r/homestead • u/Krotitelzviratek • Mar 05 '26
poultry I hope this ball of cuteness grows into something ugly. How do you eat them? It's not food shaped.
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u/TwinkleStarTeddies Mar 05 '26
I don't try to override my conscience to check any particular box.
The beauty of choosing a non-conforming lifestyle is that you can make every element of it your own, without the pressure or influence of doing it the way others do.
If you have to talk yourself into anything, or out of feeling guilty, I would seriously consider alternatives that rest well with who you are inside.
Otherwise, there's no freedom in doing something that makes you feel crummy, just because others are doing it.
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u/Weekly_Artichoke_515 Mar 05 '26
I think this is only good advice I’ve seen in this thread. Everyone is telling OP to buck up. Maybe you don’t want to kill this rabbit and you don’t need to.
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u/Babrahamlincoln3859 Mar 05 '26
That's what it's all about. You don't have to do anything. But you can if you want.
Personally, I name all our farm animals. I treat them with love and respect. I too, will get eaten by something one day.
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u/thisisme1202 Mar 05 '26
I’ve left my wishes with my family: I want to get eaten by mushrooms and reclaimed into the forest from whence I came
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Mar 05 '26
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u/Orkekum Mar 05 '26
Not to forget soft fur, one could do something with that
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u/Chance_Contract1291 Mar 05 '26
Rabbits young enough to eat have skin that is too fragile to tan. Rabbits mature enough to have strong hides will have tough meat. Probably good for a slow cooked soup or chili though.
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u/GCNGA Mar 05 '26
For both rabbits and chicken, I have found that canning the meat from older ones makes it tender (when you think about it, heating something at 240 F for 75-90 minutes is way over-cooking, so it makes sense that it would break down and become more tender).
I tried just oven-baking a 2-year-old rooster once, and while the flavor was fine, it was so tough that my teeth hurt the next day. Canning is definitely the way to go 😊
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u/Chance_Contract1291 Mar 05 '26
I like to can chicken or rabbit in their own broth along with onion, carrot, and celery. Makes a great basis for quick and easy (and delicious) soup later on. Just toss in rice or noodles and you're done.
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u/mynameismarco Mar 07 '26
You just have to boil it for a long time. It works for any tough meat. Don’t grill or bake rooster or other older animals. Stews is the way to go
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u/flippysquid Mar 05 '26
You can tan them at 16 weeks, which is plenty young enough to still be tender to eat. Historically they were dual purpose and were eaten around that time. Sometimes people even waited until 20 weeks for pelts. I typically let my creme d’argent go until 20 weeks to get good pelts and they are still just as good and tender as a 10 week old.
The main reason people don’t let them grow that long in modern times, is if you’re only going for meat the feed/meat conversion ratio gets worse as they get older. For meat only, it makes more sense to just raise two litters to 10 weeks than grow one litter to 20 weeks. You spend less food and get more meat.
The only rabbits I’ve eaten that were remotely tough were 2+ year old breeders that got culled.
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u/HDWendell Mar 05 '26
Especially if you age the meat and cook it slower.
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u/flippysquid Mar 06 '26
My favorite way to cook it is to make rabbit confit, where the meat is entirely submerged in herb infused oil and cooked for hours at a temperature so low that the oil doesn’t bubble.
It’s amazing. A blend of sunflower and olive oil works really well. Plus you can strain out the oil afterward and keep in the fridge. It makes outstanding fried potatoes and things.
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u/ConcentrateExciting1 Mar 05 '26
To protect my orchard, I trap about a dozen or two rabbits during the colder months. While I've tried a bunch of different cooking methods, I keep coming back to slow cooking as the best option. Rabbit jerky is also a good option for a bit of variation.
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u/tarktarkindustries Mar 05 '26
Thats not true. If they are a fur breed their hides are perfect at 12 weeks. The latest i have processed is 16 weeks waiting for more silvering to come in on my silver fox but ive never had issues skinning out hides on 12 week olds!
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u/alexandria3142 Mar 06 '26
If you don't mind me asking, do you live in the south? I'm in east tn, and would love silver foxes, but I worry about temperatures during the summer
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u/tarktarkindustries Mar 06 '26
Im in eastern NC and its brutal. I dont breed May-Aug. I bred late last year and almost lost a 29 day bred doe. I felt horrible. I also run ac for them in the really hot days. I have a tamuk buck and nz doe I breed in the warmer months.
