Sorry, mick. It was an accident, though...you meant well.

Here's a snippet of what's been on my mind tonight...I just found out about this:

WARNING - DON'T CLICK UNLESS YOU REALLY WANT TO SEE THIS

http://singaporebeauty.com/img/catkiller1.jpg

WARNING - DON'T CLICK UNLESS YOU REALLY WANT TO SEE THIS

They killed the kitten, slowly and painfully. For entertainment, apparently. One of the commenters said the video is worse, as you can hear the poor thing crying all the way through.

I truly don't understand it, and it just makes me hate people when I see things like this.

Anyway...

*hugs*

I'm glad that's not you.

We used to have bunnies as well. They were most slaughtered by the cats of the neighbourhood. The scream that a bunny in distress makes is just plain horrible. Once when I was returning from our cottage in the forest, I came home just as a cat had caught one of the bunnies from a cage that was open from the top. The sound was horrible. 18 out of our 20 bunnies did not make it trough the summer. They kept digging themselves out of the pen trough the ground at night and got loose. They lived "wild-ish" on our yard. 2 of them were so badass that they survived for years and years. Our yard was ridden with holes that they dug there.

I am pretty sure it was not how you are supposed to keep them animals They moved about as they pleased. Sometimes they came inside to feed and chill out, but mostly they just lied stretched out on the lawn. And chilled out.

I hope that the dogs that killed your rabbits are now caught and kept on a leash. Loose dog pack can get very nasty. They are way way worse than wolves. (they do not hunt to feed, they are just plain insane)

jussi, i've never heard that sound, or had cats bother the rabbits, but i also protected the bunnies. (note past tense)

the run i use goes into a 15 cm deep slot (4 sides) that i "carve" where i want to move it. the cage was the protection, the run just keep the rabbits contained, and i moved it every few days. i've never had a rabbit tunnel out.

i take the modular approach to the chicken yard, too. everything is movable. the "house" is on skids and can be moved with effort. the chicken yard is configurable for the shape i need, and i move that as needed, usually monthly.

those dogs struck swiftly; they must have just lucked out (ugh). i was only gone for 45 minutes, so they had to be nearby.

and i'll never know for sure which dogs..... this place is VERY western and rural in some ways. populated by hippies, ricos and rednecks. it could be someone from any of those groups. people are so careless sometimes. myself included now.

i'm still in a state of deep sadness and shame.




again.. thanks for the kindness.

(flak.. say no more.. i'm just appalled by that ... of course i am)

there's no way to tell which dogs did it, and yeah, when they revert to pack behaviour they're very dangerous.


x

Welsh Rabbit Stew Recipe

Ingredients for Rabbit Stew

• rabbit 1pc
• flour 150gm
• chicken stock 500ml
• rosemary sprig 1pc
• onion 1pc
• carrot 3pc
• potato 3pc
• turnip 1pc
• leek 1pc

1. Have the rabbit cut up into portions for you by the butcher if you are not handy with doing it yourself
2. Prepare a casserole dish by spreading the onion; finely sliced on the bottom and crushing the rosemary sprig in your hand to release the aroma and lay on top of the onion
3. Peel and roughly chop the vegetables
4. Season the flour with a little salt and freshly ground pepper and toss the rabbit pieces it in to lightly coat (keep the flour for later)
5. Heat a little oil in a heavy frying pan and lightly brown the rabbit all over and place the pieces into a casserole dish
6. Add the stock into the frying pan to lift all the sediment off the base and allow to simmer for 5 minutes. Strain over the rabbit
7. Cover tightly and place in the oven at 180ºC for 2 - 3 hours until the rabbit is starting to get tender
8. Remove from the oven, pick out any fine bones and add the vegetables. Cook for a further 40 minutes, topping up with more stock if required
9. Remove from the oven and place the rabbit onto a tray
10. Mix the flour with a little cold water to form a slurry, stir into the stew and cook on top of the stew while stirring until slightly thickened
11. Add the rabbit back in and re-heat
12. Serve with mountains (well it is a Welsh recipe) of creamy mashed potatoes

you can't blame yourself really, you did leave in an emergency so its not like you could have followed your usual checklist...

clean the place up, buy a shotgun and then buy some more rabbits...

yes, i'm going to rabbit up. i've got a line on a pair of Zealand does; and they'll be bred before i bring them here.

rabbits are fierce, but they're no match for a pack of dogs when they're trapped. i'll put this shame to good use and do it better next time.

no recipes needed. i like fluffy mashed TURNIPS with my rabbit stew. i also like it good and spicy "ala blueshead".

I once ate chili with rabbit feet in china. It was horrible. Loads of red chili and rabbit bones. Not my cup of tea that one no.

Now that I think of it, I do not know why I ordered that dish. Oh wait! It was in china, I could not read the menu!

yes, squirrel, dog, cat everything except rabbit!


...don't think I've ever had rabbit, two out of four of the above isn't bad I guess, not sure I'd want squirrel though

~would buy bunnies but there's too many foxes in London

we don't have a resident rabbit population. there are no skunks or possums or foxes here, either. there are raccoons, but they get live-trapped and transported off. there are otters, though.

thanks for the sympathy, lafemi. the new rabbits are sorted and VERY safe, and indeed both have kindled. since they're breeding, they are in separate cages (large). i'm using the month until the next meat crop is born to do a slight redesign on the run and safety gating.

x