Some rabbit facts, personally number 15 is a great fact;)

Rabbit Facts
1 Cholesterol level in rabbit meat is much lower than chicken, turkey, beef, pork. (Alabama A & M University 1989)



2 Rabbit is lower in % of fat than chicken, turkey, beef, and pork. (U S D A circular # 549)

 

3 Unsaturated fatty acids is 63% of total fatty acids. ( Dr Reo)

 

4 Rabbit is highest in protein%. (U S D A circular # 549)

 

5 The office of home economics, state relations of the U S Department of Agriculture has made extensive test and have stated that domestic rabbit meat is the most nutritious meat known to man.

 

6 Rabbit meat is seasonal any month of the year and is especially recommended during the hot summer months, as it does not contain the heating properties of most all other meats.

 
7 Rabbit meat has been used and is suitable for special diets, such as those for heart disease patients, diets for the aged, low sodium diets, weight reduction diets, ect. ( Rabbit production Cheek Patton Templeton) Of course this is between you and your doctor. We do not make any recommendations of this type because we are not qualified.

 

8 Rabbit has 795 calories per pound. Chicken 810, Veal 840, Turkey 1190, Lamb 1420, Beef 1440, Pork 2050. ( U S D A circular # 549 )

 

9 A doe rabbit that weighs 10 pounds can produce 320 pounds of meat in a year. !!! WOW !!!. This is more than a cow and it takes 2 acres of land to raise a cow.

 

10 Rabbits will produce 6 pounds of meat on the same feed and water as a cow will produce 1 pound of meat on the same feed and water.

 

11 Baby rabbits feed of mothers milk so rich that they can double their weight in 6 short days as compared to a pig at 14 days, calves 47 days, and humans 160 days.

 

12 Our rabbits are fed a special blend of 40% alfalfa hay and 60% grain( oats, wheat, barley, sougram, soybean, ect ) that is made into a pelleted feed.

 

13 Rabbits are raised up off the ground and is one of the cleanest meat.

 

14 Rabbits are among the most productive of domestic livestock.

 

15 It was decreed by law in the Roman Empire that all young maidens be fed rabbit meat because it would make them more beautiful and more willing.

 

16 The first recorded rabbitry husbandry was in early Roman times, Where rabbits were kept in walled rabbit gardens for food. This saved waste over bigger animals because the rabbit was all eaten. there was no refrigeration.

 

17 Sailing vessels distributed rabbits on islands in various sea lanes to be used as a source of food by sailors.

 

18 In 1859 a single pair of rabbits was released in Victoria, Australia, and in 30 years gave rise to an estimated 20 million rabbits.

 

19 As the worlds human population grows there will be less land and water to raise food. The rabbit will play a more increasing role in this supply. Rabbits can and do grow well on food items tha do not compete with food items.grown for human food.

 

20 Rabbits lend themselves to both small and large scale production.

 

21 France is the world's largest producer and consumer of rabbit meat. In Hungary there are rabbitries with over 10,000 does producing rabbits for export to Italy.

 

22 Rabbit meat is all white meat.

 

23 Rabbit was the number 1 Export item of Red China.

 

24 Rabbit meat compares very favorably to veal at half the price.

 

25 Our rabbits are not just a rabbit. They are a special breed developed over 28 years of selective breeding by computer. They have more meat and less bone. 26 The combination of the best sanitation and special hand processing technics gives us a much longer fresh shelf life than our competition.

 

27 Rabbits are known to be used for meat as far back as 1500BC

 

28.Some people use the heat from the rabbit's ears to heat green houses

 

29. Taken from the Domestic Rabbit magazine from the early 1990's rabbit manure

has the following percentages of dry material.

2.20% Nitrogen

.87% Phosphorus

2.30% Potassium

.36% Sulfur

1.26% Calcium

.40% Magnesium

 

Piet, you forgot fact #30!

30. People who raise rabbit are forward thinking, imaginative and innovative.

Schipperkesue wrote:Piet, you forgot fact #30!

30. People who raise rabbit are forward thinking, imaginative and innovative.

. So true, you are right i forgot about that one!

