Rabbit for the table.....

oldat31

Hea all.

So with the way money is no a day, I have been looking at ways of saving money and becoming more self suffucuent. I started last year with growing fruit and veg, and this year is the chickens which I now have sorted. But I live beside allot of empty wild land thats full of rabbits.

So I was thinking I could trap a few and keep them for the table.

Heres the reason Im posting this:

1, is it ok to just catch and eat straight from the fields?
2, I know there is rules but cant seem to find them, can anyone point me in the right direction?

3, Am I delusional in thinking that I could catch 20 rabbits to freeze and use for the year?

Pat.

snipe02

oldat31 wrote: »

Hea all.

So with the way money is no a day, I have been looking at ways of saving money and becoming more self suffucuent. I started last year with growing fruit and veg, and this year is the chickens which I now have sorted. But I live beside allot of empty wild land thats full of rabbits.

So I was thinking I could trap a few and keep them for the table.

Heres the reason Im posting this:

1, is it ok to just catch and eat straight from the fields?
2, I know there is rules but cant seem to find them, can anyone point me in the right direction?

3, Am I delusional in thinking that I could catch 20 rabbits to freeze and use for the year?

Pat.

1. its ok to eat straight from the fields soak in salty wsater overnight after skinning . very tasty but lacking any vits and full of protien

2. find the land owner and get permission to catch rabbits shouldnt really be a prob

3. 20 and the rest you could trap and snare rabbits but shooting with a rifle or ferreting is far more productive and im sure lads on here that live near ya would be happy to give you some rabbits also, i really admire what your trying to do best of luck

Mike87

oldat31 wrote: »

Hea all.

So with the way money is no a day, I have been looking at ways of saving money and becoming more self suffucuent. I started last year with growing fruit and veg, and this year is the chickens which I now have sorted. But I live beside allot of empty wild land thats full of rabbits.

So I was thinking I could trap a few and keep them for the table.

Heres the reason Im posting this:

1, is it ok to just catch and eat straight from the fields?
2, I know there is rules but cant seem to find them, can anyone point me in the right direction?

3, Am I delusional in thinking that I could catch 20 rabbits to freeze and use for the year?

Pat.

Get permission of the landowner and then put a trap/snares out if you want, nobody is going to say anything. But at the same time I wouldnt be telling every tom dick and harry about your going ons either. Theres always some anti-hunter/vandal who robs/smash up traps.

As for how many rabbits is realistic. That depends on your area. In some areas you could nearly expect to get 10 or 20 rabbits in an afternoon. The next town over you might be lucky to get 10 or 20 in the whole year.

As for catching and eating straight from the field. Well theres a few things you need to look out for. Mainly mixi, liver fluke and tulmeria.


Some other advice which you havent asked for but may come in handy.

1) If you really want to get a box load of rabbits find someone with ferrets (or get some ferrets yourself). Ferrets are the best way to get rabbits. Shooting will only get you what you see. Ferrets will go down into the burrows and drive everything out into your nets.

2) A lot of people get into shooting thinking its a cheap way to get meat. Trust me its not. Im not saying its not possible to do. I just havent met anyone that was able to do it. Suppose you buy a CZ rifle at 400euro and then a 200euro scope. Another 80 on a silencer. Then your yearly insurance, licence renewals, etc... Buying bullets, camo gear etc. It never works out cheap. Not saying it cant be done, just that Ive yet to see it done.

oldat31

snipe02 wrote: »

1. its ok to eat straight from the fields soak in salty wsater overnight after skinning . very tasty but lacking any vits and full of protien

Thats here the home growing comes in, replace the vits with the veg...lol

snipe02 wrote: »

2. find the land owner and get permission to catch rabbits shouldnt really be a prob

I think its owned by south dublin co.co

snipe02 wrote: »

3. 20 and the rest you could trap and snare rabbits but shooting with a rifle or ferreting is far more productive and im sure lads on here that live near ya would be happy to give you some rabbits also, i really admire what your trying to do best of luck

I wouldent keep a gun and dont like ferrets..lol So snaers and traps it is.

The only thing is I hope the kids like the meat, I have had it before and liked it. Rabbit curry or stew is really nice.

