# How much are you paying for rabbit?



## Rhena (Jan 30, 2009)

I guess the title says it all...!

Thanks!


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## ahlamarana (Sep 22, 2008)

$1.75/lb from a local meat rabbit farmer. Or free, for the wild stuff!


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## Rhena (Jan 30, 2009)

That seems like a good price. Is that ground or whole rabbits? (skinned? gutted?)

Ha! Maybe I should wait for it to warm up a little and the dog will catch her own meal in the backyard!


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## kleinenHain (Sep 20, 2007)

My husband is a hunter so we get a lot free but I'm going to be breeding my own along with chickens as well..


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## ahlamarana (Sep 22, 2008)

> Originally Posted By: RhenaThat seems like a good price. Is that ground or whole rabbits? (skinned? gutted?)


When I first started getting them from him they were fully cleaned (no head/feet/guts/skin), but now I get them completely intact. 

I so wish I had the room to raise my own rabbits!


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## Rhena (Jan 30, 2009)

Sure, Klenien, rub it in.... rub it in.....


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## Rhena (Jan 30, 2009)

Sarah,

Do you give the whole thing to your dog, then?

Thanks!


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## kleinenHain (Sep 20, 2007)

Sorry didnt mean it that way LOL

You can't find rabbit here to buy I guess its because theres so many hunters in this area?


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## Rhena (Jan 30, 2009)

Oh, no... I was just kidding around. Just totally jealous that you have the space and resources for both rabbits and chickens!


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## Laura H. (Feb 23, 2009)

Is rabbit better than chicken?

Just wondering, as I'm looking to switch my boys to raw in the not too distant future.

After a sore left back muscle from lugging 45 lb. bag of dog food out of car yesterday.


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## Little Red (Jan 10, 2009)

> Originally Posted By: LaraIs rabbit better than chicken?
> 
> Just wondering, as I'm looking to switch my boys to raw in the not too distant future.
> 
> After a sore left back muscle from lugging 45 lb. bag of dog food out of car yesterday.


Just wait until you start lugging in hanks of frozen meats! LOL Well, the fact that we live on a hillside and have to hike up a century old uneven staircase adds to the agility and endurance test.


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## Laura H. (Feb 23, 2009)

Oh my aching back LOL

I try to get as much stuff done during the day so DH doesn't have to do it when he gets home from work. So that includes lugging stuff too heavy for me


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## Lauri & The Gang (Jun 28, 2001)

Rabbit isn't _better_ than chicken - it's just different from chicken.

Rabbit is leaner than chicken, so it's good for dogs that need to lose weight.

But it's always a good idea to get as mnay protein sources in your dogs diet as you can.

As for prices, I can get whole frozen male rabbits for $1.35 / lb from a local rabbitry.


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## ahlamarana (Sep 22, 2008)

> Originally Posted By: RhenaSarah,
> 
> Do you give the whole thing to your dog, then?
> 
> Thanks!


I hack them into chunks 'cause they're really big rabbits, but I do give the skin and guts and all







. 

If I were to raise my own rabbits, I would not grow them that big so I could feed a whole rabbit as a meal.



> Originally Posted By: LaraIs rabbit better than chicken?


IMO, it depends on how it's raised. Your average mass-produced grocery store chicken is no comparison to free-range chicken or rabbit. I also think rabbit is a nicer meat to handle (I find chicken slimy and kinda gross), and closer to the prey a wild canine would eat because you can feed the whole thing. Just my opinion, though. I do feed lots of store-bought chicken since it's cheap.

I have been told to be wary of tapeworms when feeding wild rabbit, but in 2 years they haven't had any.











> Originally Posted By: little redJust wait until you start lugging in hanks of frozen meats! LOL Well, the fact that we live on a hillside and have to hike up a century old uneven staircase adds to the agility and endurance test.


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## Northof60 (Feb 15, 2009)

I was wondering about any worms etc. My cat (adopted from the SPCA here) passed a 2 foot long tapeworn just after we got her. I would not want to see that again. It was horrible.


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## Laura H. (Feb 23, 2009)

When we lived in Ohio Dakota (lab) was passing those long worms in his poop.

I assumed he had eaten something wild.

But nope, the vet said that kind of worm came from ingesting a flea, GROSS, and he was on flea meds.

Luckily a couple doses of pills did the trick.


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## Lauri & The Gang (Jun 28, 2001)

The tapeworms will come from the fleas the dog ingests along with the wild rabbit.

Wild rabbits are walking, I mean hopping flea factories!!