I would love to try it ,but the last time I did I had issues ! It would seem that my mind was telling me that I was eating fur and I couldn't get the taste and thought out of my mind ? I realize that it's all in my head as it is and I would love to give it a try ........but my wife would never eat it .Great facts though ! I was always told that if I was lost in the bush and lived off of rabbit meat ( wild ) that I would die anyways due to them haveing no protein to sustain me ?? might be a lie ????

prairie dog wrote:I would love to try it ,but the last time I did I had issues ! It would seem that my mind was telling me that I was eating fur and I couldn't get the taste and thought out of my mind ? I realize that it's all in my head as it is and I would love to give it a try ........but my wife would never eat it .Great facts though ! I was always told that if I was lost in the bush and lived off of rabbit meat ( wild ) that I would die anyways due to them haveing no protein to sustain me ?? might be a lie ????

not enough fat to survive, lots of protein. Domesticated rabbits are different and will have fat.

prairie dog wrote:I would love to try it ,but the last time I did I had issues ! It would seem that my mind was telling me that I was eating fur and I couldn't get the taste and thought out of my mind ? I realize that it's all in my head as it is and I would love to give it a try ........but my wife would never eat it .Great facts though ! I was always told that if I was lost in the bush and lived off of rabbit meat ( wild ) that I would die anyways due to them haveing no protein to sustain me ?? might be a lie ????

Prairie dog,why not change the texture?

I have converted a lot of non rabbit eaters by serving them ground rabbit. Spicy rabbit tacos are a good choice. A lot of people will not eat rabbit on the bone. Serving deboned rabbit is another good choice, but ground rabbit makes people think of hamburger and helps them get past that mental block.

So, are you just going to let Piets comment about #15 slide...are you.....are you????

prairie dog wrote:I would love to try it ,but the last time I did I had issues ! It would seem that my mind was telling me that I was eating fur and I couldn't get the taste and thought out of my mind ? I realize that it's all in my head as it is and I would love to give it a try ........but my wife would never eat it .Great facts though ! I was always told that if I was lost in the bush and lived off of rabbit meat ( wild ) that I would die anyways due to them haveing no protein to sustain me ?? might be a lie ????

The problem is that rabbits are too lean to survive off alone! It is suggested that you would get a protein sickness! However, in my case, I'd be just fine! I think I have enough voluptuous reserves to last me awhile.

coopslave wrote:So, are you just going to let Piets comment about #15 slide...are you.....are you????

Being an avid rabbit consumer, I must say yes! I agree with it entirely.

Dark Wing Duck wrote:

prairie dog wrote:I would love to try it ,but the last time I did I had issues ! It would seem that my mind was telling me that I was eating fur and I couldn't get the taste and thought out of my mind ? I realize that it's all in my head as it is and I would love to give it a try ........but my wife would never eat it .Great facts though ! I was always told that if I was lost in the bush and lived off of rabbit meat ( wild ) that I would die anyways due to them haveing no protein to sustain me ?? might be a lie ????

The problem is that rabbits are too lean to survive off alone! It is suggested that you would get a protein sickness! However, in my case, I'd be just fine! I think I have enough voluptuous reserves to last me awhile.

and also wild rabbit and domesticated rabbits are two different meats! Like a russian wild boar or the ones we breed in our warm commercial barns, same animals, different meat. Wild rabbit is also a darker meat and they exersice more off course running away from coyotes etc. our lazy domesticated rabbits grow bigger and thicker, work less hard and are more tender and tastier;)

Dark Wing Duck wrote:

prairie dog wrote:I would love to try it ,but the last time I did I had issues ! It would seem that my mind was telling me that I was eating fur and I couldn't get the taste and thought out of my mind ? I realize that it's all in my head as it is and I would love to give it a try ........but my wife would never eat it .Great facts though ! I was always told that if I was lost in the bush and lived off of rabbit meat ( wild ) that I would die anyways due to them haveing no protein to sustain me ?? might be a lie ????

The problem is that rabbits are too lean to survive off alone! It is suggested that you would get a protein sickness! However, in my case, I'd be just fine! I think I have enough voluptuous reserves to last me awhile.

this is an idea often talked about, but as was mentioned, domestic rabbits and wild ones are very different and we are talking about a person consuming ONLY rabbit (wild) for weeks on end for the person to expereince any kind of harm due to an overage of protein in their system. it's a little fact that gets WAY too much attention considering how far away it is from any kind of reality.

#15 is a fact indeed. take a look at my wife...... and the fact we have five kids....

Brilliant!
9 and 10 are the most interesting.

15....

Might have to get a few Flemish then and give it a try ? ....but my wife will never eat it !

Rabbit is the best! We used to get it from an elderly gentleman at the Farmer's Market. Alas, I haven't seen him there for some time. These days, I don't get it often enough to suit me. My wife makes incredible meat pies and they are that much better on the years we manage to find rabbit.

We used to raise rabbits for meat when I was a child. We started with one doe and one buck and was soon flooded with bunnies. Never any shortage of meat when we had bunnies around. We loved sweet and sour rabbit and used it a lot in a local french acadien dish called "rappiere". Delicious!

Wow, still keep looking at the rabbits in the avatar, Piet. Were they photoshopped, smiling that big smile, honestly, they aren't really that big are they? Still might have to get some monster rabbits from you one day, one fine day. Have a most incredibly wonderful day to us all, CynthiaM.

