6 week old bunnies...

[RusselandRoxy]

Hi everyone,

Its the bunnies 6 week birthday today. I know you are supposed to takethem away from their mum between 6 and 8 weeks but I'm not sure which.They don't seem to bother Roxy - it looks to me like she actuallyenjoys their company - she is not aggressive to them yet oranything but i dont think they feed off her anymore either ccoz whenthey did they would chase her round for it. Also, they are on full feednow, i could be wrong but you never know!

Also, i am planning on selling them at 8 to 9 weeks and i heard theprocess needs to be quite slow so what do you guys suggest? Any helpwill be really appreciated.

I am gonna try get some more pics on here soon - i am having realtrouble determining their gender at the moment - i have beenon all the links and everything and i can notice a difference betweensebastian and the others but i think its only coz he has shorter fur soits easier to see!!! Will another 2 weeks make a difference in makingit easier to find out coz i can tell easily from my adults?

Thanks again,
Leanne

 

[RusselandRoxy]

anyones help or advice is welcome, please help???????????

 

[RusselandRoxy]

also, i am going to have a real day of attempted litter training of all my rabbits.

Tell me the easiest way you managed it?

I know the basic stuff but i still cant do it - all of them seem to prefer my bed

leanne

 

well if they are pottying onyour bed lol i wouldsuggest not letting them up there lol

seriously tho it takestime for potty training, itsnot an over night process .

just try posative reinforcement, when you see them starting topotty take them to the boxand if they do use itgive them a tiny treat that way theywill associate a litter box with a goodthing .

Finding new homes for babies can bea gut wrenching job , thats whyi tend todiscourage breeding ,and having animals spayedbefore such can happen .Whileaccidents happen , accidentscan be avoided , imnot putting anyone oryou down here . just stating a opinion .

Do you have prospective familys chosenyet ? i have seenpeople let the babies go after5 weeks and discourage this inever let mine go till 8 weeks .

That way i know thebabies have been well socialized andthere will be no unexpected health issues, not to mention the fact if you have onegrouchy baby you can decide toeither keep it andhandle the grouchy oryou can let someone elseknow whats going on andlet them adopt it.

When adopting out babyrabbits honesty is the bestpolicy tell them everything and letthem decide , i have seenhorror stories inhere with sickrabbits , deformed babies etc.be cheeky like me and print offa copy of the Cheet Sheetsand How to Warm aRabbit in winter and Howto Cool a Rabbit in Summer , forprospective parents , you will be amazedhow well it is recieved !

 

[RusselandRoxy]

gypsy wrote:

well if they are pottying onyour bed lol i wouldsuggest not letting them up there lol

seriously tho it takestime for potty training, itsnot an over night process .

just try posative reinforcement, when you see them starting topotty take them to the boxand if they do use itgive them a tiny treat that way theywill associate a litter box with a goodthing .

Finding new homes for babies can bea gut wrenching job , thats whyi tend todiscourage breeding ,and having animals spayedbefore such can happen .Whileaccidents happen , accidentscan be avoided , imnot putting anyone oryou down here . just stating a opinion .

Do you have prospective familys chosenyet ? i have seenpeople let the babies go after5 weeks and discourage this inever let mine go till 8 weeks .

That way i know thebabies have been well socialized andthere will be no unexpected health issues, not to mention the fact if you have onegrouchy baby you can decide toeither keep it andhandle the grouchy oryou can let someone elseknow whats going on andlet them adopt it.

When adopting out babyrabbits honesty is the bestpolicy tell them everything and letthem decide , i have seenhorror stories inhere with sickrabbits , deformed babies etc.be cheeky like me and print offa copy of the Cheet Sheetsand How to Warm aRabbit in winter and Howto Cool a Rabbit in Summer , forprospective parents , you will be amazedhow well it is recieved !

They all have good homes already, i'm not selling them until 8 or 9weeks anyway but what i meant was that arent you supposed to take themaway 1 or 2 at a time or something to make it lighter on the mother andthen not sell them for a while after that to reduce stress?

I will try litter training some more - i am really struggling coz ihave had russel for over a year and i still havent managed it. I neverseem to know when they are going to the loo though coz when i i go overand put tem in the litter box = they have finished!! Ahh:?its hard!!


Leanne

 

LOL Leanne being a bunny mommy sure is hard lol .

i have never heard oftaking 2 or so away at a time ,when ever i have to find newhomes i take them out at 8 weeks put themin sperate cages according tosex , That way the mother, A. doesntget agressive which sometimescan happen with older kits .B. will not get reimpregnatedby one of her sons , yes it canhappen . LOL some of my Motherrabbits cant wait for the Kits toleave the nest lol you can almost seethem let out a sigh of relief .

You can keep them anextra week before letting themgo But remember your alreadyattached ! It isnt necessary todo this tho but its everyrabbit owners choice . lol I am the typewho puts them in a comunitycage ready for new homes , walk byand think oh wait this one looks like... oh wait this one istoo cute .... oh wait,I hadbetter keep this one because heMIGHT look like he has a weepy eye. Im apathetic smoosh lol especiallywith babies.