There is also some Pheasant that iv seen around, can they be traped or do they need shooting?

snipe02

ya can only shoot pheasants . tell the kids its chicken lol

Mike87

oldat31 wrote: »

There is also some Pheasant that iv seen around, can they be traped or do they need shooting?

To be honest, for what you want, it might be worth your while having a chat with the local gun club and maybe see about buying a few pheasants of them before they release them.

Not even considering the legality- I reckon you would have a hard time trapping a pheasant. I really cant think of any trap that wouldnt get set off a hundred times over with crows (which are edible by the way), squirrels, rabbits etc.

I reckon your best off just buying a few pheasants off the gunclub before they release them. Although you might want to act fast as Id say most clubs have either released their pheasants already or will be doing so very soon.

howya mike

There's going to be plenty of duck and venison shot from today on and plenty of rabbits daily so I'm sure there's a few people willing to offer you some which would save you the bother of all of the above.

oldat31

Im not to pushed on the Pheasant, it was just a thought.....

I live in tallaght and have never heard of a gun club up here.

djflawless

Snares and traps this year..rifle and shotgun next year
your quedtions have all been answered well.hope all works out...and happy huntin fella

session savage

First of all fair play to you..
I would recommend getting a .22 and shooting the rabbits. That way you can be selective if your only shooting for the meat. You dont want some old buck for the pot because they are frikking STINK... seriously. what your after is a young grazer. Easiest way to tell is to tear the ear. if you can tear the ear easily then youve got a nice rabbit.
Enjoy.

cookimonster

Mike87 wrote: »

.....really cant think of any trap that would

nt get set off a hundred times over with crows (which are edible by the way), squirrels, rabbits .

Crows where a staple part of the diet before chickens became more prevalent and are still eaten in America in states where crow hunting is legal. Fox is edible and can be compared with venison. But personally IMO there is too much work in it to make it palatable and not worth the effort (I will and have eaten anything). Just a tip for your freezer get a cheep domestic vacum packed (lidal / Aldi) and this will improve storage time and quality. It's also great for marinating meats. Best of luck with indevours .

Mike87

cookimonster wrote: »

Fox is edible and can be compared with venison. But personally IMO there is too much work in it to make it palatable and not worth the effort (I will and have eaten anything).

I dont know about that now. After years off putting if off I finally tried fox this year and to be honest it turned my stomach :eek: Skinning and cutting it up was definitely not an experience Id like to repeat. The eating wasn't much better.

I'll see can I get a link to the recipe I followed.

EDIT: After looking through my bookmarks and I cant seem to find it. It was pretty much a blog by some Mexican guy who moved to the UK and was going around trying to eat anything people think wouldn't be nice- slugs, earwigs, fox, rats, frogs, maggots, cats, goldfish etc

cookimonster

Mike87,
The bad taste is a big thing, the foxs diet has a lot to do with it. Most of the recipes I was looking at involved pre cooking for 8- 12 hours before frying and finishing as a stew / casserole. Cooking is about extracting or adding flavour this smacks of both, extracting fox and adding something better.

Fair play to you to get as far as the fork, I took one home to try myself, firm believer in trying things regardless, within three hours of the kill the carcass smelled so bad I gave up before going any further. Smelled sweeter smelling swill bins in my day.

By the way the comparison to venison is only in colour, texture and the lack of fat not flavours

Mike87

cookimonster wrote: »

Mike87,
The bad taste is a big thing, the foxs diet has a lot to do with it. Most of the recipes I was looking at involved pre cooking for 8- 12 hours before frying and finishing as a stew / casserole. Cooking is about extracting or adding flavour this smacks of both, extracting fox and adding something better.

Fair play to you to get as far as the fork, I took one home to try myself, firm believer in trying things regardless, within three hours of the kill the carcass smelled so bad I gave up before going any further. Smelled sweeter smelling swill bins in my day.

By the way the comparison to venison is only in colour, texture and the lack of fat not flavours

Ah I picked ya up wrong. I thought you were saying it tasted like venison

Dont give up hope just yet. Like I said, it took me years to finally do it. My first attempt only got as far as cutting the legs off and cutting open the skin at the belly. I tried it again a year later and got the whole thing skinned but couldnt bring myself to gut it. Then this year I found that blog and I said thats it, Im going to do it. But like you said, I reckon if I had have cooked it a different way it might not have been as bad.

cookimonster

Ok so this is a hijacking........
I take it you did not pre-cook the boned out meat. So worth another try on both our behalf.