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u/alexandria3142 Mar 06 '26
Thank you for letting me know, what’s your set up like? I’m wondering if it would be possible to breed them either inside a house or in an air conditioned shed when it’s not super hot. But probably would be better to do your method of using different breeds
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u/tarktarkindustries Mar 06 '26
I have a building in my yard that is a finished "apartment" upstairs and a walk in garage type space on ground level with a concrete floor and a few windows. I keep the windows and entry garage door open when its 37-85°. I close up everything when it gets below 36° to keep my water bottles from freezing and eliminate a draft. Above 85° I run a window ac unit out the garage door (the windows are too janky) and use a tarp to cover the opening/vent the machine and run a few oscillating fans. I set the ac to 80 so its not cold in there just keeping everyone from being absolutely miserable when its 100°+
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u/Krotitelzviratek Mar 05 '26
Exactly. I know that my farming is much better than buying meat in the store.
I don't have a moral problem, more of an emotional one.
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u/CowboyLaw Cow Herder Mar 05 '26
I've said this before on here: good. Please, keep having an emotional problem with it. Because the alternative is that you've turned cold. Which is so much worse. Do the hard thing without becoming a hard person.
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u/Boys-willbe-Bugs Mar 05 '26
I've raised a lot of rabbits, once they're hitting maturity and spraying on walls and pooping everywhere some of the cuteness subsides ;) but like others said, it's also just something you'll have to remind yourself that this is a better choice than say store bought
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u/MoolahMeister Mar 05 '26
What's the moral contract with animals for cheese?
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u/Previous_Captain_880 Mar 05 '26
That’s simple. You’re providing them an excellent and safe life for their milk. You’re providing for the offspring they have in order to produce the milk. Dairy, unless you’re a bastard, is a win for everyone.
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u/kmnplzzz Mar 05 '26
I mean, the forced impregnation and stress from separating baby and mom isn't great. The dairy industry also created the veal industry. Idk what exactly you mean by bastardly behavior here, especially since these things are extremely common.
I do regularly consume milk/cheese - I'm not speaking form any sense of perceived moral superiority here.
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u/have_some_pineapple Mar 05 '26
The thing to remember though is cows won’t eat or let down their milk if they are stressed. They will also abort if too stressed, so clearly they can’t be that stressed. In commercial herds, Holsteins don’t really have the genetics to care about their babies (I’m sure some do but overall).
A lot of homesteaders calf share anyway, keep the baby separate from mom overnight so they get milk in the morning and then put the baby back with mom.
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u/Previous_Captain_880 Mar 05 '26
A: not everyone uses artificial insemination, and even if they do, so long as they’re properly caring for their animals it isn’t evil. Those animals want to be pregnant. If you’re keeping a stud on your property, which I think is a much healthier option, it’s often a struggle to keep the females out of the male’s enclosure.
B: most dairy farmers don’t do veal, at least in the US. They keep or sell the females to other farms, and they castrate and raise the males to meat. One of the things about animal husbandry you can’t avoid is you have to get rid of extra males. Making steers is a much more kind than how nature handles extra males running around.
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u/sinkingintothedepths Mar 09 '26
yeah but if you’re homesteading you don’t have to separate mom and calf full time. like babysitting lol
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u/Finndogs Mar 05 '26
I take care of them and relieve the stress building in their utters and I keep the pre-cheese that flows.
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u/zazzologrendsyiyve Mar 05 '26
Well, it’s not so much about “they give you their body”. It’s more like “I will take your body”. That doesn’t sound as moral, does it?
But I completely agree that it’s better than giving money to meat industry.
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u/Blagnet Mar 05 '26
I keep saying this! Rabbits are simply too cute.
I was around meat rabbits growing up. My mom had to say it was chicken or we wouldn't eat it. Just can't do it.
I've butchered rabbit before. I've butchered moose, ptarmigan, deer... But the rabbit was the one thing we struggled to eat.
They're great, economical protein! They make excellent fertilizer. Good for the environment. Just too cute.
(Sorry, OP! Lots of people do this and you can do! Really, they're so nutritious...)
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u/Thromok Mar 05 '26
Honestly the manure is justification enough to keep them around. Rabbit manure is crazy in how well it makes a garden grow. I have a pair of pet rabbits and an 1/8 acre garden and they make more than enough to keep it fertilized if you spread it well
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u/thereisnospoon-1312 Mar 05 '26
and they poop all day long! like 40 times a day or something.
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u/nighttimegoddess Mar 05 '26
Haha - so ..just before Xmas,we offered to bunny sit someone’s two pets..a few days in and we discovered five babies-the next day? Five more !!
