The Joys of the "Harvest"?

It has been brought to my attention that "slaughter" and "kill" are no longer the PC words to use when describing the processing process. Apparently, we are supposed to use the word "harvest," instead. And I tried, I really did. Using the word in that way left a bad taste in my mouth, the taste of lying. No matter how hard I try, my brain will just not let me decieve the public. What a shame.

Why are we trying to hide a vital part of agriculture? Why are we trying to make what we do into something dirty? The consumer doesn't like the word harvest for meat, they feel that they're being lied to, or worse, treated like idiots. The farmer or producer doesn't like the word harvest for meat, they feel like they're being deceptive. I can understand the use of the term "Processing" as everybody knows what a processing plant is and what it does, but harvest is for vegetables. I butcher or process a rabbit, I harvest a tomato or an egg. Processing implies that a product is changed, harvest implies it is collected as a whole unit, without being changed or altered.

I'm afraid I'll never be PC and that's fine. I am who I am, and I can't be someone I'm not. Who would you trust, though, someone who uses a deceptive term to protect your feelings as though you weren't very intelligent, or someone who's brutally honest? I know what I would choose!

I've been working on finding designs for magnetic power. It would've taken us almost completely off the grid. Turns out, it doesn't really exist, yet. Well... I'll have to look into solar power or wind or something. I'm still not giving up on the magnetic power, though. I see it as a challenge. My idea of fun. Something to show off to our rabbit customers and a great way to save us money. Oh, well. We'll find something. Someday.

Meanwhile, we'll save the earth by reducing the number of cattle  and chickens that are butchered, one meat rabbit at a time!

Questions asked, Questions answered.

I wasn't able to answer these questions I found at http://www.ihav.net/ because I was having trouble with their site. Here are some of the questions posed, however, with my answers, as I would answer them had I been able to. If they're your questions, I hope this helps. If not, maybe it'll help someday, anyway. You never know when a piece of knowledge can come in handy!

Without further ado...

Question: I want to start breeding rabbits for meat production.
Should I buy my rabbits at my local pet store, or should I drive about an hour to get to the closest rabbit farm.
Will it be cheaper to buy straight from the rabbit breeder than the pet store?Are most rabbits at pet stores already spayed?

 
My Answer(edited for clarity):Not only would the rabbit be cheaper from the breeder(that's where the pet stores get the rabbits, then  they mark them up----between 5 and 100 dollars or more!), but there is also a danger of the rabbits being "altered."
The worst problem, however, and this would be my biggest concern is the lack of knowledge. You don't know if the rabbit is truly a purebred or not. It probably doesn't have a pedigree. And some breeds are simply inappropriate or useless for meat, like the polish and the lion-head. In the pet store, you can't talk to the breeder, ask questions about the breed, ask about the breeder's breeding practices, the individual rabbits, or, especially, the rabbit's family history. If the breed you get is a "mongruel," and the pet store doesn't know the ancestry, you could be stuck with a very poor breeding rabbit and several very poor meat rabbits, indeed. Also keep in mind, most butchers WILL NOT do rabbits. Too small for their time, I guess. Are you prepared to DIY? If not, you'll have to find homes for your potentially mongruel rabbits when there aren't even enough homes for the purebreds. Think This Through Before You Do. We need more meat rabbit breeders, but avoid "rookie" mistakes. That's where the breeder really comes in handy.
***P.S. If you're planning to do this to make money, don't! You won't when working on a small scale.  If you're lucky, you'll break even!***

Question:How can you tell if a baby rabbit is a boy or girl?my rabbit had one baby and i dont know how to tell if it is a boy or girl 10 points for best answer *i need to know today!*

 
My Answer:How old is the bunny? You can't tell reliably until it's at least four weeks old. Six is better. Lay the bunny on its back. Place a finger on each side of its genitals and push gently. The bunny will probably struggle, but that's normal. The genitals will pop out for both genders. A slit in the back means a girl, a hole on the tip means a boy. Just think of how the rabbits are conceived to make that easy to remember. It has to go somewhere! And, although you're being gentle, make sure it is firm enough to make it go all the way out or it will probably be mis-sexed.
And remember, sexing takes practice, so you might want to have a breeder do it, just to be sure. Non-pros almost always mis-sex bunnies. It's just so hard to tell, sometimes.

