Three rabbits dispatched, a first for me.

[Biker]

Hey folks, You old hands at this crafting bushes lark no doubt will pooh pooh this, but for me today was a first. I recently moved into an attic of some friends who run a small holding here in Normandy France. They've got pigs, ducks, chickens, turkey ... and up till 10am today three rabbits. All these animals are destined for the pot eventually. It was the rabbits turn today.

Long story short I watched them catch pull out of the hutch and then kill it humanely using the broom handle method placed on the back on their necks on the ground held down and the back legs tugged to break the neck. Worked easily too, very quick in fact. Having seen it I then dispatched the other two bunnies with no drama at all. I was worried I'd cause the animal distress by not doing it right

After that we hung them while Rosie slit their throats and let them drain and then I helped her skin and gut them. Didn't feel queasy in the least (I would have been surprised if I had) but until you've done it you can't really say with any confidence just how you'd react. I've seen strong men faint at the sight of a cut finger and much weaker men get stuck in there.

So said bunnies are now in the dedicated fridge for freshly killed animals and they'll get jointed up tomorrow I suspect. I have some pictures of the hanging bleeding process which I may well edit into this posting once I get them back from the chemist.

Anyway, good experience and one I had been fascinated to see and I was lucky enough to have a go at first hand. Just thought I'd share the experience to an appreciative audience.

Thanks for reading.

 

[John Fenna]

Well done that man!
Personally I find the smell of gutting rabbits most unpleasant - worse than chickens - but the skinning extremely easy (if done immediately).
A good, clean, respectful kill is what I would expect for any animal - and a greater appreciation of your dinner!
What is happening to the skins?

 

[Albus Culter]

Thanks for sharing. As you say, no idea until you do it yourself. Something I'd love to try. As a meat eater I'd love the chance to follow the whole life of the animal and appreciate all that its life can be used for.

 

[Biker]

Thanks chaps, John the skins got binned along with the heads attached. I did consider keeping them for tanning etc, but I have a ton of things on my plate right now and can't really afford the time to do it. Besides they were ginger rabbits and any mammal that is ginger ought to be cast out of society. (Eh Harvestman )

Yes it gives me a greater appreciation for where the meat on the table comes from. I have already helped butcher 3 sheep in consecutive years so by the third year I was pretty confident about that, but these bunnies were a first. Maybe I'll get to eat a bit, but I'm just renting the room not having full board here. Who knows, maybe they'll invite me in for some nosh one night?

Having a low sense of smell the rabbits didn't pong that much to me, gutting them was the smelliest but only a little bit, it was dealing with the fluff getting everywhere that was the bug bear. Happy to say my double bladed Opinel No.9 got extensively used in the processing

Thanks Albus, my thoughts exactly. Having grown up a townie in central London for the first 16 years of my life then moving to rural Kent, like many people I hadn't really got my head around the concept of where meat came from. Obviously I knew, but it's a blind spot, whether conscious or not, that people have. Seeing it done right in front of your eyes really is a life changing experience.... but this is like me preaching to the choir isn't it?

 

[TurboGirl]

Wow, sounds like an excellent place to be living! You'll be getting involved with other aspects of their smallholding work? MOST interesting!

Actually reading your post re gingers you can feck right off and I actually hate you...

 

[Biker]

Actually reading your post re gingers you can feck right off and I actually hate you...

Ooooh someone's tired

 

[crosslandkelly]

Well done Aaron.

 

[TurboGirl]

No, love, just premenstural, menopausal AND most dangerous of all, ginger.... Whats Harvestmans input on the ginger mammal front then.... apologies if that reads wrong

 

[Albus Culter]

Oh how that made me laugh. I'm still laughing now.

Classic

Wow, sounds like an excellent place to be living! You'll be getting involved with other aspects of their smallholding work? MOST interesting!

Actually reading your post re gingers you can feck right off and I actually hate you...

 

[British Red]

Good on yah Biker. Killing is a part of life, and we should all experience it. I'm having to exercise pest control on things getting at the soft fruit at the moment - mainly voles. I like voles, I like having voles on the property as they are great for owl food. However this year we have had a population explosion - a truly stupid number of both voles and moles (three snowy winters has let voles over winter better and wet soft ground encourages the tunnel makers). So its with mixed emotions that I am having to thin out the moles - but if I don't the damage is horrendous
Red

 

[Biker]

Hey Sal, I hope to get involved a bit in this place, but I expect to be here only 4 months or so, then I'm out again to another place (long story) I've known this couple for several years now so I'm no stranger here, so I am enjoying this sort of hands on approach to things. Fed the "teenage" piglets last night and resolved hereafter to do so wearing wellingtons when I feed them next as pig snot and slobber on the trouser cuffs ain't pleasant. The boar is as big as a wheelie bin on its side and treats me like I'm his personal valet. I'm not sure if I should be offended by his indifference or just put it down to his natural tendencies of being a pig.

The young turkeys remind me so much of small dinosaurs straight out of Jurassic park, it's spooky watching them. The rest of the animals are as you would expect.

