Weaning Bunnies

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There seems to be a lot of variance in the discussion of what age to wean bunnies. When i had them as a kid I always weaned at 6-8 weeks depending on the thriftiness of the kits. What age do you all think is best? I remember reading that Sue rebreeds at 4 days after kindling, so is the doe nursing two litters??? Thanks as always!

-- Doreen (animalwaitress@yahoo.com), July 07, 2001

Answers

Hey Lady - and good morning!!

I do sometimes rebreed that quick, but I like to try giving the doe a rest between litters. It CAN be done as soon as 24 hours, but that's a lot of work, worry and watching to make sure the doe doesn't get sick. Some commercial breeders do that on a regular basis. She seemed fine, but she's such a good producer that I backed off a little... I don't want to take the chance, and I don't really want a zillion bunnies going off to the slaughter house just yet, lol!

What seems to work best for me (after getting everything in line and on a schedule!) is to take out the nest box after three to four weeks (if the weather isn't too cold). They should be eating mostly solids by then, and will have eaten and otherwise disposed of quite a bit of what was in the nest box anyway. The doe (youngest) is usually rebred when I take the nest box out.

I have sold them as young as five weeks IF (and this can be a big one if you don't have a ton of time to waste watching them!!) they have completely stopped nursing. For my younger doe, this is almost always the case - that they have weaned themselves by the fifth week. For the older does, not always so - usually they are finished up by the end of that fifth week, though.

At the moment, I am VERY lucky... I am home 5 days per week, and only work 5 hours when I'm gone. Leaves a LOT of time to play with bunnies!

I DO separate them from the doe by the time they are four - five weeks old even if I don't sell them. The does dry off quicker, and regain their momentum that much faster.

The young doe has had three healthy litters since March - each one larger and seemingly healthier than the last. This time she had 9, but we lost one. First litter was 4. The oldest has had 2 litters, both 4 each. The middle one just weaned her first litter. She was the one I had all the problems with a couple months ago... Not realizing she was pg and kindled on the wire etc etc. All have either sold, or I have orders on them.

One thing... I don't LIKE to, but I have been selling quite a few kits to pet stores. If you are going to sell any, and they are going out as pets, play with the little ones every chance you get. Unfortunately, kids can be really hard on them, and the more used to handling they are when sold, the better off they are in their new home. I start handling them as young as three days. Its pretty easy, as the does don't mind (they are getting used to being petted and held as well), and they only nurse once per day, usually before dawn. There is little chance of disrupting a feeding or getting stained clothes.

-- Sue Diederich (willow666@rocketmail.com), July 13, 2001.


Thanks for typing all that, Sue. I may try to do the quick rebreed in the cooler months, but I am all done until September as it is too darn hot here and I don't want to stress the does out. I'm getting a fair amount of calls on the bunnies, but I should probably sell them to the pet stores too. The buyers don't seem to be there when I have the time to call, so it's been hit and miss. I try to handle mine frequently, and all but one of my adults are friendly. They are nervous, but not evil.

Rabbits that are mean are some pretty scary critters! No one that hasn't experienced it can believe it, but they can do some damage!

-- Dreen (bisquit@here.com), July 14, 2001.


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