For those of you who don’t know, we are raising rabbits.  We are raising a breed of meat rabbits called Californians.  Our reason for doing this is to put some high quality meat on our table.  There ya go, plain and simple.

We have our breeders.  What they produce will be butchered by my hubby and my sons.  I will cook it and serve it to the family.

Now, I am not a “really and truly” farm girl, but I don’t have any hesitation about this whole proccess.  When I was a kid my dad and brother hunted and we ate what they killed.  What we’re doin’ is not so different from that, just that this will be tastier due to the controlled diet of my rabbits, and more tender because they’ll be younger.

Our rabbits will be table ready at about 8 – 10 weeks old.  That is the part of the plan that makes this financially feasable for the backyard.  We don’t have to have a lot of growing cages.

The actual slaughter and dressing out will be done in our garage.  While raising and breeding rabbits is very easy, this will be the most difficult task in the whole process.

I have gotten many “raised eyebrows” about this.  I think the reason is that we don’t live on a farm or even in the country.  We live in a regular house, in a regular subdivision, in the big city.  Folks just don’t expect city slickers like us to be raising food in our backyard.  If we did live on a farm then this would be a “normal” part of the stereotypical daily farm-life.

I’m kind of surprised at how far the “eyebrows raised” questions usually go.  I understand that there will be some curiosity.

Friend:  ”WHAT???  People EAT rabbits?!?!?

Me:  ”???  Um, yeah.” (I really thought all adults knew this.)

Friend: “Will y’all do the deed, or take ‘em to a place for that?”

Me: “Hubs will teach the boys how to do that.  No need to pay someone for something we can do.”

That much curiosity I understand, but so far, it has gone much further, every time.

Friend:  ”Really?  That doesn’t bother you?”

Me:  ”Nope, not a bit.  Why should it?  It’s a valuable skill.  I’m thrilled for the boys to have the opportunity to learn.”

Friend:  ”But the rabbits… they’re cute.  Doesn’t that bother you?”

Me:  ”Well, I also think chickens are cute, but I don’t enjoy any food more than I enjoy BBQ chicken.”  (losing grip on my charming demeanor just a bit)

Friend:  ”But, this is different than hunting.  They’ll actually have to .. you know… kill them.”

Me:  (starting to wonder if I’m really insensitive or if there’s something about me that screams “I am not cut out for farm life!”)  ”I don’t expect them to enjoy it.  I would have a real problem with that.  I do expect them to be able to put food on the table in the event that their adult lives aren’t as cushy as ours have been.”

I’m gonna have hubs teach me, too.

Friend:  ” Yeah, but when you’re hunting the animal is already dead by the time you get up close to it.  This is gonna be a live animal that they have to kill with their hands.”

Me:  (In my head only.) “Well, shooting them in the cage is just gonna make a mess, and it would be really loud, and it would scare the other rabbits to death.  Well then, that would solve that little problem with one shot, huh?”  (and in real life) “Yeah, this will be harder, but we’re raising them to be capable men.”

I just never realized how many puzzled questions there would be.  Doing this makes perfect sense to me and mine.  Our gov’t is in the car business already, what will we do if the Obomanation decides to get into the grocery business?

What do you think?  Do you raise food at your place?  Do you wish you could raise more food at your place?  (I’d have some laying hens or some dual-purpose hens.)  (And a dairy goat.)

Could you slaughter an animal to put food on the table if you had to?  Squirrels are a dime a dozen ’round here, wait, I mean they’re free for the shootin’.  I’d eat that.  Would you?