when to weigh meat rabbits

In 2014 we didn't keep enough records for the 5 litters we had. Last year we had 8 litters and weighed at weekly intervals for the first 5 weeks and then at 8 and 12 weeks. We butchered somewhere between 12 and 14 weeks and sometimes weighed again at that point. I think it was Grumpy who posted that the litter weight at 3 weeks was a good indicator of the mother's milk production. That was really helpful. This year we plan to have more litters and I was thinking about not weighing quite so often--perhaps eliminating the 2 and 4 week weighings. So I wondered what other people do and why.
I see how much it helps to have all litters weighed at the same ages so I can compare does and litters. The first few weeks we weigh the whole litter together, but by 5 weeks we weigh kits individually. Is there a reason to weight individuals earlier?
Guess I'll sneak in one more sort of related question What does the growth curve look like for rabbits? It seems to me that the rabbits we keep for breeding, which were bigger than the others when it was time for freezer camp, grow much more slowly over the weeks/months before they reach maturity. Is the goal of 5 pounds at 8 weeks based on "meat breeds" Cali and NZW and perhaps other breeds that mature at 10-12 pounds? With mutts that are 7-9 pounds as adults, would you expect a lower weight at 8 weeks? (okay, I know that the goal also supposes feeding pellets and I would expect less on our forage diet.) But would it make more sense to butcher at 10-12 weeks when the weight is around 4 pounds because that last pound will take a lot longer for a rabbit that will top out at under 9 pounds?
I wish I'd been able to ask all that more concisely but hope someone with experience will figure out what I mean and answer.

I usually just weigh at 8 weeks, and again every week after until they are big enough to eat.

Every now and then we would get lucky and stumble across a doe like my little lilac, who's crossbred kits sometimes grew as well as any meat rabbit. Even though she was only 7 lbs and her kits usually topped out around 8-8.5 upon maturity.
She was able to get 9 (1/2 Sf) kits to 5 lbs in 9 weeks. Hybrid vigor probably played a role there, since her kits to any part-lilac bucklings never grew as well.

Like I keep mentioning, the harlequins are more medium sized(7-9), and they do not grow as fast as my slowest growing meat mutts.
They grow just as well on forage as they do on pellets, but on pellets, they pack on body fat even as kits. I suspect, no amount or quality of feed could ever get them to grow like commercial meat rabbits.
They just have a different metabolism, and possibly a different genetic growth curve.

Sorry Rainey, no facts, like usual, just more rambling thoughts and ideas.

3 weeks (as i said before) is a good gauge to assess milk production.

You can weigh the litter when put in grow-out cages.

@7.5 weeks... weigh the litter individually... and note their progress

@ 8 weeks.... you should have young a shade over 4 lbs. each...
some even larger bumping 5 lbs.

after that... it's your call... knowing the size you choose to process them.

I don't like it.... but most prefer butcher weights at
5 lbs. or over in less than 11-12 weeks. Personal preference is 4.25-4.5 lbs.

For replacements: "Pick only the best... eat the rest...
Don't sell what you wouldn't keep for yourself.

Grumpy

I use to weigh weekly but now I just eye ball them :mrgreen: If I notice one does litter seems to be lagging I will weigh them and compare to my notes but after 4 years of selection I am quite happy with my girls milk production and it is not something I worry about

My meat mutts mature around 7-10 pounds but they still manage to be 5 pounds before 12 weeks I had one kit that was just a beast and grew like a rocket and her daughters have passed on this amazing growth rate but top out around 9 pounds :shock: I do breed my does earlier than most (16 weeks) so this may be stunting their adult size :shrug: which is fine by me as "poop pancakes" are a thing of the past

I tattoo and weigh individually when I wean - usually around 5 weeks. From there, I weigh individually each week.

Yes, it makes for a little extra work, but it gives me some excellent data for decision-making. The better and more consistent your records, the better your decisions will be.

Dood, if it matters any, breeding my harlis around 16 weeks, even with their slow growth, doesn't seem to negatively impact their adult sizes at all. They keep growing while pregnant, and my does seem to top out around the breed maximums for harlequins....Eventually...

Rainey, the commercial growing rabbits and mutts I've had completely failed with even small amounts of forage.
The purebred silverfox would get cecotrope overproduction from things like grape leaves or lemon balm. :? It was pretty sad. :| I was never able to make decent forage rabbits out of any of that line, or designer mutt crosses. The harlequins seems to take to forage like fishes to water. Slower growing, but steady, and they seem to have the correct metabolisms for it.

If your mutts have good forage metabolisms and you are happy with them, I wouldn't suggest worrying too much about whether or not they would match commercial growth expectations.

Zass":3lmkjygc said:

If your mutts have good forage metabolisms and you are happy with them, I wouldn't suggest worrying too much about whether or not they would match commercial growth expectations.

Click to expand...

I'm not expecting them to match commercial growth rate. They do well on forage and I'm satisfied with the meat we're getting. What I am trying to figure out is how the growth curve works and whether rabbits could be expected to reach a certain percentage of their adult weight at 8 or 12 or whatever weeks and if the 5 pound figure arises because it is a certain percentage of the adult weight of the commercial breeds. (I may not be stating the question clearly) Also I notice that ours grow quickly but then slow down at about 12 weeks and I wonder if that is normal or if we're doing something wrong (too crowded in grow-out cage, not the right mix of feed, etc)

I don't weigh out to 12 weeks because ours are gone by then, but weighing kits weekly, I can tell you some things I have found to affect growth curves.

Winter kits grow more slowly. More forage fed kits grow more slowly. Larger litters grow more slowly, even after weaning. Kits not raised by my one exceptional milk producer grow more slowly. Kits moved to my larger grow out cage grow faster.

Just my experience. But I have learned what to expect in MY rabbitry, with MY rabbits, based on the conditions. I truly believe there are too many variables to take into account and your growth curve is going to be your own.

I weigh my litters at 8 weeks when I wean them, I weigh the individual rabbits if I am thinking about keeping any of them. I don't have time to weigh rabbits all along the way. I weigh to assess my does, and breeding combinations [what different bucks do when bred to a doe]
I compare the litter weights to the others bred at that same time [as my feed programs change], - it would not be of any value for me to compare a litter raised on pellets to a litter raised on weeds.