Stormcrow's Hobby Farm

[NatJ]

A friend of mine said it was much easier to dress out a rabbit than a chicken. Is that true, in your opinion?

I agree with U_Stormcrow, rabbits are MUCH easier than chickens.
(Skinning the chicken helps a little, instead of plucking, but rabbits are still easier.)

Lack of fat on rabbits also prevents them from being as common a meal due to health risks of over consumption

Health risks? You mean when people eat only protein and get sick?

The lack of fat is no problem unless you are eating ONLY rabbit. Anyone eating a vaguely normal diet is likely to get enough non-protein calories. If you fry the rabbit in fat, or serve the rabbit with rice or potatoes, or eat cereal for breakfast, or eat a sandwich for lunch, or pretty much anything else, you are fine.

(Experience: I ate rabbit regularly for years. Maybe twice a week? Certainly as often as we ate chicken, and more often than we ate any other kind of meat. We never thought about needing to do anything special with the rabbit, but we also never served a meal that was meat and nothing else.)

 

[Sally PB]

I've eaten rabbit only once, in a restaurant. It was delicious! I can't convince hubby to eat meat that doesn't come from a store. (His mother is to blame for this, I believe.)

If/when the SHTF... It's a good thing I'm an excellent shot and there are a lot of deer in the area. I just don't know anything about butchering an animal.

 

[NatJ]

I've eaten rabbit only once, in a restaurant. It was delicious! I can't convince hubby to eat meat that doesn't come from a store. (His mother is to blame for this, I believe.)

If/when the SHTF... It's a good thing I'm an excellent shot and there are a lot of deer in the area. I just don't know anything about butchering an animal.

Rabbits are actually a good mammal to practice on: much smaller and easier to handle than a deer, but the same general shape, and they come apart in about the same way. (I've done lots of rabbits, and helped with sheep, pigs, and deer-- the other ones look like oversized rabbits to me, once the head & skin & feet come off)

The most basic thing when butchering is that you remove all the parts you don't want to eat, and cut the rest up into convenient-sized pieces

 

[Molpet]

I can't convince hubby to eat meat that doesn't come from a store

Don't tell him
When I was working I brought my lunch. A friend wanted to try the stew I brought. She thought it was great and said she would buy me something from the cafeteria if I let her have it all. As she was eating she asked what kind of meat, she said it wasn't pork or beef. When I said Bambi, she spit it out and I thought she was going to barf. LOL

 

[JacinLarkwell]

I love rabbit and lamb myself. They're only for certain occasions though now that we don't raise either anymore

 

[Sally PB]

When I was working I brought my lunch. A friend wanted to try the stew I brought. She thought it was great and said she would buy me something from the cafeteria if I let her have it all. As she was eating she asked what kind of meat, she said it wasn't pork or beef. When I said Bambi, she spit it out and I thought she was going to barf.

When I was about 5, a friend of the family came for dinner and brought venison from a deer he'd shot. Steaks for the grownups, burgers for the kids. I was the youngest and my dad told me it was Rudolph (I didn't know of Bambi). They were all teasing me.

My mom lifted the top bun to put on some ketchup... there was a half a maraschino cherry on the burger. My dad said it was Rudolph's nose.

It became Family Lore. I don't recall if I ate the cherry, or the burger. My mom said I did.

I have had venison, and it too, was delicious.

 

[Iluveggers]

I wouldn’t eat deer as a child. After schooling myself on industrialized factory farming, I will eat any meat coming from an animal that lived a happy life (hunted or on a local, ethical farm). Tried lamb, it is fantastic. My husband hunts, so I’m hoping for a few deer & turkey this year. Last year he only got out a few times with his work schedule and we didn’t get anything. Eventually I’d love enough land to have a few cows to send to slaughter every year, some broiler chickens, and a couple pigs. I love goat cheese as well…we know enough butchers around us that I think it could work. Just need more land.

 

[Gigachad poultry]

I love rabbit and lamb myself. They're only for certain occasions though now that we don't raise either anymore

I like squirrel meat! In my area there's a lot of cinghiale (boar Italian) and pheasants are the other common thing people hunt! However I have a friend who breeds pheasants in the hundreds and sells them to hunting ranges.My dad loves rabbit meat so I'm thinking about possibly starting a rabbit breeding project, but with my ADHD I can never tell if this is going to be another plan I start but never finish.

 

[U_Stormcrow]

Don't tell him
When I was working I brought my lunch. A friend wanted to try the stew I brought. She thought it was great and said she would buy me something from the cafeteria if I let her have it all. As she was eating she asked what kind of meat, she said it wasn't pork or beef. When I said Bambi, she spit it out and I thought she was going to barf. LOL

Years ago, when we lived in Texas, I made rabbit for Easter. When my eldest found out, she almost spit it out. My youngest, seeing that, looked right at her, took a huge bite, and started chewing.


Kids, got to love them.

 

[Sally PB]

When my eldest found out, she almost spit it out. My youngest, seeing that, looked right at her, took a huge bite, and started chewing.

I can see this happening in my family when we were kids.