Eating wild rabbit?
 

I just wondered if eating wild rabbit can give you trichinosis, or is there only a certain time of year you should harvest?

I have two all cleaned up now and was wondering if I should eat it, or give it to my dog?

Re: Eating wild rabbit?
 

You should not give it to your dog unless cooked. Same as if you would eat it.

Any wild game should be thoroughly cooked. Deep freezing prior to cooking can help kill SOME of the parasite, but not all.

I used to eat rabbit a lot years ago, and always used it in gumbos and stews for this reason. Boiled it first to cook and make sure everything was dead, then made my stews and gumbo as usual. This double cooking pretty much assured no worries about parasitic worms.

Oh, and when butchering, keep the entrails and left over parts away from your animals and dispose of.

PS> An overnight buttermilk soak really sweetens up the meat!

Re: Eating wild rabbit?
 

Thanks for the tips

Re: Eating wild rabbit?
 

My father works with a fellow who had a drop of infected blood fly up into his eye during cleaning. He is now blind in that eye. I haven't hunted in years, but due to this close encounter dad was always leery when cleaning rabbits. We took the precautions of wearing gloves and because dad wore glasses he would do the cleaning. never did stop us from cocking them real well and eating though.

Re: Eating wild rabbit?
 

I see there wont be any problems dealing with wild game when TSHFT

Re: Eating wild rabbit?
 

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Re: Eating wild rabbit?
 

I've never heard of trichinosis being an issue with rabbit. The beef we eat as well as the venison are all existing on the same range as the wascally wabbit.

The only two animals that I have heard have that parasite are hogs and bears. I have never cooked bear, but trichinosis is why I understand it is a good idea to cook all the pink out of your pork before eating.

Re: Eating wild rabbit?
 

I raise rabbits and they are by far my favorite animal to raise and eat compared to my chickens, turkeys, and pigs. My favorite way to cook them is to dress about an eight week old rabbit, season with "Carolina Seasoning" and put it in the Ronco Rotessierie for about 30 minutes. The result is melt in your mouth rabbit. Second best way to cook is grill over a hardwood charcoal fire. When I fry them, I also save the liver to fry. The liver is the most delicate and mild liver you will ever taste. In WWII, rabbit meat was supplied to warships because it is so much more high protein than chicken, therefore, more calories could be carried in the limited food storage space.

Re: Eating wild rabbit?
 

You might be thinking about tulermia, otherwise known as "rabbit fever". http://www.zkea.com/archives/archive02009.html

http://cbwinfo.com/Biological/Pathogens/FT.html

Tulermia is a bacterial disease and I have a bit of anecdotal info about it. A neighbor of my folks had his son come down sick and was treated by a variety of doctors, none of which could help the kid. Finally, some doctor put 2 and 2 together and diagnosed him with tulermia and got the right antibiotics prescribed. Turns out the kid was an avid rabbit hunter.

Re: Eating wild rabbit?
 

I have dressed hundreds of wild and domesticated rabbits and have only seen two cases of Tulermia. The infected animals have white spots or leasons on thier livers in the early stages of the disease. They contract the disease from eating grass that has been urinated on by an carrier rabbit. I did not eat either of the two that I daignosed, but if you cook the meat thoroughly, high heat will kill the organism. Just do not dress rabbits if you have open cuts or wounds on your hands, as the organism is can easily be transferred via blood.

Re: Eating wild rabbit?
 

+1 on the liver spots.
I also seem to remember during an aviator survival course hearing that the disease is more active in the summer months. I believe that we were told to avoid rabbits during the months that didn't have an "r" in their spelling (pretty much summer). Can anyone confirm?

Re: Eating wild rabbit?
 

You're right I got it mixed up.

Re: Eating wild rabbit?
 

I heard something about only eating during certain months too.

Re: Eating wild rabbit?
 

I did some more reading, and I dont think trichinosis is very common in rabbots, since it is usually transmitted by eating the meat of an infected animal. Carnivores and Omnivores would be more susceptible. Possible but not probable.

Re: Eating wild rabbit?
 

Tularemia is nasty stuff. I read a book written by a former Soviet bioweapons maker--I can't remember his name--and Tularemia was one of their favorites. I believe there was an outbreak from the factory in the early 80s. NOT pretty.

Re: Eating wild rabbit?
 

I always heard that here in the midwest you shouldn't hunt rabbit until after the first hard freeze, due to whatever disease they might carry.

Re: Eating wild rabbit?
 

I never heard of trich in rabbits eiether, although here in Michigan, there is some type of parasite we just call "worms" and Old Timers dont eat them until the first frost.Im sure the frost doesnt actually kill the worms as a rabbit is so warm,and is just myth from older days,id say cooking should kill any parasite.

Re: Eating wild rabbit?
 

I would suggest not eating carnivores or omnivores as they will be likely to have more diseases (especially worms and stuff) from the animals they eat. I do love the rabbit. Nice in as satay. yum

Re: Eating wild rabbit?
 

Par boil, cut in to 1 inch cubes, add to sauce, slo-cook.....enjoy!!

Re: Eating wild rabbit?
 

I've read a little on rabbits some time back and I believe rabbits were heavily used and raised as a food source during the great depression. They are one of the few animals that can reproduce fast enough to sustain your family.
One problem with eating rabbits is that they are all protien with -0- fat.
Your body needs a certain amount of fat to exist, so you can't live primarily off of this meat.

Re: Eating wild rabbit?
 

Too many wormy rabbits Ive shot.

I'll raise my own gourmet bunnies when I want rabbit,thats GOOD food!

Re: Eating wild rabbit?
 

Yup,which is why I buy and consume tuna packed in oils.May need that oil someday.I need to get some lard stored,I keep forgetting.

Re: Eating wild rabbit?
 

Now I'm impressed! At one point in my life I was catching 20-25 rabbits a week and cooking them for dog food. I could have caught more, but that was 3-4 per day and I was just adding them to commercial dog food to improve it for my hounds.

I was using snares; how was your cousin catching them? And were those a variety of wild rabbit or domesticated rabbits gone feral?

Carver

Re: Eating wild rabbit?
 

It's always soy oil, which I try to avoid (full of phytoestrogen)

Re: Eating wild rabbit?
 

Re: Eating wild rabbit?
 

it's been over 20 years since i've field dressed a rabbit
but just did some recent googling
and found some info about boiling any suspicious meat for 20 minutes
and throwing out the boiling water and rinsing said meat with fresh water
and then cooking said meat as you see fit

seems like a lot of extra prepping for rabbit meat ( or any suspicious meat )
but i'll take the extra time to safeguard my health