Quail_Antwerp: Words from the Barnyard...

[TanksHill]

Congrats on all the success!!! it is great to hear about your sales and kits and everything you have accomplished. It gives me hope!!!

quail, can I ask who processes your rabbits? You or dh? How long does it take compared to a hen? Just wondering. g

 

[Quail_Antwerp]

My DH will process the rabbits when the time comes...I'll cook 'em. Not sure how it compares to processing a hen, as I've never processed a hen, but since he'll be skinning the rabbit and not plucking it, I am going to assume the rabbit will be faster????

 

[Farmfresh]

I have processed LOTS of each.

The rabbit is by far faster and easier to clean than the hen Tank.

You first kill the rabbit. I am a neck breaker (...sorry for you squeamish folks!), then you remove the head (I use sharp kitchen shears) and hang the bunny by the back legs to let it drain a while.

You next (again with scissors) clip the skin around each leg at the hock and then split the bunny from hock to hock, clipping the tail off from under the skin and cutting around the potty parts.

When this is done you simply pull the skin down towards the head end - turning it inside out as you go. Pull gently on the stomach side so nothing in the abdomen tears open.

When you get to the bottom of the feet you simply cut off feet and all from inside of the skin. Then I remove back legs.

Finally you carefully split the bunny on the center line of the stomach and remove insides. Be careful to not clip any intestines! Also remove potty parts.

Now simply wash well. (Grandma had me soak in salted ice water for several minutes to drain the rest of the blood). Ready to eat.

If you are freezing them - package them for freezing and refrigerate for two days (hang time), before freezing for a tender end product.

About twice the speed of processing a chicken - no plucking and even if you skin a chicken it is still more work.

Hope this does not gross out too many of you and helps you Tank.

 

[Quail_Antwerp]

Oh it helps me!!!!!! You just made my mouth water for fresh rabbit!!!!!

 

[keljonma]

I have processed LOTS of each.

The rabbit is by far faster and easier to clean than the hen Tank.

You first kill the rabbit. I am a neck breaker (...sorry for you squeamish folks!), then you remove the head (I use sharp kitchen shears) and hang the bunny by the back legs to let it drain a while.

You next (again with scissors) clip the skin around each leg at the hock and then split the bunny from hock to hock, clipping the tail off from under the skin and cutting around the potty parts.

When this is done you simply pull the skin down towards the head end - turning it inside out as you go. Pull gently on the stomach side so nothing in the abdomen tears open.

When you get to the bottom of the feet you simply cut off feet and all from inside of the skin. Then I remove back legs.

Finally you carefully split the bunny on the center line of the stomach and remove insides. Be careful to not clip any intestines! Also remove potty parts.

Now simply wash well. (Grandma had me soak in salted ice water for several minutes to drain the rest of the blood). Ready to eat.

If you are freezing them - package them for freezing and refrigerate for two days (hang time), before freezing for a tender end product.

About twice the speed of processing a chicken - no plucking and even if you skin a chicken it is still more work.

Hope this does not gross out too many of you and helps you Tank.

This is pretty much the procedure in the Readers' Digest book, Back To Basics. Then they discuss processing the hide.

 

[Farmfresh]

A note about processing the hides.

When the rabbit is best for a fryer (young bunny) the hide is actually too thin to make a good tanning. When the rabbit is mature (like with a cull doe) the meat requires long moist cooking, since it is much tougher, but that is the hide best for tanning.

I tanned my first rabbit hides last fall when I tanned a couple of sheep hides. (Also a first for me) They turned out great, but I still have not made anything out of them.

 

[BeccaOH]

The BO hen I bought from Aly last October is now a brooding hen. I think she has 5-6 eggs under her, and I hope to slip 2 guinea eggs under her tonight.

My roo was frostbit pretty bad this past winter, but I have one of his fertile eggs developing in my incubator right now. He seems be back in full form.

Still praying from you, Aly.

 

[Quail_Antwerp]

My morning has been busy. I got up, fed watered all the animals, had some chick and kit losses, I'm guessing because it dropped to 30 degrees. Both of my buff does lost 2 kits over night. They had managed to wander to the opposite side of their boxes out of Mama's nest of hair and died from exposure. My chicks were 2 months old, fully feathered, and I think they got squished from other chicks piling on them.

DH, my nephew, and I loaded up Nan and Elroy, and as I type this they are on their way to the auction with them.

I spoke with the prosecuting attorney this morning regarding SIL's personal belongings and her dog. Prosecuting attorney told me if i don't hear from her or someone from the agency that took her, to rehome the dog ASAP and if no one comes for her personal stuff in 15 days then it is considered abandoned property and it becomes mine to do what I want with. He then told me to call whom ever at the office her case manager or whomever is through and leave a message telling them as such.

So I did. I told them if I don't hear from her today, her dog is going to a new home. I said if no one calls me to tell me what to do with her stuff, or tell me when someone is coming to get her stuff, then it will be hauled out. I told them she has 15 days for the stuff, but TODAY for the dog. I talked to the woman whom I first spoke with, who had worked with me to get the counseling, etc. and doctors all in place for SIL before she came up from TN. She is just as at a loss as I am. She cannot understand why no one is telling us anything. I told her it's been 14 years of us trying to help SIL and I am done. Her only option at this point is to get her stuff. She cannot come back.

This woman was so kind about it, so very nice, she agreed, said sometimes you just have to say enough is enough and completely cut yourself off from the person. I told her we are all to that point, DH, me, and her son. I told her she left without telling her 3 year old granddaughter goodbye. Then I broke down and cried. I didn't mean to, but I told her it really hurts when you really do care about the person, you love them, and want what's best for them, but when they pull a stunt like this, it's like a slap in the face. She is a bit upset, too, because she has no clue why SIL was taken/helped from the home.

Anyhoo....my original plan was to go to Meyers today, but I didn't want DH to have to rush to get back from the auction barn. So I'm going tomorrow, but DH and Nephew are going to try to fix my Jeep today so that I can drive myself instead of mom taking me. It just needs a sensor replaced, and then it's fine.

Reason I don't want mom to take me is I don't want to look at her right now. She excused my brother for shooting my DD! She said it wasn't intentional (even though ALL of my kids said they saw him aim) and he said he didn't know it would happen because he didn't know the gun was cocked....UM HELLO HOW STUPID DO YOU THINK I AM?

So anyway, DH and I are pretty steamed about that, and are no longer allowing our kids to associate with grandma and grandpa. It is quite upsetting because if my kids do something that just hurts her kids feelings, or if they touch my brothers Legos (heaven forbid!) my mom wants to blast them into next week. Protecting my kids is far more important to me than seeing my mother.

Anyhoo...I've eggs to ship out today so I need to get on it. Have a grand day ya'll!!

 

[Quail_Antwerp]

The BO hen I bought from Aly last October is now a brooding hen. I think she has 5-6 eggs under her, and I hope to slip 2 guinea eggs under her tonight.

My roo was frostbit pretty bad this past winter, but I have one of his fertile eggs developing in my incubator right now. He seems be back in full form.

Still praying from you, Aly.

That's great, Becky!! You'll have to let me know how she does with the guinea eggs!

I've 3 broodies now, 2 sizzles and one silkie. They are sitting on mutt eggs.

 

[jfarms]

I agree with you 100 percent Aly... You got to protect your children. Maybe she will learn from this.. Sorry to hear about SIL and the loss of chicks and kits.. thinking of you