karenl
Well-known member
Our babies are 5days old today and doing really well so far at what age do you wean them off the mother or doesshe wean them? Whats The best way to do it?
When do kits get weaned?
- Thread starter karenl
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SA Farm
Well-known member
Most kits start leaving the nestbox around 3 weeks old and are weaned between then and 5 weeks. I usually separate the bucks between 5 - 8 weeks at the latest and have been known to leave the girls with their mother until she's a week or 2 away from being due again or until they're sold or sent to freezer camp.
ramblingrabbit
Well-known member
We do it starting at 4 weeks (usually), but try to space it out over a week, if she's still producing a lot of milk. Generally I remove about half the kits, then take one more out every day, or better yet every other day, so she can start drying up gradually. Obviously, taking them away all at once can cause painfully swollen teats and and possibly infection.
Depends a bit on your breeding schedule and breed. Bucks should be separated by 8 weeks if you want to be sure of no sibling breeding but large meat breeds are often left together until 3 months. 4 weeks is generally the earliest you remove from the doe but if you haven't rebred her and you have plenty of cage space you can let them nurse a lot longer. Doe kits can be left until the next litter in large cages so long as the doe doesn't get upset with them. Sometimes the doe wants the kits gone sooner than you planned.
