Advice on weaning?

Could anyone give me some advice on weaning and is 6 and a half weeks to early? all buns are happy healthy and eating on their own.

Eaj20 said:

Could anyone give me some advice on weaning and is 6 and a half weeks to early? all buns are happy healthy and eating on their own.

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this is too early yes i cant remember the good time to do it but being with their mother as long as possible is the best thing


someone with more knowledge on this will post soon

They should be with their mums until 8 weeks, but can be fed on pellets and hay mum will wean them herself, just be very careful with veg, though I'd say it's best avoided until they're at 8 weeks with tiny amounts introduced.

The longer there with mum the better with both my litters they were with mum till they were 12 weeks they also ate everything mum ate pellets hay and veg as they got veg threw mums milk

Shadow's story (mum)

I re-homed their mum from a breeder when I got her she was extremely jumpy & didn't like being touched. Due to her last home she has many behavioral issues. I was planning on bonding her with my neutered buck once she was spayed, so I booked her into the vets for her op and 3 days before the op I found 3 unexpected arrivals in her cage (big surprise!) especially after the lady I got her off laughed at me when I asked if she'd bred from her *laughing* she said she's to young to breed from and something about how pet owners think they know more about rabbits than she does and how she was annoyed at me for even asking such a stupid question as she was only 5 months at the time. Well the 3 kits in her cage proved that stupid woman wrong!! and it was completely irresponsible of her to be putting a 5 month old doe near a unaltered buck!. Anyway the reason for weaning at this point is that all 3 Buns have new homes to go to and will be going to new homes at 8 weeks also mum is going to a new home where she will be cared for by a very kind lady who knows how to deal with bunnies who have come from a terrible background she has years of experience with rabbits and is going to give her the time and attention she needs to be a a loving and happy bun and she is going to send me pictures and updates of how she is getting on and I'm also going to visit which I'm very happy about I think this is whats best for her as she is currently living indoors but she would ideally be suited to being outdoors due to her temperamental behavioral and having lots of space to run around in the fresh air. My problem is that now the babies are old enough they are starting to copy mums behavior and I am extremely worried about them doing this in there new homes and if the behavior continues when they leave they will be put in a rescue or past from home to home because people cannot deal with them I know it is best for them to stay with mum for as long as possible but I feel it may not be best for them in the long run if their behavior continues. I don't know what anyone else thinks of this? are the bad habits likely to stay with them or disappear once there in their new homes? and would they survive if i removed mum from there cage?

between 6 weeks and 12 weeks for splitting them up, whenever mum says she's had enough, just watch her closely if she starts chasing the babies thats the time to remove her - for hutched rabbits its best to remove the mum during the day and return her at night from 6 weeks onwards as it prevents her getting too stressed... if they're in a large enough space mum can stay with them permamently (although she'll apprechiate a space to get away from them, a nice high ish ledge or house that the babies cant get up onto. Male babies need to be removed by 12 weeks, does can stay permamently if you're planning on keeping them theres no need to split them at all...

They will be weaned by now (weaning is simply when they are no longer dependant on milk) which is normally 4 weeks, although many will continue to drink longer, mums milk starts to dry up from that point and their main diet comes from solid foods.

ETA: just re-red your last post and saw that they had homes to go to, sorry... tbh 8 weeks is too young to rehome, its too risky for them, 10 weeks for larger buns and 12 for small is the best indicator, they will need to have been living independantly from mum for a full 2 weeks prior to leaving (that two week period is also a good time to get them vaccinated and given some mite preventative and wormer)

at 6 weeks they no longer need mum to survive, just to learn behaviours from (things like using a bottle are learnt from mum), I would suggest remooving mum during the day and using that time to give them extra handling and attention to ensure they dont pick up her bad behaviour, and probably remove mum in a week, if they appear to be fit well and doing bunny things (using a litter tray, water bottle etc)

The babies can eat everything Mum is eating, if she eats veg then that is good as babies will get used to it gradually and there will be no tummy upsets later on when it is introduced.

becki_moorcroft said:

between 6 weeks and 12 weeks for splitting them up, whenever mum says she's had enough, just watch her closely if she starts chasing the babies thats the time to remove her - for hutched rabbits its best to remove the mum during the day and return her at night from 6 weeks onwards as it prevents her getting too stressed... if they're in a large enough space mum can stay with them permamently (although she'll apprechiate a space to get away from them, a nice high ish ledge or house that the babies cant get up onto. Male babies need to be removed by 12 weeks, does can stay permamently if you're planning on keeping them theres no need to split them at all...

They will be weaned by now (weaning is simply when they are no longer dependant on milk) which is normally 4 weeks, although many will continue to drink longer, mums milk starts to dry up from that point and their main diet comes from solid foods.

ETA: just re-red your last post and saw that they had homes to go to, sorry... tbh 8 weeks is too young to rehome, its too risky for them, 10 weeks for larger buns and 12 for small is the best indicator, they will need to have been living independantly from mum for a full 2 weeks prior to leaving (that two week period is also a good time to get them vaccinated and given some mite preventative and wormer)

at 6 weeks they no longer need mum to survive, just to learn behaviors from (things like using a bottle are learnt from mum), I would suggest removing mum during the day and using that time to give them extra handling and attention to ensure they don't pick up her bad behavior, and probably remove mum in a week, if they appear to be fit well and doing bunny things (using a litter tray, water bottle etc)

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Thanks for the advice mummy bun spends most of the day out in the garden and I am going to keep them separated from mum until the night time until their 7 weeks and then take mum away for good more for her sake than anything else as she doesn't relax when their not around just sits there looking miserable. Then perhaps asking the new owners to pick them up a week later than planned. I haven't seen the babies feed for about a week now normally only one trying his hardest before mum hops off. As for people saying you never normally see a doe feeding her kits this has not been the case with my bun she has fed them in my presence since they were 2 days old so i'm pretty certain she is no longer feeding them all the babies use the water bottle with no problem. As for the biggest babies being able to leave earlier the 2 big ones are going to new homes and the smallest one staying here with me so if he needs more time with mum I will leave him with her.

Once they're out and about you certainly see them feeding they will pester permently untill mums milk starts to dry up, so if theyre not trying to feed any longer they probably wont be taking milk (they certainly dont need it)

The 3 munchkins look gorgeous and as for Toffee (feints). So glad you will still be able to visit Shaddow in her new home. Look forward to seeing more munchkin pics as they mature

tulsi said:

The 3 munchkins look gorgeous and as for Toffee (feints). So glad you will still be able to visit Shaddow in her new home. Look forward to seeing more munchkin pics as they mature

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Aww thank you! There beautiful aren't they! My Toffee is my special little man!! love him so much!