Turning the tables on Predators? ** don't read if you're squeamish

[HLAC]

Raccoons are very wormy critters, I'd freeze them for a least a month or cook them before feeding them to my animals. Wear gloves when handling them.

For human consumption, dress them out like any other small game. (I 'case' skinned my 'coons but then I was trapping them primarily for the hides, meat was just a by-product.) I prefered to cut off all the fat.

It's actually decent meat but after my college course, where we studied the parasites they carried, it's hard for me to work up an appetite for one anymore.

-Christine

 

[Le Canard de Barbarie]

Quote:
Off Topic - After reading some of your earlier posts, my puppy now eats Diamond Naturals lamb and rice. This is the same group that manufactures Taste of the Wild

 

[sparkles2307]

We burn predator carcasses.

 

[mmtillman]

Quote:
Well...darn...so wish I had not seen this....I hunt and we eat squirrels, rabbits and deer. ..... and if a coon hunter in my area has a coon or if I catch on in my live trap, we are more then happy to cook it ...my grandsons are country boys thru and thru ...so raccoon meat is a treat to them !! How do I know if a coon or squirrel is wormy?? Can you see them?? I just look at the meat ...if it looks ok I figure it is.....should I be more cautious when preparing this meat for the kids and I ???

 

[HLAC]

mmtillman,
The worms that creep me out are the raccoon roundworms (baylisascaris). They are in the GI tract of the animal.
To get infected by them you need to eat the worm's eggs. Once hatched the larvae will migrate, some to your eyes where they will eat tracks around on your cornea, some to your brain and eat tracks around in your brain.

Really pretty uncool.

On the upside, just handling a dead raccoon will only give you a tiny chance of getting viable eggs on you. (the eggs need time from when they are shed to when they become infectious. However a raccoon can shed tens of millions of eggs a day) And then, you'd still need to put them in your mouth somehow. Usually, infections are caught from handling (or inhaling) raccoon poop. The eggs can remain viable for years. Something to think about when cleaning up coon poop.

I've handled hundreds of 'coons and eaten my share and I can still see and my brain still seems to function*... so it's really a rarity.. but it still creeps me out.




* For the most part... LOL. That reminds me of a Jack Handy qoute.

 

[gway2008]

Quote:
OMG! I nearly died when I read this... How in heavens name do you know if you have these worms or not??????? And if you do, how do you get rid of them? Do only coons carry this kind of worm?

 

[Ken H]

First of all,no offense, I think drownding them is,well kinda cruel. I shoot em in the head and they're dead instantly(high powered pellet gun). Aside from that, skin em,gut em, and a good hot wood fire to boil them in. If you start to get to much for your chickens to eat you might cut them into thin strips and dry them in the hot sun. In winter when the supply gets scarce, boil the dried meat and feed your flock with summer's bounty. Myself, I eat the coons and tan most the hides I get. Hope you can figure out a solution. you could always get a dog. It would gladly eat anything you don't eat yourself and maybe keep away some of the pests.

 

[HLAC]

Here's a link about the worms: http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dpd/parasites/baylisascaris/factsht_baylisascaris.htm

I don't want to do anymore thread hijacking.

 

[Nifty-Chicken]

Black Soldier Fly Larvae! Check out this video of them eating both raw and cooked fish:

and of course a hamburger:

 

[wannabe_goatmom]

I have a book titled COUNTRY WISDOM AND KNOW-HOW: EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW TO LIVE OFF THE LAND From the editors of Storey Books. It doesn't really have a step by step lesson on cleaning the meat but it says that you should skin the animal and remove any fat because the fat will leave a strong flavor on the meat. It says after skinning and removing the fat to cut the abdomen and remove the entrails, being careful not to burst the bile sac. After this save the heart and liver and wrap the carcass in a damp towel and refrigerate for 1 to 4 days, the older the animal the longer you age it.
For those of you wondering, here is a recipe from the same book.

ROAST RACCOON
1 Raccoon, cleaned and cut up
1/2 Cup flour
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1/4 Cup cooking oil
2 medium onions, peeled and sliced
2 bay leaves

Dredge the meaty pieces in flour that has been seasoned with the salt and pepper. Brown pieces on both sides in a heavy skillet. Pour off excess oil. Add onions and bay leaves and cover. Bake at 350 for 2 hours. Simmer bony pieces in water to cover until tender. Strain and season the broth, then use it to make gravy.

Happy eating