Rabbit farming

joedared

My first post. so apologies if in the wrong area.
I am intrested to hear peoples views on rabbit farming. I know it is not a common item for irish meals. but it is wdely farmed in Europe and America. it has lots of healthy qualities also. irish resturants that provide rabbit on their menus import it from France or Italy.
Would you eat rabbit meat?
Would farmed be better than wild?
At least with farmed there would be traceability.
Could it be profitable?


I welcome all input and thoughts. Maybe some small holders would like to give their opinion.

who the fug

Think the main problem with rabbit meat is myxomatosis, by all accounts it was regular on the table till then.

Would be hard to build a market for it

bbam

Back in the early 80's one of our neighbours started... Had sheds full of cages and white rabbits... then his market evaporated and I think he released them all into the wild where I'd say none survived..

Definitely the maxi has ruined the market here...

Black Smoke

Only good rabbit, is a dead one!!

djmc

Id ate a rabbits arse through a furze bush if I was hungry enough
With all the rain this year rabbits might be the only livestock that wont poach my land anymore as the cows have it ploughed

sweeney1971

I am thinking of keeping Rabbits for meat only for our own consumption. Use to keep them when I was a kid but did not kill them.

I honestly do not think there is a Market for Rabbit meat in Ireland. Another problem you will come up against are the Food Inspectors, you will have to have a 'White Meats Licence' this is basically you will have to have a mini slaughter house for them and all the paper work that comes with it.

You can only try but start off small. Good Luck.

joedared

bbam How do I quote your post? would like to get in touch with your neighbour to get their views and advice

bogman_bass

I think the rabbit market can be met with wild rabbit which, like salmon will always attract a premium over the farmed product

cloverleaf

my parents had the same idea but have had problems sourcing the right type of rabbits

CJhaughey

bogman_bass wrote: »

I think the rabbit market can be met with wild rabbit which, like salmon will always attract a premium over the farmed product

No the opposite is actually the case with rabbit, farmed rabbits are much bigger and more meaty than their wild cousins, hence are more sought after.

bbam

CJhaughey wrote: »

No the opposite is actually the case with rabbit, farmed rabbits are much bigger and more meaty than their wild cousins, hence are more sought after.

Wouldn't have thought anyone would touch a wild rabbit since the Maxi was introduced... Certainly anyone who's seen them suffer and die wouldn't anyway...
I just couldn't see a market for them.... but then maybe I'm not circulating in the right restraunts :rolleyes:

bogman_bass

maxi doesnt affect humans. just dont go near the thyroid

yellowlabrador

I love eating farmed rabbit. I suppose if you didn't give up the dayjob and started in a small way, maybe farmers markets and local butchers would be a start. Farmed rabbit is much more like chicken than wild rabbit and as you said, much larger, I'd also talk to a vet about vaccines for mixy. I'm always on the look out for more humanely farmed meat that doesn't come in plastic trays in supermarkets.
You've now made my mouth water....:D

cloverleaf

does anyone know where one might get farmed rabbits ?

Birdnuts

cloverleaf wrote: »

does anyone know where one might get farmed rabbits ?

Most butchers that supply the likes of venison,duck etc. would have farmed rabbit.

joedared

yellowlabrador wrote: »

I love eating farmed rabbit. I suppose if you didn't give up the dayjob and started in a small way, maybe farmers markets and local butchers would be a start. Farmed rabbit is much more like chicken than wild rabbit and as you said, much larger, I'd also talk to a vet about vaccines for mixy. I'm always on the look out for more humanely farmed meat that doesn't come in plastic trays in supermarkets.
You've now made my mouth water....:D

I was hoping to make this my day job.

yellowlabrador

joedared wrote: »

I was hoping to make this my day job.

I think the problem with that would be the scale. Let's say you want to make about 500e a week. You'd have to house, feed and slaughter the rabbit, have a market established.You'd have quite a few overheads and then you need to make your wage. So would you turn over about 1000 rabbits a week?
Start small and build up, I know someone who did that with freerange chickens, expect to spend 1000's first though.

dodderangler

Birdnuts wrote: »

cloverleaf wrote: »

does anyone know where one might get farmed rabbits ?

Most butchers that supply the likes of venison,duck etc. would have farmed rabbit.

My local butcher has asked me to give him rabbits I get from ferretin or shooting in exchange for other meat as loads of people are asking him for it
Anyone I know that has eat farmed rabbit said its nothing compared to wild rabbit that I get from ferreting and shooting
Wild rabbit has no fat at all
Farmed rabbit has plenty of fat
It's like wild duck and farmed duck
I'd rather wild than farmed anyday

joedared

dodderangler wrote: »

My local butcher has asked me to give him rabbits I get from ferretin or shooting in exchange for other meat as loads of people are asking him for it
Anyone I know that has eat farmed rabbit said its nothing compared to wild rabbit that I get from ferreting and shooting
Wild rabbit has no fat at all
Farmed rabbit has plenty of fat
It's like wild duck and farmed duck
I'd rather wild than farmed anyday

But its intresting to hear you say that there is alot of people asking your butcher for rabbit. Where are you based.

