# Whole rabbits fur and all, still living



## bridget246 (Oct 26, 2011)

I got a contact from my craigslist add from a lady who said she has a rabbit problem in her backyard. She'll allow me to trap as many as I want as long as I take them off her property. Can Bridget eat them?


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## ciaBrysh (Dec 16, 2011)

I would think as long as you keep up on de-worming your dog...Are you planning on feeding them live and allowing Bridget to catch them? Or are you killing them first? If you are killing them first just deep freeze them for a couple of days just in case =)


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## bridget246 (Oct 26, 2011)

ciaBrysh said:


> I would think as long as you keep up on de-worming your dog...Are you planning on feeding them live and allowing Bridget to catch them? Or are you killing them first? If you are killing them first just deep freeze them for a couple of days just in case =)


Will do. I'll deep freeze them for a week. I'm afraid to use any dewormer on Bridget that I don't have to use. So she can eat the fur too?


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## wolfsnaps88 (Jan 2, 2012)

I would kill them first (no sense torturing a rabbit). I would check their liver before feeding it to the dog.Wild rabbits can be affected by tularemia. Tularemia - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

I would not feed an infected rabbit to a dog. If the liver has yellow spots, throw it out. If it all looks good inside, freeze for a few weeks to kill off any worms. I shot a rabbit in January. It is still in my freezer. I will be feeding it off when I have the time to defrost and gut it (stupid me, I froze it whole).


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## Liz (Sep 27, 2010)

There are 100% natural dewormers.


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## wolfsnaps88 (Jan 2, 2012)

If your dog has never eaten an animal with fur intact, she may not know what to do. She CAN eat the fur (I imagine it is good roughage) but she may not know to. If she refuses, skin it and let her play with the hide.


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## bridget246 (Oct 26, 2011)

Liz said:


> There are 100% natural dewormers.


Again, we need that natural forum. Somehow I think I might have missed this. I would hate to ask for the list but can I have a list?


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## Liz (Sep 27, 2010)

As a preventative or for mild cases of worms we use unsweetened shredded coconut in their food, dried ground pumpkin seed is another and Grapefruits Seed Extract is for more serious cases. Diatamacous Earth is also a good worm preventative.


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## Dude and Bucks Mamma (May 14, 2011)

If you want to try giving it to her whole I have heard that splitting the hide open to get the scent of the meat and blood (the familiar "food" scent) right out there on the surface will help them grasp the idea of what they are supposed to be doing with it (eating it).

And Tiffany, I didn't know about checking the livers. Thanks for the info! I don't have the access to rabbits like that but now I know what do if I ever do. 

And, for the record, I would feed them to my dogs.


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## Tobi (Mar 18, 2011)

Where are the worms coming from again? :lol:

Tobi has eaten whole prey that I've killed, I've also given him roadkilled squirrel and rabbit... WHOLE fresh... never frozen and he's never gotten worms. 
About Tularemia, you can also get it from inhaling dust whilst mowing your lawn, petting your cat, and laying in the grass on a warm spring day! lol In fact the CDC quarantined some pet stores for selling contaminated hamsters to people... just saying it's everywhere.

As for the fur, you might have to tear it apart a little bit, to show that it's edible inside to them, Tobi thought it was a stuffed animal for a while then found nummies inside.

ETA: a good way to kill them as well... broom method, fastest way i've tried.


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## wolfsnaps88 (Jan 2, 2012)

Tobi. I agree. The tularemia bacteria can be everywhere. A simple glance at the liver can tell you though, so why not? I personally would not feel comfortable feeding an infected animal to my dogs.


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## ciaBrysh (Dec 16, 2011)

hmm What is this "broom" method you speak of? lol. My curiosity is getting the best of me.


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## wolfsnaps88 (Jan 2, 2012)

It is where you put a broom handle horizontally across the neck of a rabbit and push down hard and pull on the rabbit to break the neck.


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## wolfsnaps88 (Jan 2, 2012)

Not sure if I can post this? This is the broom handle method. Please do not watch if you can not handle it. 

Butchering Meat Rabbit - YouTube


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## Halliebrooks (Dec 8, 2011)

Liz said:


> There are 100% natural dewormers.


Really? 
Where do you get these? From a holistic vet or something? 
I want all the info! Lolz


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## Liz (Sep 27, 2010)

Grocery store! It is amazing things nature has provided to stay healthy.


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## twoisplenty (Nov 12, 2008)

Our male had round worm ( only kibble fed dog in the house) and I know it was round worm cause he puked it up! hwell:. I asked Liz, she said ground raw pumpkin seeds for 7-10 days so I grabbed some from the grocery store (its in the natural/organic section) and bought a cheap coffee grinder. Took a stool sample into my vet on day 14 and no round worms or eggs were seen


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## DDBsR4Me (Jan 23, 2012)

twoisplenty said:


> Our male had round worm ( only kibble fed dog in the house) and I know it was round worm cause he puked it up! hwell:. I asked Liz, she said ground raw pumpkin seeds for 7-10 days so I grabbed some from the grocery store (its in the natural/organic section) and bought a cheap coffee grinder. Took a stool sample into my vet on day 14 and no round worms or eggs were seen


How much do you feed?


