How to wean?

[RustyPocket]

Hello everybunny. Pretty straight up question, Fawn's six kits are hitting 8 weeks this Thuesday and I guess they are healthy/fat enought to wean. I didn't wean before becasue my parents wean at 6-7 weeks and a few always pass, so I hope keping them a bit longer will help them develope their immunity a bit better. Anyway, as they all live colony-style, and no other doe is currently in the colony with Fawn, I tought about taking her out and leaving kits in the colony for 2 more weeks before sexing them and selling, just to avoid stress I guess. Is it good idea, or should I live Fawn in colony and take kits out?

 

[MaggieJ]

In a colony, I would not take anyone out, especially if the youngsters will be sold before 12 weeks. They have probably already been weaned by the doe. Do you still see them creeping underneath her or is that a thing of the past now?

The doe could certainly be rebred at this point if she is not already. In my colony, where I had the buck living with the does, the does would wean the kits at about four weeks and often produced a new litter within a few weeks of that. You do need to watch that a doe does not lose condition if she is producing back to back litters.

 

[RustyPocket]

So, you say it's ok for Fawn and kits to stay together. I read somewhere that the dam will turn agressive on her kits once their hormones start kicking in at around 2.5 months. The kits sometimes seem to chase her around, occasionally when she's eating.
Anyway, as of rebreeding, I breed as a hobby rather then a food source or pets, so it's not really important to me to have kits regularly, and as my parents' does are bred by the 1 month pregnant-2 months with kits-1 month break system, I will be waiting for one of their does to finish her 1 month break and then breed them at the same time.

 

[Dood]

What are you selling the kits for?

If breeders or pets then you need to get them use to being on their own and i would house them in pairs and then individually before selling. The shock of going from a family group to the only rabbit in a cage would cause problems.

If for meat then I agree with MaggieJ - check Fawn for milk, she likely dried up weeks ago so they kits are fully on solid foods and your colony should be big enough for everyone - does stuck in a 3x2 cage can get nasty towards their kits

If the rabbits in Croatia are different from over here and Fawn still has full teats then I would remove the mother.

 

[Zass]

Hello everybunny. Pretty straight up question, Fawn's six kits are hitting 8 weeks this Thuesday

If the rabbits in Croatia are different from over here and Fawn still has full teats then I would remove the mother.

Some of the rabbits in the US have full teats even at 9 and 10 weeks.

I know mine often do. :shrug:

 

[Dood]

:shock: WOW !

If your parents rabbits are still heavily nursing at 5 weeks this might be why they are loosing kits at weaning (I assume they just remove the kits or mom). I would recommend they try "soft" weaning at 3 weeks old by pulling the mom out every other day for a week then every 2 days for a few days then every 3 days and finally fully weaned by 5 weeks to force the kits to eat solid food but gradually

 

[MaggieJ]

What are you selling the kits for?

If breeders or pets then you need to get them use to being on their own and i would house them in pairs and then individually before selling. The shock of going from a family group to the only rabbit in a cage would cause problems.

If for meat then I agree with MaggieJ - check Fawn for milk, she likely dried up weeks ago so they kits are fully on solid foods and your colony should be big enough for everyone - does stuck in a 3x2 cage can get nasty towards their kits

If the rabbits in Croatia are different from over here and Fawn still has full teats then I would remove the mother.

Dood makes some good observations here. Sudden changes can really cause problems in rabbits and if you are selling them as pets instead of for meat, then following her suggestions would be an excellent idea.

I've only ever had one doe that allowed kits to nurse past five weeks. I finally had to remove the youngsters. She was one of the few does I've had that really seemed to enjoy her kits even when they got big.

 

[Zass]

Hmmm...I know my kits will be well started on solid food by 5-6 weeks even if the doe is still nursing. I don't believe that later nursing in rabbits delays transitioning at all.
I just like to leave them together because I can.
But then...for various reasons I've weaned at 6 weeks plenty of times, and my kits do seem to grow better if I leave them with the does longer. I had thought the milk was just giving them an extra boost.:shrug:

Since separated ones rarely grow quite as well. Maybe there is more to it than I thought.

 

[Truckinguy]

I had seven five week old kits basically attack the mother in the middle of the colony one day. Poor doe, she had to pretty much stand on her tippy toes to get that horde under her. It was like a shark feeding frenzy or crowd surfing at a concert. Too funny! It kind of looked like some furry mechanics trying to get under a tiny car in a hurry!

My kits in the colony are pretty much eating pellets as soon as they can reach the feeder. If they are too small to reach they will usually jump up into it and just sit in it while they eat. That's at about 4-5 weeks old. I've never consciously weened any kits, the doe seems to do a good job of it on her own.