To wean or not to wean ... that is the question.

[raetcd]

Birthdate of all the kits was March 22. They are all eating greens, drinking out of the water bottles and sometimes chasing momma around for a little feeding as well. According to an online calculator I should wait till May 12th to take momma away. Any other input as to what I should wean the litter? The reason I am wanting to know if I want to start putting ads up for selling the kits.

Oh and at what age should I be able to decipher between doe and buck? My kids said they checked the other day but couldn't tell the difference.

 

[Secuono]

When to sell them depends on your State, lots require animals to be at least 8wks old.
You should be able to tell what they are now. And you can start to wean now also, or just wait another week or two.

 

[Cattle Cait]

I don't sell until 6 weeks, period. I sometimes wean at 5 weeks, but only if mama is dry and they're 100% on pellets.

 

[avdpas77]

Yep, if they are larger rabbits you really don't want to wean before 6 weeks... i have weaned at 5 weeks, but don't really like to, a good doe is usually still producing milk, and that extra week of milk gives the kits a boost. I don't like to sell until the kits have been weaned at least three days and preferably a week. That all works out to about 7 weeks or older to sell.

 

[MaggieJ]

I believe that weaning should be a process, not an event. If the youngsters are still slipping under momma for a snack, I'd wait a bit. Even though they are eating solids and drinking water, they may be stressed by a sudden weaning. I always let momma rabbit decide when they should be weaned.

 

[akane]

I just pull them at 4-4.5weeks irregardless of breed and whether they are still drinking. I put them with a junior or laid back senior rabbit in a large cage for another 2 weeks and then on their own listed for sale where they sell between 6-10weeks. Anything left at 10 weeks gets butchered. Haven't had a single sick kit, soft droppings, enteritis, etc... and I've been doing it for the past year on both colony and cage rabbits from the netherlands to the checkered giants. :shrug:

 

[Peach]

I normally wean around 7-7.5 weeks because I noticed the kits are still drinking by then with my Mini Lops. I think it depends on the breed/rabbit,but I personally won't buy anything unless it is 8 weeks or older. I feel it is risky to buy rabbits below that. With kits that I wean, I just check daily for poopy butts,pellet consumption,water consumption,and hay consumption.

 

[A&BRabbitry]

Personally I prefer to wait until the 6th or 7th week. Normally the doe is still producing milk and although they are mostly on feed it is best for the kits to get that little bit extra milk and it is also good for mom to let the kits nurse until she dries up. Nothing worse than weaning a litter to early and putting the doe through the torcher of producing milk with nothing to relieve her. I also prefer to slowly wean my kits. With a litter of 8 I like to only take 2 out a day until the whole litter is removed starting with the largest kits first. This gives those little guys a few extra days to catch up on milk.

 

[raetcd]

Thanks for all the replies. So I will try and hold off till the 6th week and start to take 2 out each day till they are all weaned and will sell them on the 7th week. any remaining ones I will put in my freezer soon after the 10th week. Sounds like a good plan to me.

 

[A&BRabbitry]

I personally think all kits need to be sold no sooner than eight weeks and should all be observed for another week to make sure they handle the transition well. Rabbits can be very easily upset and being sold and moved and weaned in the same week could easily give those bunnys a bad case of diahrea. It's always a hard battle to keep a young kit alive then.