I don't have any meat rabbits right now. I had to sell them off (very inexpensively, I might add) because I never got around to processing them. We never really had two nice days together and one of the reasaons I'm raising my own meat is to ensure their comfort from birth to death. The only way to do that is to have total control of the entire process and to process (aka: butcher) them in perfect weather when the processing is done outside, which is what I'm forced to do at the moment. Next year I plan to have a facility designated for that process which will be indoors, but I wasn't able to this year for various reasons.

What setup do you have for processing your meat rabbits? Please leave a comment! :)

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 was going to write today's post about the benefits of giving air-popped popcorn to rabbits as treats. Was. Until I did an internet search about rabbits and came up with a person who wanted to kill their neighbor's dog because it was a nuisance and killed their cat. I know this is a rabbit blog, but I thought that definitely needed addressed that here.  Says they have to keep their cats outside because their mom has asthma. The question for me is, "who do you love?" One of them has got to go. Domesticated cats are not intended to live outside! One of them has, clearly, to go. The cats or the mom. Or the mom can ask her doctor for some anti-allergy meds.

Back to the question. How do I kill the neighbor's dog? Answer: You don't! You turn the neighbor in for violating leash laws or having their dogs out of control, but you don't kill them. The dogs are in the same boats as your cats! Unloved!

The point is, Rabbit meat breeders are often painted as heartless and cruel. Those of us who do it as, more or less, a hobby and for inexpensive meat aren't. We are often fond of our rabbits and treat our breeders as pets. People who would kill an animal because it's "inconvenient" are heartless.  I hope, for the person who posed the question's sake, it was grief talking and not the desire to take another life because of both owners' irresponsibility.

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.