WEANING

Litters may be weaned at 28 days of age. Milk production is declining by then, and the young are consuming solid feed well. Feed is used more efficiently if it is eaten directly by the fryers, rather than eaten by the doe and converted to milk. There is less weaning stress if they are weaned at a young age. There is a stress at weaning, which may cause the fryers to go off feed and lose weight for a few days. This occurs particularly if the fryers are moved to a new cage. Rabbits are territorial animals and establish a home territory. When the fryers are removed from the doe and put in a new cage, the stress is not from being taken from the doe, but from being taken from their territory. If the doe removed, and the kits left in the cage in which they were born, the stress of weaning is less severe. The doe is more tolerant of the stress of being moved to a new cage.
Be sure that the weaned rabbits know how to drink. If after the first day of weaning, they have not eaten much, it may be a water problem. Put in a water crock; if they rush to it to drink, then you know they haven’t learned to drink from the automatic waterers. Put a toothpick in the valve or loosen the valve, to make it drip slightly. This should quickly teach them to drink. Another method is to put in one or two older fryers to teach the newly weaned litter hoe to use the water valve. Weaning at an older age minimizes this problem.