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- threecollie
- Embracing agricultural diversity, one species at a time. All rights reserved
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6 comments:
Very handsome kid - your son?
I buy rabbits from a guy here in Michigan. He used to have a small operation raising rabbits for human consumption; now he sells...I don't know, 1000s of pounds a month in several states, for dog & pet consumption. Everything from whole intact bunnies, to whole ground rabbit, to dried rabbit ears and heads for dog treats. (The heads are a bit macabre!)
I buy the ground bunny - whole animal ground up, like hamburger - and the dogs & cat love it.
Don't know if yours is a pet...I've also had rabbits as pets. Had a Giant French Lop named Brigit years ago who chased the dogs around, they were scared of her and I don't think it crossed their minds to tackle and eat her! She was quite a character.
Thanks, that is our boy. That is a really interesting rabbit raising operation. I never heard of selling them like that. Rabbits were the kids enterprise this winter. He raised a bunch intending to sell them at the auction for Easter. Then they closed the auction due to fears of bird flu. The one in the picture is a pet as are some of the others, but most of them will probably end up in the freezer or sold.
Apparently many people in the meat-rabbit industry are finding a HUGE market for pet food, for people feeding a natural/BARF/raw diet to their dogs, cats & ferrets. Especially since rabbit meat is imported from China by some of the mega-stores instead of bought domestically any more.
Three years ago this guy had a small operation, then he started selling for pets and just opened a great big plant. Taylor Pond Farms (Michigan), http://www.rawfeeder.com/
(Not advertising for him, he is swamped right now!) But if you want to check out some of the crazy things people will buy to feed their dogs, look at the product list. Green tripe with gullet and trachea. My dogs say yum yum! LOL.)
Interesting site. I am fascinated by the ways people find to make a living. I used to raise and sell rabbits before I married into the dairy industry, but never saw a whole lot of profit. Guess the BARF diet has changed things. I looked into it last year btw, but I am just too lazy, (or perhaps I can claim too busy) to put that much effort into feeding the dogs. They have to get by on Pedigree, our food and eggs from our hens now and then. Thanks for commenting!
*Ack* Pedigree. (OK so I'm a food snob.) :)
It's not really that much more work, not much difference between handing the dogs an animal part or filling a bowl with pellets. A bit more research & planning, to be sure. Worth it for me, though you have a bunch of cows and other animals to feed, I just have 2 dogs & a cat!
The cows are the ones that get the natural whole food diet. They get two feedings of grain, two of hay and two of corn silage for a total of six meals a day, plus pasture in season. There are over fifty adults and forty young ones...plus horses, sheep, bunnies, chickens, fish....arghhh.
And chickadees. lol
So the dogs get dog food.
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