Feeding raw rabbits

[Brittany boy]

I've just read the thread about BARF diets for dogs , I've got a Jack Russell , Brittany and a GWP pup (9 months ) and access to a lot of rabbits for vermin control , I eat a lot of the younger rabbits myself but was wondering if there are any problems with feeding the dogs the raw rabbits. Do they need wormed more often , do you take the paunch out first and do you leave the heads on I have a small chest freezer so can freeze to kill parasites if needs be . Any advice much apprieciated thanks.

 

[VSS]

Whole raw rabbits, guts fur and all, is about the best food for dogs that you can get.

Tip: take the back legs off first, and keep those for yourself

 

[Brittany boy]

What about additional worming etc .

 

[VSS]

What about additional worming etc .

Never been an issue. For 4 years I fed my working sheepdogs almost exclusively on whole raw rabbits (minus the back legs, of course ) and they've never been so healthy either before or since. No smell either.

 

[sauer]

I feed raw

I worm every 6 or 8 weeks

I don’t feed rabbit but hear some who do ....they keep carcass in freezer for fortnight and they say it gives any nasties the die off in that time

Paul

 

[Millerich]

Freezing doesn’t kill all potential pathogens. Dogs can get tapeworm from infected rabbit just as the intended fox host would. Regular worming would be advised. Bacterial pathogens from rabbit probably fewer than other sources eg chicken and venison ( just ask the owners of the TB infected cats).

 

[the_greenman]

I feed rabbits alongside other raw diet items. They are a complete food item and come in sizes that suit your dogs feed/weight ratio. Probably one of the best "completes" for your dog although plenty will tell you it will ruin them if they are used for shooting and rabbits are around. Fed whole not gutted but I do freeze them for a minimum of 2 weeks.

 

[levigsp]

Whole raw rabbits, guts fur and all, is about the best food for dogs that you can get.

Tip: take the back legs off first, and keep those for yourself

Couldn't agree more, the best diet a dog could have and exactly what my dogs had for a lot of years.

 

[levigsp]

When I fed my dogs on rabbit, the dogs were wormed every 4 months until I started having samples tested, worming was reduced.
I never froze the rabbits fed as they came, sold the excess.
My dogs were worked very hard and were not only very fit but also very healthy, to the point that the vets always commented on their condition.

 

[Brittany boy]

Had thought about the issue with hunting /retrieving the rabbits and the dogs deciding it was dinner time and getting tucked in , has anyone encountered this.

 

[VSS]

Had thought about the issue with hunting /retrieving the rabbits and the dogs deciding it was dinner time and getting tucked in, has anyone encountered this.

Well, I manage to prevent my sheepdogs eating sheep, so it ought to be possible to train a dog to fetch without eating.....
Joking apart, I've never used a dog for retrieving shot game, but I can't see why there'd be any difficulty if the dog is properly trained. No different from teaching a dog not to steal food from the kitchen table, but oak to eat the scraps when placed in his / her bowl.

 

[Dodder]

I did a project on rabbit parasites for my degree many years ago. There are a couple of species of roundworms present in their intestines but of more concern is the tapeworm cysts that are found on the intestines themselves and the mesentries of the intestines (the vascular transparent 'skin' connecting them). They are also often found on the outside of last couple of cm of the gut where it passes through the back legs to the anus.
These are small roundish sacks a few mm diameter with white inside as per attached picture.
I'm no expert but would assume that freezing should kill them if you wanted to feed the rabbits with guts in. If you want to feed them raw I would always gut the rabbits and also cut open the intestine channel in the back legs to check for cysts and remove.

 

[ileso]

I feed my rabbits dogs all the time, no problem at all, if you are worried about parasites de worm more frequently, but otherwise you could not give your dogs a healthier diet. all the goodies a dog needs and bones to keep its teeth in order.

I have two dogs, so half a rabbit each, if its too big then divide into 3 or 4 with an ax

 

[landkeeper]

A lot of worms are host specific , what % of tapeworm can live in both canine and lagomorph im not sure but a normal worming regime shouuld be adhered to

 

[Brittany boy]

Sounds ok so I think I will give it a try for a month or two see how I get on as the kibble diet they are on causes soft stools and I've tried a couple over the past six months and none seem to produce consistent normal firm stools more wet runny so maybe the raw rabbits frozen and maybe paunched but liver lungs kidneys and heart etc left in only intestines removed for paracite reasons and see how it goes will let you know .

 

[VSS]

Sounds ok so I think I will give it a try for a month or two see how I get on as the kibble diet they are on causes soft stools and I've tried a couple over the past six months and none seem to produce consistent normal firm stools more wet runny so maybe the raw rabbits frozen and maybe paunched but liver lungs kidneys and heart etc left in only intestines removed for paracite reasons and see how it goes will let you know .

Good idea, but for it to work it's important that you don't paunch the rabbits. The grass filled gut is an important part of a "complete diet". Notice that the gut often the first thing a predator will eat. They need it.

 

[levigsp]

Had thought about the issue with hunting /retrieving the rabbits and the dogs deciding it was dinner time and getting tucked in , has anyone encountered this.

So for 2 weeks of every month from august until end of march my dogs used to retrieve about 400 rabbits each, each week. Everyone very alive and with no bruising. Whether a dog eats what it catches or retrieves is down to training.

 

[RCS Deer Management]

I feed my rabbits dogs all the time, no problem at all

You must have some bloody mean looking rabbits!!

 

[ileso]

Sounds ok so I think I will give it a try for a month or two see how I get on as the kibble diet they are on causes soft stools and I've tried a couple over the past six months and none seem to produce consistent normal firm stools more wet runny so maybe the raw rabbits frozen and maybe paunched but liver lungs kidneys and heart etc left in only intestines removed for paracite reasons and see how it goes will let you know .

It may take them a few days for their digesttive system to get used to the new diet, so bear that in mind

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[Brittany boy]

Thanks