Rabbit - Revisited

[peege]

I know this has been brought up, and feel free to close this thread, or link it to the correct one.

I can't find it and I want to get this point out.

Please let me pick up the 3lb rabbit and stuff it into a sack that I might clean it at my cabin. Having to sit in freezing temps to skin and gut a rabbit for 3lb of meat is silly. I should be able to stuff 4-5 rabbits in a sack and walk off with them.

Carrying Rabbits in a sack à la Farmer McGreggor

[illanthropist]

Playing devils advocate here but when gutting and harvesting isn't it better to do it away from a base camp so as not to attract predators. Sure it's only a rabbit or two but you've still got to dispose of the unwanted parts, I'd rather take what I need and leave the rest behind for scavengers.

[peege]

It's a good point, but there really isn't that much waste on a rabbit.

You are already harvesting the guts and fur, so there's eyes, teeth, and a few other organs. Heart & Lungs, liver and kidney, you'd eat if you were in survival mode. The rest you could toss in the fire. Otherwise, I'd think it would cross over the realism threshold the game already employs.

The carcasses disappear when you turn your back on them and walk away a few feet, while human corpses remain getting eaten by crows for years. I'm not thinking the remains is a huge detail that needs dealt with as far as realism goes.

The perception of everyone I've shown this game to when they see me harvesting rabbits, is "Why do you have to stand out in the freezing cold to harvest that rabbit? That's stupid" Especially when actually FREEZING, and about to suffer hypothermia in a blizzard. The game is about survival. I don't know any survivalist who wouldn't just pick it up and harvest it out of the blizzard.

FISH: We don't have to "harvest" fish right at the time of catching them, or even beat them over the head to kill them. Simply pull the recently alive fish out of the water, and cook it to a nice filet shape. No dealing with the bones, or guts, or scales, eyes, teeth, etc.

While on the subject, deer usually don't get harvested on site in reality either and can be carried over the shoulder as could a person, wolf, or anything smaller than a bear.

I do know some fishermen who will clean the fish right on the boat, but most carry the fish home and clean them there, using the guts for fertilizer or just discarding the waste.

[illanthropist]

Nice counter, you have me convinced though I imagine in game fish are prepped at source as part of the catch time given nothing to harvest but food. When I have fished I gutted/cleaned bankside as it's only something I've done when hiking.

Wouldn't be a big deal to let us just plop the wabbits in our backpacks +1

[hekele]

+1 I keep thinking the same thing when I have to harvest a rabbit. Even if it was required to do it outside because of theoretical mess, I'd bring it home, warm up, then go out to skin it.

[Dirmagnos]

Wouldnt it be far more logical to tie rabbit carcasses by their feet and then attach those to the backpack ?

Instead of stuffing dirty and wet animals on top of all your food, extra clothes, matches and everything else you carry in there.

Also, you should keep in mind that if animal is not gutted fast all that meat start to spoil rapidly, since body retains its warmth for quite a while and its a perfect breeding ground for various microbes and parasites. Gutting should be separate option from harvesting, that speeds up freezing of the corpse, but also significantly slows down spoilage.

[Packet802]

Poor rabbits...I killed so many outside of the Trappers homestead I started to feel sorry for them! So little meat and I have a dozen extra cured hides so I quit trying to catch them. When I first started playing and had 4 snares going because that was the easiest way to get meat I worried that I was killing too many of them and they would disappear from that area. Haha....

[Beepstar]

If you were to add this ability to carry carcasses then it should have a negative modifier like attracting predators from greater range. Then you can choose to harvest and freeze or transport and run the increased risk of attack.

[The_Hawk35]

+1 as a hunter rabbits are best cleaned back a t base. There is zero reason to have to sit in the cold to clean them.

Add to that if they are frozen you WANT to warm them up. Then all you really need are 2 cuts to clean a rabbit:

- centerline to get the guts.

- then the neck.

You then peel the skin off like a glove, REALLY easy. I also agree that the bones liver, kidneys, heart, etc. would all be used in a stew/broth.

[cekivi]

This is definitely something that is needed

[Eachna]

You then peel the skin off like a glove, REALLY easy. I also agree that the bones liver, kidneys, heart, etc. would all be used in a stew/broth.

We really need stew/soup from remains.

[cekivi]

Yes, yes we do.

Offal in general should be a harvestable item either for trapping or for the nutrients.

[PPartisan]

I agree with the original post that it would be a good idea to carry rabbits so they can be butchered elsewhere - it's one of those areas where it seems to go against the grain of common sense too much to not include it. There are also some situations where you may not even want to take the time to butcher the rabbit. As an example, you may want to throw a whole one down to attract/distract a wolf.

I'd be happy to see the feature extend to other animals as well, with some modifications. For instance, I could hack off a deer leg with my hatchet then carry it back to base to finish the job out of the elements.

[akodo1]

Playing devils advocate here but when gutting and harvesting isn't it better to do it away from a base camp so as not to attract predators. Sure it's only a rabbit or two but you've still got to dispose of the unwanted parts, I'd rather take what I need and leave the rest behind for scavengers.

No, it's not.

It's standard hunting practice for rabbits squirrels and the like for the hunter to take them with him and skin/butcher at home.

Your character can go throw the 'unwanted parts' in the woods behind his cabin along with the bones and other bits of cooked rabbit. So no matter what your character is generating trash that has the potential to attract predators, it's just the game isn't tracking trash just like you don't have to poop.

[cekivi]

Your character can go throw the 'unwanted parts' in the woods behind his cabin along with the bones and other bits of cooked rabbit. So no matter what your character is generating trash that has the potential to attract predators, it's just the game isn't tracking trash just like you don't have to poop.

There wouldn't really be that much left over if you're in a survival situation. The bones and organs go into soup, the skins are dried, guts become line, etc. Anything left over that you don't want to eat should be fishing bait.

[akodo1]

Your character can go throw the 'unwanted parts' in the woods behind his cabin along with the bones and other bits of cooked rabbit. So no matter what your character is generating trash that has the potential to attract predators, it's just the game isn't tracking trash just like you don't have to poop.

There wouldn't really be that much left over if you're in a survival situation. The bones and organs go into soup, the skins are dried, guts become line, etc. Anything left over that you don't want to eat should be fishing bait.

Yes, if you packed your rabbit inside you'd actually have less waste to throw out and potentially attract predators.

Note you aren't making rabbit bone soup or rabbit organ soup, because you don't need to use water while cooking. You are cooking the meaty bits. Even if you do make soup from the bones, you still at the end have bones to throw out, and those bones will still attract animal. You aren't spending the hours necessary to get every bit of meat off the carcass, so there is going to be some waste in harvesting, when cooking, after eating, etc. Heck after crafting the mittens you are going to have waste bits.

Let alone the 'empty' can if beans, even if you are running your finger around the inside and then licking it off, you are going to have some food bits left in any/all of the pre-packaged stuff, and this waste bits right along with your rabbit bones and cast-offs from crafting your mittens is going to be waste that inside or out can potentially attract predators.

Saying you NEED to butcher outside rather than carrying the rabbit in your backpack because you don't want waste in your cabin to attract predators is just nonsensical.

(and I say feathers should be used in making fishing tackle to be the lure)

[Tbone555]

+1! i always hated having to freeze to death just to harvest a couple kg of rabbit meat at a time.

[cekivi]

Eh, you've got a fire. Any trash you generate inside can just get burned. Even you cans can be burned to make sure there's no food residue to attract animals.

[starfighter441]

Two quick cuts between the Achilles tendons on the hind legs and you can sling them over a forked stick to carry them.