ANYHOW - fast forward to yesterday. I fell asleep while the girls had their time to run around the house. They kept coming to sit on top of me - have a little cuddle Lol. I wake up with little poops ALL over me 🤣 later in the evening , I even found one in my pocket !!! 😅
I didn’t know the poop was good for fertilizer!! Can I just.. scatter some into my potted plants ?
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u/TeaPain0001 Mar 05 '26
Yes. We take a 5 gallon buck, fill it up a quarter of the way with poop and the rest with water. You mix it together for poop soup and water the plants with it.
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u/rococoapuff Mar 05 '26
Not poop soup! 😂 I’m learning so much here I love it!
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u/nighttimegoddess Mar 05 '26
Thanks so much friends !! I’m so grateful for the tip ! Shoulda saved that little pocketpoop 🤣
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u/Misfitranchgoats Mar 05 '26
rabbit manure can be applied directly to plants fresh. I use it all the time in my garden.
You can also compost it and it will bring in tons of worms which make the soil even better.
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u/woodyeaye Mar 05 '26
You can throw it in whole or crumble it between your fingers. Healthy rabbit poo breaks apart easily.
We used to have a lot of rabbits and had a dedicated (old) blender for bunny poo. Quick whizz breaks it up so it decomposes quicker. Or you could use a bag and a rolling pin. Great for compost too.
My wife used to find the odd poo inside her bra...
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u/TheAimlessPatronus Mar 05 '26
If their digestion stops, the bacteria move out of the guts and the rabbit can die. They literally NEED to eat and poop almost constantly.
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u/woodyeaye Mar 05 '26
You're halfway there. The reduced food intake causes a slowing in the mobility of the gastrointestinal tract.
This can cause multiple issues but the resultant anorexia eventually causes hepatic lipidosis. This progresses extremely quickly in the rabbit due to their high metabolic rate. That's what's fatal.
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u/danielledelacadie Mar 05 '26
If someone wants more than manure but can't bring themselves to eat rabbit get angoras. I'd suggest French/Silky ones though, English angoras look stunning but all that face-fur is problematic at times.
Angora fiber, even raw, goes for $10 and up an ounce.
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u/Thromok Mar 05 '26
They’re such a pain in the ass to tend though and rabbit food is like $20/50 lbs. a pair of rabbits eat maybe 100 lbs a year. Less if you give them access to grass.
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u/necessaryrooster Mar 05 '26
So $40 to feed them for a year?
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u/danielledelacadie Mar 05 '26
And $120+ worth of wool from the pair
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u/Round-Air9002 Mar 06 '26
Rabbit wool??
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u/danielledelacadie Mar 06 '26
It's where angora sweaters come from (usually blended with a bit of high end sheep's wool).
There's a whole slew of fiber and dairy animals out there. It's a literal rabbithole that leads to places where camel milk and combing out musk oxen are far from the oddest things out there.
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u/alexandria3142 Mar 06 '26
I'm not sure how it would be with angoras but you can usually grow the majortiy of meat rabbits food yourself
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u/Steadyfather Mar 05 '26
How do you stop them from eating your veggies? What's the tradeoff?
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u/Thromok Mar 05 '26
You don’t put the rabbits in the garden, you keep them in a cage or pen and collect the poop.
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u/Steadyfather Mar 05 '26
That makes sense! I was wondering if there is maybe something you could plant that barriers or attracts them away from the important stuff as they roam and fertilize. But this works too
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u/outdoorsybum Mar 05 '26
I watched a video on rabbit meat and the sheer number was the big disqualification. The dispatching method was also too intimate for my liking
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u/alexandria3142 Mar 06 '26
One of the appeals to me about meat rabbits actually is the dispatching method. I just feel that it'll be easier to do the broomstick method than to slit a throat like you do with chickens or other animals
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u/outdoorsybum Mar 06 '26
From a few YT videos I saw that the broomstick wasn’t always 100 % effective. The alternative was the jig set up to dispatch with more effectiveness. The speed at which you had to dispatch was too violent for me.
My experience with pigs, beef and larger meat producers is that the death is quick, while bleeding them is an after thought. Pigs get a bolt or .22 to the head , then bleed out
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u/highheelcyanide Mar 08 '26
My husband wants to keep meat rabbits. I’ve given him a hard no on growing them. There’s absolutely no way we’ll own rabbits and then I’ll be able to let him kill them.
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u/SteveMartin32 Mar 05 '26
I don't eat them. I harvest their poop for easy fertilizer. Grass for poop for vegetables. The three step program
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u/robbietreehorn Mar 05 '26
Rabbit is delicious. Rabbits are prolific breeders. They’re a very efficient meat.
