after the hurricane rains running the river and lakes out of banks there are plenty of rabbits to be seen trying to get to dry ground..i wish we had some cold weather down here as i love to rabbit hunt and love to eat them too..but i am afraid of rabbit fever as i had a friend of mine that got and it affected his glands and he ballooned to about 400 lbs and died i a few years..have any of you had any experiance with rabbit fever?

Nope...but we're always lookin' at the livers in the bears we shoot.

Just curious Jay, but what is it that you look for in the liver?
 
Az

Cirosis (sp?) black dots or growths on the liver or anything that looks un-natural. At least that is what I have alsways looked for. For small game you always want to look out for holes in the meat taht might signify an infection with worms or warbles. I cut and pasted this from the Fish and Game website:

"During September and October, squirrels often are infested with botfly larvae, sometimes called warbles or "wolves." These larvae develop under the squirrel's skin, also found on rabbits. Although these warbles are not fatal to the squirrel or harmful to the hunter, the ugly lesions prompt many hunters to discard infested squirrels. The discarding of warble infested squirrels is unfortunate. Even though these lesions are unsightly, the squirrel's meat is quite edible. By late October, most warbles have left their host."
 
I dont care what F&G says, the sores warbles leave in the meat is GROSS!! I wont eat em, no way.
 
Randy

I've found some sort of worm on rabbits here that are about half as big as your little finger.  I aint eatin them either.  And I have found them from Dec to May.

http://my.webmd.com/content/article/67/80096?src=Inktomi&condition=Home%20&%20Top%20Stories

 
I found this web site...did not know it was deadly...oh my, I used to rescue every bunnie I could as a kid...had a cat that would bring them to me live.
 
I did a search on rabbit fever.  This is from webmd.

We always wait untill there has been snow or a hard frost to hunt bunnies. I think that that usually kills off any sick ones and the remainder should be healthy, at least untill I get a hold of them.

Quote from: HunterbugWe always wait untill there has been snow or a hard frost to hunt bunnies. I think that that usually kills off any sick ones and the remainder should be healthy, at least untill I get a hold of them.

A very wise decision indeed. I would encourage other hunters to consider this as well. I mean, it couldnt hurt unless your season doesnt last long enough (a true shame).
 
Thanks,
Randy

I'm in west Texas, hard frosts and snow are few and far between.  'Ol John or Rockinbar may know what this worm I have seen on the cottontails here is, big ugly brown sucker, looks like a gigantic larvae, like a maggot, but brown.

I have seen them plenty, we called them wolves, don't know why. The practice around here is to cut out the offending part. wash your knife blade and then eat the rest.

HB;
Where I am that would mean hunting rabbits only every 5 to 10 years.
Glenn;
I think those are the larva of the Botfly, most animals get them in Texas, that is what the rope soaked in used motor oil tied between 2 trees in the pasture is for, the ranchers just don't put one low enough for the rabbits ;]
Don

interesting read..some things you might not know about it..



Tularemia is frequently called "rabbit fever" is a disease of many animals. Human infection is usually incidental and usually a result of tick bites or cleaning wild game. It is more common in rabbits, squirrels, muskrats and deer. It has also been found with deer flies, some mosquitoes as well as domestic animals such as cattle and sheep, which is rare. Considerably uncommon now in the Untied States, it did peak in approximately 1939 in the United States. Recently, the states that are still reporting cases, in fact, approximately 60-65% of all cases are from Arkansas, Missouri, Kentucky, Tennessee and Texas. On the West Coast, the common vector is biting flies. Men account for approximately 75% of all cases. This is due to their involvement in hunting, trapping, or butchering wild game. This can be obtained on the skin as well as being inhaled or eaten. Most common is skin tularemia. This will start out with a red, either flat or raised bump that appears about four to five days after cleaning or contact with the organism. That usually itches, and then is followed by an abrupt onset of fever, fatigue and chills. This can also be obtained by breathing in the bacteria, for example cleaning rabbits, blood being spattered in the air. You can get pulmonary or lung tularemia. It once was thought that if hunters would wait after the first freeze that they would have less of a chance of obtaining this, and that it would kill off the infected or sick animals. This is untrue. You can still obtain tularemia from a rabbit in December, January, or February even after the first freeze. A rash usually does occur in about 20% of individuals who have tularemia. Treatment is effective and the mortality rate is 1-2%. Antibiotics that are used that are very effective are Streptomycin and Gentamycin. Tetracycline has been used as an alternative for years, but at this time is not recommended.

Rabbit hunting is year-round here in Arizona. But I don't hunt them in the late spring months because there are too many pregnant ones about and it's an ethical issue with me. I want to make sure I have rabbits to hunt in the future. I hunt both cottontails and jackrabbits and we eat both in this house. We actually prefer the jackrabbit meat over cottontail. I run across those larvae from time to time and they're always found right under the skin. They don't affect the meat. I just pull out the larvae and mash it with the nearest rock. It pays to always wear surgical gloves while dressing rabbits and to carry rubbing alcohol to clean your knife and hatchet after dressing them out. When I bag a rabbit, the first thing I do is go back to the jeep and dress it out. I carry it with a looped rope cinched on the back legs. I first skin and get the head and feet off first thing. The ticks on rabbits live predominantly in the ears, so get that head off muy pronto. Then I open up the body and inspect the liver. If the liver is a dark brownish red with no white spots, it's a healthy critter destined for a healthy sprinkling of thyme, fresh-cracked black pepper and sea salt if it be a cottontail and a-plenty of cajun seasoning if it be a jackrabbit. But I'm getting ahead of myself here.  Anyway, I extract the liver and heart and I use these to make the sauce when I cook the rabbit. Then I gut the remainder. I wash the rabbit well with fresh water and into a ziplok bag it goes and on ice in the cooler. Then I go get another. The key to tasty rabbit is to skin, behead and gut as soon as possible, wash it well, and get it on ice. I always park central to nwhere I'm roving to make sure I can always circle back to the jeep with a fresh kill and sometimes bag a second on the way. I use #4 and #6 shot out of a 12 gauge for this. The Gerber, what is it the Freeman I think it's called, drop-point skinner is an excellent rabbit dressing knife. In some areas, depending on what the rabbit has been eating, you may wish to avoid sour or acidic seasonings and marinades for cottontails. In other words, you might not get good results with vinegar, wines, or lemon juice depending on what the rabbit was eating. You won't know til you try it, so if you're trying a new recipe, use a "test" peice of meat first to make sure it doesn't make it taste bad. Cottontail meat takes well to thyme, black pepper, paprika and salt for baking and frying. Jackrabbit around here loves chili pepper based seasonings. Man, you get enough front legs saved up, you can make "Desert Hot Wings" and you will love it. Then you can use the rest for something else. Over a good charcoal barbeque, a jackrabbit comes out very tasty.

AcesWild,
 I think I might just try those recipes.  Both cotton tails and jacks are plentiful around here, so it shouldn't be to hard to get a mess full. Of course that will have to wait till after deer season has died down.

Ace;
Very few jacks around here, although, the prairie east of Dallas used to be overrun with them 40 years ago. I ate plenty then, cottontails here, Southeast Texas, are good and larger than the desert cottontail of West Texas. We also have the swamp rabbit, looks like a cottontail except about 4-5 lb and the tail is bluegray color, in my opinion. better than the other two, more meat and not as tough and stringy.
I like all of them, Don