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## bridget246 (Oct 26, 2011)

DDBsR4Me said:


> How much do you feed?


Good question and I wonder about that too. You know until we get that sub forum maybe Liz or someone else can make a thread here about it. Just a really long opening thread full of good info on different things. Then we can just keep bumping it up.


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## Scarlett_O' (May 19, 2011)

bridget246 said:


> Good question and I wonder about that too. You know until we get that sub forum maybe Liz or someone else can make a thread here about it. Just a really long opening thread full of good info on different things. Then we can just keep bumping it up.


Liz started this thread a while back: http://dogfoodchat.com/forum/dog-health-issues-question/14800-holistic-natural-remedies.html
Also doing a google or DFC search on your own will find you many of the answers your looking for.


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## bridget246 (Oct 26, 2011)

Scarlett_O' said:


> Liz started this thread a while back: http://dogfoodchat.com/forum/dog-health-issues-question/14800-holistic-natural-remedies.html
> Also doing a google or DFC search on your own will find you many of the answers your looking for.


Google search normally brings up a lot of different amounts from various different searches. And really searches depend greatly on keywords that we may not always get right so their use isn't perfect.

ACV got the right amount of what to give. Pumpkin seeds amounts didn't. Just typing in pumpkin seeds didn't make it clear which thread had how much by looking through the titles. But thank you for the link as I think I missed that one.

A random google search to me is a little scary as I'm not sure of the source of who is posting it. I know Liz and a few other people here have a ton of experiences and what they are sharing is what they learned over the years. I just wish that knowledge was easier to find on this forum.


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## Scarlett_O' (May 19, 2011)

bridget246 said:


> Google search normally brings up a lot of different amounts from various different searches. And really searches depend greatly on keywords that we may not always get right so their use isn't perfect.
> 
> ACV got the right amount of what to give. Pumpkin seeds amounts didn't. Just typing in pumpkin seeds didn't make it clear which thread had how much by looking through the titles. But thank you for the link as I think I missed that one.
> 
> A random google search to me is a little scary as I'm not sure of the source of who is posting it. I know Liz and a few other people here have a ton of experiences and what they are sharing is what they learned over the years. I just wish that knowledge was easier to find on this forum.


Ah, but had you searched here you could have found threads like this one: http://dogfoodchat.com/forum/general-dog-discussion/14209-how-do-you-feed-de.html where she listed the amount suggested for a larger dog, or Re's " found a worm" where she lists it for small dogs. You can also google something like "holistic worming for dogs" and find lots of info from great people like Liz. Don't always expect everyone to do the "dirty" worm for you, go out and find your own answers some times.


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## CorgiPaws (Mar 31, 2009)

We have fed live, whole rabbits before. Before anyone gets their panties in a twist, I will say I know which of my dogs are fast kills, and which aren't. SO, some of my pack gets to make the kill, and some hubby does for them. 
Zailey is a quicker kill than I ever could be! SHe "got" the whole prey thing pretty quick, but Annie still has to have the gut of hers cut open. 


That said, this forum is here to help people, and if you don't want to help someone out with an answer, then don't.... but everyone is more than welcome to ask whatever questions they want. A lot of time the search function just doesn't quite give you what you're looking for, and sometimes instead of sifting through page after page, it IS easier to ask and get someone who happens to know the answer right off the top of their head. 
You don't HAVE to give an answer, and no one HAS to do anyone's "dirty work".... it's called helping, and you can either do it, or not.


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## Liz (Sep 27, 2010)

Bridget - every dog is different but generally in a regular moderate case of worms such as tape worm, flat worms, etc for large dogs I do a tablespoon twice a day or two tablespoons with their food if they are fed once a day - with smaller dogs like like 25 pounds or less I do up to two teaspoons. It is not harmful and all you need to do is grind the seeds to a moderately coarse consistency you want it slightly coarse not like flour a little chunkier but don't get frazzled it doesn't have to be perfect. I generally run the course from 7 - 10 days and then if still concerned restest a stool sample at 14 days. I personally will not be rechecking as every time we have used this remedy it comes back clear I would not hesitate to do this monthly once per week throughout Spring and Summer as a preventative if you are in a high flea area. It does not hurt your dog and will not cause diarrhea or constipation. I have used it on pups as young as four weeks. I hope that helps. I will look up my other thread and make sure it is detailed. If you had a more serious case like the giardia you would use a different protocol that would vary according to the dog but is also very effective.  Feel free to ask or PM questions it just may take me a day to get back to you. have a great afternoon - glad to help.


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## AveryandAudrey (Sep 20, 2010)

My girls got hunted jack rabbits. I froze them for almost 3 weeks before feeding them so that any parasites could die off.