 

[RusselandRoxy]

gypsy wrote:

LOL Leanne being abunny mommy sure is hard lol .

i have never heard oftaking 2 or so away at a time ,when ever i have to find newhomes i take them out at 8 weeks put themin sperate cages according tosex , That way the mother, A. doesntget agressive which sometimescan happen with older kits .B. will not get reimpregnatedby one of her sons , yes it canhappen . LOL some of my Motherrabbits cant wait for the Kits toleave the nest lol you can almost seethem let out a sigh of relief .

You can keep them anextra week before letting themgo But remember your alreadyattached ! It isnt necessary todo this tho but its everyrabbit owners choice . lol I am the typewho puts them in a comunitycage ready for new homes , walk byand think oh wait this one looks like... oh wait this one istoo cute .... oh wait,I hadbetter keep this one because heMIGHT look like he has a weepy eye. Im apathetic smoosh lol especiallywith babies.

Wow, thanks for all your help gypsy!! I dont think i will mind themgoing too much because they are all going to people i know well whichmeans i will see them often! I dont know where i heard takinga few at a time then - oh well! So, when do you think i should takethem and separate them into sexes - i dont know them yet! We may bekeeping one anyway - Lol!

Leanne

 

[herobunnylover]

I raise bunnies and if the stop drinking mum's milk and eating and drinking by themselves you can take them away.

 

I raise bunnies and if the stop drinking mum's milk and eating and drinking by themselves you can take them away.
babys start eating at 2 to 3 weeks i hope youseriously dont take them away fromthe mother atthat age Herobunnylover thatswhay too young!

 

[SLRabbits]

Actually.. I just weaned a litter that was almost4 weeks old. Mom was getting too weak and wasn't producing enough milkanyway. Although it isn't recommend, kits can be weaned at 3 weeks old.

~Nichole

 

yes i have had nochoice in doing thatalso but unles theres a goodreason for it it isntrecomneded ,I try to keep themwith the mother as long as necessary .

SL how are your babies doing?

 

[SLRabbits]

Yup, I would leave them in to at least 6 weeks unless there are complications.

Thanks for asking gypsy, they are doing good. We had a little problemyesterday with the kits having really soft stools, but I got thatcleared up.

~Nichole

 

[RusselandRoxy]

Wow they are 7 weeks old very soon so i dont havemuch time with them left now!! Of course, i will make the most of thetime i do have! Out of the 3, 2 have homes with friends and i amthinking about keeping the third!! I have tried to figure out thegender of the lil darlings and this is a total guess from what i cansee as i really have no idea - lol - i think Sebastian is a boy andNibbles and Nipper are girls! But i really dont know and i am sure i amcompletely wrong. Will it get easier to tell coz to me they all looklike they have a 'V' shape!?!?!?

Leanne

 

[herobunnylover]

No I wait until their about month and a half before I take them away from their mom.

 

[RusselandRoxy]

They are more than that now, how do you tell thegenders? I have read all the links on other posts but isnt there a wayjust looking at them?

 

[RusselandRoxy]

If two of the rabbits get on top of the otherone, does that mean they are definately male or could it be a sign ofdominance? I really need to know, it will save me a vet bill! Btw, theyare only 7 weeks old in case thats important.

Leanne

 

[Fergi]

When my babies were six or seven weeks I tookthem to my vet to have them sexed. Even he, being a specialist inexotic animals took FOREVER to be 100% sure of which sex they were.Most likely you won't be able to be 100% sure until the testes drop inthe males, unless you are a rabbit breeder who has done this for a longtime.

Mounting is most likely a dominance issue or a play type of thing.Without the testes dropping they don't have any hormones that woulddrive them to mate. They may just be practicing for the future as well.Fergi and Sam my two females mount each other often out of dominance.

Good luck!

Fergi's mom

 

[RusselandRoxy]

Fergi wrote:

Whenmy babies were six or seven weeks I took them to my vet to have themsexed. Even he, being a specialist in exotic animals took FOREVER to be100% sure of which sex they were. Most likely you won't be able to be100% sure until the testes drop in the males, unless you are a rabbitbreeder who has done this for a long time.

Mounting is most likely a dominance issue or a play type of thing.Without the testes dropping they don't have any hormones that woulddrive them to mate. They may just be practicing for the future as well.Fergi and Sam my two females mount each other often out of dominance.

Good luck!

Fergi's mom

Thanks alot Fergi's mom, that really helps alot. I will try and takethem into the vets tomorrow as i would really like to know for sure! Asi want to keep a female and it has to be a female lol! In my opinion, ithink that Sebastian is a boy and the other 2 are girls but we'll justhave to wait and see..............

Thanks for replying,

Leanne

 

[RusselandRoxy]

I have phoned the vet today and asked aboutneutering and sexing. I know most of you work in dollas here, but itthought i would ask anyway:

1) they told me that neutering will cost about £55 + vat.

2) it will cost £6 per baby to have them sexed but if he is unable to do it he will charge me nothing.

So do you guys think that is a good price or expensive? Also, if hesays they might be too young to tell, would you think hes not much of arabbit expert considering some can sex them at 6 weeks and mine are 7,let me know what you guys think and what you payed,

Leanne

 

[RusselandRoxy]

HEY,

guess what everyone????????????

MY predictions were right!!!!!!!!YAY! Lol - lil sebastian is a boy andnipper and nibbles are lil girlie wirlies! That means we will probablykeep Nipper coz we cant keep Sebastian as he is a boy and nibbles issold!

Leanne