NZ 8 week old kits

[Mannbuns]

This is our first time with litters so I feel like I've been asking lots of questions.
Our litters are about 8 weeks. There's a group of 9 and a group of 6. The 6 are bigger because the other Mama was new and her kits were underfed at the beginning. The biggest ones are barely over 3 pounds. We took them out of the cage with mom at 6 weeks because they were eating constantly any food put in and were driving mama crazy. But now we wonder if we took them out too soon. We have them grazing all day and I usually throw in various leaves from the garden. In the evening they are put in the rabbitry with hay and pellets.
We thought they would have been closer to 5lbs by now. Are we wrong about that? Will they start gaining more now? Should we be giving them different food or more? So many questions! We need help from all you amazing experienced rabbit owners!

 

[hotzcatz]

They should be fully weaned at six weeks, I'd expect? I only have English angora, which is a smaller breed, so I'm not certain they'd be weaned at six weeks, but ours are pretty much done feeding from mum bun at four weeks. They still stay with her - much to her dismay - until they're eight weeks old but they quit feeding around four weeks.

Smaller litters almost always gain weight faster than bigger litters. Mum bun can only produce so much milk and when it has to be split between many mouths, they don't gain as much weight.

Do they have access to water when grazing? The buns here stop eating as much if there's any problems with their water, so one would expect buns with water to eat more than buns without.

 

[ThunderHill]

Hi! In my limited experience raising NZ for a few years now, I find that the kits who grow up eating large quantities of greens grow out much more slowly, and will likely take closer to 12 weeks to hit 5+ pounds. When I used to feed exclusively pellets and hay, I was getting closer to 4+ pounds at 8 weeks and 5+ by 9-10 weeks. I feed greens now as it seems I have healthier rabbits and almost no deaths during weaning (saving $$ on feed is nice, too). It's worth it to me to take a few more weeks to hit butcher weight.

I'd say genetics could play a part, too. I recently culled a doe after two litters that she didn't milk well and they were just small and not very healthy kits. At 8 weeks, her second litter is now only around 2.75 pounds. The litter I just butchered was still under 6 pounds at 16 weeks! And they all had more gas in their intestines than I normally see during processing, so I'm not sure what that was about. What I don't really understand is that she was one of the biggest rabbits we've ever grown out, bred to a large buck. I'm learning that biggest doesn't always mean the best.

As far as weaning, I think pulling them at 6 weeks was just fine.

I hope this helps!

 

[Mannbuns]

Hi! In my limited experience raising NZ for a few years now, I find that the kits who grow up eating large quantities of greens grow out much more slowly, and will likely take closer to 12 weeks to hit 5+ pounds. When I used to feed exclusively pellets and hay, I was getting closer to 4+ pounds at 8 weeks and 5+ by 9-10 weeks. I feed greens now as it seems I have healthier rabbits and almost no deaths during weaning (saving $$ on feed is nice, too). It's worth it to me to take a few more weeks to hit butcher weight.

I'd say genetics could play a part, too. I recently culled a doe after two litters that she didn't milk well and they were just small and not very healthy kits. At 8 weeks, her second litter is now only around 2.75 pounds. The litter I just butchered was still under 6 pounds at 16 weeks! And they all had more gas in their intestines than I normally see during processing, so I'm not sure what that was about. What I don't really understand is that she was one of the biggest rabbits we've ever grown out, bred to a large buck. I'm learning that biggest doesn't always mean the best.

As far as weaning, I think pulling them at 6 weeks was just fine.

I hope this helps!

Yes, thank you! So I guess since they eat mostly greens they are growing slower. But I agree with you about the health and cost savings. Our litter of 9 is under 3lbs now as well. I guess we will just take a breath a wait. My husband read that giving sweet potatoes will help them gain weight. I have them all some yesterday. They are the first litter to their Mama so we'll see if she does better the next time around.

 

[Mannbuns]

They should be fully weaned at six weeks, I'd expect? I only have English angora, which is a smaller breed, so I'm not certain they'd be weaned at six weeks, but ours are pretty much done feeding from mum bun at four weeks. They still stay with her - much to her dismay - until they're eight weeks old but they quit feeding around four weeks.

Smaller litters almost always gain weight faster than bigger litters. Mum bun can only produce so much milk and when it has to be split between many mouths, they don't gain as much weight.

Do they have access to water when grazing? The buns here stop eating as much if there's any problems with their water, so one would expect buns with water to eat more than buns without.

Yes they always have water. They seem to eat a lot. Maybe it's just their diet doesn't put on weight quickly.