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I am always amazed at the speed that ducks grow!

Unfortunately they do not stack up to rabbits as to the leanness of their meat, but I understand the cooking with duck fat is something special.

Yes baby ducks are amazing growers, but need heat and are messy:( I love eating duck though.
As far as my rabbits go, yes they are 18lbs and higher, one doe currently sitting at 22.5 lbs. I breed to keep up help preserve the breed and show. Many Flemish are on Kijiji and such and are almost always advertised as meat rabbits, those are junk rabbits and are not even near the real Flemish and will never make it past the judge without being taken off the showtable immediately due to undersize and lack of breed type!!!
Now, the Flemish are often bashed for their "heavy bone" by the meat industry people and I find that it does not make a huge difference, yes the commercial types of rabbits have thinner bones and dress out better. But Flemish should have big bones and strong legs!! The FG's are comparable to the Jersey Giants, the are the biggest and should have good bone to support their weight and be in balance, showing nobility and strength. A real show rabbit, the meat or commercial end of it is really a far 2nd trait of them. There are far better meat rabbits out there and I never suggest getting into Flemish for the purpose of meat. Get new Zealand's or Californians, cross them with a Flemish if you wish and those will be great meat animals. My personal opinion is that I like the Flemish also for meat purpose, because I don't have to butcher at 6 weeks, I can wait longer and do it when convenient for me and not have to worry about getting too much fat on the animal, which is the case with commercial meat rabbits. When they need to be butchered, you cannot let them get past their prime age very long or they will accumulate a lot of fat.

I put a lot of rabbit in the freezer every year and make sausage (my favorite) I only keep a select few rabbits and will only sell off those that I like for myself. When I get asked to sell stock for meat, I simply don't because they expect to pay meat prices. In that case you can take your pick out of the freezer and pay 5 dollars a pound dressed out:)
From a litter of lets say 8 there are no 8 keepers, if there are 4 that is very good, but often I keep one or maybe two and sometimes none! One line that carries all European blood is pretty consistent though and I can carbon copy them no matter what combo I breed them to (within that line)

Piet

Piet


Piet

Piet wrote: My personal opinion is that I like the Flemish also for meat purpose, because I don't have to butcher at 6 weeks, I can wait longer and do it when convenient for me and not have to worry about getting too much fat on the animal, which is the case with commercial meat rabbits.Piet

If you wait too long don't you have to worry about them getting too heavy and breaking through the bottom of their cages?

@ Schipperke: My cages are reinforced for that
Here is a little doe I am watching, she will grow into those ears, no worry.
She stands funny with her backend there and looks cowhocked, but she is not, she is very well in line. Minor detail: mother is 22.5 and father is 19.4 lbs [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

I find it interesting that there is such a calorie difference between chicken and turkey. (as listed in Piet's list). I would like to know what chickens were used to determine this number. Those scrawny, oppressed, malnourished caged layers? Because my home raised meat birds are FAT!

It makes me sad that rabbits are raised in cages. I think they are meant to be hopping, grazing animals. There may be solid reasons to keep them in cages. But I still think it is not 'natural' and I kick dirt on pig, dairy and poultry raisers who do the same to their animals. Removing their ability to move for profit. Can't rabbits go in tractors, like chickens do? I do not mean to pick on Piet, I have seen many rabbits in cages up off the ground and I think monkeys might be happy to live suspended above the ground, but not rabbits.

I cannot eat rabbit for two indisputable facts. 1) they are adorable. No meat bird I've ever butchered has been anywhere close to adorable. No wiggly noses or sweet whiskers. Meat birds have a rather grotesque and vulgar personality. Hard to get too attached. But bunnies! TOO CUTE! Thus they are not food. 2) a rabbit carcass stretched out on the counter looks vaguely human. CREEPY! Brings out my cannibal inhibitions. Can't do it.

CynthiaM, yes they are that big! I saw the one Jonny Anvil was transporting and it was a show stopper. It was MASSIVE! I would not have believed it had I not seen it with my own eyes. Cute. Not food. For cuddles. Not dinner. Sorry Piet.

Dearest Uno, I could wax poetic on the beauty of chickens, the ease of killing and eating a nasty rabbit, and other sides of the coin, but I won't. Live in your bubble of cuteness. I will leave you with one thought. There is nothing natural about raising a domestic animal.

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I keep my rabbits in 4x4 foot cages and they are not on wire, but I have plywood on the floor with straw. They go out in the tractor sometimes and I let them run in the shop to see how they move. And you can definitly let them roam free in the chicken run also. They don't have to be caged up.