Rabbits aren't growing

[AshleighNuce]

Hello everyone. I raise rabbits that I was told were Broken New Zealands. At the moment I have one litter that will be 17 weeks old tomorrow. The litter was their mother for 9 weeks, and then given grass and grain for 8 weeks. I weighed the largest kit yesterday, and its live weight was 4 pounds 5 ounces. I have read that New Zealands will get to be 4 pounds dressed in 10-12 weeks from birth. Does anyone know WHY MY RABBITS AREN'T GROWING? :|

 

[PSFAngoras]

Could they be a cross? I don't know the breed much, but I thought they only came in black, red, and white. At least that's what my SOP says, but it is the old version.

 

[Secuono]

Yup, I have the same issue and I'm trying new stock in hopes it works. If not, something else in the environment is causing it and I cannot do much about that...

 

[Pepperoni]

How much do the parents weigh? How do they feel overall? Do they feel underweight or are they well filled out but just small? Honestly though they should be much bigger that that. They are more than twice the age of most commercial fryers. It's likely that they have a smaller breed behind them somewhere.

 

[JessicaR]

I had the same problem when my new Zealand kits were fed grass only, they didn't get nearly as big as the ones I just fed pellets to. I butchered them at 12 weeks and only got 1.5 pounds dressed meat.

Also I think broken new zealands tend to be smaller than the whites

 

[Peach]

I'd weigh the parents and see if they themselves are making weight.

Grass feeding will take longer for them to grow, but genetics can have a lot to do with it

I haven't raised a grass litter yet...but I have some champagne cross kits that are growing SO slow too....so I not sure if I want to test it with those kits.

 

[Randy]

I agree with everything said about the breed they are/possibly being not a pure and other possible issues. The amount of feed they are given can really affect they're growing weight, especially the protein/energy levels. Having the correct level of protein and enouph grain/pellets can help as well as mineral and salt.

I wonder if parisites or worms could also be a contributing factor. It is a wet year in much of the us and canada. This increases the chances of worms/parisites (especially for those species of animals prone). I learned this from having raised goats. Even giving hand fulls of grass to an inside animal that isn't vacinated can cause them to have parasites.

Hope you find out the reason for your rabbits not being the desired weight.

 

[coffeenutdesigns]

If you want them to get bigger faster, keep in cages with plenty of space and feed pellets, not greens. That you can control. If the parents aren't that big, not much you can do about that, but you could start crossing in a larger NZW and breed up from there. When I crossed a broken with a REW, both litters I got a pretty even mix of REWs, solids, and brokens. Also, I found that my last litters of the season here grew slower because of the heat. Not sure how your temps have been, but heat can be a contributing factor.

The good thing about rabbits is that it doesn't take long before you can try something different. Good luck with the next batch!

 

[Flemishstar]

White BREAD!!!! It works Wonders on meat bunnies...I had florida whites that weighed almost as much as their momma at 3 months supplementing bread almost every other day...

 

[AshleighNuce]

Thank you everyone! Their mom weighs about 9 pounds and their dad about 8. They eat, eat, eat, and they feel like they have lots of room to grow... I have no idea what their heritage is, I was told that they were "mostly New Zealand". As for weather, the temps here have been perfect for animals for the past several weeks. They are mostly being raised on grain, and just supplemented with grass now. They were on just grass when they were younger. I think I will look for some new breeding stock to mix in with my does. I hate to get rid of my does, because they are some of the sweetest, most well behaved mothers I've seen.<br /><br />__________ Wed Aug 14, 2013 9:44 pm __________<br /><br />Also, do y'all think that the male 17 wk kits will still be good to eat?

 

[3mina]

Why wouldn't they be?
I've processed rabbits over a year of age that I couldn't tell from the fryers I'd done in the same batch

 

[AnnClaire]

I would suggest that you do worm them. Also supply them with a red mineral block. IMHO, you will get more data to work with if you breed her back and raise some of that litter on pellets only with a control group on your current program. As also mentioned, you don't know the nutritional quality of the pasturage you are providing, so that could be a major factor in the low weights. Perhaps seeding in some regional weeds will improve it's quality as a rabbit forage. You might also want to move a portion of the current litter to a pellet only diet and see if that doesn't improve weight gain. At this point in time, I would suggest that you will learn more about your feed program and how it affects the growth of your growouts without hazarding pedigreed/high quality stock you bring in, in the future. In my experience, your distressing weights are most likely related to something in the diet, especially with parents of good size. I have bred some beautiful meat crosses between my English Angora buck (6-7# bucks) and a Satin doe. They may not make 5# at 8 weeks, but by 16 weeks, they are a very nice dressed carcass! :cheesysmile:

 

[MaggieJ]

They are mostly being raised on grain, and just supplemented with grass now. They were on just grass when they were younger.

I suspect this is your problem. Grain at best is about 12%... corn is much less. Grass (if you really mean grass instead of mixed weeds) is not really adequate in protein either. I'm not surprised they are growing so slowly, regardless of what is in their background.

I raise rabbits without feeding pellets, but the foundation of their diet is good alfalfa hay fed free choice. It is about 18% protein. I also feed small amounts of grain (usually wheat, about 12%) and a good mix of assorted greens, as much as the season allows. They also have a trace mineral salt block - very important! In spite of this it takes 14-16 weeks for the buns to get to the five pound butchering weight. I don't mind this one bit, since the natural diet is very cheap to feed and the meat has a much nicer flavour than rabbits raised on pellets... but it is a trade off and you need to be aware of that so as not to have unrealistic expectations.

 

[stone soup farm]

Yes to the protein increase! I feed mostly pellets supplemented with hay and some greens. But we recently switched from 16% to 18% and there was a notable increase in the kits weight. I think previously my kits were all between 1 1/2 to just under 2 lb at 5 weeks. Now our kits are all above 2 lb at the lightest and some are close to 3 lb at 5 weeks. I older batch I sold before the 8 week weight but next week the second batch is getting their 8 weeks weight done and it is looking good.

I think 8 lbs for a NZ buck is a bit light. My CA and Satin bucks were 8 1/2.

Last thing- aren't the commercial breeds not the best at natural feed or is that incorrect? I thought that I heard something about certain breeds being better at converting natural diet to meat.