HUH? HAS ANYONE TRIED THIS?

[goodblood]

I'VE BEEN RESEARCHING DIFFERENT RAW MEATS FOR MY HOUND AND I 'VE CAME ACROSS RABBIT MEAT AS A GOOD SOURCE. I SPOKE WITH SOMEONE RECENTLY WHO SAID THEY FEED THEY'RE YOUNG PUPS WHOLE LIVE RABBITS. THEY ALLOW THEY PUP TO KILL THEN EAT. HAS ANYONE HEARD OF THIS OR TRIED IT? IS IT OK OR SAFE? THANKS

[R2L]

rabbit is perfectly save and can be given in any form u like. they eat the coat skull anything.

dont see why they need to eat it alive tho. just kill the poor things lol.

fresh caught rabbits would be best, they are selling those industry rabbits to the public, but you better not have a look at whats in their stumics!!

ps: i would make sure pups are used to raw before giving whole rabbits, start of with a little grinned meat, chicken necks, duck necks, quail carcasses, those are great starter bones. once they r on that for a couple of weeks its much easier to digest rabbit which are a little harder.

[Officially Retired]

Rabbits are perfectly healthy, but should NOT be a mainstay as they have almost zero fat.

I would also not feed wild rabbits, but would get them from a breeder who does NOT breed for massive size, but who at least breeds them on an organic farm, like Hare Today (http://www.hare-today.com/).

The trouble with wild rabbits is they get eat up by ticks and can pass a variety of blood-borne diseases like tularemia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tularemia). Dogs are fairly resistant to the effects of this disease, but they are still affected, and the disease is transmissable to humans.

Jack

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[R2L]

alright jack good info, we dont have that problem over here.

[Officially Retired]

Sure, geographical location determines likelihood of infection, so good point.

However, any wild animal is going to have a greater risk of parasite loads (tapeworm, tick-borne) than is an organically-raised animal.

[R2L]

Put those in a freezer for 2 weeks. at -18-20 celcius

[Officially Retired]

That does work for some parasites, so good observation.

I am not sure though on all of them, as (for example) trichinosis worms can survive for months in sub-zero temperatures ... though that may have little to do with tularemia and some of the tick-borne diseases.

[BulldogConnection]

When feeding rabbit you must also supplement with other meats/fats as it is very lean and doesn't contain enough nutrients to be a main meal. Look up rabbit starvation or protein poisoning.

[Officially Retired]

Exactly right, BC.

[goodblood]

THANKS. I LOOKED UP THE RABBIT STARAVTION. ITS A POISIONING FROM AN OVERLOADED OF PROTEIN AND THE BODY'S LACKING NECCESARY FAT OR CARBS. SO THE RABBIT MEAT SHOULD BE AN ALTERNATIVE TO LEAN MEAT AND SHOULD BE FEED WITH A FAT SOURCE LIKE A GROUND BEEF. THANK FOR THE INFO. JUST STARTED RAW FEEDING ABOUT 6 MONTHS AGO AND LOVE IT. I'M THANKFUL FOR THIS FORUM ,IT KEEPS ME INFORMED AND CONSTANTLY RESEARCHING. THANKS JACK.

[backcome]

I have always thought about a raw diet....never tried it because I don't know whats a fair amount to give a dog and do they need something everyday.... Can someone break it down for me???? Would a leg quarter be enough per dog along with other supplements(oils,vitamins,etc...) per day??

[QCK23]

We bought some rabbits last year with the intention of breeding them as a food source for the dogs as well as ourselves. I did the math and realized how many rabbits we would be feeding and taking care of to supply 12 hungry dogs. Well, needless to say we didnt continue the project. I did always want to let the pups go in the exercise pen ( about 30ft x 20 ft ) and throw in a live rabbit. I thought it would give the pups good exercise and maybe entice them to go harder at a flirt pole and other training props later down the line if they saw a direct correlation between dinner and the fur on the end of the pole. I never could bring myself to throw the little fur balls in there once my woman started naming them.