Author Archives: riseandshinerabbitry
RABBIT LIVER RECIPES
Rabbit liver is unusually large and unusually delicious. The heart, kidneys, and livers are very nutritious and tasty, to eat alone or used in a rabbit pot pie, or for stuffing and sausage.
In some cultures, only the organ meats were consumed. The lean muscle meats, which are what we mostly eat in the U.S. , were tossed or given to the dogs.
A popular misconception to eating liver is the belief that the liver is a storage organ for toxins in the body. It is true that the liver’s role is to neutralize toxins such as drugs, chemical agents and poisons, it does not store these toxins. When feeding your rabbits a healthy diet there is less of these for the liver to process.
Toxins the body cannot eliminate are likely to accumulate in the body’s fatty tissues and nervous systems. The liver will store many important nutrients such as vitamins A, D, E, K, B12 and folic acid, and minerals such as copper and iron.
We raise our rabbits for a healthy source of meat, we feed them good food no hormones or chemicals so nothing but good clean healthy organs and meat.
When I was young I would never eat liver, the texture was weird and just the thought of it made me say no way, then I started raising rabbits and wanted to use everything the rabbit had to provide, so I tried livers and have been eating them ever since. So try it you may be surprised .
Rabbit Livers with Kidneys & Onions
livers and kidneys from 6-8 rabbits
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon butter
1 large Vidalia onion
3 gloves garlic
salt & pepper to taste
thyme, to taste
1 cup seasoned flour
Dredge livers and kidneys in flour and set aside. Heat oil and butter in a skillet, then add sliced garlic and onions. Carmelize, but do not burn. Add liver and kidneys. Add salt, pepper, and thyme. Fry until golden brown on both sides.
Crispy rabbit livers
Ingredients
1 to 1 1/2 pounds rabbit livers
3/4 cup coconut flour
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon coarse garlic powder
3/4 teaspoon cumin
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon cloves
4 tablespoons coconut oil
Directions
Cut rabbit livers into 2-inch pieces and pat dry with paper towels.
In a small bowl, mix flour, paprika, garlic powder, cumin, salt, pepper, and cloves with a fork until blended. Pour the seasoned flour into a large ziplock bag, add the rabbit livers, and shake until coated evenly.
In a large pan, heat 2 tablespoons coconut oil over medium-high until hot, about 3 minutes. Add about half the rabbit livers in a single layer, try to arrange them so they don’t touch. Allow the bottom to brown well and form a crisp crust, about 3-5 minutes. Using tongs, flip the livers, and brown the other side. Set aside to drain on paper towels while you cook the second batch. You may need to add more coconut oil to the pan.Rabbit Liver Pate
Fresh Rabbit Livers-Chopped into small pieces
2 Tbsp. Butter
1 Small Onion Finely Diced
2 Cloves Garlic, Finely Diced
pinch of Salt, Pepper, Hot Red Pepper Flakes to taste. Basil
Melt butter, then add your onions and garlic till they look clear, then add chopped liver and spices cook till liver is just done.
Then pour mixture into bowl and stick blend it till smooth.
Place in fridge and allow to chill and for the flavors to blend for at least six hours, serve on crackers but my favorite way is on toast.
RABBIT LIVER AND ONIONS WITH GARLIC
4 Rabbit livers, cut liver into strips
2 red onions, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons butter
Salt amd Pepper to taste
Directions:
1.Saute the chopped onions and minced garlic in butter for about 4 or 5 minutes on medium heat.
2. After 5 minutes, mix in the liver strips in with the onions and garlic, lower heat to simmer, cover, and cook for about 5 minutes.
3. Stir, cover, and cook for 3 more minutes
CAJUN BLACKENED RABBIT LIVER W/ LEMON AND GARLIC
1 + pound rabbit liver cut into pieces
1 tablespoon sweet paprika
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
3/4 teaspoon black pepper
3/4 teaspoon white pepper
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons butter or olive oil
6 cups spinach leaves or lettuce leaves
Dressing-
1 tablespoon butter or olive oil I used sunflower oil
Juice of one lemon
1 clove of garlic, crushed
To make Cajun seasoning, mix together paprika, cayenne, garlic and onion powders, black and white peppers, thyme, oregano and salt.
Add livers to the seasoning mixture and toss to coat.
Place livers in a cast iron pan pre-heated to medium and cook on both sides, about 2-3 mins per side.
Place hot rabbit livers on lettuce or spinach. Combine dressing ingredients in a hot pan until garlic is very lightly browned, then drizzle over livers and greens as a warm dressing
TASTY LIVER SPREAD-
Makes 2 cups. (This can be sliced sausage-style by changing recipe listed below.)
