Yep, another weaning question... *NEW question*

[faiththequeen]

The kits are now 4 1/2 weeks old. Everyone is eating hay and pellets and drinking water from the water bottle.

When we bred the doe (their mom) we had put her in a bigger cage for her and the kits. My plan to wean is to take her out and leave the kits in the bigger cage. When should I start doing this? Should I start with taking her out during the day and putting her back at night? Will that stress her out? She is starting to be pretty annoyed by them :lol:

 

[MamaSheepdog]

Is she bred back yet? Supposedly that will help dry up their milk.

I don't worry much with my does because they are not heavy milkers. At first I moved most of the litter to a new pen, leaving a couple small ones with her. Now I move does and kits to the growout pen and then take the doe out after a few days or whenever... but there are several ways you can go about it.

I would take her out and feel her mammary glands when you do. Recheck her this evening, and if she has a bunch of milk, take a couple of the smallest kits and put them in her cage to nurse... or maybe take most of the kits out of the other cage and put her in there with the smallest ones. Whichever way you do it, I would watch her just in case she gets aggressive. I doubt she will, but there is always the outside possibility. Another option is to put a couple of the kits in her cage for a couple of days and then move them back with their siblings.

 

[Mary Ann's Rabbitry]

First off, need to know how many was in the litter. If she is bred back you dont need to put any babies with her. If she isnt and has a big litter it is wise to put at least 2 smaller babies with her for 2 to 3 days. If the litter is small then i would watch her like MSD suggested. .. I always move the doe ,, never the babies .. Less stress on the babies.

 

[faiththequeen]

She's not bred back, because we are not keeping the AFL's. We've found that its just not the breed for us. :/

They are in the "grow-out" pen all together now. Is it okay to start weaning already? There are only 4 babies, so I can't really separate them, right? She's so NOT aggressive at all, so I don't see that happening. Do you think it would be too much stress on her to move just her back and forth for a few days?

 

[MamaSheepdog]

You can also give her mint to dry up her milk. Sage and thyme are other herbs that women use to help dry up their milk.

 

[ZRabbits]

Had no problems with Luna. She had the four. Took the boys out and left Molly just for a few days. Molly didn't nurse at all when she was with Luna. Molly was already self sufficient. Just groomed each other. Luna relaxed and is back to her ole self. No problems with her milk drying up. Didn't need anything.

Karen

 

[faiththequeen]

Had no problems with Luna. She had the four. Took the boys out and left Molly just for a few days. Molly didn't nurse at all when she was with Luna. Molly was already self sufficient. Just groomed each other. Luna relaxed and is back to her ole self. No problems with her milk drying up. Didn't need anything.

Karen

How many weeks old were they when you took them out?

 

[ZRabbits]

Had no problems with Luna. She had the four. Took the boys out and left Molly just for a few days. Molly didn't nurse at all when she was with Luna. Molly was already self sufficient. Just groomed each other. Luna relaxed and is back to her ole self. No problems with her milk drying up. Didn't need anything.

Karen

How many weeks old were they when you took them out?

The boys were a couple days shy of 5 weeks old. They were already eating pellets and hay really well. The crate which they were all in was getting a bit crowded and Luna seemed to be getting stressed. Then a week and half later, Molly was removed and put in her own crate. Felt bad to do that but had to. Luna and Molly were just cuddling and grooming but the diet that I had to have Molly on was not doing well for Luna. Too many cecal not being eaten. All did very well with the transition. Luna had no problem with drying up her milk. Didn't have to give her anything to dry her up. Watched her like a hawk because was afraid of masistis (sp?).

Karen

 

[faiththequeen]

Well, the kits will be 5 weeks on Saturday. I took the Mama out today for the first time. Figured I give her a break. I'm going to put her back in tonight after church. I guess I'm going to try to do it slowly. Wish me luck! <br /><br />__________ Wed Dec 12, 2012 8:24 pm __________<br /><br />Okay, I put Mama back in tonight when I got home and gave fresh hay. I watched for a bit to make sure all was well, and she started humping the babies!!!!! YIKES! I took her back out. They will be 5 weeks on Saturday. Are they going to be okay without her???

 

[3mina]

It sounds like while you wanted to go slow, she's done with them They'll be fine, wild rabbits routinely abandon their litters at four weeks, just before they kindle the next litter. Domestic rabbits would do the same thing if they could get out of their cages :mrgreen:

 

[ZRabbits]

Think your doe has decided for you she's had enough. If the kits are eating and drinking well, they will do just fine without Mom. Mine did and are still doing very well.

Karen