

A chopping block would work as well, but I like to do all the processes while the rabbit is hanging over my gut bucket.

This takes a little effort, but works fine for me. After slaughter, I hang and cut off the rabbit's head with a short-bladed combat knife (so it has a thicker blade than a kitchen knife). Blood is a great incubator for bacteria, so it is best to get as much out as you can. Regarding blood in the meat, blood in meat effects shelf life. They pass peacefully, and there is no bruising of the shoulder meat. I bring them from the cage, pet them so they relax, then position them with their head down on a concrete slab, then deal the blow. I switched to smacking them on the back of the head (not the top, that doesn't work) with a large blacksmith hammer. I used to use the broomstick method, but I am pretty sure there is a moment after the neck is broken where the rabbit is still alert - and I didn't like that.
Broomstick method chicken plus#
Plus i can sneak loads of things the dogs wouldn't eat if they could isolate it like fennugreek n blackberry leaves.

If you have a bigger dog I suppose you could skip the food processor and just hand out a soft head a day defrosted, but I dunno how you'd freeze it without it becoming a mass hence why i blend up n spoon off. I gave some to two dogs who were visiting that have lived a long life of kibble and they knew right away what was up. I usualy clip off and dry the ears separately for dog chips, but there no pigs ear so they go pretty fast.ĭogs go insane for this, and if you saved the offal you'll have even more grey misc to feed out. The teeth and everything become homoginized and then you can spoon it out onto wax paper and freeze it for doggy meals. Put em in the food processor if you've got a decent one and let it blend for a minute. Once done you'l have a nice furry grey mass of jaw meats, n brain meats, n lots of what was once bone but now looks like cartilage. I usualy throw in whatever else fits, usually sweet potato and other hour pressure cook items like carrots n dried herbs. Ok so heres what you do, once finished you will have second guesses about feeding it to the dogs because it smells so good.Ĭollect all your heads in the freezer i usualy wait till I have 10 to 20, stick em in a pressure cooking and let er rip for about an hour at 15psi. I have read up on bark and brain tanning and will try that this winter. We have been burning the hides, which really bothers me, because I hate wasting any useful part of an animal that I have harvested, but in my area, we can't even give them away. It is also my understanding that the bacteria involved in decomposing meats (as opposed to aerobic bacteria for vegetation) can contaminate whatever food you grow where you have spread the compost.Īgain, I am not sure about this, so do not take my word for it! Maybe someone else knows more about this? In addition to potentially attracting predators to your yard/livestock, they also attract rodents, flies, which lay eggs resulting in more flies, all of which feed off of the compost reducing the amount and value of your compost, rather than adding to it. I'm new to much of this and unsure about this, but I believe I have read that animal waste should not be composted. By being really quick this has not been a problem, but I think it could be.Īs to the by products, we give them raw to the chickens and turkeys. The second is that, IMO, by using something heavier than the broomstick, I believe the rabbit is dead from the blow even before I decapitate him, so the heart will stop beating a bit more quickly, leaving less time for it to pump out the blood after decapitation. One draw back is that you do get some bruising (blood) around the site of the blow. I then prove my treacherous nature by quickly grabbing the firewood and. I now carry them over to a second block near the chopping block and set them down, keeping a hold on them, pet them and talk to them for a bit and they quickly visibly relax. When I started I used to just take them by the hind legs in one had and, while they hang that way, hit them with my other hand, but needless to say, this is stressful for the rabbits.

I do not soak or age and have not had any problems with tenderness or taste, but will try soaking to see if/how it improves the result. Right after that, I take a hatchet or axe and decapitate them, hang them to bleed etc. I think a broomstick may be a bit light though. I also have found that a sharp blow to the back of the head is the easiest and most humane method.
