# Wild Vs Domestic flavor



## PermaAMP (Jun 13, 2013)

I've been contemplating the choices I have for protein once I get my homestead started. I have been settled on chickens, cull goats and the occasional steer as well as some wild game but I got to thinking of other sources. I love deer, wild hog, elk ect. I have had wild rabbit and just couldnât stomach it but a few bites. It tasted rat like to me. If domestic rabbit is more palatable Iâd totally go for it. So how would you compare/explain it?


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## MaggieJ (Feb 6, 2006)

Wild rabbit and domestic rabbit are two totally different species. I happen to like the taste of both, but they are nothing alike. Domestic rabbit meat is a white meat like chicken or pork. It has very little fat and the texture is fine and dense with a mild flavour. It would be a good idea to try domestic rabbit before you invest in raising your own. 

BTW, the flavour of wild rabbit depends to an extent on what they have been eating. If the opportunity presents itself, you might want to try it again in autumn, after a season of them living on good greens.


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## rod44 (Jun 17, 2013)

How do you know what a rat tastes like??


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## PermaAMP (Jun 13, 2013)

MaggieJ said:


> Wild rabbit and domestic rabbit are two totally different species. I happen to like the taste of both, but they are nothing alike. Domestic rabbit meat is a white meat like chicken or pork. It has very little fat and the texture is fine and dense with a mild flavour. It would be a good idea to try domestic rabbit before you invest in raising your own.
> 
> BTW, the flavour of wild rabbit depends to an extent on what they have been eating. If the opportunity presents itself, you might want to try it again in autumn, after a season of them living on good greens.



Thank you. The rabbit I tasted was more mid, late summer. There was a bit of hair in the stew so that might have made it off as well. I have no problems with trying it again because if I don't like it I have plenty of family to take it off my hands. I was thinking of just starting with one or two and if I like it Iâll get more. 




rod44 said:


> How do you know what a rat tastes like??


Maybe I should rephrase that. They have an after taste of rodent, like squirrel which I also do not particularly enjoy. Things nearly always have an aftertaste of how they smell. Goats, sheep, deer, possum etc. So that is was I was referring to instead of just saying gamey. I have no problems trying new food so if presented with a rat I can say I would give it a go anyway though.


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## MaggieJ (Feb 6, 2006)

Hair in the stew would be a put-off for sure. It could be too that the handling of the meat left something to be desired... Too long between the kill and getting it chilled or in the pan, perhaps. In any case, domestic rabbit is quite different. The only downside to raising them without trying first is that a large part of the initial expense is in the cages, which might not be used again if you don't like the meat.


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## simi-steading (Sep 27, 2012)

Soaking wild rabbit in milk over night will help take some of that game flavor out of it... 

I have a lot of wild rabbits running around my place, and I'll be eating some of those, but I'll also raise rabbits, because they are two completely different flavors...


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## SherryB (Oct 10, 2012)

I was trying some new rabbit recipes the other day and noticed one had a note to use wild rabbit vs. domestic rabbit. It said wild rabbit was "dark" meat. 

If you are wanting to know if you like domestic rabbit first, I bought some in the store and tried it. Then I bought two live rabbits and butchered and cooked them. 

I can't imagine that if you hunt and like the meat from what you hunt that you wouldn't like domestic rabbit. I must throw in here though that from my perspective, they are time consuming to care for and expensive to raise. The meat is similar to chicken, so if you've got chickens I'm not sure why you would add rabbits. I had to go with rabbits because I live inside the city limits and rabbits are quiet.


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## PermaAMP (Jun 13, 2013)

Well if I do get a couple to raise I'd be pasturing them so if I don't like them I can use the cages for my chickens. I have enough scraps lying around to build one anyway. I also have dogs that I feed raw meat and they love to catch and eat rabbits so I'll have no problems with wild ones around my place for sure.


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## MDKatie (Dec 13, 2010)

I love domestic rabbit, and have only tried wild rabbit once, and didn't like it. My husband gave me a test to see if I could tell domestic rabbit from chicken meat, and the one I swore was chicken turned out to be rabbit. Very similar.


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## MaggieJ (Feb 6, 2006)

SherryB said:


> I must throw in here though that from my perspective, they are time consuming to care for and expensive to raise. The meat is similar to chicken, so if you've got chickens I'm not sure why you would add rabbits. I had to go with rabbits because I live inside the city limits and rabbits are quiet.