Question:How can I encourage my baby rabbit to eat?
Three days ago I adopted a wild baby rabbit which was found with hypothermia and shock near my home. Because they are pests here the RSPCA gave me the option to keep him because they would just have to put him down.The problem is that we are having trouble getting him to eat anything. We have tried rabbit mix from the pet shop, pet milk (a fairly generic one that is suitable for kittens and puppies), pet milk with honey, grated carrot, broccoli, grass, dandelion leaves, clover leaves and flowers, and grapes. He doesn't seem to be interested in anything - he will have a little nibble at the grass, clover flowers and dandelion but just nibbles off a tiny piece, chews it up but then doesn't want anything else.He is doing wees and a small amount of poos but I'm getting worried that he is going to starve himself to death! He is very lively, and appears happy and curious. He is quite young (the vet at RSPCA though about 4 wks old) but has thick fur and eyes open so probably weaned.

 
My Answer: I hate to break it to you, but fur just means they're more than about four days old, open eyes, a week or two. Rabbits wean at approx 4-5 weeks, so he's probably pretty close to being weaned if he's really that age.  It can be difficult to tell with wild rabbits, because there are so many variations in habitat. It's possible he's still traumatized. Rabbits have been known to be traumatized for days after being taken into captivity. In fact, you're lucky he's not older,  or he may have died from fear. DO NOT give him domesticated rabbit food. His little system is not designed for it. I'd keep giving him the stuff he's eating for now and slowly introduce more variation as time goes on. Is he getting enough water? It doesn't take much for a rabbit, especially a bunny, to die of dehydration. A few hours is all.
You say he's lively. That's good! It means he's probably going to be okay when he starts eating more. It's also possible there's so much to explore, he doesn't WANT to stop to eat! Most importantly, find a professional rabbit breeder to ask for advice. Or at least a hobbyist with experience. They can be a great source of information about raising young rabbits and can help you even when your bunny's an adult!
Congratulations on your new pet and good luck!
P.S. How fresh are the greens you're giving him? Don't forget, he's used to getting them as fresh as can be, right off the plant. You may want to consider transplanting some (rabbit safe) weeds into a small pot for him. As soon as greens are picked, they lose nutrients. Hope this helps.

Two of Sapphire's kits are definitely white. There are seven total. It looks like a couple of black ones, too, but I'd have to take them out of the nesting box to be sure and (A) It wouldn't be healthy for them to be handled more than necessary at this stage. They're too susceptible to disease and too easily injured and (B) Sapphire's dangerously protective of her kits and will bite anyone who sticks their hand into her hutch. Even to feed her! Despite the fact that we have to do it more often since she had her kits, because she keeps dumping it.

I think the problem is that when she had her first litter, like a lot of first litters do, hers died. All of them. I think she probably blames us or something. 

The first litter was an accident, anyway. Like a lot of rookie rabbit breeders, I mis-sexed one of my young bunnies and decided I had two does in the hutch. I was wrong! Imagine my surprise when I saw she had bunnies! Unfortunately, we didn't know then what we know now. It was winter, which probably didn't help. The little ones had the deck stacked against them because they were a first litter. They died within three days. They seemed healthy at first, but they must not have been.

At least we're all more experienced (especially Sapphire!)

 P.S. They all have fur, now. The white ones should sell fast to people who are looking for meat rabbits. I think the black and gray coats would make lovely pelts.

Contrary to popular belief, meat rabbit breeders are not heartless.We don't like to kill our livestock any more than anyone else. We even may get attached to some of the rabbits. But you always need to distance yourself when dealing with livestock. You can think they're cute, but they're still meat. A cow and a chicken are cute, too. There is something seriously wrong with a person who likes to butcher an animal. 
 