I know I don't need to say it but you know the ginger comment was banter, it's only meant seriously if there's no "" after it. Hehehehehehehhehee

Hey Hugh, sounds like a big vole problem you have, but think of those lovely voleskin trousers you could make. "Every little helps!"

Thinking about my experience this morning it's made me realise something else - aside from traps I've set for mice, rats and moles this is the first time I have EVER killed anything on a conscious level. Funny how that little aspect was overlooked. How odd. Those of you who know me will know me as a sort of gentle person (least I hope so) who wouldn't hurt a fly, yet I killed two bunnies without a second thought. Is this called post traumatic stress disorder

 

[Niels]

Killing is a strange feeling. I've killed pigeons, chickens and fish. All of them eaten. Yet it never feels good, or fair to them. They all try to survive and they all fear humans.
I comfort myself with the thought that I make a point of killing swiftly, and that other predators might maim the animal causing more pain.

Another horrible story comes to mind too. When I was 11, we had rats running about in our attic at night, and they were very hard to catch with traps. I happened upon a slow one, which turned out was because it was giving birth to a bunch of rats. Now you need to consider, that we were having sleepless nights from these animals, and killing pregnant this one would take down about 7 of them.

I impaled it with a sharpened stick and it died.
Anyway, good for you having this experience. And enjoy your rabbits.

 

[Biker]

Hey Sally, and anyone else interested in reading here's where I'm currently living

Rosie and Simon run an eco gite, here's their blog website and here is the link to their Gite (which I helped do some of the carpentry on). I Highly recommend this place for a holiday folks.

My attic is the blue metal roof area centre left in the picture. The attic is 4m x 3m and perfect for my needs. The rest of my junk is scattered about the place in barns and the workshop.



And by pure chance I just found a video of it on you tube

[video=youtube;Dmv_RkARGtc]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dmv_RkARGtc[/video]

 

[Dougster]

Well done mate. Killing is a part of life for some but it is no small thing. Every time I take an animals life, even well, for legitimate reason it doesn't sit well. To do it well is important and you've cracked it. I shot a fox this week and still felt hollow afterwards, the vegetarian former owner of 18 chickens was dancing behind me mind!

I hate gutting rabbits, like John, but have no problem with deer! Here's to years of self sufficiency and a greater hold over the process of feeding yourself.

 

[TurboGirl]

I'm getting a broken link on the blogspot Just off for a stalk of the webpage which does work for me though....

...the vegetarian former owner of 18 chickens was dancing behind me mind!

It's an ill wind that blows no-one any good, eh

 

[British Red]

Hey Hugh, sounds like a big vole problem you have, but think of those lovely voleskin trousers you could make. "Every little helps!"

At this rate it'll be three piece moleskin suit Aaron! I did take some pictures of a haul - thought about posting piccs along with a bit of a write up on vermin trapping - but not sure that it would go over well showing traps actually killing prey

 

[Biker]

Hey Richard, I did think of you and your hunting for food lifestyle at the time I was doing these rabbits, you're one of the "old salts" I thought would be nodding their head sagely at me losing my cherry. Having never gutted a rabbit before I didn't find it that unpleasant, but then I was just holding it by the hind legs while Rosie was wrist deep in the cavity tugging out the lungs. The rest came out quite easily. I could have done it just as easily though. The clean kill is what I was hoping for, I would have been mortified to have caused the bunny distress. We were pretty quick getting it into place and breaking its neck with the tug on the back legs.

Sally you'll find a link to their blog via their website. Don't know what went wrong with the link. I'll try and fix it.

Hugh, I think you're right showing the traps doing the deed might be too much information. Setting a trap which triggers automatically and kills the creature quickly is not good illusion to have shattered. Saw a mouse flopping about a lot when a trap happened to fire while I was in the room with it, figured it must have been the nerves firing and not it thrashing about in pain... least I hope so. You'd look pretty dapper in a Vole skin 3 piece. It'd go with the Deer Stalker hat and walking staff I picture in the mental image I have of you

Sorry for those finding these words a little too brutal. I'm not trying to be ghoulish, honest.

 

[TurboGirl]

Sorry for those finding these words a little too brutal. I'm not trying to be ghoulish, honest.

If you start describing his imaginary vole skin parrot smugglers, I might get a bit sqeamish... otherwise I'm seeing nothing here that isn't completely in the spirit of a kind and quick dispatch, not something most of the clingfilmed animal byproducts in the supermarket usually receive

I found their blog link on the site, interesting I'll try to sort out Mums rhubarb and rose petal jam recipe for them, it's awesome

 

[British Red]

I'll try to sort out Mums rhubarb and rose petal jam recipe for them, it's awesome

Dear Gods yes please!

 

[TurboGirl]

Any excuse

[h=2]Rhubarb and rose petal jam.[/h]To each 1 lb rhubarb (cut into 1” lengths)
1 Lemon (juice)
1 lb Preserving sugar
2 handfuls Scented, dark red rose petals
A very little Water

• Put the rhubarb, water, sugar and lemon juice into a bowl and leave overnight.
• Chop the rosepetals and decant all into a preserving pan.
• Cook all together until a set is obtained.

Delicious jam with a lovely colour and scent.