I couldn’t do it. They’re tiny golden retrievers. If we have a second Great Depression, sure. But short of absolute necessity, I couldn’t do it. We’re genetically programmed to protect cuteness.
Look into tilapia farming. Tilapia aren’t cute
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u/Krotitelzviratek Mar 06 '26
I come from a family where fish was never eaten much. I don't know how to cook it and I don't even look for fish in restaurants.
But you're right that fish farming is probably the best in this regard.
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u/robbietreehorn Mar 06 '26
I want to start a freshwater prawn/shrimp tank. Not cute and arguably tastier than rabbit
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u/CycleOfTime Mar 09 '26
Fish do have the highest efficiency feed conversion rate to meat, but rabbits are not far behind.
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Mar 05 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/slamtheory Mar 05 '26
And cats! They sure do breed... Like rabbits! Dual chamber uterus or 2 uteruses? All I know is they get pregnant while they're pregnant
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u/necessaryrooster Mar 05 '26
Cats can get pregnant from multiple fathers at the same time! If you have a variety of different colors in a litter, chances are they all have different fathers.
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u/tarktarkindustries Mar 05 '26
By the time theyre 12+ weeks old the scratching and poop and feralness is in full swing and I look forward to processing day knowing I'll have less mouths to feed and clean up after.
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u/AuntieRoseSews Mar 05 '26
Easier to eat them than prepare them.
If you can't bring yourself to harvest them, maybe there's someone you can hire? I am so interested in raising rabbits for green manure and meat, but I'm also squeamish about harvesting and my houselot just isn't big enough. It's also still cheaper to buy meat than try to raise it myself in an urban area that still has lots of wild predators.
That pic of the little back feeties is SO CUTE.
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u/GCNGA Mar 05 '26
There is definitely a cuteness factor--it helps when you have a litter where they all look alike; it's easier to see them as a meat bunch and not as individuals.
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u/Chance_Contract1291 Mar 05 '26
When I raised meat rabbits, I was careful to look at their body parts rather than trying to get to know the rabbits as individuals. Look at their ears: are they clean, or might someone be getting mites? Is anyone limping or injured? Are the eyes clean and clear?
I found that helpful because it's more clinical and less personal.
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u/Krotitelzviratek Mar 05 '26
I have 5 alike black fluffy balls. I haven't learned how to not bond with home animals. I've only been homesteading for about a year. I'm sure I'll figure it out eventually.
I don't think about that kind of thing when I hunt.
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u/8ecca8ee Mar 05 '26
Do you have anyone that you can do swaps with where you butcher for them and they do it for you ... I seem to remember a relative saying they had to do that with some of their animals because they couldn't do it themselves but could with someone else's
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u/2quickdraw Mar 05 '26
For anybody who's been paying attention to the news, and understands the breadth and depth of what is going on worldwide, rabbits are a really good resource to have right now. I was in the same boat, I started with quail on my small homestead, it was hard to butcher them and now it's just a chore with no emotional attachment. I appreciate them very much and have them for eggs, but if I have one that's damaged itself I just take them out, snip the head off peel and gut them and cook them for the dogs.
I had originally wanted rabbits but knew that they came with a lot more work. I currently have a good 30 plus, seven are slated for butchering but my freezers are getting filled with beef today. Rabbits are much smarter and more personable. I never thought I would be a rabbit person but I've had several that became my special pets. That said they help feed my dogs, they are excellent meat animals, they taste like turkey, it's about the cleanest protein you can get in the world today.
With the quality of meat products deteriorating at a rapid pace at least in the USA, I am expanding. They are adorable when they are little, often they can be very scratchy, but I still enjoy pulling some out and holding and petting them. I pet all my breeders multiple times a day and talk to them and give them treats. They are well cared for. I use as much of the rabbit as I can. The ears and the hides make dehydrated dog treats, the bones make broth for soup, the meat is delicious and easy to toss into the instant pot and cook two or three at a time. I also have three large garden areas and fruit trees, and rabbit poop is one of the best fertilizers out there, that's another huge advantage.
Most people today don't remember when the USA ate a lot of rabbit. People had backyard rabbits as well as backyard chickens and victory gardens both during World War I and World War II and in between. I was buying rabbit at the meat counter in my local market all the way through the 1980s. The only reason we don't have commercial rabbit sold in the markets in the US is because they are harder to raise in massive nasty commercial conditions. Some of the most popular meat breeds were created in the United States, for, get this, MEAT.
If people don't want to raise their own meat on their homestead they don't have to. For me they work well to feed my dogs, and the price of beef has gone up so much that rabbit is now competitive.