My neighbor mentioned to me that he didn't like butchering animals. He said as time went on, he liked it less and less. I told him that was good. There is something seriously wrong with a person who likes to kill.

So, to those who think we're out to make a quick buck or enjoy killing, we don't. 

Ever.

Besides, if the rabbits you breed pay for their own keep, you're way ahead of the game.

Spent a big portion of my day creating a term legend to help anyone who might be confused. I'll try to keep it updated with any new terms I may use as time goes by.  If anyone has a question, please leave a comment in the comments section. Comments are anonymous and encouraged.


About Sapphire's litter, all the kits(baby bunnies) seem to be doing fine. I think they're starting to grow hair already! Of course, that could just be my wishful thinking, lol!

Rabbit Treats!

I've spent most of the day looking up recipes for rabbit treats. I need something which does not involve rabbit food(pellets) because, frankly, they get enough pellets anyway. I want to make a treat. I'm looking for treats which are all natural for rabbits, containing no animal proteins(rabbit are herbivores-it may be the easy way out like giving them Cheerios like I've heard some breeders do, but it's not natural. Rabbits do not eat eggs, milk or any other animal protein in nature! Nor do they eat bread which contains animal proteins!) I do not believe you should ever feed herbivores animal proteins. I wish for something to feed my rabbits and also maybe adapt for sale to help us to bring in some extra cash to support our rabbits, lol! (with some recipes, maybe find an alternative for those darned pellets!)

We hope to be offering many extras for sale soon. I'll keep you posted!

Anyway, I've decided to post some of the sites I found with recipes for rabbit treats(the kind with pellets)! Although intended for pet rabbits, your meat breeders deserve a treat once in a while, too! Enjoy!

http://wiki.answers.com/Q/How_do_you_make_homemade_rabbit_treats

http://www.thebubbler.com/forums/other-pets/13402-homemade-bunny-treats.html

http://www.flickr.com/groups/bunnyloversunite/discuss/72157622685392203/ 

Also some educational stuff on feeding your rabbit

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/184263/rabbit_nutrition_101.html?cat=53

Oh, I almost forgot---we have bunnies! Sapphire had her litter! Six so far. She usually has eight, so maybe two more. To our loyal customers, here's your head's up! See you in a few weeks!

Hi, again! The Buzzy Bunny computer is up and running once again after a short lull when it basically blew up! We have a litter of meat rabbits due any day now and another in a couple of weeks. It's an exciting time for us! We're trying to find cages for all the new arrivals(including the purebreds we purchase)the right food(we recently switched to Manna, which is a little less expensive than Purina, which is what we have been using, and seems, so far, a better food)and trying to divide our time(Cathy works) so each rabbit get the care and attention they need.

image found at  http://happyeasterpictures.com/

We hope to find cages, etc, at yard sales and whatnot. As I've said in a previous post, there's really no money in rabbits. If we're lucky, we'll break even.

 Image found at  http://www.clipartguide.com/

bunnies...

I'd like to take a moment to thank the farmers, especially the organic and sustainable farmers, for working so hard and dedicating their time, and often their lives, to raising food for us to eat, wool and cotton to wear, as well as other materials for us to consume. Thank you for making our lives better. I'd also like to thank the postal workers who deliver our mail and packages, even in the middle of nowhere like we are, through all kinds of weather. Waitresses who put up with all kinds of people's bad days and people who think they're better than them. Cashiers, and many others who "work behind the scenes" to make our lives better, more productive and more convenient. You work hard, thankless jobs and really should be thanked. So thank you.

Image found at http://static.bigstockphoto.com

P.S. If you think this has nothing to do with raising meat rabbits, you're wrong. Each and every one of these people mentioned and more make raising meat rabbits possible. If it weren't for people who work thankless jobs, we'd have nothing to be thankful for. We wouldn't have rabbit food delivered, We wouldn't be able to sell to restaurants if there were no waitresses. We wouldn't even be able to buy rabbit food if there were nobody to sell it! So thank you again!

