How long should baby rabbits drink milk?

[LolaOscarLuna]

I have a 10 week old baby bunny who still trys to drink her moms milk. Is this normal? She is basically the same size as her mom so it looks weird. I tried to wean her but she causes such a fuss being alone in her cage and when I let her out she runs straight for mom. Also her moms nipples were swollen when she wasn't feeding. The baby was a surprise so this is all new to me. I know that babies are usually weaned after 8 weeks because they are usualky taken away from their moms but I am keeping my bunny family together forever. I jusy want to knownig i should seperate them or let them be. Please share anything you might know. Thanks

 

[Azerane]

It is unusual for the kit to still be nursing at 10 weeks, however if she is the only kit I suppose she's probably not too much nuisance for the doe. Plus if the doe is still letting her nurse then I suppose it's not really doing any harm, will only help the baby develop a better immune system etc from mum's milk.

I don't have any experience to be able to tell you whether you should separate them for a bit of not to wean her forcefully though. You may need to separate them when the kit starts to mature as she could start fighting with the doe once her hormones kick in.

 

[LolaOscarLuna]

Thank you so much

 

[ladysown]

if you want to wean her do so. At 10 weeks she certainly doesn't need to. Mom will keep milking as long as the kit is nursing...do you really want mom to keep working?

If the kit gets upset... perhaps you are reading into her behaviour a bit? If you want to lessen the anxiety then simply put the kit on one side of the cage and the doe on the other with a barrier inbetween that they can see through and lay next to each other.

 

[flemishwhite]

About the still nursing baby. Is it eating and successfully digesting leafy greens and pellets? If so, the baby's cecum stomach is fully functional and ready to sustain the baby. At this stage, I don't think the baby needs to be nursing. I'm not competent to comment on when a rabbit should be forced to stop nursing.

 

[LolaOscarLuna]

About the still nursing baby. Is it eating and successfully digesting leafy greens and pellets? If so, the baby's cecum stomach is fully functional and ready to sustain the baby. At this stage, I don't think the baby needs to be nursing. I'm not competent to comment on when a rabbit should be forced to stop nursing.

Oh yes she was eating hay at like 3 weeks old and sneaking vegetables. She eats everything thing her mom and dad eat- hay, pellets and vegetables, except she usually gets alfala pellets thats why I didn't think she needed to be nursing either.
BUT UPDATE, I haven't seen her do it in a couple of days or so Now so maybe she stopped on her own (or does it when I'm sleeping) I don't know but forcing then apart just made me miserable cause she would dig at the cage and be really loud and wake me up at 3 am!
But I guess I'll see if I can catch her doing it , if not it looks like she finally stopped!

Thanks everyone.

 

[Preitler]

Well, one of my does nurses up to 12 weeks, that's a strange sight at feeding time - nestbox stuffed with rabbits, limbs sticking out everywhere...

She's a very headstrong one, so if she thinks that's ok I don't care. It doesn't hurt, and the kits grow fast.