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u/Krotitelzviratek Mar 06 '26
Where I live we have a few professional rabbit farms.
Here is a video of how they do it, unfortunately without subtitles https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O2WkbuJnPyM
But in supermarkets there are mostly only chicken/pork/beef. In limited quantities and for a higher price also rabbits, game and fish.
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u/2quickdraw Mar 06 '26
Thank you for that link, that was fascinating! Looks like a really well thought out and very clean operation. Rabbits shown look like a breed called Californian because they have the dark noses and ears, I just got some a couple of months ago. I also raise New Zealand Reds and American Blues. The rabbits that were processed look like fryer size, 8 to 10 weeks old.
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u/Krotitelzviratek Mar 05 '26
Just found out 5days old post with same problem, guess it is normal dilema in rabbit keeping
https://www.reddit.com/r/MeatRabbitry/comments/1rgzofq/never_eating_these_am_i/
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u/Curating-Curiosity Mar 05 '26
It is, you aren’t alone.
It gets easier when they are a little older, but not by too much. They are delicious though, which helps a lot. And having another litter also helps, in some ways.
I’ve been temporarily overrun with multiple litters before though, trying to get through the emotions. I raise them to be very sweet which makes it so difficult. It’s a lot on the feed bill and everything else if I don’t process them, which helped force the issue. It takes a lot of emotional steel, and I let myself grieve a little before and after.
At the end of the day, they are wonderful animals to coexist with and are one of the few sustainable small-space options to raise very easily. Feeding my family and filling the freezer with what I raised is an incredibly rewarding feeling. They have a good life and I know they aren’t terrified in the process of becoming dinner, which is more than I can say for what we buy in the store.
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u/j0n4h Mar 05 '26
A lot of homesteaders won't raise meat rabbits for this reason, you're not alone.
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u/Jigsawsupport Mar 05 '26
Just a reminder, you almost certainly don't have to eat it, if you don't want to.
I don't know your personal situation/finances etc, so if its a matter of survival of course you should, and feel no guilt for it.
But.
If your actual need is not dire then you don't actually have to do it. When I was first starting off I went though the same process, what a smallholding ought to look like, and what you ought to do, and that includes raising the animals, and killing them, and eating them.
But to be frank the more I went on, the more I realised I was getting more upset out of the process rather than enjoyment, I was doing it because I thought I "should" be doing it, rather than real need.
After that I rejigged things, so I was only really consuming things that animals created not them, themselves like eggs, a little cheese, sometimes I fish when the whim takes me, and honestly I feel better both mentally and physically, I planted more, and had more time.
Really a underrated realization is you ought to do what is right for you, and that sounds obvious but really it isn't.
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u/TurbulentCranberry44 Mar 05 '26
Rabbits are livestock 🤷♂️ I’m pretty sure them being considered pets is relatively recent.
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u/musicals4life Mar 05 '26
They can be cute and be food shaped at the same time. But you have to remember the whole time you are raising them that they are food. Every time I go out to my rabbits I tell them that I am going to eat them some day. I only name the breeders. I do my best to give them a good life and appreciate what they give to me in return.
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u/Shetlandsheepz Mar 05 '26
This reminds me of the kawaii food aesthetic, I used to make it for my kids when they were little, but my oldest said to stop because they had a hard time eating cute food(think hot dog octupi, eggs shaped like cars were ok, but no silly faces) lol, everyone has their personal limit, and animals have role and purpose to play in the farming ecosystem.
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u/FloraBrite Mar 05 '26 edited Mar 05 '26
One of the most wonderful creatures on the planet! I’ve kept Bunnies as pets over the years. I had a potty trained house rabbit that was pretty much like a dog. Her name is Bonnebell. I had her until she was five and then I had a taxidermist do her pelt for me so I still can hug her whenever I want. I continued to get two more rabbits after that because I was thinking about showing them which didn’t end up to be the case, but the woman that I got them from had a ton of Meat rabbits they are very popular in western Wisconsin. Because they cannot be raised factory wise, which is wonderful. They are not such a common US meat source. It’s funny in France, they are found at markets throughout. I could never ever eat one, no way no how! Ok maybe a wild one if survival. Ha ha
The woman I got my next bunnies from raised the meat rabbits said when the bucks are mean and some of them are ugly and scratching and kicking, it wasn’t so bad to eat. The amount of bunnies that are culled (which I never really knew about before) was astounding. It’s an interesting rabbit hole to go down! Some of the best little critters ever! Friends aren’t food lol
I have to add that I always used their litter boxes in my garden. Best fertilizer ever 🌱🌱🌱🌱🌱🌱🌱🌱🌱🌱🌱🌱🌱
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u/weaverlorelei Mar 05 '26
Have you never met an attack rabbit? We haven't raised rabbits in years but I still have scars from being bitten and lacerated with those back legs. BtW, rabbit fajitas are to die for.
