Raw Feeding: Rabbit Sizes…?
I’ve posted “ads” on Craigslist looking for suppliers/butchers in my area – and I’ve received a reply from a Rabbit owner.
He asked what size I wished for the Rabbits: Bunnies, fryers, roasters, or larger.
I’m planning on starting the dogs out on Chickens – as that’s what I’ve been told is best by many people.
But eventually I’ll want to get into Rabbits for them.
He also asked if I’d want them skinned, unskinned, intestines/entrails removed, left in [pretty much gutted & skinned or "whole"].
I know organs are good for the dogs later on – but are Rabbit organs a part of that as well?
So, the list of questions:
What size would be best? Bunny, roasters, fryers, or larger?
With fur or without?
With entrails and intestines – or without? [I'm not looking into gutting the animal besides for organs if needed.]
Would it be wise to allow shipping [we live two hours away, and gas prices are high], or would it be better to drive up and back [4 hours altogether most likely]?
When should I start them on Rabbit? [How long after I start out the raw?]
Thanks!
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The rabbits I get are an average of 2-3 pounds. Those would be your bunnies and fryers. Roasters are generally 4 pounds and up.
What size you get really depends on your dog. Max can eat a whole 3 pound rabbit in one meal, while Bindi will eat in the 2 pound range. There normal “franken prey” meals are 1.5-2 pounds and 1 pound respectively. So the rabbits are probably considered gorging for them and I usually feed a bit lighter the day before or after they have a whole rabbit meal.
The rabbits I get are whole rabbits fur and all. The supplier kills them and freezes them that’s it.
Some dogs won’t take fur on food so be prepared for that. I’d let them try a couple, if they refuse try them skinned. I’d definately leave them intact as far guts go.
While both of my dogs will eat whole fur on rabbit they both have different styles. Max just goes to down and eats the whole thing normally starting with the head. Bindi plucks a bit of fur before starting to eat it. She eat the whole rabbit except the stomach which she carefully sets aside. Oddly enough Max will only eat frozen rabbits, fresh rabbit and I get looked at like I’m nuts. :-/
I’d say you could start them on rabbit after they’ve had chicken for a couple weeks.
Hottrottie you need to read this http://rawfed.com/myths/bloodthirsty.htm…
My dogs eat raw meat everyday. They wouldn’t dream of hurting anyone. Prey animals are different, I’d think nothing of it they went after a prey animal that’s what dogs do, its instinct. By the way my dogs regularly eat whole rabbits yet if I let them out and there’s a rabbit in the yard you’d swear they went blind. They could care less about a live rabbit even if it runs from them.
i agree with sighthounds its much easier just to get a whole rabbit that has not been tampered with.
I would ask for them dead, and that’s it. The animals that I buy have fur, heads, feet, tails, organs, and everything thing else, just a dead animal that has been untouched or altered.
I would go with roasters or fryers. Large rabbits can get very very large, and a dog may not be able to finish one and you’ll have to deal with half an animal carcass. If you have a smaller dog go with bunny.
With fur. With entrails.
It would be fine to ship as long as they are shipped with freeze packets to keep them cold.
Start as soon as you get them, it’s just like feeding any other raw meat, you really don’t need much acclimation at all. Feed when you get it, or whenever you want.
For your mother, tell her the rabbits are going to be eaten anyway, whether your dog eats them, or someone else buys them and eats them, the animal is already dead and is going to be eaten by someone. Also, rabbit breeders and showers, for 4H and other similar groups, frequently have culls. They kill the rabbits for whatever reason, and frequently they have nothing to do with them, but throw them out, feeding those to your dog will be making use of otherwise trash.
I don’t know where you are or how much you’re buying the rabbits for, but the website below has cheap whole rabbits for dogs, cheaper than most places I’ve seen.
EDIT: Yes fur is highly digestible, and it makes feeding raw safer. One problem some people have with feeding raw is bones puncturing or scraping the dogs intestine. The fur wraps around the stool and seems to protect their intestines from bones. Some dogs may not at first know that a fur wrapped carcass is food, if that happens you can slit the animal open and show them the goodies inside.
The size depends on how many meals you feed a day. I feed 3 meals a day. Do you have to feed 3 meals a day? Not at all! But I work my dogs hard, every single day, and as we all know, feeding 1 big meal + extreme exercise = bloat (even though I believe the chances of a dog getting bloat on a raw diet are significantly reduced). I do recommend 2 meals for the average pet, morning and night. Rabbit sizing isn’t so clear cut, roasters are generally mature rabbits (3 and a half-4 pounds up). Fryers tend to be smaller…bunnies…well that’s a sizing the seller you’re interested in uses for him/herself! My males weigh 90 pounds and eat about 3 pounds of meat a day so, ideally, two 1.5 pound young rabbits would be perfect if I fed them in two meals OR of course, half of a 3 pound rabbit. But anyway, the size issue is up to you and how much food a day your dogs need. Secondly, I have fed rabbit both with fur and without. Rabbit with the fur = HUGE MESS. Your dog will pluck most of the fur off and it’ll be all over your kitchen/in your grass in the backyard. No it won’t hurt them but it has no dietary benefit, it can’t be digested, and the only possible argument for it is of course cushioning the digestion of bones which again is crap considering that dog’s ancestors were wolves, and wolves usually eat large game aka little fur to LOTS of meat organ and bone ratios. The circumstances might be different if dogs came from foxes as foxes eat small game aka their meals have almost fur as meat, lol (think voles and young rabbits). If I were you I’d get skinned with organs intact frozen delivered to my home. Size wouldn’t matter, price to weight might. I hope I helped with this long drawn out answer!
And as far as when can you/should you start feeding rabbit? Now is fine. rabbit is easier for a dog to digest than chicken. Birds give dogs pretty soft stools, other game animals are a tad easier to digest. Those first few days of switching to raw are always more h*** if you start with chicken instead of beef or rabbit or goat!
why would you want to give raw feedings,they get the taste for wild animals and may hurt other animals or even worst a child.i really see no good in this,sorry