# grinding whole rabbits?



## sticky_burr (Dec 10, 2010)

i was wondering if its possible to grind a whole rabbit(minus skull if need be) to feed to dog(s) should i skin ? i want to include bones for calcium and they are fine enough.. any input or suggestions appreciated


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## Kwings (Dec 21, 2010)

I don't know anything about grinding rabbits, but couldn't you just skin the rabbit and give it to your dogs? They'll eat the bones that way too.


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## ladysown (May 3, 2008)

there are grinders out there that will do it. BUT you need to get a professional quality one...and NOT an hand crank one.


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## BackfourtyMI. (Sep 3, 2007)

I would just skin them & give them to them whole or cut up in peices. Depending on your dogs I think you could actually give them to them without skinning, they eat what they want & leave the rest, head & all.

I even freeze some of our rabbit feet with the fur on them & give them to our dogs like treats.


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## arachyd (Feb 1, 2009)

The only reason I can think of to grind up rabbit for dogs is if the dog hasn't got teeth or is a very small dog. Just cut it up into chunks the dog can swallow and crush or break the bone into small pieces. Dogs don't grind up their food when they chew, they tear and break it into chunks they can swallow.


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## CJ (May 10, 2002)

Our dogs (German Shepherds) favorite part of the rabbit is the head, fur and all. Blech! But yes just give it to them whole (we do skin them) and they have no problem munching it down.


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## KimTN (Jan 16, 2007)

We grind our rabbits because we have very small dogs. You also don't want a house dog in the house chewing up a dead rabbit. The rabbits that we grind are skinned and gutted. We keep the liver, kidneys, lungs, and hearts to grind as well. We chop the rabbit into manageable pieces and put thru a heavy duty electric grinder. Now for our large outdoor dogs, we just kill the rabbit and toss to the dogs. They will eat every part of the rabbit without a problem. A lot less work.


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## sticky_burr (Dec 10, 2010)

i was thinking i dont want choking or the dog thinking hey look a rabbit hopping round dinner time  and the rabbits may not be as productive, no feed besides keeping breeders alive over winter when i need them so i can grind and freeze in portions. suplimenting the kibble and fat as needed


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## bluemoonluck (Oct 28, 2008)

KimTN said:


> We grind our rabbits because we have very small dogs. *You also don't want a house dog in the house chewing up a dead rabbit. *The rabbits that we grind are skinned and gutted. We keep the liver, kidneys, lungs, and hearts to grind as well. We chop the rabbit into manageable pieces and put thru a heavy duty electric grinder.


When I raised rabbits, this is exactly what I did. Skin will make the grinder seize up, and the skull wouldn't fit. I took out the intestines and sent everything else thru my commercial-grade grinder....then put it into big bags and stuck the mush into the freezer. If you squish it into a "flat pack" when you freeze it, the bags take up less freezer space.


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## Kwings (Dec 21, 2010)

sticky_burr said:


> i was thinking i dont want choking or the dog thinking hey look a rabbit hopping round dinner time  and the rabbits may not be as productive, no feed besides keeping breeders alive over winter when i need them so i can grind and freeze in portions. suplimenting the kibble and fat as needed


Your dog should realize the difference between the rabbits you feed it and the live ones, mine does. She eats all of my rabbits who die and all the born dead or dead soon after birth babies i may get. 

She loves the rabbits and protects them, she knows the difference between whats food and that she'd be in real trouble if she hurt the live bunnies. However wild rabbits are fair game as she keeps them out of my garden, and even then she doesn't hurt them (like the poor rabbit she caught a few years ago who was very much alive and brought it into the house, i came in and discovered she was snuggling with it on the couch, it was terrified but otherwise unharmed lol).

Just watch your dog and correct any behavior you don't approve of around the rabbits and she'll get the idea.


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## sticky_burr (Dec 10, 2010)

lol quick get the wild rabbit out of here before we have annother pet,,,
how much meat will a 100-130 pound dog eat a day? or now much /pound or ten pounds whould be fed?


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