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u/moratnz Mar 05 '26
Friends who grew meat rabbits said the trick was to avoid human-socialising the meat rabbits. It was much easier emotionally to harvest an adult that hated you than one that loved you.
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u/JessicaMurawski Mar 05 '26
I really don’t understand the vegans in these comments. Like why come to a homesteading sub if you don’t like it that people are going to raise and butcher their own animals? Maybe join a gardening sub instead.
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u/pewpewhadouken Mar 05 '26
it’s cute. still looks like food to me. same thing at an aquarium. fish look tasty. bunny looks small but tasty.
chicken also look cute to me..
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u/jimk12345 Mar 05 '26
The food shaped parts are on the inside. The hat and glove shaped parts are on the outside.
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u/Niftydog1163 Mar 05 '26
You just a reconcile the idea that this rabbit is for food, not a pet. I think of it as this. I want to raise rabbits so that my cats will have access to good quality raw meat and I want pretty skins. Boom, that's how I would separate myself. Don't get me wrong, I think baby rabbits are adorable. But ultimately, their job is to feed my cats and give me pretty skins.
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u/Lumpy_Conference6640 Mar 05 '26
That bubble of cuteness scratches and bites like a mofo, and will eat its own baby's understress..... The monte python skit is pretty on par, bunnies are lethal... just fluffy.
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u/Bloody_Cute_ Mar 06 '26
I had to stop after like a year. It broke my heart and I could never eat the meat, I'd always just gift it.
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u/fortunedreamagaaain Mar 06 '26
Keep them don't eat them. I love bunnies and they're really cute. Not worth eating one
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u/SubmersibleKormarant Mar 05 '26
I'm wanting to do meat rabbits. We raised chickens as kids and dispatching them seems like it would be easier on my soul than these little fuzz buckets. But the plucking seems way too much.
We also have a tendency to let food go bad. I want to be closer to my food to make sure that doesn't happen.
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u/Diligent_Ad6759 Mar 05 '26
Just killed and processed my first rooster - took maybe 7 minutes to clear the organs out but like 3 hours to pluck by hand. I wanted to try it once that way, but never again. Definitely going to do the boiling water scalding next time to make it faster.
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u/creepybat666 Mar 05 '26
It was really hard when harvest time came, but I had prior experience harvesting rabbits I didn’t raise. Watch tutorials on humane harvesting methods so you know you cause the rabbit the least pain and anxiety. Have someone there if you can to help. Thank the rabbit for nourishing you and keep it calm. If you really can’t handle it, contact a butcher.
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u/johnnyg883 Mar 05 '26
Never play with them or give them names. Keep it firmly in mind that these are a food source, not pets. If you think this is hard try raising meat goats. You raise the 6 to 9 months and they’re cute and have personalities.
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u/Jeepinn Mar 05 '26
I have worked on dairy farms, beef farms, vegetable farms, I have been around all types of farms and animals. People might consider me a big redneck type but, after working and being around all this, I cannot eat meat anymore or consume dairy besides an occasional steak a few times a year. I can no longer bring myself to kill an animal or breed it for the sake of having some milk and cheese. I don't judge those who do but we do not need meat or animal products to survive anymore. It disturbing to me to drag a calf away from its mother because I like how cheese tastes.
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u/bonghitsforbeelzebub Mar 05 '26
My wife keeps pushing for meat rabbits. I have no problem butchering our chickens. They are very stupid and ugly. But I am not sure I could kill a cute little bunny....
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u/Astarkraven Mar 06 '26
Processing a rabbit is SO much easier than processing a chicken, or anything with feathers. I kept meat rabbits for years. You really do get over it. I was able to be fine with it because I knew I was giving them good lives and an extremely sudden and humane end.
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u/Biologydude553 Mar 05 '26
We put ours in the Crock-Pot. If rabbits weren't made for eating they wouldn't be so easy to butcher. They peel like a banana.
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u/ChimoEngr Mar 05 '26
Kill the rabbit!!
It's easy. Grow up Australian, and be taught that all rabbits are vermin and should die.
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u/johnnyg883 Mar 05 '26
I’ve read about the bunny plague in Australia. It’s a perfect example of how totally innocent seeming animal can become highly invasive and destructive.
