# Processing rabbits for feeding raw food to dogs/cats?



## Betho (Dec 27, 2006)

Hi folks

We just got a couple new kittens and I am going to put them on the raw food diet. I'm looking into the economics of raising rabbits, which I had been thinking for "people food" before, but now that we have these new mouths to feed I am thinking about it even harder.

I've done chickens and processed them before, so I have some butchering experience. I am just curious and can't find much into on this - when you butcher rabbits for pet food, do you still need to clean out the innards and whatnot? I would obviously prefer to do the least amount of work, and I don't have a problem having separate ones for human consumption and pet consumption.

We do also plan on getting a dog within the next year that I will also feed raw, so once that dog arrives we'll definitely need to figure something out.


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## victory (Mar 2, 2010)

I feed raw to my three Chihuahuas, but I have always just gutted the rabbits. The pups love kidneys and hearts, but the guts part, they don't really eat, so I just chuck the intestines and stomachs..I spose a person could grind up whole skinned rabbits and feed that way..personally I am grossed out by the stomachs..ick!!


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## BackfourtyMI. (Sep 3, 2007)

I am new to feeding my dogs raw so haven't tried this whole rabbit yet but I believe you can give them the whole rabbit not skinned or dressed out. They will pick out what they don't want to eat I would think. Kittens though are probly pretty small still & 1 whole rabbit would be too much for them I think.

I would ask this same question over in the pet forum, there are quite a few folks that feed raw that could probly give you lots of info or sites to read.


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## KSALguy (Feb 14, 2006)

if your feeding a fresh one on the day you butcher then yes you can just skin it and let them eat the whole thing, but if your going to freeze the rest of the litter for later feedings then you would need to gut them, freezing and thawing a non cleaned animal speeds up decomp really fast and you have alot of bacteria action, you want to skinn and gut and clean any meat your going to save in the freezer for later use, 

kittens and cats wont eat a whole rabbit anyway, you will need to cut it up and portion it out so you dont have waist, most dogs will eat a whole rabbit depending on what size the dog and rabbits are.


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## ladysown (May 3, 2008)

if feeding the whole animal raw, I'd recommend checking the livers but otherwise I'd feed them the fresh dead animal.

Otherwise I'd say throw the cleaned gutted animal into your freezer. THOUGH there are lots of people who throw the entire dead animal into the freezer.


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## rabbitpatch (Jan 14, 2008)

I feed the innards to my dog that eats raw. I toss out the stomach and intestines just because they STINK while she's eating them (she's a house dog), but she eats the rest. Usually WE eat the meat and she gets the heart, lungs, etc. but only because it's cheaper to buy chicken for her at the moment and we don't have a lot of rabbits to process at one time. If we ever get to the point where we have enough rabbit to feed her the muscle meat too, then I definitely plan to.


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## SquashNut (Sep 25, 2005)

We have 2 big dogs and they get the front half and we eat the back legs and loins. they get the kidneys, lungs and heart.
Some times we eat the livers. If we miss a pkg of legs and loins in the freezer and it starts looking a bit frosty they get it.
With grain prices so high, there is no way I am just handing my dog a fresh whole fryer rabbit. 
When we make a big pot of rabbit veggie soup we share it with the dogs over some of our home made buscuits or corn bread they love that too.


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