Help on Weaning ?

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Siggy19

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So I purchased an apparently four month old Lionhead bunny and surprise ! she had a litter of 7 babies ... They are now about four 1/2 weeks old all 7 survived including the tiny runt, eating pellets and hay trying to master the water bowl And mama seems to be quite annoyed with them constantly pestering her for milk ... I know four weeks is too early to wean them but I was hoping to get some tips for the next little while ... I have gotten varying answers all the way from 4 weeks to 10 weeks ... any tips?????
Also I have read to never give them fresh greens however they have an outside run and as soon as they started running around they attacked that grass! I moved them into the barn so they no longer have access to the grass... but is it really a huge problem if they nibble some grass?
 
If they are used to the grass and you haven't seen any mushy poop, then it may be alright. The problem usually occurs when fresh grass is suddenly introduced into the diet and not gradually, and the rabbit isn't used to it. Especially if the grass is young early growth, as this is much richer than an older more mature grass, and so can sometimes cause digestive upset. Just keep a close eye on their bums and poop, to make sure it isn't causing mushy poop at all.

You really want them nursing to at least 6 weeks, 8 weeks is ideal. It's just better for them health wise. Since they are aggravating mom, you can try putting a box of some sort in there, where she can hop up to get away from them. If that doesn't work, you can remove them from her and just put them back in with her in the morning and evening to nurse. If you can, it's usually better to keep the babies in the cage they are used to and move the mom to a new cage.
 
if they are weaned onto greens ... as in.. if you regularly feed greens to the momma, the babies will develop the gut flora to deal with it as they learn to eat solids. if that's the case, don't worry on it.

IF they have never seen greens, now is the time to slowly start introducing them while they are with momma.

There are LOTS of differing opinions on when to wean rabbits. Many folks wean at four weeks, five weeks, or six weeks without any issues with the babies.

Seeing as the EARLIEST bred rabbit was SEVEN weeks old (mind most don't breed that young but I've seen 9 weeks old bred), my recommendation is to wean at six weeks. Even if all you do is remove the boys to their own area. Generally advised to remove the boys early. Feed them for one week post weaning and then find them new homes ASAP. :) DO NOT give them away, makes for good snake food. sell them for at least $20. (that stops the "i'm gonna feed it to my critter" folks)

To give momma a break (all she needs to do is teach them to mind) you can put a jump up box in the cage with her. Just a secure area that she can hop up to to get away from the younglin's. :) A turned over nestbox is ideal as the kits will like to hide in the bottom and momma can rest up top.
 
Thank you so much for your help! that has really cleared up some stuff for me! As for the finding new homes for them .. three of them have already been claimed and the rest I will make sure are going to loving homes ...
 
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