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## xchairity_casex (Oct 8, 2011)

i understand a dog killing an animal is nature and natural but i dont think i could allow it i also dunno that i could kill an animal by breaking the neck.
im not against anyone who could i just dont think i would have the heart to do it.

while i was hatching button quail one of them was born malformed a cyclops chick but still alive everyone told me to break its neck but i couldnt i made a homemade gas chamber to put it to sleep without watching it struggle.

i personally wouldnt allow Cesar to catch or kill a live animal wild or not simply becuase i own small pets and he is around small pets small birds,rodents, ect so i would not want him to ever think they were food.
but if you dont live around small animal/pets and you dont mind the idea i see no issues.


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## wolfsnaps88 (Jan 2, 2012)

Corgipaws, I understand that. My panties are not in a twist here. LOL. I have let my dogs chase down wild animals. I think THAT is ok. But if the animal is in a trap and you just let them loose only for awaiting jaws to rip them to pieces, I can't see that as being fair. 

Boy these threads really get off topic, don't they. I hope the OP finds some useful stuff here and lets us know how it goes. Rabbit meat is not cheap. I would take up the offer.


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## shellbell (Sep 24, 2011)

I've heard fur is good for "cleaning things out" in the digestive system. Mine have not yet had anything with fur. They have been on raw seven months now so should be fine with it, so I might have to break out the rabbit heads in my freezer soon.


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## Caty M (Aug 13, 2010)

I couldn't do live prey with the dogs. Neither Bishop nor Tess will eat whole prey.. Tess will, but I tried to give her a mouse once and she wasn't killing it, just torturing it. I had to kill it. Once it was dead though it was down her hatch in one gulp.. I felt bad afterwards.


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## wolfsnaps88 (Jan 2, 2012)

I defrosted a mouse for my cat. She played with it but didn't eat it. I showed my dogs and they made repulsive, disgusted faces. Dozer's lips pulled back as far as he could get them. They are just not mouse eaters. I was bummed because I was really hoping the cat would catch on. Plus, mouse would have been something novel and different to give them. 

I let her play with it in the bathtub so it would be easy clean up but she kept jumping out of the tub with it. Ever since that night, she has been searching the tub on a regular basis, hoping to find a dead defrosted mouse I suppose. LOL. She did eat the fur that fell off of it though. Weird


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## Tobi (Mar 18, 2011)

Caty M said:


> I couldn't do live prey with the dogs. Neither Bishop nor Tess will eat whole prey.. Tess will, but I tried to give her a mouse once and she wasn't killing it, just torturing it. I had to kill it. Once it was dead though it was down her hatch in one gulp.. I felt bad afterwards.


Tobi made a live kill once, a rooster roaming our backyard... I honestly felt like a serial killer because i was so carefull in picking up all the feather in the backyard and cleaning the area (even mowed that little patch) so that the owner didn't walk around looking for a chicken... but... nevertheless free food for Tobi he turned out to be like a 10lb rooster, and he shouldn't have been in our backyard i suppose... the messed up part about the whole thing... is that Tobi wouldn't eat it after he'd killed it... he just carried it around like a trophy. :lol:

ETA: the kill was pretty quick, full charge while i was yelling leave it, grabbed it's neck and it went limp while being given a shaky shaky...:tsk:


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## bridget246 (Oct 26, 2011)

wolfsnaps88 said:


> Corgipaws, I understand that. My panties are not in a twist here. LOL. I have let my dogs chase down wild animals. I think THAT is ok. But if the animal is in a trap and you just let them loose only for awaiting jaws to rip them to pieces, I can't see that as being fair.
> 
> Boy these threads really get off topic, don't they. I hope the OP finds some useful stuff here and lets us know how it goes. Rabbit meat is not cheap. I would take up the offer.


Bridget would probably kill it quick. She has killed small animals like frogs and stuff. She tries to get along with cats but they hate her so she leaves them alone. Thinking I will get them and break their necks with the broom method. No, I never thought I'd do that. But right now I'm paying others to kill animals for my dog so it pretty much the same thing. The only difference is currently I've been hiring assassin to make my kills for me instead of doing it myself and who knows how much of the prey is wasted that way. 

And no, I don't mind threads going off topic. I use to and I'd make new ones to keep them on topic. You guys won, I gave up and joined you in bringing other threads off topic for bit and that is a fact(inside joke). I think this forum is more of a family community than just a community so we have a lot to talk about. I'm still new so I don't catch all of the off topic reference but in time I will get to know everyone. 



shellbell said:


> I've heard fur is good for "cleaning things out" in the digestive system. Mine have not yet had anything with fur. They have been on raw seven months now so should be fine with it, so I might have to break out the rabbit heads in my freezer soon.


I heard that too. No way of knowing if it actually works. 



Caty M said:


> I couldn't do live prey with the dogs. Neither Bishop nor Tess will eat whole prey.. Tess will, but I tried to give her a mouse once and she wasn't killing it, just torturing it. I had to kill it. Once it was dead though it was down her hatch in one gulp.. I felt bad afterwards.


I doubt Carlos will eat the prey even if it is dead. I will give him a chance to eat some of the non rabbit looking pieces. He just doesn't have the prey drive that Bridget does.


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