Morning! Today is 14 days for our kits so they went onto the scale for the first time as individuals. I was surprised at the large range of weights. The average was 6.5oz compared to the 4.1oz at 7 days. Not sure if that's good or slow, but it's gone into the recordbook so we'll know after a few more litters if we're improving things or not. However, the largest kit was 8.1oz and the smallest (the castor buck) was only 4.2oz almost half the size. The front of the nestbox is now open so hopefully the little guy will have more chances to nurse as soon as the weather warms up enough for them to come out of hiding again. I thought about just bringing him and his dam into the house in another cage for the day and returning the rest of the kits at sundown. But if this is a normal range of weights then I won't bother. What do you think?
Normal Weight Range for Kits?
- Thread starter Rae
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SterlingSatin
Well-known member
what breed? mini rex?
JueLee
Well-known member
My meat mutts reach 1#12oz (meal size for my dogs) at around 5-6 weeks. At that point, they are gaining about 1 oz per day. I don't bother to weigh sooner than 5 weeks, so you'll have to wait to compare yours to mine.
I often have a wide range of weights. Occasionally I have to keep a kit to 7 weeks to reach that weight, and just today I had two that had already reached 2#s.
I often have a wide range of weights. Occasionally I have to keep a kit to 7 weeks to reach that weight, and just today I had two that had already reached 2#s.
Thanks JueLee. I'll see what I have then. Mostly I'm keeping track of their weights to track feed conversion and growth rates. I'm hoping the numbers will help me decide on who to keep and who to cull so I'm not swayed by the cuteness factor. 
Hucksdaddy
Well-known member
I don't take record weekly weights. I just weigh occasionally and when they reach 5 lbs they go into the "processing" pen. They usually start hitting that weight at 11 weeks and the last of the litter makes it into that pen by 12 weeks.
skysthelimit
Well-known member
My 4 week old Rexes are 1lb 4oz. The 5 week olds are 1lb 7oz. That seems big for a Rex. Maybe these will be a faster, bigger growing Rex line without having to cross with NZ or Cals.
OneAcreFarm
Well-known member
I weighed my Choco Rex kits at 10 days and the whole litter of weighs 3lbs...so like 5.3oz average per kit?
Sunday, at three weeks, I'll weigh them again. I've added BOSS and Oats to their feed since they've recently been seen nibbling the pellets and eating hay. I still worry about the little castor buck, he's so tiny compared to his siblings who seem to be growing right in front of my eyes. Not as bright-eyed and active either, but he's eating hay too, so I'm still rooting for him although I'll cull him if he gets any more lethargic. No need to let him suffer if he's slowly starving or ill. The nestbox is gone totally now, and the doe refuses to let them nurse when they start swarming her. Mostly they all stay in the corner where their box was, keeping warm. I'm planning on making a chart to track their individual weights and litter averages to make it easier to see the growth rates. Hoping to compare it to a feed consumption chart. Then I can use those two charts and what they tell me to compare future litters and make culling choices.
MamaSheepdog
Well-known member
Rae,
I have been providing my weanlings with a shelter/feeding area made out of a litter jug. You can put shavings or their old nesting material in it as bedding. It is a good way to give them their oats and BOSS so the doe can't eat it all. If your hands are too big to fit through the hole (a tight squeeze for me), cut a small hole in the top a good distance away from the mouth of the jug to pour food inside. If it is too close, the doe will stick her head in and eat it anyway. You also might need to wire it to the cage if your doe likes to "re-arrange the furniture"!
I have been providing my weanlings with a shelter/feeding area made out of a litter jug. You can put shavings or their old nesting material in it as bedding. It is a good way to give them their oats and BOSS so the doe can't eat it all. If your hands are too big to fit through the hole (a tight squeeze for me), cut a small hole in the top a good distance away from the mouth of the jug to pour food inside. If it is too close, the doe will stick her head in and eat it anyway. You also might need to wire it to the cage if your doe likes to "re-arrange the furniture"!
skysthelimit
Well-known member
MamaSheepdog":hbebx5zr said:
love it!!
