New to this couple of questions

[home*sweet*home]

Ok, so now that we have our first living bundle of kits, I have a some questions.

We have a clamp style tatoo machine, when do you tatoo them? Do you tatoo all the kits, or just the ones that you think will show? I thought about just doing all of them so that it helps me to know as the get older, what is the pedigree.

I have been reading and there is so much.

When do you let them go to new homes. I have read 4-5 weeks, 6 weeks and 8 weeks. We want to keep 1 more doe, but we are pretty sure that we want one our of our grand champion (who is pg now), unless one of these kits just jumps out at us, or we get a cool color. Actually our grand champion is the mother to this doe (different sire than ours though) If we are keeping on, when would you know that they are the right one or not. Can you know by 6-8 weeks?


Thank you, I am sure I will think og some more questions later!

 

[Cattle Cait]

I suggest tattooing all of them. Its helpful to your records and if you develop your own prefix then folks who may buy your rabbit secondhand later on will know who it came from. I tattoo usually at 5-6 weeks, but I use a pen tattooer. I don't know if a clamp will fit in a baby ear that young.

I sell at 6 weeks for pets, 8-12 weeks for show stock. I only sell the pets at 6 weeks because that is the age that local pet stores ask for them. They are much better off at 8 weeks if you are selling via private sale. You can't assess much on a baby bunny but here's what I've experienced - a rabbit is born with as much hindquarters as it will ever have. If they're pinched at 6 weeks, they'll be pinched on the show table at 4 months old. Give a little leeway for shoulders, depth CAN get better but very good depth will be visible when they are young. Start weeding out your keepers at 6-7 weeks and make your final decision around 9-10 weeks.

 

[ottersatin]

I tattoo every rabbit. wean at four to six weeks but
do not sell before eight weeks accept to an experienced breeder.
You can really never tell exactly how a very young kit will turn out!
Ottersatin, C.V.R. ldtimer: