Weaning

[JG3]

I know there is many different ages and methods of weaning. Drop yours below and maybe why you do it a specific way.

 

[Mariah's Meadows]

On the "off season" where I breed my does less frequently to give them (and myself) a break, I let the kits and does decide when to wean. The kits generally begin nibbling at 18-25 days old and stop nursing completely when they hit 5-6 weeks. Sometimes they'll go even further, but the mother will begin to lose her condition after that. She'll usually be the one to say "enough is enough" to her kits at that point, but I'll occasionally need to intervene and separate them if she doesn't stop them from draining her completely.

When I'm breeding my does at peak, I separate the kits from the mothers at roughly 35 days old. This gives me more time to let the doe take a brief break of nursing before her next litter. Sometimes, I'll keep the runt or smaller kits with her longer and separate the bigger, stronger ones at 35 days old. I like giving them more time together as she helps teach them proper manners and cleanliness, as well as letting the kits grow larger (important for me as I raise for meat). But this is the minimum I've found with the least chance of weaning troubles for kits. It's often very doe- and kit-dependent as to how soon or late you can separate. If you have space, the doe can maintain condition, and she isn't fed up with them there; you can keep them together longer.

 

[RabbitsOfTheCreek]

The kits stop fullying nursing whenever they want, I don't have an exact time but maybe around a month or five weeks? The kits get their own cages at eight weeks

 

[rockyhillrabbits]

I typically separate kits from mom at 4 weeks but have had to leave them in until 6 weeks. I have found that the ones weaned a little earlier grow a bit faster, gain more, than those left with mom and littermates longer. If the doe starts getting annoyed I will remove the kits and let her have a break.

 

[MuddyFarms]

I tend to try to wean between 6-7.5 weeks. Like others have said already, it really depends on how the doe's condition is. When I was using a feed with too little fat, they had to be weaned earlier. Once I started adding enough fat to the diet, the does have held condition very well even with a later weaning. I am very happy about that! My does usually like cuddling and hiding under their kits for as long as they have them. Sometimes a first-time doe will want some space, but that is usually only when the doe had a litter of 10+ kits and they are getting crowded in there! Oh, I also wean based on litter size and the individual kit's weights. I don't want a cramped cage, nor do I want smaller kits going to their own cage yet.

My does tend to stay in full milk all the way up to weaning. Because of that, I try to wean the kits over a period of a week if possible, sometimes more. Usually I check to see which gender there are more of. Then, I take the three largest kits of that gender and put them in their own cage. The next day I'll take around three more, depending on the litter size, and add them to the cage (that might be moving three of the other gender to their own cage, though). I gradually remove the other ones, sometimes leaving only one-two for the last day or two. I always want three kits moved into an empty cage, since they seem to relax much better with three than with two (and in the cold weather, three is better for warmth).

When the kits are moved to their new cages, they get excited about establishing their new hierarchy. Usually one is going to pester the others by mounting them for the first while and having three makes it so one of them is left alone at least some of the time!

To sum up- I move them out gradually and put them in cages separated by gender.

 

[northernnevadahollandlops]

I don't breed for meat, so I keep kits with mom for 8+ weeks. They wean when they want, usually by 4-5 weeks. I'll catch a kit sneaking a sip around 6 weeks, but that is rare and the does usually hop away. Works for us!

 

[RabbitsOfTheCreek]

I don't breed for meat, so I keep kits with mom for 8+ weeks. They wean when they want, usually by 4-5 weeks. I'll catch a kit sneaking a sip around 6 weeks, but that is rare and the does usually hop away. Works for us!

Sneaky bbs >:]

 

[jaxmarblebuns]

Kits usually naturally ween around 5-5.5 weeks so the base age we start weening is 6-8 weeks, some litters take longer to grow or naturally ween. The weening can take 1-2 weeks depending on litter size. I ween two kits at a time every other day until they are all weened. If there is one on the smaller side, I will leave them in with the mom and another kit for an extra couple of days and then ween them both. I try to ween them all with a buddy or two so that they don’t get stressed. I have had two litters that were weened early, one because the mom passed away when they were 3 weeks, and another because the mom was aggressive at 3.5 weeks. Both litters came out to about 6-7 lb which is quote small for mine, being as the parents were 10 lb each I’m guessing it was because of the early weening. I have had people say I should do it differently or ask why I don’t ween them younger. This method has never had bad side effects for me or the rabbits, so I have never tried I different method, it’s what my parents and grandparents did and if it works well, I don’t see a point in changing it. especially since many other methods I’ve heard my friend use have all back fired.

 

[JG3]

So those who slowly take the kits out by two or three at a time.. we don’t plan to separate ours by sex, just by litter. And we are limited on space. If I take a few out, and then a few more a couple days later and add them to the others, there shouldn’t be any fighting or anything, right? Because they’re still young?

 

[Mariah's Meadows]

I do not separate my fryers by litter or by gender, due to limited space like you, unless it's necessary or any stand out to sell as pets (don't want any chance of pregnancies!). Never had issues introducing other litters to the herd of fryers, either. I plan my litters so they're at most 4 weeks apart in age that I have all together.

Only had two males cause havoc (bullying the other bucks, harassing the does) and I think that's only because I had been busy and didn't have a chance to dispatch until they were 16 weeks old. I normally do it at 11 weeks and haven't had problems when they were that young.

That said, when I do get the space, I plan on separating them just so it's easier to make sure everyone gets enough food. The little guys can often be pushed out of the way by the bigger, older ones. Not ideal, but we make due and I monitor them very closely to keep them fed and happy.

Just make sure the enclosure is large enough for them to have privacy and stay away from each other if they want it. We have shelves and hiding boxes around that they can hop onto or into and have alone time.

 

[Jackrabbit]

I wean at 7 or 8 weeks. And they all seem to do good!!!

 

[KelleyBee]

In my own life (nursing my human babies) and with my animals, I prefer mimicking what mom would do naturally, as best I can with what I have to work with. Rabbits in the wild wean the entire litter at 4 weeks. Thus, at 4 weeks I move the entire litter out of mom’s cage and into a growout cage. Mom goes with them and spends a night or two with them in the new cage. This prevents wean shock for anyone who may be of the type that doesn’t transition well to abrupt changes. After 2 nights in the new cage, mom goes back home to a nice clean and quite cage for some much needed rest. as for separating litters by sex, there is no drastic need until you reach about 12 weeks, assuming we are talking about medium to large breeds. Small breed rabbits sexually mature at earlier ages than med to large breeds. When I can, I separate the litters by sex for two reasons. First, to reduce how many bodies are in one cage and second, to keep the males from constantly hoping the females. While early pregnancy can happen, what I have read is that the young male rabbit inmost cases is just weeny to penetrate, try as he may. So he ends up just being exuberantly messy on everyone. This has played out for me as being the case, but to be safe I separate litters beyond 12 weeks if I am not able to process at that age.

 

[MuddyFarms]

For my rabbits, I have had good litters from 6.75lb bucks and 6.75lb does. Fryers end up being close to or well over 7lb by 12 weeks, so I separate them during weaning, unless I have a cage space issue (in which case, they stay together as short a time as possible and I keep their weights in mind, or butcher all of one gender earlier). Twelve-week olds can be bred and have good litters if they are big enough. It seems that keeping in mind the weights of the rabbits being kept together is important for these kinds of decisions.