Rabbits & lead shot

[JudyN]

Chopping up Jasper's rabbit today (he's not keen on a whole half rabbit yet) I found some shot in it. I wasn't sure if it was shot, netted, lurchered or farmed but this answers that. Should I be concerned about the lead in the shot? I don't know of anywhere round here I could get any other sort of rabbit at a reasonable price.

[Nettle]

Pick out what you find and don't worry. My own dogs are amazing at picking out shot and we find it left in spotless food bowls later (they get game stew about once a week). I've been eating shot game for over 60 years and nothing has dropped off yet

[JudyN]

Thanks - he hasn't left any shot so far, he probably just regards it as an extra-crunchy bit But I won't worry about it.

I'm still trying to work out a way to dissect the rabbit without splattering every surface within 6 feet with blood and gore, though - I haven't got the strength just to use pressure on the cleaver, and a strong whack is much more fun

[ClareMarsh]

I have some super sharp scissors so I hold bunny over the sink by the back legs, cut open an drain

[JudyN]

Hmmm, that's a thought - I'll try that before whacking, thanks!

Out of interest - I've identified the liver and kidneys, but in the rib cage of last night's bunny (OH has done them up till now) is what looked pretty much like a big blood clot, that seeped everywhere. It didn't look like a heart - could it be the lungs? I suppose I should have delved further and tried to work it out by a process of elimination but I'm still working to overcome my natural squeamishness...

[Nettle]

At the fat end of the ribcage is a membrane. If you break this, inside the ribcage lie heart and lungs. Heart is solid and lungs are more rubbery and squshy.

[JudyN]

Maybe lungs then. I'll have to look more closely next time. I suppose I shouldn't really be wielding a cleaver without looking too closely anyway

I used to hide at the far end of the classroom when we were supposed to do dissections in biology at school

[dontpugme]

I used to hide at the far end of the classroom when we were supposed to do dissections in biology at school

Last year in Biology we had to dissect cats....I thought it was kinda fun but I can never think of cats the same way after seeing all of that stuff. My teacher actually cut a hole in the trachea and used a straw show the lungs expanding as she blew into it. That also happened to be the day when prospective students and parents were visiting. They must have left with a very interesting view of our school.