1/2 cup minced onions
3 Tb butter
Cook slowly 12 – 15 minutes
3/4 lb (1-1/2 cups) Rabbit livers
Big pinch each of allspice, mace,white pepper, thyme.
1/2 tsp salt
Add, to onions and butter cook over moderately high heat 2 – 3 minutes
Add 1/3 cup cognac
1/2 cup diced sauteéd mushrooms
Add, bring to boil, ignite, flame 1 minute
Pureé mixture, add 1/2 cup butter, 1/2 cup cream cheese
Place in serving bowl and chill
For sausage, instead of last ingredient line, use 1/2 cup (4 oz) cream cheese, and 1/2 cup dry bread crumbs.
RABBIT LIVER CURRY RECIPE-
Ingredients-
1 lb rabbit livers
1 chopped onion
2 chopped cloves garlic
2 tablespoons oil
2 tablespoons grated fresh ginger
1/2 teaspoons ground turmeric
1 teaspoon chili powder
3 teaspoons ground coriander
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon garam masala
1 chopped ripe tomato
salt and pepper to taste
Instructions-
Wash and drain the rabbit livers. Quarter each one. Heat the oil and fry the onion, garlic and ginger until onion is soft and golden brown. Add turmeric, chili powder, coriander and cumin. Fry, stirring for about 2 minutes, then add the garam masala, tomato, salt and cook. Stir and mash tomato with wooden spoon to speed the process. Add the rabbit liver pieces, stir well. Sprinkle pepper over and cook, covered for 20 minutes.
2024 COMFREY SEASON
We are done shipping our preorders and are shipping orders as they come in. Hope to help you with your comfrey needs in 2024!
RABBITS URINE COLOR
The normal color of rabbits urine is a pale to dark yellow. Often the rabbits urine can change to become orange, pink, red, or brown.
There is no reason to panic when you first see a change in the color of your rabbit’s urine. A red urine color may cause you to panic!
This condition is called red urine. This change in color can happen in healthy rabbits as well as those who are sick.
This change of color in the rabbits urine can be due to organic compounds and plant pigments in the rabbits food source. This can happen more often in rabbits being fed a natural food source diet.
Stress or even the change of season can cause discoloration of the urine. Especially the first cold snap of the winter or during the summer were heat stress to the rabbit can result in red urine.
Dehydration will concentrate the urine, causing it to become darker in color and intensifying any pigmentation that is present.
If the rabbit is on any antibiotics this will also increase the levels of pigments in the urine.
Most often the time the change in urine color is not a medical issue. If a rabbit has certain health issues related to the kidney, liver, or bladder this will also cause the same color change in the rabbits urine. If the rabbit has been straining to urinate, attempting to pee more often, or urinating in smaller quantities such as only a few drops at a time a bladder problem is likely.
When naturally feeding rabbits with a large amounts of plants in their diet, these natural compound’s and pigments high in beta – carotene, such as sweet potato, squash, carrots, melons, spinach and lots of other dark leafy greens can cause this change in urine color. Ingestion of pine or fur needles can also have the same results.
This change of urine color is unpredictable as two rabbits on the same diet can have different results. One rabbit may have yellow urine and the other orange. Most of the times when this color change is from the diet it will only last a few days but I have had a few rabbits take up to a month.
So do not panic and always pay attention to your rabbits behaviors, as spending time with your rabbits you will notice any issues and be able to take care of any issues soon than later.
RAISING RABBITS ON WIRE
NZW Doe with 10 kits
I raise my rabbits on wire in wire cages. The floor wire is 1″ x 1/2″ and sides are 1″x 2″. I have always had happy, healthy rabbits. I was ready to write up a post on raising rabbits on wire floors, but Shiny Satins Rabbitry has a few great posts on this subject and I could not agree more with what they have written. So go and check it out!
I know this is controversial subject and some rabbit raisers will disagree with wire floors. I do feel that some breeds of rabbits would do better on slatted floors such as Rexes as they are known to have less fur on their hocks and more prone to sore hocks.