I have not yet held Leanne, Jem (not a misspelling-how her name is really spelled), or Jewel today. Leanne is a very sweet flemish-lop hybrid with a brown coat, round eyes(like a flemish) and ears which sometimes turn down at the ends. She will be bred for meat when she's older. Jem and Jewel are purebred Mini Lops, one brown and one black-and white spotted, intended for breeding show quality rabbits and being shown themselves. They are becoming friendlier, but, unlike Leanne, they were purchased from another breeder and are not as accustomed to being held. I also have another purebred, whom I just purchased, named Ruby, a New Zealand. I try to hold all my bunnies, which are to be used for breeding, to keep them friendly.

Image found at http://www.wpclipart.com/

We don't raise our purebreds for meat. The bunnies are sold as pets, breeders, and show rabbits. Our hybrids are sometimes sold as pets, as well. I do need two more purebred Californian rabbits, with which I intend to breed white meat rabbits, which are more in demand because of the white fur, which can be dyed. Not that I have trouble selling my litters now. the few that may be left(we start at 6-8 weeks) are turned into meat for our own use. We rarely get the meat for ourselves. I hope to soon have a sufficient number to eat and sell by increasing my breeding flock.

Raising a large number of rabbits isn't as easy as many people think. One rabbit is easy, fifteen or more, not so much. Each cage or hutch must be cleaned, water replaced(rabbits get sick very easily), fed, fresh hay(very important), groomed, etc. We are always trying to streamline our operation.

Let me make one thing absolutely clear. There is a whole lot of work in raising and breeding rabbits and very little(if any) profits. If you want to breed them yourself, don't let anybody tell you you'll make a lot of money. You won't. You may spend more on feed than you'll make back. But if you're interested in improving a breed, showing the rabbits, or producing delicious, nutritious meat, then WELCOME ABOARD!

If you're just looking for a pet or a companion, visit your nearest animal shelter or breeder. Your local animal shelter has a whole lot of abused and abandoned animals(including rabbits) there. Do not breed them for "something to do" or "for a learning experience" and especially not"because they're cute" Animal shelters are filled with rabbits someone decided to breed for those very reasons. I do NOT condone any form of animal abuse. Breeding for meat is not abuse. Breeding for fun is.

We need more meet breeders and purchasers. Rabbit meat is healthy meat! I would like to see it join chicken and beef in consumption and popularity. It did once and, hopefully, it will again soon.

Rabbit on my plate!

 I raise rabbits to sell and for meat. I am not the least but ashamed of that fact and actually rather proud of it! Rabbit is a delicious, nutritious meat, low in fat and cholesterol. I think the solution to rabbit population is to EAT THE EXTRA RABBITS! I am not cruel to my rabbits They get cuddles and held. Treats and lots of food and water. There are some countries where they recoil at the thought of eating cattle. This NOT eating rabbit thing is just a cultural thing which I would actually like to see ended. The nation would be stronger and healthier. Our children would be more responsible. It's not like we're eating our pet cat. It's an herbivore, a prey animal, and therefore intended to be eaten.

Image found at http://www.wpclipart.com/

Rabbit is easy to raise, reproduces rapidly and will consume many plants we would not even dream of consuming like grass. It has been hunted and raised for meat for many centuries, in almost every country, and the fur can be sold separately for extra money. Frankly, cat and dog are eaten in some countries and I'd much rather eat rabbit!

Chickens can be cute and so can cattle (I've raised chickens and live next to a cattle farmer-I am NOT giving up burgers, either!) The humane society and others are always complaining about overpopulation but won't even consider butchering them, humanely, as an alternative. These animals which are "put to sleep" are not always done in a humane fashion. It's very wasteful and actually more cruel, often, than butchering them. They are abandoning a rich food source when there is so much starvation in the world because it's cute. If we spent as much money on rabbit feed as we do on cattle and chickens, we could have enough meat to feed the poor, starving, and homeless of the world. It's really less wasteful. And so much better for the environment than cattle.