# Processing rabbits culled for disease?



## mir116 (May 27, 2012)

I'm culling all my snotters tomorrow. I think I am going to wait on the sneezers. The weather is supposed to break tomorrow or Tuesday, so the heat will be gone. Perhaps they will recover? Anyway can I process rabbits that appear to have an upper resp. infection? Or should I just cull and dispose?


----------



## Hens and Roos (May 28, 2012)

not sure how that would effect the over all quality of the meat, personally not sure I would save them for eating, hopfully someone with more insight will post and help you out.  Sorry to hear that you are dealing with sick ones


----------



## mir116 (May 28, 2012)

Thanks. It's been upsetting. Last night the temp dropped into the lower 70s and all but one of my sick ones perked up and started eating and bouncing around. We're almost done with them now. The only ones left are my does that were not in the shed with the others and two bucks that seem fine.


----------



## secuono (May 28, 2012)

I would think it only bothers the lungs, so if you toss the internal organs and just eat the meat, you'd be fine or give it to pets.


----------



## WhiteMountainsRanch (May 28, 2012)

*I've never done it, but my friend who also raises rabbits has always butchered the sneezers to eat. He's still alive and doing well today!*


----------



## mir116 (May 28, 2012)

Thanks for your reply. That was our reasoning as well. The one that was obviously sick and suffering we culled and disposed of him. The sneezers we processed. They didn't seem all that sick. 

I'll stew them good. I'm sure it will be fine.


----------



## adorable (Jun 10, 2012)

once you have that many sick rabbits in your herd. You are best to cull of them and start over. You will think you got them all ,but in a few weeks more will start up. I dont know what your set up is like or how many rabbits you have. ...If you have some seperate from the sick bunch. Then you might be alright to increase with the one that are not showing any signs. 

Yes you can eat them as long there lungs and livers look ok.


----------



## mir116 (Jun 10, 2012)

I think I may have panicked and culled unnecessarily. There was only one rabbit snotting. The doe that died was pregnant, and it has been unseasonably hot and dry here. I think that was the primary reason for the sickness and death. 

I don't have all my bunnies under one roof. So it is possible to keep groups separate from each other.


----------



## adorable (Jun 10, 2012)

mir116 said:
			
		

> I think I may have panicked and culled unnecessarily. There was only one rabbit snotting. The doe that died was pregnant, and it has been unseasonably hot and dry here. I think that was the primary reason for the sickness and death.
> 
> I don't have all my bunnies under one roof. So it is possible to keep groups separate from each other.


The heat will bring things on. The change in weather is hard on them. ..I would keep bucks in one spot and the girls in another ect. It helps if something goes around so you dont loose everyone.


----------



## mir116 (Jun 10, 2012)

I do have the does separate from the bucks. 

It's been terrible here. It's not normal to have 95F temps in May, which is when all this started happening. We haven't had more than a half-inch of rain in the last month. I'm in OHIO. This is so far outside the norm I dunno what to do. My garden looks like crap. The creek is drying up. And officials won't let the gas companies take water out of the reservoirs. That's how dry it's been.


----------