These links were shared with the permission of Shiny Satin Rabbitry
http://shinysatins.weebly.com/wire-floors.html
50 RABBIT FACTS
1 Baby rabbits are referred to as kits.
2 Either cooked or raw, rabbit meat freezes very well. https://riseandshinerabbitry.com/domestic-rabbit-recipes/
3 Female rabbits are referred to as does
4 A Rabbit’s teeth never stop growing
5 Male rabbits are referred to as bucks
6 In the wild rabbits live in groups called warrens
7 Some rabbits can breed at as early as 3 to 4 months old
8 Rabbits are not rodents, Rabbits are classified as lagomorphs
9 Today’s domestic rabbit is descended from the European Rabbit
10 Rabbits do not vomit
11 A rabbit’s gestation period is approximately 31 days https://riseandshinerabbitry.com/2012/01/19/basics-of-raising-meat-rabbits-on-the-homestead-part-1/
12 The backbone of a rabbit is very fragile and can break easily when handled improperly or dropped on its back
13 Domestic rabbits are born without fur
14 Rabbits are generally the most active during the evening and early morning
15 Rabbits are nearsighted
16 Rabbit pelts have been used for many years as fur and in the manufacture of felt https://riseandshinerabbitry.com/2012/01/22/tanning-rabbit-pelts/
17 Rabbits can pick up diseases from their own droppings.
18 A rabbit has five toenails on its front two paws and four toenails on its back feet.
19 Rabbit shows are a good place to see a wide variety of rabbits https://riseandshinerabbitry.com/2012/10/21/what-breed-of-rabbit-to-raise-for-meat/
20 A small amount of Apple Cider Vinegar added to the rabbits drinking water will increase their appetite https://riseandshinerabbitry.com/2012/01/26/apple-cider-vinegar-for-rabbits/
21 Hundreds of years ago rabbits were often released on deserted islands in hopes of giving shipwrecked sailors a reliable food source
22 Some places in the world have had serious trouble with rabbit overpopulation
23 There are over 150 recognized rabbit coat colors and varieties
24 The average heart rate of a rabbit ranges between 130-325 beats per minute
25 Rabbit meat is lower in fat, cholesterol and calories than chicken, pork and beef https://riseandshinerabbitry.com/2012/04/06/10-reasons-why-you-should-eat-rabbit-meat/
26 Rabbits only sweat on the pads of their feet
27 A rabbit will eat its own cecotropes night droppings and they are a valuable source of protein
28 A group of kits from the same mother are called a litter
29 Domestic rabbit kits are born with their eyes shut and will open when they are about 2 weeks old
30 It has been estimated that in Australia rabbits destroy around $600 million worth of crops each year
31 Throughout history the rabbit has been seen as a symbol for fertility
33 Not all rabbits will breed like rabbits https://riseandshinerabbitry.com/2012/08/11/rabbits-unwilling-to-breed-causes-and-cures/
34 In ancient Egypt rabbits were used as sport for dog racing
35 The scientific name for the rabbit is Oryctolagus cuniculus
36 Domestic rabbit meat is all white meat https://riseandshinerabbitry.com/2011/10/15/health-benefits-of-rabbit-meat/
37 Rabbits can suffer heat stroke https://riseandshinerabbitry.com/2012/04/22/tips-for-raising-rabbits-in-the-heat/
38 Rabbits have 28 teeth.
40 Rabbits were an important home meat supply during World War II https://riseandshinerabbitry.com/2011/07/16/hello-world/
41 Some rabbits are raised specifically for their fur or fiber, such as Rex or Angora rabbits
42 A place were you keep your rabbits as a business or hobby is commonly called a rabbitry https://riseandshinerabbitry.com/2012/05/06/making-money-with-rabbits/
44 Millions of pounds of rabbit meat are consumed each and every year https://riseandshinerabbitry.com/2012/05/10/cooking-rabbit-hints-and-tricks/
46 Rabbit droppings make an excellent garden fertilizer https://riseandshinerabbitry.com/2012/03/31/the-benefits-and-uses-of-rabbit-manure/
47 Rabbits can see behind them, but they have blind spot in front of their face.
48 A group of rabbits is called a herd
50 Predators can literally scare a rabbit to death https://riseandshinerabbitry.com/2012/04/14/the-rabbits-senses/
RADIO IN THE RABBITRY
Spoil and keep your rabbits safe by giving them a radio!
Playing a radio in your rabbitry will benefit your rabbits by making them more accustomed to unusual sounds and less likely to panic and hurt themselves by running around the cage .
Rabbits being prey animals, are generally timid and easy to startle. A sudden kick with its hind legs or excited run around the cage is all it takes to snap the rabbit’s backbone and render it paralyzed. Because the rabbits will be used to other noises they will be less excitable and less stressed thus giving you more relaxed, happy, healthy rabbits.
I have a friend who raises fancy (expensive) chickens and always had a radio playing day and night to keep predators away. He never had a problem until one night his wife turned off the radio. The next day every one of his chickens was gone.
You will also enjoy the music when you are feeding, cleaning, grooming, and just hanging out with the rabbits.
At night I change the station to talk radio so predator’s and even humans may think someone is out in the rabbitry. Even a police scanner would work.
So let your rabbits jam out to your favorite tunes or mellow out with some classical background music.
MEDICINAL HERBS FOR RABBITS – With pictures
This is a copy of our older post but with pictures in a PDF format. Thanks, to Muril Stone for all the hard work!
