Meat rabbit? Is that a type of rabbits or you mean the rabbits will be butchered for consumption? Am I sounding weird? 😃
The cage is very spacious for just two rabbits. It looks like you really plan to have them reproduce. Won't you be putting wooden frame on the sides and every corner? I just thought the wires may deform in the long run if there are no frames to hold them.
To expound my questions above, aside from having them as pets, are there any other purpose for them? The rabbits are so cute. Got names for them?
Yes, we will be breeding rabbits for consumption. Not a weird question at all.0
The cage will be suspended from a metal frame. The frame will hold shade cloth over them in the summer to keep them cool, and a tarp over them in the winter to keep them dry (for the couple of days it rains here in Southern California).
The 'Parent' rabbits will be more like pets and will be named... the photo above is from the breeder we will be getting some of our rabbits from, but are not our rabbits; so no names have been decided yet :)
Ohhh... I never knew rabbit meat is being consumed. How does it taste? Any particular dish that their meat is used for?
Hi @macoolette :) Rabbit has a delicate, lean flavor often compared to chicken. However rabbit has its own distinctive taste of the wild called "gamey". In my experience, it is delicious stewed in wine or seared and braised with vegetables. Rabbits are 6 times more efficient in turning fodder into meat compared to beef. And they are very prolific and gentle creatures. I just love them. Having grown up with pet rabbits as well as having rabbit stewed in white wine for infrequent special occasions:) cheers and much love!
Oh my! That sounds luke worth a try... But I can't imagine eating meat from such cute creature. Or maybe I am just not used to it and it is not something common here. I wonder if anyone of those who had rabbit pet here have tried eating them...
Thanks for the clarifications. Maybe when I meet someone with rabbit, I'll convince him or her that we try cooking it. 😂
Haha, I doubt a pet owner would love the suggestion of eating their cute, little bunny rabbit.
As a matter of fact, there turn out to be countless breeds of domesticated rabbits of every description. Only a dozen or so are recommended for raising as meat. I am learning a lot in preparation, and we plan to attend a rabbit show in just a couple of weeks! I am crossing my fingers that we can bring home a lovely breeding pair or trio!
Thank you so much for your wonderful conversations both on this post and on mine!
Much love
Yes, I myself would not want my cute bunnies to be butchered if I have even just one! Waahhh, how could you eat something so cute and sweet like that? 😔
Are you and mattlovell together? Go and bring those rabbits home. 😊
Hehe, yes, @mattlovell is my dear hubby <3
I completely understand your feelings about rabbit cuteness. The thing is, we like to eat meat in my household, and the meat available in grocery stores is not raised humanely, and sometimes comes from the worst sort of factory farms that poison our environment. We researched extensively and learned that rabbits bred for meat production are the best at turning fodder into meat, fur, and high quality manure. They are domesticated from nature's prey animal. Rabbits are at the bottom of the food chain, and evolved to produce many litters per year to compensate. Our goal is to treat them with the utmost of love, organic homeraised food, and good exercise, and they will in turn give us ethical meat and enrich our garden soil. We are also thinking ahead in case of a major disaster, we will be able to eat the vegs, eggs, and rabbits we grow ourselves.
It is hard to think of slaughter day. Luckily, @mattlovell has experience from going hunting with his father and dressing wild rabbits they shot. All animals are cute and adorable sentient beings...cows, pigs, chickens, lambs, etc. I think bunnies may seem like kitty cats or puppies in a place where they are absent as wild food for everything from hawks and snakes to coyotes and big cats. The mother and father rabbits will be kept as pets and loved until they die of old age. The meat litters will be dispatched at just 10 weeks old, 10 weeks of kindness and fun times playing on the grass. We will be in partnership with them. Ecosystems have plants, herbivores, carnivores, and decomposers.
Much love and thanks for helping me organize my thoughts with your insightful comments!