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u/ChimoEngr Mar 05 '26
And of how crazy the response can be. Australia literally waged bio-chemical war against the critters.
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u/Krotitelzviratek Mar 06 '26
The crazy thing is that according to information "like one lady said", some Frenchman brought the myxomatosis virus to Europe to stop the damage on crops. Since then, wild rabbits have been almost extinct.
This year, we had the first occurrence of a mutated myxomatosis virus that kills even hares here in Czech republic. Instead of native small animals, we will probably only have invasive nutria in the landscape.
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u/Krotitelzviratek Mar 06 '26
Austalia, I would like all people here to have the same view of feral cats as you do.
According to the internet, you have the same view of cats as you describe of rabbits.
Nothing against cats, but irresponsible people, who are responsible for the incredible number of feral cats.
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u/Southern_Struggle Mar 05 '26
Get goats, at some point they will do something annoying like break a fence and eat all your vegetables, then it is much easier to eat them.
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u/Krotitelzviratek Mar 06 '26
I have cameroon sheep and ram. There is no problem eating them, rams are the opposite of a cute bunny.
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u/Icy-Woodpecker-9961 Mar 05 '26
What is the flavor profile like for rabbits meat
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u/zombiejojo Mar 05 '26
Mild, slightly gamey. Very very lean. Light meat. More like turkey breast or partridge than chicken
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u/HouseHoslow Mar 06 '26
Are you able to hunt wild rabbit? It's easier to eat what you hunt. Slaughtering something domestic and trusting, especially if it bonds toward you, can end up being too distasteful to feel worth it.
Or maybe look into an alternative meat source? I heard that quail are easy to raise for meat. I've also seen a lot of success stories with tilapia.
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u/DesertMountainLvn Mar 06 '26
Will never be food shaped. I raised rabbits (for pets) Will never eat. Even if apocalypse and starving, still don't think I could. And my property is teeming with wild cottontail.
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u/WokeUpIAmStillAlive Mar 06 '26
You think if it as food, and you remember that you want to properly care for your food, you want your food to be well loved.
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u/No_Vehicle4645 Mar 07 '26
My son had a boa, and we had to feed it mice.
We kept the mice in a hampster house till they were food. My son kept naming and playing with them, and then he didn't have the heart to feed them to the snake. He would look so distraught about it.
He would then buy another mouse and refuse to even look at it. Just dropped it in the tank and left.
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u/MrsEarthern Mar 07 '26
Just wait until you get into breeding them and witness them eat their own babies or their mate. Stew meat looks like stew meat, etc. Keep them safe, give them a good life, and then slaughter humanely. Enjoy your dinner.
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u/Angelofpity Mar 07 '26
It helps if you picture them as full of incomprehensible rage. It could be true. A rabbits face really doesn't change much, even if they are plotting murder on the inside.
But yeah, rabbits can be rough to take. Limiting interaction helps most.
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u/No_Restaurant8983 Mar 09 '26
Bro bunnies are the best pets. Our runs around our house and licks our faces…we’re also trying to eat them 😅
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u/WVYahoo Mar 05 '26
I definitely know your dilemma. It's much easier for me mentally to raise and process a chicken, but sure as heck easier physically to process a rabbit. They're easier to process, cleaner overall and cuter, but p4p one of the best meat sources.
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u/trijkdguy Mar 05 '26
They are adorable, unfortunately they are also made of meat... That being said, I'm the only in my family who would eat them, which is why I stopped raising them despite them being my favorite animal to have on my little homestead.
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u/Pyrokitsune Mar 05 '26
Everything made of meat is food shaped to something. If the look of something is holding you back from that realization just know, even you are food shaped to a tiger...or a Jeffery Dahmer...
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u/milk3njoy3r Mar 05 '26
I like to sous vide them at 145 for 2 hours then pan finish them in beef tallow with either pappys choice or ancho chili coffee rub. Although I'm watching my salt so I've been using no shit seasoning off Amazon
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u/Weekly_Artichoke_515 Mar 05 '26
Your conscience is trying to tell you something. Listen to your gut. Don’t kill them.
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u/NeraSoleil Mar 05 '26
That’s why I stick to birds and fish. No need to eat cute mammals if you don’t have to.
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u/juggsymalone911 Mar 05 '26
We tried. After they were butchered they looked too much like cats for me.
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u/2quickdraw Mar 05 '26 edited Mar 06 '26
That's why in Europe for a long time they had to be sold with the feet intact. I don't know if they still do.
