I have a bunny.. next?

[Deleted]

I finnal got my hands on a whole rabbit, (btw whole feeders how much would a whole rabbit cost you?) anyhow.. what next, I only have two ferrets who arnt big eaters so It will take them days to finish. Can I cut it into 1/4 while it's still frozen? Do I need to gut it, a larger animal would have more waste in it?

[goingpostal]

How much does it weigh? I usually partially thaw rabbits and chop them up into smaller bits and I gut them because mine won't touch it and it would make a mess if you didn't chop carefully. I pay $5-6 for a small (2-3 pound) rabbit.

[Heather]

Congratulations on the find. I usually semi thaw my rabbit, just enough to let my serrated knife bite into it (then it can cut it, thawed rabbit stinks) I cut mine in half (yes, that's why you don't thaw it out) take a small knife and take the frozen stomach and intestines out (it comes out all in one piece...just cut around the edges and slide a spoon under the whole mess and it pops out) Cut into manageable pieces, refreeze what you don't need. It's simple. My guys are having a hard time dealing with the depth of fur on my suppliers rabbits (they're gorgeous) so, I cut some of it off.
As far as cost, the bunnies cost me $4 lb.
ciao

[Sherry]

Fantastic! I also gut mine. And usually have to partially skin it, since mine are....spoiled The last lot, they wouldn't touch, but I think they may were likely males coming into rut. Only explanation for all of them refusing them at the same time.

[crazylady]

LoL sounds to me like spoiled fuzzys sherry why bother working round the fur stuff mom will do it for us lol ( can see it would be no good taking you guys out on a ferreting trip lol I gut them while still warm lol ) you should get 10-12 portions from a 3-4 pound rabbit if your cutting it up into pieces ( 2 back legs 4-6 pieces from back and two front portions ( half a rib cage and leg either side ) I normally just throw away the heads if you split them length ways down the spine its easier to cut into portions with a good pair of snips that go through both bone and fur hope this helps take care bye for now
Bev aka crazy lady
p.s I cannot believe you guys actually get charged for the gut weight ! ( boy your paying for an extra 8oz to 10 oz weight depending on when it last ate !)

[Deleted]

Hah! What lucky ferrets you have Sherry. Hopefully they can work around the fur..

Whole prey is really expensive here! The bunny I picked upis 570g (1.2lb) at $20 a 480g rat will cost me $14.95 :/ -signs- I'll take it out the freazer tomorrow and see what I can do with it.

[Sherry]

Yeah, they are spoiled alright. But when the little beggars won't eat for almost 2 days running, I finally cave

[Deleted]

Does anyone feed the head? It seams like such a waste :/

[Sherry]

A couple of mine really enjoy chewing on it, but they never get very far with it. Just the ears and snout chewed up a bit.
One thing I found mine absolutely adored was the chance to play around with it before it was cut up.

[Heather]

Cut the bunny head in half, there is some brain matter if they can get at it.
ciao

[Deleted]

Thats what I was thinking Heather.

The whole bunny? .. sounds like something my guys would love but I'll see how they go with it.. I might have to be a day in the bathroom.

[Sherry]

Here's what I mean, navcot:

the 3 girls:




Zeus and Athena:

[lorelei0922]

mine always go for the brain first... especially pregnant jills...

like Bev i field dress and give them the whole lot fur on.. but then i have a group of 10 - 14 eating so they get through a lot of rabbit lol

[Deleted]

So I also just got my fuzz a freshly killed rabbit about 2 and a half days ago now. I got mine for a whopping $8 + 25lbs of frozen mixed meats because the guy had to make room in his freezer, I find that it is much cheaper to find a rabbit breeder and just get the whole thing from them, plus they charge less if the only thing they have to do is kill it.

At first my fuzz werent sure what to do, but ended up trying to open the throat of the bunny. you can watch on youtube here and here

They were having trouble opening the skin so i ended up making some holes in it for them which got them interested again, until the intestines came out an dwere stinking up the place. I highly suggest, if you open the rabbit for your ferrets to remove the intestines and stomach before they get to it. I barely touched the intestines and they EXPLODED (literally) everywhere. it was not a pleasant smell. I then put them in their cage with the rabbit and left it there for a day, they nibbled on it here and there, but I didn't want to waste any meat or fur, so I ended up removing it, skinning it so i could keep the fur, chopping it up into quarters and plan on giving it to them in the upcoming days.
I also removed the head and smashed the skull, then split the skull by putting a large knife into the mouth and using leverage to crack it open. They LOVED the brain! part of the head is still in the cage, but the other half is only jaw bone now. I also removed the feet and tail of the bunny to save and turn into earrings and a clip LOL.

So.... my suggestion....with whatever you do, jut observe and make sure they are eating it faster than it is wrotting.

Mine were trying to go through the furr on their own so yours might also, But in my personal opinion if you are going to give them a whole rabbit THAT way, you might want to go and get a freshly killed rabbit that hasnt been frozen. just my opinion.

Anyways!!! Keep us updated on your fuzz and their bunny! Its super cool to see them tearing it apart.
Good Luck1!!

[Deleted]

Thanks for the advice Fleapop. I never got around to cutting up the rabbit for Chico :/ It's still in the freezer waiting, rabbits can be frozen for 3-6 months? eh I really don't like storing food for too long. My freezer is full of food my new kit can't(wont) eat yet. -signs-

I will try the rabbit after his eating other large whole pray items. There's no way I'm giving my single house ferret a whole rabbit ;D
Did your ferrets end up eating that bunny?