Process of raising show himis?

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hacoochie

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Hi, I am looking to getting into breeding Himalayans for show and plan to have my first litter within a couple months. I have done much research over the last couple years but I find it hard to locate information on exactly the timeline of raising kits, separating them from mom and into separate cages, evaluating etc. I am wanting to know at what age exactly I should separate them from mom, and then into their own cages. I find lots of varying information which makes it confusing. I have heard that small breeds like himis can start breeding as young as 3.5 months, so my plan was to separate the kits from mom at 12 weeks old into a couple larger cages by gender (a cage for does and another for bucks), and grow them out there. I am not entirely sure if this is a good idea? I would love to hear other people's process in how they raise their kits, when they separate them and such! I appreciate any advice anyone is willing to offer.
 
Just because they can breed that early doesn't mean they should
I think they were saying that because 12 weeks is 3 months, so they are thinking that they should separate them from the other gender and from mom at 12 weeks before they start breeding in mom's cage. I don't believe there was any intent to breed that young.
 
Hi, I am looking to getting into breeding Himalayans for show and plan to have my first litter within a couple months. I have done much research over the last couple years but I find it hard to locate information on exactly the timeline of raising kits, separating them from mom and into separate cages, evaluating etc. I am wanting to know at what age exactly I should separate them from mom, and then into their own cages. I find lots of varying information which makes it confusing. I have heard that small breeds like himis can start breeding as young as 3.5 months, so my plan was to separate the kits from mom at 12 weeks old into a couple larger cages by gender (a cage for does and another for bucks), and grow them out there. I am not entirely sure if this is a good idea? I would love to hear other people's process in how they raise their kits, when they separate them and such! I appreciate any advice anyone is willing to offer.
Kits can generally survive when weaned at 4 weeks, but the consensus among the breeders I know is that giving them 6 weeks is a lot healthier. I leave mine in for 6-8 weeks, sometimes a little longer if I'm tight on growout cage space. :) Some does love on and feed their babies for months, but by 8 weeks the mother is usually totally done and alternates between sitting tucked up with her eyes closed dreaming of being alone, and running away from a pack of insistent (and large) adolescents who still want to nurse. Also, the cages tend to be pretty darn crowded by then.

They really need to be away from mom and in their own cages, or at least separated by sex into growout cages, by 12 weeks. Because they can - I'm speaking from experience - breed at that age, and that's not just small breeds. I had a satin that became a sire at the tender age of 16-1/2 weeks of age, meaning he bred the doe at 12-1/2 weeks of age! I have noticed that the smaller breeds generally do get interested in reproduction a lot earlier than larger breeds. I always had to separate the Mini Rex at 6-8 weeks because the little bucks just wouldn't leave their littermates alone. Polish aren't quite so bad, but they still start bugging each other earlier than my Satins, Rex, Californians and New Zealands usually do.

It doesn't really matter if they bug each other in grow-out cages of males or females...unless you want to show them. Then you need to worry about them damaging each other, for instance nipping ears, nipping noses, barbering (chewing on/eating each other's fur) and biting. Bites usually heal fine, but serious ones can either leave a visible scar or change the color of the hair growing there. Rabbits will sometimes grow white hairs in dark fur where there's been an injury to the skin, and brokens or himis will sometimes grow darker hairs in white areas. In brokens that's not an issue but in himis it's a DQ (disqualification) to have either a white spot in a colored area, or a dark spot in a white area.

So, I usually try to separate my show prospects as early as possible. Sometimes I'll leave two keeper doe littermates together for a while if they seem to enjoy each other; it seems to make the transition a little easier. But even does that get along will engage in dominance behaviors, and you'll see occasional chasing, nipping and fur-pulling. When I intend to show one or both, I separate them fairly soon. If possible I put them in side-by-side cages so they can still interact without tearing each other up. But even then, I have two layers of separation and I watch them, as they will sometimes chew each other's fur through the wire.

The other reason to separate your show prospects is that rabbits naturally have a dominance hierarchy and some of that involves what's known as "guarding" behaviors. These revolve around food and water. It's subtle, but the lower-ranking bunnies are prevented from having at-will access to food and water. I have frequently found that bunnies which are the smallest in the litter really fill out once they're in their own cages.
 
I think they were saying that because 12 weeks is 3 months, so they are thinking that they should separate them from the other gender and from mom at 12 weeks before they start breeding in mom's cage. I don't believe there was any intent to breed that young.
Yes, this is what I meant.
 
