cassie Posted August 10, 2011 Share Posted August 10, 2011 I have recently moved to the Adelaide Hills and there are rabbits everywhere! Is it safe to feed these to the dogs? My OH just text me to ask if he could give one to them. He said he's checked it and it doesn't have "Mixo" (his words, I don't even know what that is or how he would check!) so is it ok? He's the country boy, not me, I don't know about this stuff! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poodlefan Posted August 10, 2011 Share Posted August 10, 2011 Yep.. great food for dogs! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gogee Posted August 10, 2011 Share Posted August 10, 2011 Hah! what a coincidence, as OH and I were just chatting last night about this We are in the hills too, and the surrounding land is usually jumping with bunnies and some hares. The suicidal rabbits who zoom directly in front of us whilst out walking the dogs (on lead) makes for interesting "enrichment"! and sore arms from the lunging! Back to topic, I'd like to know an answer too but suspect that as long as they look healthy it shouldn't be an issue? :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cassie Posted August 10, 2011 Author Share Posted August 10, 2011 Yep.. great food for dogs! Excellent! I knew rabbit was good for dogs, but I assumed this was human-grade rabbit from the butcher, wasn't sure about the feral ones. Thanks for your response. They can have them whole right, fur and head and guts and all? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poodlefan Posted August 10, 2011 Share Posted August 10, 2011 (edited) Yep.. great food for dogs! Excellent! I knew rabbit was good for dogs, but I assumed this was human-grade rabbit from the butcher, wasn't sure about the feral ones. Thanks for your response. They can have them whole right, fur and head and guts and all? Yep. I'd gut them though.. makes a mess and my dogs just removed and left it. mmmm Toy Poodle heaven!! Edited August 10, 2011 by poodlefan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
persephone Posted August 10, 2011 Share Posted August 10, 2011 eew don't feed guts .. rabbit gut /pee smell is very hard to remove !! (and dogs like rolling in it! ) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cassie Posted August 10, 2011 Author Share Posted August 10, 2011 Ok - is this hard to do? Maybe a job for the man of the house Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WreckitWhippet Posted August 10, 2011 Share Posted August 10, 2011 Nup, just make sure yu hold the rabbit with it's bum facing down and press on the bladder towards the tail and squeeze out any urine. Once you;ve emptied the bladder a hack job of gutting it will suffice Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oakway Posted August 10, 2011 Share Posted August 10, 2011 Just don't forget that their is not always a lot fat on rabbits and if fed continuously they may lose weight. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nekhbet Posted August 10, 2011 Share Posted August 10, 2011 (edited) you need to gut the rabbits as this way you can also check if they're riddled with worms. If the rabbits are in heavy livestock country they can have big parasitic cysts on the main leg/shoulder muscle. Make sure you worm your dogs really well if you do feed whole rabbit. For squeamish people dont go staring at this video but yes, hold the rabbit with the back legs hanging down and press in the nook between to emtpy the bladder, then gut them for the dogs. You can leave the liver heart lungs and kidneys in too for the dogs. If the liver is a deep deep red colour with no white marks then the rabbit is fine. Edited August 10, 2011 by Nekhbet Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs Rusty Bucket Posted August 10, 2011 Share Posted August 10, 2011 I read the title of this thread and thought why would anyone want to give food to wild rabbits? Bit of a relief it's more along the lines of making food out of wild rabbits. I've eaten them - whole family has eaten them. Good tucker if you can be stuffed with all the fiddling. We did/do/would skin and gut them first though. If the dogs are having them, skinning is probably optional. First thing my Evil Hound ate off her rabbit fur tug - was the rabbit fur. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gayle. Posted August 11, 2011 Share Posted August 11, 2011 My indoor Burmese cat has escaped the house twice this week and both times he's arrived home dragging a freshly dead wild rabbit, then laid it proudly on the front doorstep. He does this "war dance" around it and tosses it up in the air, then hides it in the woodpile. He partially ate the second one (he started with the head) before hiding it, then my husband disposed of it. My husband has taken to calling him Elmer Fudd (cos he's out hunting wabbits). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cassie Posted August 11, 2011 Author Share Posted August 11, 2011 Thanks for all the tips and info guys, much appreciated Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kiara&Heidi Posted August 11, 2011 Share Posted August 11, 2011 I used to order frozen wild rabbits for my dog (with fur on and gutted), but they smelled really bad - is that normal? They were supposedly 'fresh'. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now