This is a link to our original 2012 post
Rabbit Terminology
Here is a quick list of rabbit terminology you should know when raising rabbits.
I will be constantly adding to this list if you see something I missed please Email me riseandshinerabbitry@hotmail.com and I will add it in.
Abscess- collection of pus caused by infection
Agouti- A color pattern where each individual hair alternates dark and light bands.
Albino- a white haired rabbit with pink eyes.
Belled ears- Ears that lop over or droop, this is sometimes caused in growing rabbits in hot weather.
BEW- blue eyed white rabbit.
Birthing- see kindling
Breed- Group of rabbits that share the same characteristic’s such as color, size, and fur type
Breeding- When you mate rabbits.
Buck- A male rabbit.
Coccidiosis- Coccidiosis is considered to be the most common disease in rabbits and is very hard to cure. Coccidiosis is caused by a protozoan. There are nine species of this protozoa that can affect rabbits, only one affects the liver, while the other 8 affect the intestines. It seems that younger rabbits have a higher risk for this disease. The disease is spread as the eggs from the protozoa are shed in the rabbit feces, which is then transmitted to other rabbits.
Condition- the general health and appearance of a rabbit.
Colony raising- This system of management is the raising of multiple rabbits together in one area inside or outside.
Crossbreed- breeding rabbits of different breeds.
Culling- Culling is not just the killing of rabbits, but with that being said you do not want to breed or sell to potential breeders, bad rabbits these are to sold as pets only. Save The Best Eat The Rest!
Dam-The mother of a particular rabbit.
Dewlap- Fold of loose skin under the chin of female rabbits.
Doe- A female rabbit.
Dressed- Skinned and prepared for cooking.
Ear canker- Scabby conditions in rabbits ears caused by ear mite.
Enteritis- Is a Intestinal disturbance in domestic rabbits this is caused by stress and or other underlying diseases.
Foster- Fostering rabbit kits is the act of placing newborn baby rabbits with a different mother doe.
Gestation period- The period of time between breeding and kindling. Usually 28 to 31 days.
Heat stroke- Illness caused by exposer to high temperatures
Hock-First joint of the hind leg of the rabbit.
Hutch- Rabbit housing
Hutch card- Information card on cage that identifies the rabbit and contains breeding information
Jacket off – this means the rabbit will be skinned
Kits- A bunch of bunnies.
Kindling- when the doe is giving birth to young.
Lagomorph- There are about eighty species of lagomorph which include thirty species of pika, twenty species of rabbits and cottontails, and thirty species of hares.
Litter- group of baby rabbits born in one birth
Line breeding- this breeding system is usually the most satisfactory. Line breeding itself is a form of inbreeding, but is less intense. In line breeding, rabbits are mated together which are both descendants from a particular rabbit, but which are as distantly related as possible.
Loin-
Malocclusion- The misalignment of teeth, this is genetic and rabbits that have this should not be bred.
Molt- Shedding fur
Mucoid enteritis- Disease that usually affect’s young rabbits, symptom’s are loss of appetite, increased thirst, and jelly like diarrhea.
Nest box- A box to provided for the doe so that she can make a nest and have kits in.
Nesting- when the doe starts to put nesting material in her box.
Outcrossing- is the breeding of two rabbits from unrelated lines.
Palpate- Feeling for the developing embryos within the abdominal cavity of the pregnant doe. This is said to be the most reliable way to determine pregnancy in the domestic rabbits.
Pedigree- Written record of an animals ancestors, going back at least three generations.
Pelt- skin and fur of a rabbit to be tanned.
Purebred- parents are of the same breed
Rabbitry- placed were rabbits are kept
REW- Red or ruby eyed white
Saddle- the meaty hind body and legs
Sire- The father of a particular rabbit.
Sired- fathered
Sore hock- a ulcerated condition of the undersurface of the hind feet of a domestic rabbit. Cause by sparse hair on the hocks, this could be genetics or some breeds like rexes have this naturally. Dirty wet conditions.
Tattoo- permanent mark in ear to identify rabbits.
Test breeding- At about two weeks following breeding, the doe is returned to the buck’s cage. If she is bred, she will whine, growl, and flatten herself against the cage floor. She will not be happy to the buck’s advances. This is often the case, but there are does who will breed if pregnant and those who will refuse the buck when they are not.
Trio- 2 does and 1 buck. They are usually matched for breeding to begin or expand a rabbitry.
Type- General physical make up of a rabbit.
Warren- Warrens are a large fenced enclosed area were rabbits can burrow and live as naturally as possible. This is equal to free ranging chickens.
Weaning- When you take young rabbits away from the mother and their transition to solid food.
Wool block- blockage in the digestive tract cause by fur
Rise and Shine Rabbitry 