Kits can generally survive when weaned at 4 weeks, but the consensus among the breeders I know is that giving them 6 weeks is a lot healthier. I leave mine in for 6-8 weeks, sometimes a little longer if I'm tight on growout cage space. :) Some does love on and feed their babies for months, but by 8 weeks the mother is usually totally done and alternates between sitting tucked up with her eyes closed dreaming of being alone, and running away from a pack of insistent (and large) adolescents who still want to nurse. Also, the cages tend to be pretty darn crowded by then.

They really need to be away from mom and in their own cages, or at least separated by sex into growout cages, by 12 weeks. Because they can - I'm speaking from experience - breed at that age, and that's not just small breeds. I had a satin that became a sire at the tender age of 16-1/2 weeks of age, meaning he bred the doe at 12-1/2 weeks of age! I have noticed that the smaller breeds generally do get interested in reproduction a lot earlier than larger breeds. I always had to separate the Mini Rex at 6-8 weeks because the little bucks just wouldn't leave their littermates alone. Polish aren't quite so bad, but they still start bugging each other earlier than my Satins, Rex, Californians and New Zealands usually do.

It doesn't really matter if they bug each other in grow-out cages of males or females...unless you want to show them. Then you need to worry about them damaging each other, for instance nipping ears, nipping noses, barbering (chewing on/eating each other's fur) and biting. Bites usually heal fine, but serious ones can either leave a visible scar or change the color of the hair growing there. Rabbits will sometimes grow white hairs in dark fur where there's been an injury to the skin, and brokens or himis will sometimes grow darker hairs in white areas. In brokens that's not an issue but in himis it's a DQ (disqualification) to have either a white spot in a colored area, or a dark spot in a white area.

So, I usually try to separate my show prospects as early as possible. Sometimes I'll leave two keeper doe littermates together for a while if they seem to enjoy each other; it seems to make the transition a little easier. But even does that get along will engage in dominance behaviors, and you'll see occasional chasing, nipping and fur-pulling. When I intend to show one or both, I separate them fairly soon. If possible I put them in side-by-side cages so they can still interact without tearing each other up. But even then, I have two layers of separation and I watch them, as they will sometimes chew each other's fur through the wire.

The other reason to separate your show prospects is that rabbits naturally have a dominance hierarchy and some of that involves what's known as "guarding" behaviors. These revolve around food and water. It's subtle, but the lower-ranking bunnies are prevented from having at-will access to food and water. I have frequently found that bunnies which are the smallest in the litter really fill out once they're in their own cages.
This is very helpful, thank you :) Another question I forgot to ask; at what age do you introduce solids to the kits? I was going to use unlimited 18% protein feed and orchard hay for the doe, would these be okay to feed to kits aswell? And how much exactly?
 
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This is very helpful, thank you :) Another question I forgot to ask; at what age do you introduce solids to the kits? I was going to use unlimited 18% protein feed and orchard hay for the doe, would these be okay to feed to kits aswell? And how much exactly?
Glad I can be helpful!

You don't really introduce solids since the kits are in the cage with the mother. Somewhere between 10-14 days they'll start hopping out of the box and exploring, and like most babies, everything will go into their mouths. :) So they'll nibble on whatever you put in for the mother to eat. This works out well because they get gut flora from their mother from her milk and from her poops, which they nibble on even in the nest box. So they are primed to be able to digest what she can digest. It's best not to introduce any new foods while they're nursing, for that reason, but I feed unlimited pellets to nursing does and growing kits.

It is also good to keep an eye on the kits' bottoms from about 4 - 10 weeks of age. They can develop what's called "weaning enteritis" (enteritis basically means a messed-up gut), even if you haven't added any new foods. You'll see a build-up of poo around their vent area. Sometimes just gently cleaning it off with warm water takes care of the problem; if it doesn't, there are several threads on this forum that describe what to do, or you can ask about your particular situation.

You can make weaning enteritis less likely by being sure they always have clean water (rabbits won't eat if they don't drink), and keeping lots of clean hay available to them. Keeping the intestines moving with lots of roughage is important to rabbits of any age. Certain genetic lines do have more of a tendency to suffer from this than others. Breeds with the dwarf gene seem especially prone, but that doesn't apply to Himalayans. If you do find it's a recurrent problem you'll probably want to do some selective culling (not necessarily euthanizing them, but eliminating them from any breeding program).
 
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