How much would it cost to get an invite to dinner? I've always wanted to try rabbit.

We'll have to have you over after we get production up and running! We'll do pot luck style, so all you'll need to bring is delicious!

Never tried rabbit. Do let us know how they taste ^w^

It's a nice mild white meat flavour. Domestic rabbits can be cooked anyway you'd do chicken, we've had crockpot rabbit and rabbit nachos in the past couple months and it was very tasty!

Sounds delicious~ :D

om a nom!

If you need any tips or help raising them, i'd be glad to give some advice. I have a big flemish giant as a pet, not food. But I am not opposed to those who raise animals for food. Nonetheless, either way, it is important to keep them healthy until 'harvest'.

Those Flemish Giants are so cute! They only get the best pellets and hey as well as the best selection of greens from the garden! But I'll be sure to come your way if I have any questions =3

By 'hay' do you mean literal hay? As that has insufficient nutritional content. They should have an unlimited supply of ideally timothy hay, or a blend of timothy hay, meadow grass, orchard grass, etc. Avoid alfalfa! Pellets are necessary to supplement their diet. Avoid pellets with too many vegetables or non-pellet mixtures as those are often mixed with meat pellets from overstocked cat food and other wierd, horrible stuff- plus they're dangerously high in fat and protein. Pellets are a supplement and shouldn't be the bulk of their diet. Fresh greens and herbs are fine (best to avoid garlic, onions, and similar- tho most rabbits tolerate these fine) as snacks and treats, but again, shouldn't bulk. A big problem rabbit owners often have is intestinal blockages from insufficient fiber (usually due to little or not timothy hay) and gastroentestinal stasis caused by excessive starches and sugary food (like carrots). Some also feed their rabbits grass clippings which would be okay if cut without a mower and garunteed free of fertilizer and pesticides, but if mowed there will be a lot of petrochemicals left in it, enough to cause potential health problems. Rabbits are amazingly susceptible to poisons, to a degree that is astounding. Even having pets treated for fleas, such as cats, can rub against a bunny and cause a toxic shock. Rabbits of meat breeds tend to fatten up just fine without any extra help. Flemish Giants for example are complete fucking pigs, like my little MIPS. Little booger'll take a finger off for some cilantro. XD

Other tips include that if you pick up your bunny, you should support the rump and all four legs and not try to turn them upside down or on their side. Some tolerate being picked up far better, especially if accustomed to it at a young age, others will never be alright. Their personalities vary.

Socialization is integral for rabbit health, so keep them company with other rabbits (or cats, oddly, do well together) or be sure to give them 1-2 hours of supervised out-of-cage time with lots of pets and attention. Rabbits are real princesses, so they can be quite demanding of your attention. Chewing on cage bars or wire, running circles around you, nibbling, licking, tugging, and biting at your skin or clothes are all demands for attention.

The two most severe diseases commonly seen in rabbits in my experience is Myxy (myxomitosis) and EC (Encephalitozoon Cuniculi). Untreated, EC can be fatal, and often results in eye, nerve, and renal (kidney) damage. It is a fungus or protozoan (jury's out.. somehow.. on which) which CAN, albeit rarely, infect humans. Treatment is very effective with a variety of drugs, but usually once it is noticed it has done damage. Most commonly it manifests first with white or discolored spots on the *iris* (not the pupil- that's usually cataracts) and may look like a zit or worm inside the eye itself. If treated at first sign, neurological and renal problems can usually be avoided.
Myxy, if contracted, is invariably fatal. A vaccine exists but is not available in all countries and states. It is cheap, however, and adviseable if your rabbit will be housed in hutches outside, exposed to wild animals, or housed with a large number of other rabbits, or other pets and livestock in the wild. It mostly travels by contact rabbit-to-rabbit. Symptoms include large, painful boils and ulcers anywhere on the body, but often targeting soft tissue such as mouth, eyes, nose, and genitals. Blisters in the mouth, throat, and lungs. Coughing up blood, oozing pus or blood from the nostrils, pus or blood from the anus or genitals, bloody stool, difficulty breathing, swelling and ejection or rupture of the eyes, deafness, neurological disorders, seizures, and eventually death. If you suspect myxy, quarantine the animal immediately and see a veterinarian. If confirmed, the most humane thing is to euthenize the animal. DO NOT eat or bury the corpse, it is reccomended to dispose of in a sterilization procedure to avoid spreading to livestock and other animals. Maintain the quarantine with all animals for several weeks to a month at the advice of the veterinarian. Some treatments exists, but are not often effective and can be costly, painful, and stressful, so most feel they are not worth persuing for the animal's welfare.

Rabbits practice a form of coprophagy. A special form of movement from the cecum is produced that resembles a cream or bunch of grapes, and is typically consumed immediately or shortly after passing. This is normal and should not be discouraged, as it is required for normal digestive health.
Normal bowel movements should be hard, dry pellets. Diarrhea, watery, or slimy, stick movements are never normal and indicate immediate health concern.



I think that covers pretty much everything a rabbit owner needs to know, really, besides enrichment and bonding practices, which i'm unsure if you want to go through. If so, just ask!