weaning age

[ridgerunner1965]

i have my first litter of buns out of nz/calif cross parents.both are 50/50.at a lil over 2 weeks old they are doing great. at 1.5 weeks i had to turn the nest box on its side cuz they just wouldnt stay in there.at what age do i need to look at weaning them and putting in the grow out cage?they are starting to nibble mamas food which is turnip greens, grass, weeds etc and the pellets.thanks!

 

[ladysown]

the depends entirely on what you want to do.

has the doe been rebred at this point? if so, you'll want to remove them one week before she's due at least.

if not.. it's what you are comfortable with. Most will suggest that all bucks be removed by week 8.

Some folks wean all at once, others wean more slowly. Some wean at four weeks, others at 8. There are pros and cons both ways and alot of it depends on your handling style and the capabilities of your does. There is some evidences that weaning earlier lends itself to faster growing kits as they rely more on pellets for their food, as opposed to having some momma's milk.

I do tend to find the weaning with hay is a good practice to follow though many wean without the use of hay. But more often those are also folks who have the weaning weights up higher and breed their rabbits to have little issues with weaning.

What I do (if I wean a whole litter at once) is I remove mom to another cage for at least one week before I move the kits around - this is for kits up to 6 weeks old. For post six weeks I usually mix the boys and girls together in brand new to them cages with a whole whack of hay thrown in with them. This keeps them busy enough so they don't do all their play fighting as much and settle down more quickly. Kits that are more settled are less likely to have weaning issues.

What I am more likely to do.. is I list kits for sale starting at week five. and then I move them slowly. Any males not sold by week seven get combined with other young males into one larger cage. If I have the cage space I'll move the girls at the same time and combine them. If I have smaller than average kits I'll leave them with mom and combine them into one cage by week nine.

 

[akane]

I don't believe in selling before week 8 (it's actually against the law in some areas) except under special circumstances such as the time I lost the doe when they were 10days and everyone was eating solid food well and only that by 2weeks so if I have the space like my 3x6' cage or in the colony I just leave everyone in place until 8weeks. Then I pull the bucks and offer everyone for sale. Whatever doesn't sell by the time I want to breed the doe again or the space starts to get too cramped then gets moved or butchered. However the does usually wean the kits by 4weeks because most of the time I have them bred again so I have no problem removing the doe early if necessary. Depending on feeding style some people have problems with the doe not getting enough food after the kits start eating well or some does may get pissy with their kits after a certain age which requires separating earlier than you otherwise could have. Then some people want their rabbits on high protein pellets only and asap to make weight for butchering or show. There's lots of reasons to wean them at various ages or to not be involved at all if you want in a colony.

 

[mommaebear]

I start weaning at 4 weeks, I was taught that for every animal the earlist you can wean equals the length of the pregnancy, and have never had a problem, but it's a partial wean and the Moms kick around in the grow out pen up until sometimes until 12 weeks, they don't nurse anymore at that age but they follow the rules better and tend to slip into the colony social structure easier.

 

[Miss M]

Some do wean or start weaning at 4 weeks, like Mommaebear, and have no problems. There is, however, a greater chance of losing kits to weaning enteritis at that age. The chance goes down the longer the kits stay with their mom. By 6 weeks, the chances of weaning enteritis are very slim, and by 8 weeks, practically non-existent.

I remove the kits from the doe at 6 weeks, and have never lost a kit to weaning enteritis. Not saying my way is best, just saying that's what I do.

Making plenty of hay available, as well as the doe's food, will help them make the transition. The kits will start gnawing on the food at a few weeks, and their GI tracts will be able to develop the flora necessary to process it. The hay gives them something to keep busy with, and helps keep things moving through their systems.

 

[MaggieJ]

Kits start nibbling on solid food sooner than one would think possible. I use good grass hay in the nests so they start off on something that will help them with their transition to an adult diet. I believe that if the foods you intend to feed them are always available from the beginning, there is less chance of problems during the weaning process.

 

[SaratogaNZW]

Couple of things to consider:
If you were just planning on sending them all to freezer camp, start the weaning process at 4 weeks or so.
However, if you are keeping a breeder doe from that litter, they can stand to learn a lot from mommy after 4 weeks. Good mothering instincts and other learned behaviors that make a good breeder doe can be learned from momma, so if you can leave her there until mommas being rebred, do it. But I would say max 8 weeks.

Otherwise, I have only one hard rule about weaning: Make sure everybody is getting well fed. When the momma and babies empty a double-wide j-feeder of pellets and everything else in the cage (weeds, hay, greens) in 24 hours, its time to separate them out.