Many of us have chosen to supplement our food storage with live animals. There are a few good small animals that can even be housed in suburbia which provide a variety of food sources. Chickens, for example, provide eggs on an (almost) daily basis, while also providing an obvious source of meat. Goats are not quite as welcome in “town”, but are another multi-purpose animal that gives a lot for a small space requirement. One of the best meat for space animals is the cute, fuzzy bunny. However, it is arguably the most likely to test your squeamishness when it comes to harvest time.

In the past week, we have finally started having baby bunnies from our California rabbits. Unfortunately, one of the mommies apparently didn’t know what to do and I was a bit heartbroken when we lost the whole litter. At this point, we’re not sure if the loss was due more to her inexperience or ours. We had some bad thunderstorms (which can apparently stress the momma), as well as the fact that her nest was placed where the kids could see the kits. They could not touch them, but it still may have been too close for her. We thought about moving it, but we weren’t sure if the movement of the nest would be just as upsetting.
As you can see, having rabbits is not a guarantee that you will have plenty of babies- at least, in the short term. We are learning fast, and I fully expect to have them in good “production” in the coming months.
For now, we have the advantage of living on property with resident wild rabbits. They may not be as plump as our domestic rabbits, but they take care of themselves and are a nearby renewable food source. My husband has brought a few home, and recently he shot another one. In the past, he has cleaned them. However, I decided it was time for me to step up. I am getting to be a better shot, and I feel it’s important that when I finally shoot one myself that I am knowledgeable on how to dress it out. My goal is to take one from forest to table by the end of this summer.
So, I did a YouTube search on how to clean a rabbit and got to work. It took about 10 minutes and I was done. I’d say the biggest thing I learned was that I need a better butcher knife. What I have does the job, but a good cleaver would have made certain things go faster.
At this point, my biggest concern is killing the rabbits we raise. Admittedly, I do have a heart, and although I’ve harvested chickens, they aren’t as cute and cuddly as a rabbit you’ve watched grow from a baby. It is not the issue of turning fuzzy sweetie into dinner. It is the issue that I don’t want to cause any “unnecessary” pain/stress. Between hand and shoulder damage I am concerned that I may not have the requisite strength or technique to dispatch them with one swift movement.
For now, I’ll just keep gathering recipes on how to fix them and counting weeks for when Jezebel can be re-presented for mating. Hopefully, Juliet will turn out to be a good momma and I will have new pictures of cute cuddlies that I can post. No matter what, I have a couple of months before I find out how I do with the harvesting phase.

Easy Rabbit Dumplings

Clean and quarter 1 rabbit
Place in pressure cooker with about 3 quarts of water and:
Salt
Pepper
Poultry Seasoning
Cook for about an hour

Debone meat and put it back in the pot
Add a Knor chicken broth packet
Mix 2 Cups Bisquick with enough water to make a sticky dough
Drop dough by spoonfuls into boiling soup
Add 1 cup milk
Keep at medium boil for about 20 minutes