First time ever eating rabbit....

[galanie]

I've hunted plenty. And I've butchered and eaten my own "lovingly raised" chickens. But there is just no way I can kill and eat a rabbit unless it's a wild one. Guess I'm just a weenie when it comes to domestic furries. The statement "tastes like chicken" cracks me up, though. I know the wild ones don't, but if the domestic ones do, I might have to give them a try. I mean if someone else butchered it

 

[yinepu]

bunny in the crockpot with BBQ sauce.. tomatoes, peppers and onions..

 

[oneofseven]

I'm trying to raise some New Zealands. It's kind of hard to find good quality meat breeders. At least around here.

 

[Oregon Blues]

Duplicate post (how did that happen?)

 

[Lensters]

Domestic rabbit tastes like a very good chicken. Very mild and extremely tender. Jack rabbits on the other hand are really gamey and tough.

 

[Oregon Blues]

I always wonder about the taste buds of people that think everything tastes like chicken.

Rabbit doesn't taste like chicken and it has a different texture. Much more like meat than poultry. My opinion is that rabbit is much more tasty than chicken. It's lovely mild flavored meat and nice and tender. It can be cooked with any chicken recipe or any pork recipe.

It's very good stuff and I highly recommend it. It's difficult for me to imagine anyone not liking it, because it is so mild flavored.

Oneofseven, it's difficult to find good quality meat lines of rabbits nearly everywhere in the country. Lots and lots of pets available. People throw their rabbits away nearly as often as they throw away the Easter chicks. Keep looking and something will come available.

Also, be careful to buy from someone who breeds for temperament. Some of the farms that raise meat never handle their rabbits, so don't know what the temperaments are like.

I decided on colored New Zealands because of better temperament. Drove 120 miles to buy bunnies and got there to discover their colored "New Zealands" were mutts. Half New Zealand and half American Sable. Not happy about the rabbits being misrepresented, but the parents all looked good, so I bought 2 baby does and I'm really happy with them, both growth and temperament.

I'm breeding to a Californian buck, so getting mutts anyway. If I'd been planning on breeding purebred New Zealands, I would have been really ticked off.

I will be breeding some purebred Californians. I got those from a breeder who has been breeding for decades. Her kids got into 4-H and they have the Californians to raise meat pens for the fair. Very nice rabbits. Well worth the drive to get them. I suggest that you contact the local 4-H and ask about rabbits for sale.

 

[wyoDreamer]

I never thought about checking with the local 4H club as a source for animals. Great idea.

It is starting to look like I may not be able to get the No Chicken covenants changed in the HOA, at least for next year - I will not give up!
Rabbits have come onto my radar as a source of home raised meat. They are against the rules also, but if they are quiet and out of sight, who will know?
How big of a cage do you need to raise a meat rabbit in?

 

[WhiteMountainsRanch]

It depends on the size of the rabbits, mine are Californians and therefore big (same as New Zealands, and most other meat breeds). A good rule of thumb is a 30" x 36" cage for an 8 pound rabbit. I would NOT go smaller than that but bigger is always better.

 

[Bucky182]

When I was a kid growing up my dad raised lots of rabbits. We ate them and sold them to pet shops. My youngest sister was about 8 before she figured out a chicken did not have 4 legs! LOL

 

[galanie]

Quote:
LOL!! I'm still trying to figure out why some of the store bought chickens have 2 hearts and no neck, though.