# With holding food and/or water before butchering



## SherryB (Oct 10, 2012)

I've read in a few places to with hold food and/or water for a period of time before butchering. Do you do this and if so, how long do you with holding it and do you with hold both?


----------



## jolly rabbit (Apr 30, 2012)

I have often thought of doing this, I wouldnt withold water, but i guess food wouldn't hurt. I personally feed them anyway, you could give them something like timothy the day before as like a last meal(its high in fiber and cleans them out). I have no problem eating animals I butcher and process my own meat frequently, but i know if I were sitting on death row I wouldn't want to die hungry


----------



## SherryB (Oct 10, 2012)

Well jolly rabbit, I don't plan on telling them they are on death row!


----------



## jolly rabbit (Apr 30, 2012)

lol,I figured, but all joking aside, I guess it is kind of silly to feed them before processing, but I do give them timothy or orchard grass the night before.


----------



## arachyd (Feb 1, 2009)

The only reason I can see for this is if you aren't comfortable with your butchering process and are at risk of cutting through or breaking into the digestive tract. If that happens you'll have to really wash the meat to remove the contamination. Otherwise why stress them by keeping them from food/water? Many people like to offer food or treats to distract the rabbit from what is coming. If wasting feed is a concern, butcher before the time you would normally feed them.


----------



## bassmaster17327 (Apr 6, 2011)

I don't withhold anything, I don't want them to be hungry on their last day alive


----------



## SherryB (Oct 10, 2012)

Well, I just butchered 3 of them late this afternon. I let the eat through the night and took the pellets away this morning but I did let them have hay. I didn't withhold water. Everything went pretty well. I now have butchered 5 rabbits. Woo-hoo!


----------



## jolly rabbit (Apr 30, 2012)

SherryB said:


> Well, I just butchered 3 of them late this afternon. I let the eat through the night and took the pellets away this morning but I did let them have hay. I didn't withhold water. Everything went pretty well. I now have butchered 5 rabbits. Woo-hoo!


alright, so what time should you expect us for dinner?:


----------



## SherryB (Oct 10, 2012)

It will be ready right when you walk in the door!  Probably fried with mashed potatoes, gravy, maybe some green beans.


----------



## Dead Rabbit (Oct 30, 2010)

i withhold food. its much easier when butchering if their stomach isnt full of food and the intestines isnt slam full of feces. plus its a waste of feed. i prefer to with hold for 24 hrs. even then there will still be some feces in the small intestines. but not near as much. its not easy to harden your heart to them "climbing" the wire b/c they are hungry. but i do it anyway.

as for water. i dont with hold that. i would but most all my pens are on an auto. water system, so it would be difficult to take water away. plus, id rather them not suffer from lack of water. its easier to go with out food than it is to go with out water.


----------



## Pat Lamar (Jun 19, 2002)

I used to belong to a rabbit cooperative that insisted on removing water for 24 hours before butchering. Well, the rabbits had other ideas... and began to drink their own urine. As a result, the meat STUNK! It was still edible, but it just stunk. I left that cooperative because of it and I also felt it was inhumane, anyway. Spraying down the carcass after eviceration should be standard procedure, anyway.

Pat Lamar


----------



## movieman (Oct 25, 2013)

I have no problem taking food away for 24 hrs, but my Mom doesn't like it. She says it can stress the rabbit and cause it to send chemicals into the meat, which degrades the meat. Anyone have a thought on this?


----------



## 64102 (Sep 21, 2010)

movieman said:


> I have no problem taking food away for 24 hrs, but my Mom doesn't like it. She says it can stress the rabbit and cause it to send chemicals into the meat, which degrades the meat. Anyone have a thought on this?


Maybe it is because of what Pat Lamar said above :spinsmiley: :shrug:


----------



## redneckswife (May 2, 2013)

We dress out our rabbits just like any other animal we hunt and kill...and all of the hunted animals have ate before we process them. You always want to be careful not to cut a gut bag(stomach/intestines/bladder,etc.):umno: and otherwise you should be fine:grin:. 

We wash any kind of meat we process. Hubby is pretty efficient he has been an avid hunter all his life and worked on the kill floor for Jimmy Dean(think hogs & sausage); swear this man dresses out animals in record time and he's thorough too:kiss:.

To an above poster(can't remember who)..a rabbit will drink it's own urine if it is thirsty enough, any animal will.


----------



## countrytime (Sep 23, 2012)

"Hubby is pretty efficient he has been an avid hunter all his life and worked on the kill floor for Jimmy Dean(think hogs & sausage); swear this man dresses out animals in record time and he's thorough too."
I have some to butcher--can I borrow or rent your husband? LOL! HEY--good way to make extra money from the homestead!!!--rent a husband for all the jobs you can't/won't do! LOL!


----------



## redneckswife (May 2, 2013)

Coutrytime...my dad and some other family members have already stopped cleaning their kills,lol, they just come and get hubby. Last time he told them after the first two large game each it would cost them,
a cut of meat:happy2:


----------



## MDKatie (Dec 13, 2010)

I don't withhold food or water.


----------



## Blackmoriah (Aug 6, 2013)

hmm... I'm about to butcher some bunnies. I don't think I'll withhold food or water either... I kinda feel its cruel to starve them on their last day, I guess, I'll just be careful during processing. I can just wash the meat afterwards


----------



## o&itw (Dec 19, 2008)

To withhold water isn't necessary, and in my mind it is not right. 

Witholding pellets or substituting with hay the last feeding is reasonable. I usually have 16 to 30 rabbits in my grow out pen at a time, and one days feed for the pen can feed the non-lactating rabbits for several days. I feed in the evening and process in the morning. Giving them some hay to enjoy is OK by them and is more economical.... that last feed is never going into meat anyway.


----------



## bowbuild (Aug 2, 2008)

Food yes, 24 hr, water no. When you butcher you will have a urine that is clear, and "if" it is spilled it is not as strong.

Bowbuild


----------



## SherryB (Oct 10, 2012)

I have butchered a few times since I posted this question. I've had good success by with holding pellets but giving hay and water. What I've butchered that were given pellets too convinced me that I prefer to only give hay and water. Probably everybody will have their own reasons for the way they do it. Interesting to see the variations! Thanks everybody!


----------



## countryfied2011 (Jul 5, 2011)

I only feed once a day in the am,they get fresh water and hay twice a day. 

I have DH butcher first thing in the morning before feeding time...so they never know they missed it..


----------



## redneckswife (May 2, 2013)

We have 40 to process out next week. Hubby said he wanted everybody done the same day this time, usually it is late in the afternoon by the time we get to it(it's busy here with as many kids as we have). So usually half a batch gets done one evening and the other batch the next evening.

So I have convinced him to start the butchering first thing in the morning, so of course they have access to hay and water, but I look forward to not distributing pellets that morning.

Morning butchering is going to become the norm here, as we have more meat does put into rotation now and that way he can't say he ran out of daylight.


----------



## a7736100 (Jun 4, 2009)

Do you guys squeeze the bladder to empty it before cutting open the rabbit? 

When I cut open the rabbit and take out the stomach and intestines all at the same time, it really don't make much difference to me how full or empty.


----------



## Fat Man (Mar 9, 2011)

We don't produce a lot so it isn't much feed. Full or empty makes no difference here too. The same goes for the bladder.


----------