Wild rabbit may have a better flavour. but farmed is traceable and more readily available

yellowlabrador

The only way a butcher can deal in wild rabbit is under the counter. You'd have to go through a game dealer. I don't totally agree about flavour. I eat both, and farmed rabbit has a different taste alright, not everyone likes the stronger tasitng wild rabbit and also some people are a bit wary of game.

joedared

you seem very knowledgeable about the subject yellow. Where do you purchase your farmed rabbit?

yellowlabrador

I don't anymore. I live in a small town in west cork and I don't know anywhere that sells rabbit. I used to live abroad and I also spent a few years in London. There most butchers will have farmed rabbit, although I've heard that at the time, and maybe now too, a lot of the rabbit was imported from china. I think that points to the fact that, economically, it would not pay to farm it in Europe
If it could be made to pay on a large scale, it would be happening. Maybe someone from Eastern Europe could enlighten us if it's happening there? If you think about it, it would be quite labour intensive and it's not enough to feed them a bit of grass and hope for the best. Anybody that's dealt with an uncastrated buck can tell you how vicious they can be, they are not cutsey animals. We go shooting for the wild rabbit and for the moment, there are lots of rabbits about That said, if a butcher or farmers market had farmed rabbit, I'd definitely buy it. I'd say about 10e-12e per rabbit would be about the right price.

Boardnashea

Fado fado...
I used to keep a few rabbits for meat. Best was a 9lb cleaned carcass which fed 6 people. We had second hand cages from a mink farm which worked well. I was only doing maybe 20 or 30 a year. Maybe 3 litters from buck and 2 does. I don't remember what we were feeding. Maybe barley and grass. I don't think we bought a mixed feed for them.
I have often thought of starting again but only for my only table but there are objections from the younger members of the family.:(

Boardnashea

Suggest moving to smallholding..?

Tipp Man

I'm currently farming rabbits

Thousand of the little ba####ds have taken over a few acres along our boundary ditch. They are an absolute plague at this stage. you go into a paddock with great grass at the front and 20 yards from the ditch its skinned. It's like having a few cows on it permanently

When i get around to it their will be enough dead rabbit to feed half of munster

joedared

I am looking for what regulations there may be for producing rabbit meat. When there skinned and cleaned how would you dispose of the skins and head, off cuts etc.....

dodderangler

joedared wrote: »

I am looking for what regulations there may be for producing rabbit meat. When there skinned and cleaned how would you dispose of the skins and head, off cuts etc.....

Well when I go hunting and get rabbits i gut them there and then to check the livers on then if they are ok il save the livers for the ferrets and hawk and when I get home I cut around the ankles and cut the skin off up to the head and twist off the head and the hole lot comes off as one
I then put the leftovers in a bag and next day bring them up to a field I hunt and dump them for the foxes and buzzards nothing goes to waste
Or I sometimes take out the intestines and leave the rest in it an give to the hawk

reilig

Lads,

I believe that if you intend hunting wild rabbits (Or any game for that matter) and selling them to a butcher or to the public or a processor you need to have a game dealer's licence. I think you can shoot them and sell them to a game dealer. I'm not 100% on the regs but its worth checking out.

Dumping one or 2 skins and insides of a rabbit in a field is ok, but if you plan on producting rabbits for meat, then you will need to have proper licensed disposal methods.

Its all about traceability I'm afraid.

joedared

reilig wrote: »

Lads,

I believe that if you intend hunting wild rabbits (Or any game for that matter) and selling them to a butcher or to the public or a processor you need to have a game dealer's licence. I think you can shoot them and sell them to a game dealer. I'm not 100% on the regs but its worth checking out.

Dumping one or 2 skins and insides of a rabbit in a field is ok, but if you plan on producting rabbits for meat, then you will need to have proper licensed disposal methods.

Its all about traceability I'm afraid.

Thats a great start. That is the kinda info I was seeking. Where would I find out about such a licencew

bbam

joedared wrote: »

Thats a great start. That is the kinda info I was seeking. Where would I find out about such a licencew

Board Bia ?

CJhaughey

bbam wrote: »

Board Bia ?

I'd ask a local abbatoir if you could put the offal into a bin and pay them for it.
Dept of Ag would be the place to ask about legislation.

djflawless

1st post for me in the f+f forum.but a rabbit farm would depend on various factors.as per usual with anything.and i suppose a lot of red tape.i could go on till the, ahem, rabbits come home about the pros and cons with it.but i wont.ill just throw down a shortlist

pros
With hard times, a lot of people are now turning to people who shoot asking for rabbits
nutritional meat.low fat
quick to prepare for human consumption
very little waste product
High breeding numbers ('ridin like rabbits' was never a joke )


Cons
mixamotosis/liver fluke
end product would have to be cost effective
red tape
Feed types/effects on finished product
laws on keeping them because as far as i know, a wild animal cant be captured and kept for personal gain
and then you have the old 'taboo' of people who wouldnt have a clue

Boardnashea

Ask Food Safelty Authority and/or Teagus