[Sca-cooks] a worrisome quote from Le Menagier

[Chrissy Rey]

There are two holes "back there," but in younger hares the distinction may
not be so obvious (links to pictures for the REALLY curious):

http://www.debmark.com/rabbits/sexing.htm

This page indicates that rabbits (hares) are sold for meat at a pretty early
age (less than 12 _weeks_ for "fryers", over 8 _months_ for "roasters"):

http://www.fsis.usda.gov/OA/pubs/focusrabbit.htm

So MAYBE (just maybe) if you're checking the "holes" very quickly, and you
don't see two distinct parts, you can tell that the hare (or rabbit) is
still good eatin'?  I dunno, just a little speculation :-D  BTW, hare age
(and the age of lots of other critters) can be determined  by checking the
ossification of the radius and ulna.

Serena de la Mar
(recovering zoologist)