Week 3 weigh-in in oz:
W1 10.5
W2 10.5
W3 9
W4 9
B1 10
B2 12
C 7
The average was 9.71 up only a little more than 3oz from last week. It seems likely that only the big black doe is going to make 1lb by 4 weeks. They're getting all the hay and feed plus BOSS, (ACV)water and oats they want. I looked for calf-manna at TSC and couldn't find it, or that the other feedstore nearby that I know of. Tomorrow I'm going to ask if they can order a bag for me, but I doubt it since I only need 1. We'll see. I'm tempted to start limiting the hay to see if they'll eat more pellets, but I don't know if that'll upset their bellies.
W1 10.5
W2 10.5
W3 9
W4 9
B1 10
B2 12
C 7
The average was 9.71 up only a little more than 3oz from last week.
It seems likely that only the big black doe is going to make 1lb by 4 weeks. They're getting all the hay and feed plus BOSS, (ACV)water and oats they want. I looked for calf-manna at TSC and couldn't find it, or that the other feedstore nearby that I know of. Tomorrow I'm going to ask if they can order a bag for me, but I doubt it since I only need 1. We'll see. I'm tempted to start limiting the hay to see if they'll eat more pellets, but I don't know if that'll upset their bellies.
Maybe it's just me, but it seems to me that many people put a lot of emphasis on rapid weight gain in their fryers. When I used to feed pellets, the rabbits grew faster but they had excess internal fat at the 12 week butchering time and my overall cost of meat (including maintenance of breeders) was about $1.50 a pound.
When I went to natural feeding, the rabbits grew more slowly but I was getting more meat and less fat on butchering day... Just a healthy amount around the kidneys. Even though it took a month longer to raise them to butchering size, my overall cost of meat (including maintenance of the breeders) dropped to about 75 cents. The bulk of their diet comes from alfalfa hay with some grass content at $3.50 a bale and free gathered greens. They also get some whole grain, but a sack of grain costs about the same as a bag of pellets and it lasts about 3-4 times longer.
I'm not suggesting that everyone should rush out and start natural feeding. I do think though that there are other considerations that are important besides the actual weight gains of the fryers. Cost of raising them per pound of table-ready meat is a more accurate indicator of how you are doing.
In a commercial operation, bottom line and streamlining operations to cut labour costs are essential, since rabbits are a tough way to make a living at best. When raising meat mainly for the family, however, you have more choices.
When I went to natural feeding, the rabbits grew more slowly but I was getting more meat and less fat on butchering day... Just a healthy amount around the kidneys. Even though it took a month longer to raise them to butchering size, my overall cost of meat (including maintenance of the breeders) dropped to about 75 cents. The bulk of their diet comes from alfalfa hay with some grass content at $3.50 a bale and free gathered greens. They also get some whole grain, but a sack of grain costs about the same as a bag of pellets and it lasts about 3-4 times longer.
I'm not suggesting that everyone should rush out and start natural feeding. I do think though that there are other considerations that are important besides the actual weight gains of the fryers. Cost of raising them per pound of table-ready meat is a more accurate indicator of how you are doing.
In a commercial operation, bottom line and streamlining operations to cut labour costs are essential, since rabbits are a tough way to make a living at best. When raising meat mainly for the family, however, you have more choices.
MaggieJ,
I think you're right. It just concerns me that if their growth contiues at this rate, it will take over 5 weeks to gain just one pound. If that's what it is, then so be it. But if its because I've done something wrong than I'd like to fix it. I thought we were doing pretty good with 2 30x30s, 2 24x24s and a small rabbit proof pen that is about 6x8, but with two does and a buck already, I'll have a hard time finding room for the kits if I have to keep them past sexual maturity. Eventually we'll add an outside colony style pen, but it has to wait until summer at least and possibly fall. I guess I could always put the bucks up for sale at 10 weeks or so and only grow-out the does. That might work. LOL. I guess sometimes just talking it out, even in cyberland, is all you need to help you come up with a solution.
