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It was a rough day on the homestead. I finally went ahead with slaughter day today. It is the last warm day of the year. It got up to 86 degrees. The highs for the nest week are only expected to be in the 60's. I figured if I didn't do it today, I wasn't going to get it done.
Though there were seven rabbits on the dreaded "list" - I only processed two. My husband is quick to remind me that if I can't slaughter, then I need to get rid of rabbits and focus on gardening. I'm not ready to be a vegetarian just yet... I love bacon too much. And my kids need protein.
I do have to re-think something. Be it what breeds and colors we're working with, or with pricing to try to sell more and slaughter less. But as of right now we're running through $130 in rabbit food every month, and I haven't sold any since before we moved (one month ago). That leaves me with an extra 34 bunnies to feed that are currently for sale. That's a lot of feed!
Today, I took two lives. This won't make a big change in my feed costs as both were smaller rabbits. It does put an additional 4.25 pounds of healthy, lean meat in my pantry. Slaughter day is never a fun day. It makes me physically sick, and I will probably have myself a good long sobbing cry when I head to bed - when the kids are asleep and won't ask me why I'm crying. It takes a lot out of me to have to take a life.
To honor the ultimate sacrifice these two rabbits made today, I have attempted to make as much use from their bodies as I can. Not just the meat that will be in the freezer, and the pelts that are tucked away in the freezer for future tanning. I looked up how to preserve feet so we can make "lucky rabbits feet." Ironically as a child I thought they were disgusting. Why would anyone carry around a dismembered animal body part? Much less thinking they're lucky - clearly it wasn't lucky for the animal that died for you to carry it around... And yet here I am making them (or attempting to) to try to make use of everything and not waste. I figured the same treatment could also preserve the tails, so those are in the jar of 70% rubbing alcohol tonight as well. They'll stay in there for two days before moving on to the next step (rinsing and then soaking in a water/Borax mixture for another 24 hours).
For those wondering, I use the broomstick method. The rabbit is happily nibbling on grass one moment, and gone the next. They don't panic, they're not scared, and it's over almost instantly. I was a little relieved that today the two rabbits hardly moved. The videos on YouTube show rabbits violently kicking after they've been killed. While both of ours did make motions with their hind legs, they were small motions, and over much faster than those I've seen in other videos. Perhaps that's a good sign.
My littlest girl asked me as I was processing a rabbit - "Do you think her soul is still here?" and I said "No, I think she went to bunny heaven right away. What we do with her body doesn't matter to her now." She seemed to accept this answer and move on.
Everywhere I seem to find that people who process rabbits give pieces to their dogs and cats as treats and that their animals love these tidbits. So I offered a small piece to Gypsy, who sniffed it, looked disgusted, and walked away. I offered a set of lungs to Moose - he loves to eat everything, surely he'd wolf it down right? Well, no. Turns out he doesn't like raw food. He refused it entirely.
So in an attempt to make it more palatable, I am dehydrating the ears and face masks tonight to see if the dog and barn cat will prefer them "cooked" instead.
We thank the two bunnies tonight for their lives. For sharing those lives with us, and for letting us be nourished by their bodies. Rest in peace dead furry friends.