Just curious who else is living super frugal

[LazyQ]

"Pigeon just doesn't sound good, but squab? Hmmmm"

Same thing. no different than eating a dove or quail or wood cock or snipe

 

[kuntrygirl]

I take advantage of sales as well.  I've spent $70 and more at a crack and was glad in the end that I had.  I prefer to grind my own hamburger so I use a fair bit of it for that.  I make stewing beef out of tougher (cheaper) cuts because I cook it in the pressure cooker, which tenderizes it.  I also can quite a bit.  Of course, if you have the ability to hunt and or grow your own, you can further reduce costs, but we don't all have that option.  

We're working on getting some meat rabbits which should help trim the budget some, but it's not "free" since you do have to feed them.  The meat is denser, leaner and much lower in cholesterol than anything on the market.  So, when you take all that into account, I think it's worth it, in terms of both money and health.

We have been thinking of meat rabbits too.  I am attracted to that idea because it seems to me that the rabbit diet isn’t as fussy as the diet that chickens need – or so it seems…. Much of what rabbits eat can be grown locally, and it doesn’t seem to require as much processing.  I find that the cost of chicken feed is quite high and that expense offsets what we save by butchering our own.  Both DW and I can remember our grandparents having chickens, and we don’t remember ever seeing bags of layer’s pellets lying around their home.  I get this troubling feeling that we are doing something wrong in this regard. DW is determined to grow our own chicken feed, but even still, I don’t remember seeing that much fuss over a flock of chickens! 
    For a rabbit breed, I was looking at American Chinchilla Rabbits, but the Californian and New Zealand breeds seem to be the most available where I live.  The idea of getting a meal and a pelt seems like a good deal.  Tanning a pelt is something I have never done, but it might be an interesting thing to learn.

I have Californians and New Zealands as meat rabbits. Best meat ever.

 

[DennisK]

I have Californians and New Zealands as meat rabbits. Best meat ever.

I hear that rabbit tastes like chicken - is that true? What are you feeding your rabbits? DW and I have an area planned for the rabbit hutches, but we haven't begun building yet ... so many projects going!

 

[mickey328]

I've never actually had domestic rabbit...just the wild ones Grandpa used to snare. They were scrumptious! As I understand it, the domestic ones are similar to chicken, but are the lowest cholesterol meat available. The meat can be used in any way you would use chicken, though from older rabbits, it gets tougher and mostly suitable for stews.

I'd welcome any advice from experienced rabbit keepers...we're still in the "fact finding" and prepping stage of this particular journey

 

[MamaRoo]

I'd welcome any advice from experienced rabbit keepers...we're still in the "fact finding" and prepping stage of this particular journey

Yes, please. I'm also contemplating the idea. Any info at all is good.

 

[kuntrygirl]

I have Californians and New Zealands as meat rabbits. Best meat ever.

  I hear that rabbit tastes like chicken - is that true?  What are you feeding your rabbits? DW and I have an area planned for the rabbit hutches, but we haven't begun building yet ... so many projects going!

Weeeeeeeeelllllllll, I would have to say that rabbit doesn't taste like chicken. I can't describe the taste but it's not the same. I feed mine a pellet that I get from a local feed store. I have mine in my rabbit house. Here are some pics of a few of my rabbits and my set up.

 

[kuntrygirl]

I've never actually had domestic rabbit...just the wild ones Grandpa used to snare.  They were scrumptious!  As I understand it, the domestic ones are similar to chicken, but are the lowest cholesterol meat available.  The meat can be used in any way you would use chicken, though from older rabbits, it gets tougher and mostly suitable for stews.

I'd welcome any advice from experienced rabbit keepers...we're still in the "fact finding" and prepping stage of this particular journey

I have heard the same thing about the lowest cholesterol meat.

We always do rabbit stews. However, I am thinking about BBQ rabbit next time.

 

[DennisK]

We have a gazillion wild cottontails out here. A few months back, we found one in our garden; so I shot it. Planning to raise rabbits for meat, DW and I butchered it to see if we liked the meat, but we noticed its liver had white spots on it; so it never got beyond the butchering stage. I understand you should be careful because of what they call rabbit fever. Is that something we will need to worry about from our domesticated rabbits? Do you need to rest the meat after butchering it?

 

[kuntrygirl]

I mentioned this many many posts ago but will mention this again. I find jackpots when I buy that day's expired products. This weekend I went to a local grocery store and there were 6 gallons of Organic Milk that were going to expire on that day. They were marked down from $6.00 a gallon to $1.00 a gallon. I bought all 6 gallons for only $6.00 total. I gave half of them to my older neighbor who is on a fixed income. I froze 2 gallons and put 1 in the fridge. I buy a lot of day of expiration foods that are still good. The store is just trying to get rid of them but at the same time, they want to make a few dollars. This store will also have things like salsa, sour cream and other dairy products for $0.25 to $0.75. I always cash in on them. If you find a product that will expire on that day or the next day, just find the manager and let him know and ask him if you can get a discount. You will be surprised at the discounts he may give you.

 

[mickey328]

Our stores don't have sales like that The best we see is on the expired rack and that's basically just baked goods. Not sure what they do with dairy things...I never see anything on the shelves that doesn't have at least a week left.