This interests me, SherryB. I've had both chickens and rabbits for years and my experience has been just about opposite of yours. It may be a question of climate and price of feed, but for me rabbits are cheaper to raise by far (I feed a natural diet of alfalfa hay, grain and greens), take less than half an hour a day (including gathering greens) and are far easier, faster and less obnoxious to butcher. I have chickens for eggs but as long as I have rabbits, I would never raise chickens for meat. I loathe every aspect of processing chickens. My hens free range and find much of their food in the warm months and I suppose that is something yours can do year round, so perhaps that accounts for part of our differing experiences.


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## redneckswife (May 2, 2013)

My dad was an avid hunter/fisherman growing up and he killed wild rabbit. I didn't like it, as an above poster stated:wild rabbit tasted to me like dark meat (I don't like dark meat).

My husband convinced me to try it again, except it was tame-I loved it!

My 7 kids couldn't believe it wasn't chicken breast(we took it off the bone, after we grilled it):teehee:. Just to see if they liked it before they knew. They loved it and now everybody lays claim on how many "fryers" each one gets.:happy2:


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## ridgerunner1965 (Apr 13, 2013)

there is a lot of difference between wild and tame rabbit.in the wild if your hunting, you may shoot a very old rabbit and yes it may not taste that good.tame rabbits butchered at the proper times and cooked correctly are hard to beat as a meat source.i don t find tame rabbits to have any off putting flavor or smell or anything at all. trust me id rather butcher a rabbit than a chicken.

butcher your fryers at the correct time when they are tender and you will have no more desire for chicken.they can be baked or fried just like chicken.when baking you will want to add a bit of moisture, i like bbq sauce.

i really cant see how anyone can object to the flavor of tame rabbit.it is a meat made more to take on the flavor of seasonings that yu add.by its self is kind of bland but seasoned correctly is delicious. not to mention prob one of the healthiest meats you can eat.

i still eat chicken a few times a month in addition to rabbit and venison.its a nice change.


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## Fire-Man (Apr 30, 2005)

MaggieJ said:


> This interests me, SherryB. I've had both chickens and rabbits for years and my experience has been just about opposite of yours. It may be a question of climate and price of feed, but for me rabbits are cheaper to raise by far (I feed a natural diet of alfalfa hay, grain and greens), take less than half an hour a day (including gathering greens) and are far easier, faster and less obnoxious to butcher. I have chickens for eggs but as long as I have rabbits, I would never raise chickens for meat. I loathe every aspect of processing chickens. My hens free range and find much of their food in the warm months and I suppose that is something yours can do year round, so perhaps that accounts for part of our differing experiences.


Sherry has had some "bad luck" with rabbits so I can see why she feels this way.

I agree with you Maggie, raising rabbits are Sooooooo Much easier and for sure cheaper, but I do like them chicken eggs. The rabbit poop helps alot more around the farm than the chicken poop, a couple reasons because the rabbit poop does not have to be composted and the rabbit poop is only under their cage not scattered all over the yard. I probably will always have both rabbits and chickens, but for meat-----the chickens would loose.


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## KFhunter (Feb 21, 2010)

sounds like you were eating a hare not a rabbit


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## chickenista (Mar 24, 2007)

You can 'darken' the meat of your domesticate rabbits by changing the husbandry methods a bit.
I don't like the soft white meat of caged rabbits. It just too soft adn too white and too bland.
We colony raised ours where they could run and hop and dig etc..
The increase exercise increased the muscle and the blood flow to the muscles giving a richer flavor and a slighter darker meat.
We also waited to butcher until the rabbits were large (6 lbs dressed weight or so) and that gave a richer taste.
They weren't gamey, just not white and mushy and were quite flavorful.
(and my personal thoughts on this is that it increases the nutritional value.. more muscle, more blood, more enzymes etc.. but that is just my thought on it)


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## MaggieJ (Feb 6, 2006)

I agree with you, Chickenista.  Diet plays a role too. We find that rabbit meat is far more flavorful and delicious when the rabbits are fed a natural diet instead of pellets.


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## chickenista (Mar 24, 2007)

That too, most definitely.
We fed heavily on greens and branches etc..
using the pellets only as a supplement for minerals and fats that they might be missing.
No way were they going for the salt lick/mineral block thingies.
They looked at me like I was nuts and used it as a toy to toss around.


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