I never have thought much about how soon my kits started eating pellets until I noticed my most recent litters starting to crowd the feeder at about a month. It made me wonder if that may speed up how fast I could separate and re-breed.
How soon do y'all's kits start pellets?
- Thread starter dsneed1002
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shazza
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they will begin to nibble on whatever mom is eating as soon as they can hop out of the box. they are not truly weaned until 4 weeks though, but most recommend waiting til 5 or 6 weeks to separate them from mom to prevent weaning enteritis. you can rebreed as soon as you like, really. the kits will be weaned before the 31 days gestation is up in most situations. rebreeding when kits are two weeks old is a common practice. that gives the doe a couple weeks' break from having kits with her before kindling again.
Marie28
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They normally start nibbling as soon as they venture out of the nest box. I would make sure that the water is also where they can reach.
You can wean as early as 4 weeks but from what I have read waiting till at least 6 gives you better odds on them all surviving. Personally I would give my does a couple weeks after weaning before re-breeding, but we are breeding only for our own consumption.
You can wean as early as 4 weeks but from what I have read waiting till at least 6 gives you better odds on them all surviving. Personally I would give my does a couple weeks after weaning before re-breeding, but we are breeding only for our own consumption.
Thanks for the info! I hadn't been breeding with a fast turn around because I had only been keeping them for myself, but I basically had an outlet fall in my lap and more litters means more fun as far as I'm concerned.
TeaTimeBunnies
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Mine are usually fully on pellets by 6wks old, but I don't separate anyone until 8wks for their social skills
I sprinkle pellets in the box once the eyes open. After that first kits get out of the box, I put small bowls of pellets and water about 7 inches from the end of the box. I want them to find it if they manage to get out. They are usually all out and eating from bowls by two weeks old. I get rid of the box at this time. If I don't do it this way I just don't get the growth I want in my Rex. I want them to weigh as close to 5 pounds as I can get by 8 or 9 weeks. i want them at 50% of mature weight by then. Since growth slows down as they near that important six month mark, when they need to be senior weight.
