weaning fryers

[Wesley]

I have 15 NZW fryers (2 litters) that are almost 6 weeks old. I have a 4x3 pen to put them in to grow them off to the 8th week, hopefully. Is this a big enough pen? How should I go about seperating babies from their mothers? Thanks inadvance for the advice!

 

[ladysown]

If they were younger I'd say put momma in there with them for a couple of days and then remove her.

At six weeks I'd just take 'em out of her cage and pop 'em in.

Some will wean more slowly with a large litter, taking out the biggest first and then a couple days later taking out the next five, and then another five.

I tend not to do that as it prevents scuffling among the youngsters.

Are these all from one litter?

If they are from more than one litter I'd take them all out at the same time and pop them into the new pen with a whack of hay or a box to keep them intrigued so there's less "I'm boss, no I'm boss" stuff going on.

 

[jollysrabbits]

first see if they are still even feeding off of her. If some are take %75 of the big ones out and plop them in your 4x3 pen and let the smaller ones get a littler more milk, then just start pulling them out 1 by one during the following week. This way mom dries up slowly. You might find the space to be a bit cramped but between 6-8 weeks not much fighting going on. Most places I read said 2 square ft per litter. So your not far off and technically a litter can be 12 buns. So with 15 in 2 litters you should be fine.

 

[MaggieJ]

Most places I read said 2 square ft per litter.

That can't be right. That would be a space one foot by two feet. Or did you mean 2 square feet per rabbit?

 

[jollysrabbits]

Most places I read said 2 square ft per litter.

That can't be right. That would be a space one foot by two feet. Or did you mean 2 square feet per rabbit?

hahaha, that's what happens when your thinking faster than typing. 2ftx2ft =4 sq ft. Per litter without doe. The pen size you were referring to is 4x3= 12 sq ft. Hope this helps, thanks maggiej, glad one of us is paying attention. I personally like the size recommended in one of the books I have. I use a 3x2 pen for a litter.

 

[Wesley]

Thanks guys! They are from 2 litters. They are healthy looking rabbits but it will blow my mind if they reach 4lbs in 8 week. Are the last few weeks when the fastest growth occurs?