How to tell when kits are weaned...

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Kairiandriku

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So our rabbit kits are now 4 weeks old and regular little trouble makers! ;) I've noticed that now that the nest box is a thing of the past, they try to rush mom one at at time to latch on for some milk. She isn't the most maternal of buns (never nested or pulled fur) and I am fairly certain that the only reason she nursed the kits was to eat the hay out of their nest box! She did cover them up at first, so I assume she tended to them, but wanted no part of them once they started to pop out of the nest box. She spends most of her time up high away from them and they end up leaving the cage for a little side area that only they can get to. They hang out near their dad a lot. So is her impatience more of a sign of her not wanting them around? I should say, she is a very clean bunny and recently has been doing unclean things like pooping all over the cage and peeing in her food dish (like she is marking her space against the little buns.) Should I separate them from her now and let them wean at 4 weeks or should I leave them in there two more weeks despite them seeming unwelcome. She isn't aggressive with them, but pulls away from them and leaves messes all over. My first plan was to remove them at 6 weeks and then split them up into gender groups at 8, but should I do this earlier? She is a very finicky doe. This was an accidental breeding....she hasn't the temperament of a doe you'd want to breed. That said, both mom and kits are doing well, so I am hopeful they will continue to do so.
 
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Some does don't tolerate youngsters running around very well. They'll do they're duty and feed them, but usually by four weeks they've had enough. We have one doe like that so we pull her out when the kits are 4-5 weeks. They're eating pellets and hay by then and she's weaned them anyway. Just keep the kits together and they'll be fine.
 

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