baby rabbits born april 1st. can i wean them NOW and wait a few a bit?

[lcw]

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thanks.!

 

[Country Living Farm]

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Yep, I agree. That is how I do it as well. I re-breed the does at 5-6 weeks as well. I just seperated all the kits from the mom two weeks ago. They were 4.5 weeks old. Just make sure before you do it, you see them eating and drinking on their own.

 

[lcw]

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Yep, I agree. That is how I do it as well. I re-breed the does at 5-6 weeks as well. I just seperated all the kits from the mom two weeks ago. They were 4.5 weeks old. Just make sure before you do it, you see them eating and drinking on their own.

ohh yes! they are definenly eating! i have one of these feeders....
http://localfarmsupply.com/resources/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/rf-00-150x150.png

i filled it up last night before i shut the chickens in and it was empty this morning!!!! AHHHH!!!!!

 

[lagpmgdsls]

I have 3 bunnies...mom, dad and baby. When she had the babies a few years ago, I got rid of 3 of them to friends and we kept one....she continued to nurse for probably 8 months or so...it was so funny to see her nursing when she was just as big as mom.

 

[ack123]

i think you should listen to the people in this thread cautioning against you seperating them too early. You do not have much experience with raising rabbits, and being that they were born on april 1rst is way too early. Be patient. these guys are just babies yet. they are just learning to eat their food. You can stress them out by taking their mom away from them too early. That can easily make them sick. Waite till they are six weeks old and then wean them. Some with more rabbit experience may wean early and it may work for them, but it doesn't work for everyone else. And its certainly not something all rabbit breeders do. Most wean at eight weeks because they feel its more humane for the kits to get the extra milk. breeding back heavily is also not a good idea. All it does is stress the doe and her reproductive system burns out at an early age. I also breed meat rabbits, and would never put any mine through that type of stress.

Do not turn them loose with your other rabbits either. Young babies set free is not a good thing at all and chances are you will lose them. Plus there is really good chance of them getting vhd since there is a new confirmed outbreak in the US.Also breeding back like that is never a good idea to do unless you have the proper setup to house the offspring in, and have an outlet for them. Like for meat rabbits, or pets. Otherwise you will end up with too many rabbits that you won't have room for. You can give her a break and breed her back 2 weeks after her litter is weaned. A lot of us that raise rabbits on here have outlets to sell them to for meat, pets, and show. Might be something you would want to look into.

Also if you are concerned about space try moving them to a bigger cage they can't escape from. Othwerwise leave where they are at for now. It might be a little cramped for them, but they will be fine. My babies are kept in cages, and they do tend to 'outgrow' them. But they are fine as long as they have some room to move around.

 

[First To Hatch]

Our does used to get a month off after weaning the kits but if we really need it we would only give them 2 weeks off.

 

[ack123]

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Thats what i do with mine too. Sometimes i am just too lazy to breed them back and let them go for a month or two. Esp when its time to show and they are back in condition for it.

 

[First To Hatch]

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Thats what i do with mine too. Sometimes i am just too lazy to breed them back and let them go for a month or two. Esp when its time to show and they are back in condition for it.

Yea I got to lay off these threads otherwise I'll be back to raising them again lol. What breed(s) do you have? You seem like an interesting character with lots of good knowledge.


Shokri

 

[ack123]

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Thats what i do with mine too. Sometimes i am just too lazy to breed them back and let them go for a month or two. Esp when its time to show and they are back in condition for it.

Yea I got to lay off these threads otherwise I'll be back to raising them again lol. What breed(s) do you have? You seem like an interesting character with lots of good knowledge.


Shokri

Standard chinchilla, newzealand, florida white, mini rex, mixed breed meat rabbits.