Good luck! I enjoy my rabbits both keeping and eating. Hope this helps!
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Post by Deleted on Apr 24, 2016 22:15:03 GMT
Hmmmm. Will have to try that recipe. (:
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Post by jupiter on Apr 24, 2016 22:35:17 GMT
We raise rabbits & love them! We buy the 30x36 all wire cages. They are easy to clean.
We think rabbits taste a lot like chicken. Anyway you can fix chicken, you can fix rabbit.
We feed our rabbits a mix of triple trust pellets & good hay.
We spent a little more to get good breeding stock & we are really impressed with our growth rates. We have new zealand, new zealand/ flemish cross, & chinchilla.
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Post by kawaiitimes on Apr 25, 2016 13:57:51 GMT
We looked at rabbits, and ended up finding a butcher that sold them so we tried a few recipes before setting up anything. We decided they werent for us. They are a bit like chicken, but leaner. DH and I both couldn't really put our thmb on what we didn't like about the meat, we just decided that we prefer other meats and we'd rather put our time and money into something we enjoy wholly.
See if you can find someone local to buy from so you can cook it up, if you can.
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Post by manygoatsnmore on Apr 26, 2016 0:59:49 GMT
kawaiitimes, I bet you found the texture of the meat to be more dense, and maybe a bit chewier than chicken? I like rabbit. I can't tell the difference between white meat chicken and rabbit in taste, but the texture is different. A lot of folks fry rabbit, but I found that it seemed tough to me when I did that. I preferred any method of moist, slow cooking, like with any really lean meat. My favorite way to cook it was to throw it in a stock pot and let it cook until the meat was falling off the bones tender, then pick the meat off and dice it up, and use the broth to make a white sauce based gravy, with some onion and garlic powder, salt, pepper and finely chopped fresh rosemary. Pour that over the diced meat in a casserole dish and top with biscuit dough, pop it in an oven at 350 for about 40 minutes or until lightly browned on top with the gravy and meat mixture bubbly and hot. I like to push the biscuit dough down so the sauce comes up over the top and leaves bits of rosemary behind. It adds a nice crust to the top and the rosemary flavors the biscuits nicely. My picky about eating "bunnies" older dd ate my "chicken" and biscuits/chicken pot pie for years and asked for seconds every time until I finally fessed up and told her it was "four-legged chicken". I shouldn't have told her - she never ate it again unless she saw the chicken package! I gave up raising rabbits because they required more care than chickens for the same amount of meat produced, and they didn't lay eggs. I still have all my equipment, though, and think about getting a trio every once in a while.
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Post by kawaiitimes on Apr 26, 2016 5:48:12 GMT
manygoatsnmore,I suppose it could have been the texture? Although even slow cooked it just wasn't "right" somehow. At any rate, if the world was ending and we had a hundred rabbits to eat, we'd eat them and not complain. Except to wish they were chickens.
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Post by jamiecatheryn on Apr 27, 2016 15:15:43 GMT
I browned then slow simmered our mean old doe in broth and sherry and it was delicious! Like chicken but with a richer yet milder flavor. Chicken to me naturally tastes a little off. I have an adult couple and 3 babies right now, raising one more female. My rabbits don't take hardly any care, really just food and water once a day. I also give them some attention, petting and handling to keep them tame and as a form of entertainment for the kids and me. Can't wait to have some nice tender young ones, I'm thinking cut up, marinate then grill.
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Post by katievt on Apr 27, 2016 17:06:32 GMT
manygoatsnmore ,I suppose it could have been the texture? Although even slow cooked it just wasn't "right" somehow. At any rate, if the world was ending and we had a hundred rabbits to eat, we'd eat them and not complain. Except to wish they were chickens. Someone described it to us like this: "It tastes like chicken with the texture of pork".
My favorite preparation is in the crockpot with some bacon, white wine, and fresh rosemary!
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coppice
Full Member
Old fat and in the way
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Post by coppice on May 7, 2016 20:32:19 GMT
I built my own 30 X 36 inch hutches. With a wooden inner nest. Rabbit are insessant chewers. Every exposed wooden surface will get chewed to ribbons. So replacable nest boxes are a good plan.
I made my own gravity hoppers for dried amaranth seed heads. And a dried field corn, With added timothy or clover hay. Expecting does also got hutch-pels. Use a dish in winter for water (it freezes slower).
I liked braised rabbit best, but fried bunny in caccatore was pretty good too.
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Post by Wendy on May 23, 2016 1:11:44 GMT
Almost all of the rabbit we raised I would cook & take off the bone & then can. I would use it in soup, pot pie, rabbit salad, add bbq sauce for a pulled "pork" kind of meal, etc. I finally got out of the business & just have a couple of dwarf rabbits for pets. We just got entirely too many & couldn't eat them fast enough. Couldn't find a market in our area for them either. I miss the poop for the garden. My brother bought all of my cages & stuff so I can always get some from him if I want.
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