I think you're right. It just concerns me that if their growth contiues at this rate, it will take over 5 weeks to gain just one pound. If that's what it is, then so be it. But if its because I've done something wrong than I'd like to fix it. I thought we were doing pretty good with 2 30x30s, 2 24x24s and a small rabbit proof pen that is about 6x8, but with two does and a buck already, I'll have a hard time finding room for the kits if I have to keep them past sexual maturity. Eventually we'll add an outside colony style pen, but it has to wait until summer at least and possibly fall. I guess I could always put the bucks up for sale at 10 weeks or so and only grow-out the does. That might work. LOL. I guess sometimes just talking it out, even in cyberland, is all you need to help you come up with a solution.
I do see your problem. On the natural diet, the fryers mature more slowly sexually as well... or perhaps it is just my particular line of meat mutts. I've never separated the sexes before butchering at about 16 weeks and have never butchered a young doe that was visibly pregnant.
You will find that rabbits tend to have a growth spurt at around 5-6 weeks. They really pack it on then until about the 10 week mark. So they may surprise you yet!
I think you are doing the right thing in your circumstances to keep track of weights right now... It will give you a better idea of what to expect for the future. You will also want to watch to see when the males' testicles appear.
I hope I didn't come on too strong... You mustn't mind me. My style is intuitive, low-tech, and process-oriented rather than goal oriented. I missed my century.
You will find that rabbits tend to have a growth spurt at around 5-6 weeks. They really pack it on then until about the 10 week mark. So they may surprise you yet!
I think you are doing the right thing in your circumstances to keep track of weights right now... It will give you a better idea of what to expect for the future. You will also want to watch to see when the males' testicles appear.
I hope I didn't come on too strong... You mustn't mind me. My style is intuitive, low-tech, and process-oriented rather than goal oriented. I missed my century.
No not at all. That's why I love RT so much. Everyone is doing something at least a little bit differnt from everyone else. There are lots of things I've learned just because I didn't think of the problem the same way as someone else did.
I think you will find that the coming growth spurt helps a lot. You may have to butcher the bucks a bit early due to space limitations and they may only weigh in the four pound range, but since does can be kept together longer, you can raise them a bit longer if necessary. By the time this batch reaches freezer camp, you will have much clearer picture of how your future litters are likely to grow. One idea that might work is to feed hay with a higher alfalfa or clover content. This would preserve the benefits to the GI system without slowing their growth quite so much as a regular grass hay.
skysthelimit
Well-known member
MaggieJ":a3wz6vyj said:I do see your problem. On the natural diet, the fryers mature more slowly sexually as well... or perhaps it is just my particular line of meat mutts. I've never separated the sexes before butchering at about 16 weeks and have never butchered a young doe that was visibly pregnant.
You will find that rabbits tend to have a growth spurt at around 5-6 weeks. They really pack it on then until about the 10 week mark. So they may surprise you yet!
I think you are doing the right thing in your circumstances to keep track of weights right now... It will give you a better idea of what to expect for the future. You will also want to watch to see when the males' testicles appear.
I hope I didn't come on too strong... You mustn't mind me. My style is intuitive, low-tech, and process-oriented rather than goal oriented. I missed my century.
Maggie, that is exactly why I am interested in this as well. I don't have a lot of room to separate kits, and mine's started humping and fighting at 8 weeks. My 12 week old buck is trying to breed my 16 old doe, and she's pretty much rolling on the floor to let him. I have to separate these ones at 8 weeks, and I want them as meaty as possible before I cull. I am wondering, if I bought more alfalfa/clover/timothy mix hay, and feed the pellets as a supplement (I do the opposite now) can I reduce my feed bill. One bag of pellets pays for 3 bales of hay.
Hmmm... It might cut costs. Here it would be 4 bales of hay equals one of pellets... and of course my costs go way down in spring through fall when I feed mostly greens. It won't solve your problem though, because they will likely still fight/breed at an early age.
Gee... maybe I should be marketing my rabbits as "slow maturing, non-aggressive rabbits for the organic market."
Gee... maybe I should be marketing my rabbits as "slow maturing, non-aggressive rabbits for the organic market."