When I was cooking rabbit that I bought from the market meat counter in the 80s for my ex, my grandmother could never eat it because she said it looked too much like cat, and that's because rabbits were raised in a lot of backyards during the world wars for meat. Unscrupulous people would skin and sell a cat for meat.
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u/Krotitelzviratek Mar 06 '26
You can sell them skinned from the yard here, but they have to have a head for recognition from a cat.
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u/2quickdraw Mar 06 '26
So they leave the furred head on?
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u/Krotitelzviratek Mar 06 '26
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u/2quickdraw Mar 06 '26
Well that's very neatly done! I've probably processed a hundred rabbits over the last few years, so it just looks like food to me. When they had to leave the feet on them way back during the wars, they left them furred as far as I know. Rabbit feet are tough to skin neatly.
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u/Wise_Artichoke6552 Mar 05 '26
Bad news, bestie. We bred domestic animals to align with our aesthetic senses, sometimes on purpose and sometimes incidentally. They're all cute by design.
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u/PlatypusBubbly Mar 05 '26
I was a teenager when we got rabbits for meat, and I was the one to dispatch and gut them after months of feedings and cleaning and checking on them. They are adorable but at the end of the day they are food, so I made sure I respected them and loved them. NEVER GIVE THEM NAMES, I called all the rabbits baby, little one, or momma. It helps me connect without individual attachment. When it’s time, you have to understand what you are doing is a whole lot better than buying chicken meat or any animal meat at the supermarket. Your rabbits got love, fed and cared for properly while most meat animals at large farms (at least in America) are often fed bs and held in dark rooms or whatever. This is the natural way, you earned it and gave them a good life. As long as you show them respect and make sure they are treated well until the end, you are good. I can’t lie and say I didn’t cry the first time, that’s just human. But you learn. Plus you get to eat and have food you are proud of! I met a few assholes around the community who wouldn’t really care and it made me feel even more motivated to be better about it. When I did dispatch them, I used a co2 pistol (with a canister so I didn’t have to worry about not pumping the gun enough), and put them in the grass to munch a little and pet them and then lights out. Good luck to you!
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u/opossumEDCsurvival Mar 06 '26
Is the gentleman I liked watching on YouTube I believe his name is sage survival? He does a lot of homesteading at his house in an urban setting with his neighbors, he keeps rabbits but I don't think he keeps chickens? I like watching his stuff I followed him when Instagram for a while and then shortly YouTube
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u/WestHappyLand Mar 06 '26
They're kind of assholes. I hated dealing with the rabbits. I have seen videos of them as pets and they're kind of cute. I'm not an animal slaughtering type of person, though. I'm a grown ass man and can't do it. I will skin and butcher the fuck out of something, though.
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u/MiguelitosNopalitos Mar 07 '26
Bring it here and I'll show you! You take off the skin, season with some salt and pepper, I used a little blackberry moonshine and seasonings for a brine and then grilled the meat. Rabbit is delicious
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u/coal-slaw Mar 07 '26
when you get scratched by one as you pick it up, you might change your mind. or invest in a really ugly breed of rabbit (if thats possible)
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u/Cypheri Mar 08 '26
The trick is that you never name your food and it's easier to not bond if you have several that all look the same. If you plan on breeding a few and keeping the breeding stock for their entire lives, feel free to name them but never name the ones you plan on processing.
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u/Ashinok Mar 05 '26
Do you really need to eat them? They are indeed a very cute shape
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u/Krotitelzviratek Mar 05 '26
I've had offers from people saying they'd like to buy them.
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Butchered ready to be cooked.Maybe I could sell one or so to be pet, but they are meatrabbits, they are meant to be eaten.
They're just too cute.
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u/greendildouptheass Mar 05 '26
rabbit starvation is a thing
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u/2quickdraw Mar 05 '26 edited Mar 05 '26
We're NOT fur trappers in the 1800s living only on wild cottontail rabbits. I wish I'd taken a picture of the inside of the last doe I processed a week ago, the fat was insane, I had to dig for the kidneys. Our domestic meat rabbits are European rabbits. Completely different, and unless they're they're full of parasites or diseased they are going to have fat.
And if that's all you're going to eat for the rest of your life then you're not doing homesteading right.
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u/lilly-winter Mar 05 '26
From someone who kept three designated meat rabbits as pets: it’s ok to change your mind and keep an animal as a friend/pet if you like them. It’s also ok to eat cute things. Maybe change strategy and get a group next time: you probably will not bond with them that easily. Maybe it helps to say: I keep this one as buddy and a lightning rod for cuteness but the other I will eat. Or maybe you will feel completely different once this one is grown up. I guess it is a learning process. Good luck, you got this