I used to gut grey mullet from the local estury as soon as they came off the hook because the gut content decayed fast . I wonder if gutting and skimming ASAP at time of death would reduce carcass smell or is it something I,m just not used to. Fellow cooks have insisted that the deer carcass I,d have hung in the cold room was rotten due to the smell of the hide, they just were'nt used to that particular smell.
Another thing could be time of year and diet, a high meat diet may effect smell while insects plants etc may produce different effects.

Will invest in a nose peg and rubber gloves.

Knucklebreaker

With the rabbits;

Stay clear of the older buck rabbits,(they stink when cooking) 3/4size would be best meet IMO as plenty of it and nice flavor.

When butchering when you get a few, I take back loin off and pain fry, stew legs and shoulders.

Very popular is to boil for 2hours, (meet should be falling of bones) then pain fry with salt and pepper to add flavor. Highly recommend.

I have roasted a few with good success.

The meet is very high in protein and very little to no fat, to add fat I have cooked with saute (beef fat) coconut oil and rashers before.

Great meet to work with,

Best of luck

Mike87

cookimonster wrote: »

Ok so this is a hijacking........
I take it you did not pre-cook the boned out meat. So worth another try on both our behalf.

I used to gut grey mullet from the local estury as soon as they came off the hook because the gut content decayed fast . I wonder if gutting and skimming ASAP at time of death would reduce carcass smell or is it something I,m just not used to. Fellow cooks have insisted that the deer carcass I,d have hung in the cold room was rotten due to the smell of the hide, they just were'nt used to that particular smell.
Another thing could be time of year and diet, a high meat diet may effect smell while insects plants etc may produce different effects.

Will invest in a nose peg and rubber gloves.

Im sure the OP wont mind, didnt he say hes after some cheap meat

My own experience tells me that your right on gutting as soon as you kill it. I always gut everything on the spot as soon as I kill it.

And your right about diet. Diet does contribute a huge part of the flavour. Im sure you know yourself, if you shoot a duck living on freshwater compared to one living on the shore the difference is night and day.

At least with something like a duck has a fairly consistent diet. The fox could be eating out of bins, could be eating dead rats, discarded takeaways/breakfast rolls etc. Theres no real way to tell which fox would be nice and which one wouldnt.

Although, if you have ever sampled snails (your own caught ones), the general procedure is to catch them a few days before hand and feed them fresh leaves etc as you dont know what he was eaten on the days leading up to you catching him.

Maybe you could do something similar with a fox. Catch him in a fox-cage and then keep him for a week and only feed him certain foods which would complement the taste. Although Im not sure what foods that would be..?

By the way, I cooked up the fox leg/thigh in a stew for just over an hour and a half. I took a small bite of the meat and almost puked.

Although saying that, I reckon you could make a nice jerky out of it. Which Id definietly try if the chance presented itself- just dont ask me to shoot/butcher/cut-up/cook it

cookimonster

Man after my own heart, good posts.

Re the diet: It doesn't help the situation when you see em foraging around slurry pits.

A none meat diet with loads of ruffage would be the trick.

If salt marsh grass adds flavour to lamb, sugar and garlic will flavour milk and rice wine and beer is fed to snakes and cattle in the far east for end flavour then there has to be a solution.
Would it really be animal cruelty if we kept a fox p*ssed on Guinness for week before finishing him in golden crusted pie.
If I had to go I'd opt for that.

oldat31

Hi-jack away lads, if it gives me ideas on what I can go Bear Grills style on then happy days.

I now know I can eat crow and fox but by all accounts fox aint worth the hassle...lol

If I lived in a more remote area I'd be breeding chickens for meat but I cant be arsed dealing with the complaints over the cock crowing......

anthonyos

oldat31 wrote: »

Hi-jack away lads, if it gives me ideas on what I can go Bear Grills style on then happy days.

