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When to remove babies from mum?

S

smokeysmum

New Kit
I've read quite a few conflicting articles regarding when i should seperate baby rabbits from mum? I've read they should be seperated at 12 weeks but also that they should be seperated at 8 weeks as they can start breeding with each other from 10 weeks?? My babies are only a week old so obviously i have a while to go yet but i just wanted to be sure on my timings, i don't want them to leave mum too early but neither do i want them to start breeding together and end up with a cage full of babies from the babies! :shock:

I want to get mum spayed once its safe for the babies to leave her. We are keeping the babies.

Any information/experiences that anyone can provide would be appreciated :D
 
8 weeks at an absolute minimum, however some mums need to have their litters removed earlier, and rarely boys can drop their bits earlier than 8 weeks and they need to be removed then (to prevent mum getting pregnant).

I recently fostered a litter of babies (but no mum). I kept them all together until they were 10 weeks and then separated into boys and girls for a further two.

When you take from mum, provided there are no testicles, you can keep the kits together for a short while more so its not such a huge separation.

Mum won't be able to be spayed straight away after the babies have been removed, her milk will need to dry up and her hormones will need to settle.

But yes, ideally, 8 weeks at an absolute minimum.
 
Never heard of them being seperated at 12 weeks, some people say rehome them at 12, but not seperate.

8 weeks is the minimum age you can rehome, a lot of people wean at 6/7 weeks and rehome at 8/9, some wean at 10 weeks though and rehome at 12. If the buns aren't doing too well leave them with mum, and leave any runts with her a bit longer. If mum is getting fed up with them try wean them as soon as you can, otherwise someone could get hurt
 
My lot was seprated from there mum at 8 weeks as mum kept going for them ..Think she was geting fed up with them trying to fed from her ,,,she was spayed when the wee one were 9weeks ...The babies are now 10 and a half week old and the mum is now back in with the wee boy who will be spayed as soon as his testicals is dropped ,Each day he seprated from the mum and the 2 wee girls I have left of the litter is with my for anything from 1 to 4 hours she is happy with them and grooms them each time they are brought back to her .I then separte them again and wee boy is back in with mum ..I think its going well and its keeping the bond between them I am hoping to have them as a group if I cant get any of them rehomed . Roll on the day I can have them all spayed vet says 4 month old or sooner if the wee boys testicals drop .Mum seems happy with it this way
 
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