Rabbit

Rabbit Our breeding stock is raised in the hoop house that over winters our laying hens and serves as the brooder house for our broilers, turkeys, and ducks in the summer. They are fed a diet of pellets, free choice hay and grasses cut for them when it is growing. Their droppings fall to the ground and the hens incorporate these into the deep bedding. This built up bedding is removed yearly and composted to amend our garden soil.

We have spent many hours catching escaped rabbits that had dug out of their pasture pens. Thankfully, we met Daniel Salatin at the small farm conference in Gaylord. He has many years experience raising rabbits on pasture and instructed us on how he has successfully accomplished this. We look forward to trying this and hope to have better results. With some minor adjustments we are now able to successfully finish rabbit on pasture.

The fat a rabbit deposits is laid down in a layer between the skin and meat, producing a very lean and protein rich meat. It does require careful cooking, because its meat is not buffered by fat. The meat is unforgiving if cooked too fast and results will be less than desirable. If you haven't had rabbit before, I urge you to try some. I will be happy to share some of our favorite recipes to ensure success.