 

[Olbunny]

We raise NZ. Your kits seem to be doing well. Our goal is 5lbs live weight in 12 weeks. 2-1/2# dressed. We remove kits at 6 weeks. Kits receive pellets, hay full time, we give them fresh greens daily, dandelions to fireweed, trees or brush like willow, birch, poplar give them needed vitamins n minerals and help with teeth. And bordom.
Watch for signs of fighting as they will be becoming sexually active. And the bigger ones can be bullies making sure that they always get theirs first.

 

[Mannbuns]

We raise NZ. Your kits seem to be doing well. Our goal is 5lbs live weight in 12 weeks. 2-1/2# dressed. We remove kits at 6 weeks. Kits receive pellets, hay full time, we give them fresh greens daily, dandelions to fireweed, trees or brush like willow, birch, poplar give them needed vitamins n minerals and help with teeth. And bordom.
Watch for signs of fighting as they will be becoming sexually active. And the bigger ones can be bullies making sure that they always get theirs first.

Ok thanks! I hadn't thought about them reaching their sexually active stage so soon. Yikes! We'll have to watch out for that and maybe move the smaller ones to their own cage

 

[BuffBrahmaBantam]

What sort of ‘greens’ are they grazing on during the day? What plants are they grazing? ‘Greens’ vary a lot in nutritional value. Legumes like clover and alfalfa have more protein than grass and can improve weight gain. If they are on a pure grass pasture or lawn and you want faster weight gain, consider inter seeding with a clover or alfalfa mix and in the future you should see faster weight gain on ‘greens.’

 

[Mannbuns]

What sort of ‘greens’ are they grazing on during the day? What plants are they grazing? ‘Greens’ vary a lot in nutritional value. Legumes like clover and alfalfa have more protein than grass and can improve weight gain. If they are on a pure grass pasture or lawn and you want faster weight gain, consider inter seeding with a clover or alfalfa mix and in the future you should see faster weight gain on ‘greens.’

That's a good point. So right now they are in our yard eating whatever has been growing previously, crabgrass, clover, plantain, dandelion. I am also giving them things from our garden- green bean leaves, sweet potato leaves, borage, nasturtium, sunflower leaves. I did give them some cut up sweet potatoes the other day and may do that again.

 

[Therese]

Ok thanks! I hadn't thought about them reaching their sexually active stage so soon. Yikes! We'll have to watch out for that and maybe move the smaller ones to their own cage

Thanks for the confirmation about maturity! I had read that in colonies, rabbits can mature as soon as 8 weeks or even sooner. The author of the book said, "Anything is possible in a colony!" My guess is that pheromones released by the mature animals influence the younger ones who are mixed in. We had the same experience with fighting and very young maturation when we had a colony set up.

 

[RabbitsOfTheCreek]

Thanks for the confirmation about maturity! I had read that in colonies, rabbits can mature as soon as 8 weeks or even sooner. The author of the book said, "Anything is possible in a colony!" My guess is that pheromones released by the mature animals influence the younger ones who are mixed in. We had the same experience with fighting and very young maturation when we had a colony set up.

4-4.5 months for bigger rabbits, 6-9 months for smaller rabbits, for pure maturity
However, they can breed at 3 months

 

[Therese]

4-4.5 months for bigger rabbits, 6-9 months for smaller rabbits, for pure maturity
However, they can breed at 3 months

Thank you!
A few years ago I posted my 12 week rabbits as "ready to breed" and received a very incredulous response. I guess they never experienced a colony!
God bless you!

 

[RabbitsOfTheCreek]

Thank you!
A few years ago I posted my 12 week rabbits as "ready to breed" and received a very incredulous response. I guess they never experienced a colony!
God bless you!

You're welcome

 

[Preitler]

4-4.5 months for bigger rabbits, 6-9 months for smaller rabbits, for pure maturity
However, they can breed at 3 months

Youngest doe of my ca. 10lbs rabbits that got pregnant was 14 weeks, and small breeds mature earlier, 8 weeks for males is the earliest I read about in dwarfs.

It's better to wait for them to be 6-8 months to be bred though, size, resources and such.

 

[BuffBrahmaBantam]

That's a good point. So right now they are in our yard eating whatever has been growing previously, crabgrass, clover, plantain, dandelion. I am also giving them things from our garden- green bean leaves, sweet potato leaves, borage, nasturtium, sunflower leaves. I did give them some cut up sweet potatoes the other day and may do that again.

Another long-term suggestion is to select for animals that gain weight the fastest in your system. Genetics plays a part in animal weight gain on different diets. If your breeding stock was fed pellets and hay in cages they may need a few generations (of selecting the right breeding stock) to produce well on grass and other forages.

I dont know as much about rabbits, but I do know this is true of beef and dairy cattle which have been selected in the last 50 years for weight gain/milk production on grain. If you want good weight gain/milk production on grass, it is worth the effort to purchase breeding stock from people who are selectively raising their animals on grass.

Overall, select breeders from the young stock that do well in your system.