What age do you think kits should leave their mother?

[jcottonl02]

OakRidgeRabbits wrote:

jcottonl02 wrote:

OakRidgeRabbits wrote:

But when they try to nurse she runs away, or pushes them out of the way so that they cannot nurse and instead are encouraged to eat solid foods. She does this herself beginning around 3.5-4 weeks.

Loool my family breeds yorkshire terrier pups, and to see, at around 5 weeks or so, Lucy (the mother) streaaaking across the room desperate to get away and not nurse the puppies, and being immediately followed by this really fast patter of teeny feet followed by some bounding puppies, it's SO funny.

And I never understood why- but I think you have just explained it! - it's natural!

Jen

LOL! Yeah, it's kind of sad to see the poor buns waddling after momma for more! So cute! I bet the Yorkies are such precious little pups...they are even cute as adults. <3

Lol so true- and I never really understood fully why! But I do now, thanks to you!

And oh my you have no idea. Yorkies are pretty tiny (we have some mixed breeds along with some pedigree, so one is actually about 8kg- course we only breed from the pedigrees), so they are proper adorable as 'adults' but ommmdzzz the puppies are just so cute.
And NAUGHTY i might add! It's so funny. The way they run too...like unbelievably energetic and bounncccingggg over to you as hastily as possible. Not running, like one paw after another- BOUNNDDINNNGGGGGG lol. I need to upload some videos.

Jen

 

[OakRidgeRabbits]

Awwww! <3 They are one of my favorite dog breeds. I wish they stayed puppies forever!

 

[iluvdutchrabbbits90]

99% of my does wean their babies at about 3-4 weeks. And i will take them out between 5-6 weeks because lionheads are so tiny it takes ALOT out of their mothers. Now i have one doe i kept and she is almost 4 months and i still have her with her mother, she was the only one in the litter. But my rabbits never leave before 8-10 weeks old.

 

[TinysMom]

Flash Gordon wrote:

if i was going to get a rabbit from you i would want that baby to be feeding from their momma til 8 weeks....if i found out that they were weened earlier ..i wouldnt get a bunny from you..thats the opinion of a BUYING customer ...me.

Well in that case - there are many reputable breeders you won't be buying from.

I try to leave the kits with mama till they're 8 weeks old - some babies stop nursing before then - and some mamas wean the kits earlier.

I leave the weaning decisions to my rabbits and what is best for them - I could case less what the customer wants. I want what the rabbit is comfortable with.

 

[TinysMom]

woahlookitsme wrote:

But of course Every mom is different and i havent ever heard of a rabbit still feeding after 8weeks, if anything wild rabbits would leave the babies as early as possible. Maybe the domestic rabbits in the park aren't a good sample to get opinions from.

Like i said if you don't breed rabbits sometimes you wont fully get this whole concept.

I have had a couple of does that nursed past the 8 week mark. Two come to mind in particular....however that is two out of a large number of does.

I've had does that pushed their babies away at 5 or 6 weeks and I took the babies away together (but kept them here past the 8 week mark).

I've also had does that were no where near ready to let those babies go at 6 or even 7 weeks.

I sat down and figured out recently that over the last 5 years I've had approx. 100 litters of rabbits. I can honestly tell you that no two litters were the same (even if they were from the same mama).

I personally believe that the best breeders will know their does and watch their actions and be prepared to pull the babies earlier if mama is weaning them and doesn't want them around.

 

[BlueCamasRabbitry]

I say 6 weeks, but I usually leave babies in with momma till 7 weeks of age. Then I separate bucks from does, and they get to see momma daily; then every other day, and so on, so by the time they're fully weaned, they're around the 8 to 9 week age mark.

If Momma doesn't mind them in there, and is still nursing, then I'd say leave 'em in for as long as 8 to 10 weeks - especially the larger breeds.

Most kits should be FULLY weaned by at least 10 weeks of age though...maybe 12 for the larger breeds.
As far as selling age, I do NOT allow rabbits to go before 8 weeks, regardless if they are fully weaned or not, I just will not do it. I keep most kits past 12 weeks of age anyhow to see how they fill out.

Emily

 

[CiaraPatricia]

That's a good point about the large breeds, that they develop a lot slower, and small rabbits develop a lot faster

 

[MsBunBun]

Usually I hear 6-8 weeks is best.
However if you feel that you really need to adopt a bunny at 3-5 weeks old (if it's parents are deceased or if there are no rabbit caretakers near you), make sure you provide them with lots and lots of attention, and also make sure you put something called Bene-bac in your rabbit's food.

What is Bene-bac?

A palatable, concentrated source of live naturally occurring digestive bacteria found in the intestinal tract. For any time an animal experience stress from changing nutritional or environmental conditions. For use in dogs, cats, rabbits and other small animals.

It is very important for a very young rabbit. Im sure that it's what helped my little bun survive (I adopted him at 4 weeks old, long story...)