During the winter especially, if my guys catch a rabbit I will find fleas on them when they come back in the house.


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## ahlamarana (Sep 22, 2008)

Lauri, does freezing rabbit kill the fleas? I have heard conflicting things. I usually freeze wild rabbit for a month or so before feeding it.


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## Lauri & The Gang (Jun 28, 2001)

> Originally Posted By: RhenaOh, no... I was just kidding around. Just totally jealous that you have the space and resources for both rabbits and chickens!


Raising rabbits just for feeding YOUR dog really isn't that hard. You simply need a hutch with enough room for two adult rabbits and then another hutch with room to grow out the kits (baby bunnies).

You could go with something really simple:










Or really fancy:










You only need two rabbits







to start.


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## Laura H. (Feb 23, 2009)

I'd probably make pets of the rabbits first, sigh.

There would go my "raising rabbits for food for the dogs" venture


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## Lauri & The Gang (Jun 28, 2001)

> Originally Posted By: LaraI'd probably make pets of the rabbits first, sigh.
> 
> There would go my "raising rabbits for food for the dogs" venture


Trust me - you will NOT make pets of meat rabbits.

They are big and mean!


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## Laura H. (Feb 23, 2009)

> Originally Posted By: Lauri & The Gang
> 
> 
> > Originally Posted By: LaraI'd probably make pets of the rabbits first, sigh.
> ...


Thanks for that, I think the closest I've been to a domesticated rabbit is at the county fairs, when I go with my brother we have to look at every single one (he wuvs wabbits)


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## drkcloud4u (Jan 7, 2006)

> Originally Posted By: Lauri & The GangThe tapeworms will come from the fleas the dog ingests along with the wild rabbit.
> 
> Wild rabbits are walking, I mean hopping flea factories!!
> 
> During the winter especially, if my guys catch a rabbit I will find fleas on them when they come back in the house.


Does that still matter if they have been skinned & gutted & frozen?

We've got a huge rabbit problem in my neighborhood--I fear for our veggie garden this year!


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## Little Red (Jan 10, 2009)

> Originally Posted By: drkcloud4u
> 
> We've got a huge rabbit problem in my neighborhood--I fear for our veggie garden this year!


Me too, PM me if you come up with a way to discourage them from your garden. All my new sprouts now have been decapitated.


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## Laura H. (Feb 23, 2009)

> Originally Posted By: drkcloud4u
> 
> 
> > Originally Posted By: Lauri & The GangThe tapeworms will come from the fleas the dog ingests along with the wild rabbit.
> ...


The cold, I would think, would kill the fleas. Just speculation, I don't think they could go dormant for that long of time.


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## UConnGSD (May 19, 2008)

> Originally Posted By: Lauri & The Gang
> 
> 
> > Originally Posted By: RhenaOh, no... I was just kidding around. Just totally jealous that you have the space and resources for both rabbits and chickens!
> ...


That's really interesting!! Talk about fresh food! But do you have to kill the rabbits before you give it to the pooch? I don't have the stomach for that! On the other hand, imagine letting the dog get his own food, esp in a suburban neighborhood! I can see the horrified looks of the neighbors and then the kids running indoors screaming and that too with Easter just round the corner! The reactions would be kind of funny to watch if you have a warped sense of humor like me!


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## Lauri & The Gang (Jun 28, 2001)

> Quote:But do you have to kill the rabbits before you give it to the pooch?


Well, it would be more humane to dispatch the bun before letting the dogs have it.

Breaking the rabbits neck is the fastest and most humane way to dispatch it.


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## UConnGSD (May 19, 2008)

> Originally Posted By: Lauri & The Gang
> 
> Well, it would be more humane to dispatch the bun before letting the dogs have it.
> 
> Breaking the rabbits neck is the fastest and most humane way to dispatch it.


All kidding aside, that has to be so hard to do the first few times. I mean I can't see myself doing it even though I am non-vegetarian and enjoy all the forms of meat that people normally eat. If somebody asked me to do it, I would literally run screaming in the opposite direction.


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## onyx'girl (May 18, 2007)

My DH was just talking about getting new chickens as ours aren't laying as much now that they are older. I reminded him that they are moulting. Wait and see what happens after they feather out. My daughter got sooo upset thinking of their outcome. They are not named, not pets at all. I can't imagine what she would do if we had bunnies. I know I could not cull anything. I let spiders live or run them outside if I can catch them in a tissue. Ticks, well, they get flushed but that is about all I kill...


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