I now know I can eat crow and fox but by all accounts fox aint worth the hassle...lol

If I lived in a more remote area I'd be breeding chickens for meat but I cant be arsed dealing with the complaints over the cock crowing......

rear broiler hens they reach there kill weight in a couple of weeks and longer if you stick to natural feed such as corn and maze

wexfordman

We cook rabbit regularly and the kids love it! We do a sweat and simour rabbit, making our own sweat and sour sauce for it, and deep fry the rabbit in batter like popcorn chicken!

It's absolutely delicious, fabulous texture and taste compared to chicken!

It wasn't me!

Cut it in strips, roll them in some flour with black pepper, cumin and coriander and a splash of lime juice and fry them hot. Serve with a good, sharp, tomatoey salsa and some homemade wedges and you're in business!

terminator2

gamo whisper fusion pellet gun ready to go €275 in sportsden in navan , all the rabbits you want silent fun , http://www.aceros-de-hispania.com/gamo-airguns/whisper-fusion-airgun.asp?product=carabina-whisper-fusion

oldat31

terminator2 wrote: »

gamo whisper fusion pellet gun ready to go €275 in sportsden in navan , all the rabbits you want silent fun , http://www.aceros-de-hispania.com/gamo-airguns/whisper-fusion-airgun.asp?product=carabina-whisper-fusion

Would I need a licence for an air gun?

That site you linked to is selling them for 145,61....

dodderangler

wexfordman wrote: »

We cook rabbit regularly and the kids love it! We do a sweat and simour rabbit, making our own sweat and sour sauce for it, and deep fry the rabbit in batter like popcorn chicken!

It's absolutely delicious, fabulous texture and taste compared to chicken!

I'd prefer it with SWEET and sour sauce
Not sweat and sour
I imagine sweat is sour enough

terminator2

yes you do need a licence for it , no problem there , if you are not in a gun club you need the permission of two landowners to shoot over their land , that pellet gun will kill rabbits out to 40 yards with a well placed shot a scope for it 2nd hand €20 , .its safe and perfect for shooting vermin around farm buildings etc

declan1980

If it was a choice between eating a fox and a kick in the bollix, I'd rather take a kick in the bollix

snipe02

declan1980 wrote: »

If it was a choice between eating a fox and a kick in the bollix, I'd rather take a kick in the bollix

id even go back for seconds

howya mike

Yeah I'd take the kick in the bollix aswell. I can send yis a few for the freezer if yis want.

oldat31

howya mike wrote: »

Yeah I'd take the kick in the bollix aswell. I can send yis a few for the freezer if yis want.

I dont think a kick in the bollox would fit in my freezer.... lol

wexfordman

dodderangler wrote: »

wexfordman wrote: »

We cook rabbit regularly and the kids love it! We do a sweat and simour rabbit, making our own sweat and sour sauce for it, and deep fry the rabbit in batter like popcorn chicken!

It's absolutely delicious, fabulous texture and taste compared to chicken!

I'd prefer it with SWEET and sour sauce
Not sweat and sour
I imagine sweat is sour enough

Doh!

Eddie B

oldat31 wrote: »

Thats here the home growing comes in, replace the vits with the veg...lol



I think its owned by south dublin co.co



I wouldent keep a gun and dont like ferrets..lol So snaers and traps it is.

The only thing is I hope the kids like the meat, I have had it before and liked it. Rabbit curry or stew is really nice.

There is also some Pheasant that iv seen around, can they be traped or do they need shooting?

Here's a recipe that the kids will love, straight outa river cottage!:D

Take a couple a fresh rabbit's and remove all the meat from the bone with a good sharp knife. Put the meat through a mincer or cut up finely (A good mincer is handy for anyone interested in self sufficiency!). Now, for every pound of rabbit meat, add a quarter pound of sausage meat, or minced pork. Finely chop some onion, combine the lot together and make some burger's!
Both yourself and the kid's will love these!

Our club handed out free bunny burgers at our local agricultural show to promote the club and wild meat and they went down a storm!!

flanum

^^^ second that with the bunny burgers... we do them for the annual gun club game tasting night for the farmers... they are always the first thing we run out of long before the pheasent,duck and game pies etc...

my version would be 4lb rabbit mince:1/4lb pork belly fat. add pepper and onions to your own taste.

and definitely get yourself a mincer/meat grinder op... even a hand cranked one... bushwear.co.uk do cheapish ones... essential imo.

bon appetite.