My Great Grandma Annie always told me you should only eat rabbits in months with an r in it. And yes that goes for jackrabbits too.

 

I'll ask my mom and see if I can get you some info. When I lived in Lake Preston, SD on the farm, they were thick as flies. Used to chase them at night with snowmobiles.

 

so what your saying is don't eat rabbit of any kind during the summer months? also hoping to understand why this is. what is it. guess i am just one of those guys that likes to wrap my hand around things to understand it.

 

That is what I grew up understanding. No rabbit during summer months. Hey, it could be an old tale I'm repeating!

 

Tularemia caused by Fransicella tularensis! Rare but bad.

 

Symptoms of the disease in a rabbit are a white spotted liver

We have it here I think. Any bunny with spotted liver we dispose of.

 

Tularemia, but it is rare. It affects the eyes and can cause blindness. It is transferable to humans. But all bacterial will be killed if cooked properly, just like all other meats.

 

We have a season on our rabbits excluding jack rabbits. July 1 to last Sunday in January, so I only eat them then.

 

i was just reading about that. read its like in 1% of jacks. but is that all rabbits? and also read its during the skinning and processing phase. cooking it well done kills the bacteria. but sounds like one out of a hundred will have it. and that is a pretty big risk. is there a time of year that its not a problem?

is there any safeguards i should be using other then gloves and stuff?

 

My step granddad --born 12-25-1901-- Cherokee; told me to never take rabbits {cottontail or Jacks} until after the first real hard freeze due to "rabbit fever". So that's what I've always done.

 

I think it was an old timey thing. The thinking was the frost and cold would kill off the bad stuff

 

I have never heard of anybody getting tularemia. I'm sure some have because they didn't cook the meat well, or cross contamination. There is always some E-Coli, salmonella, and other bacteria in raw meat. E-Coli is found in the intestines. Salmonella is found almost everywhere. Salad greens are the biggest carrier of E-Coli and salmonella, so always wash your salad.

 

ok so what i am hearing from you guys, (and i am differing to the greater wisdom and experience of others here), that you guys would eat rabbit and wouldn't be to worried about it so long as it was cooked correctly. and that gloves are worn and the meat washed. keep contamination down. so if i have this right it leads me to my other question....

how do you feel safe cooking rabbit? i love to grill and camping. think i will be doing a lot more hunting on my camping trips and it looks like we're going to be doing a lot more camping. so i would like to use the campfire for cooking. so i was thinking of slow cooking it over fire wrapped in foil with a stick of butter and wrapped in bacon to compensate for the lack of fat in rabbit. any suggestions?

 

I grill mine or I pop into the slow cooker.

 

Grill it like you said or make some stew.

 

I either grill them or cut them up and make a stir fry. Our cottontail season starts Sunday and I will be out there, either early morning or late evening when it is cool.
They can get sores from what I think are called bot flies, you just have to cut it out, the meat is not hurt. Also, make sure the liver looks healthy with no white spots on it. Cook well and you are good to go. I just try to make sure they look and smell healthy.

 

Bot flies in squirrels in the summer as well.....

 

I make sure to wear laytex gloves when skinning bunnies...."Rabbit Fever" (Tularemia) ...the Idea is that cold weather will thin the sick ones out, so that is where the idea came from.....Ive used Raid bug spray and dropped the bunnies (dead of course) in a plastic garbage bag and sprayed to kill the fleas before skinning....same goes for my upland vest after the hunt, it gets sprayed........

 

Ive used Raid bug spray and dropped the bunnies (dead of course) in a plastic garbage bag and sprayed to kill the fleas before skinning....same goes for my upland vest after the hunt, it gets sprayed........

well the ticks are something else i am concerned with. ALWAYS WEAR LATEX GLOVES!!! but was wondering if the spray would taint the meat or make it unsafe to eat. it is poison after all. just not sure if the poison would still absorb into the skin when its dead. any input on that would be awesome!

 

Nope, there is no way for the "spray" to get to the meat....you dont have to soak the critters...just a few quick bursts and twist the garbage bag shut for 5 minutes or so.....wear the latex gloves and skin 'em..... ...I also would lay the bunnies out in the very cold for a while which will get rid of the fleas ....it makes it tougher to skin 'em when the hide is cold.....many times I'll skin/field dress 'em as soon as they are shot and put them in a bread bag and put 'em in the vest, use snow to wash 'em out (I leave one foot on 'em to ID 'em). Nothing worse than a gut shot bunnie hit by #5's ...

 

In California the Jack Rabbits there would have, what we called Boils....No good to eat at anytime...

 

what we called Boils

hydatid cysts?

 

Fleas will usually disperse once the body temperature starts to drop after animal is dead.

 

I think you are worrying way to much. I have skinned animals ever since I was a little kid and never worn gloves nor have I ever gotten sick. Deer are covred in ticks when you clean them, but I have yet to get a single one on me. I have never gotten a flea from a rabbit either. Just relax and kill clean and cook your meal. You will be fine. Some people just worry about things way to much. Be a man and dig in brother.

 

Back when I was a kid and we did a lot of squirrel and rabbit hunting, warbles which are the larvae of the bot fly was our only concern. Dont think they pose a threat but when your sitting on a log and 1/2" dia. worm comes crawling out of the back of a fox squirrel you shot laying beside you, you will loose your appetite for small game. Never saw one after the first hard frost, must have all hatched by then.

 

mmmmmm rabbit

 

Grandpa, 99, to me to only eat rabbit taken in the months that have an "R" in them. have never eaten a rabbit, but this is his "old wives tale"